IAN CLIMBED DOWN THE LADDER FROM THE ROOF of the barn. He didn’t think it would take much to fix it, although he wanted to get Seth to check it out. Working with wood was Seth’s gift. Ian had been working with him long enough that he knew what he was doing, but getting Seth’s opinion was never a bad idea.
“What can I do to help?” Kian asked.
Shaking his head, he replied, “Nothing. Me and the fighters have this.”
“I want to help. I’m staying here for free, against my wishes because you won’t let me pay. Let me help. I can be of assistance.”
Looking at him doubtfully, Ian said, “Have you ever built anything, or worked with wood at all?”
“I am sure I can learn,” Kian replied after a pause.
Seeing the determination all over Kian’s face, Ian exhaled. “You don’t need to pay us for anything, let alone for staying here. Especially since I insisted you stay.” Kian opened his mouth to protest and Ian quickly held up his hands. “But if you really want to help, we’ll find something for you to do.”
Inclining his head regally, Kian said, “See that you do.”
Lips quirking, Ian turned to hide his smile. Kian went on and on about how he wasn’t a prince and was no different than other tiger shifters, but his speech and actions showed otherwise sometimes. Smile widening as he noticed Holly and Shelby coming near, he strode over to meet them, kissing Holly as Shelby giggled.
“Think it’s funny, do you,” he asked his daughter, picking her up and pretending to bite at her neck.
Squealing, she laughed as he tickled her, finally gasping out breathlessly, “Put me down, Daddy.”
As he put her down, he glanced over to see Holly watching them warmly, her blue-green eyes shining with love and happiness. Chest tightening, he winked at her, taking pleasure in the way she blushed, dropping her gaze. The fact that she could be shy after all they’d done to each other, in bed and in the tub last night, was cute as hell.
Noticing Kian standing stiffly nearby and realizing he hadn’t been around to meet Holly, he quickly made introductions. “Holly, this is Kian. He’s basically Shelby’s uncle, for all intents and purposes. Kian, this is my ma—my Holly,” he said, quickly trying to cover what he’d been about to say.
Kian raised an eyebrow, and he knew the tiger prince understood what he’d been about to say. Holly seemed oblivious to his stutter, smiling at Kian and holding her hand out for them to shake.
“Ian and Kian? Are you two related, and that’s how he’s Shelby’s uncle? That must have been confusing, growing up, your names being so similar.”
“He’s actually kind of related on Shelby’s mother’s side,” Ian replied distractedly. He’d honestly never thought about how close their names were. And it didn’t mean anything, except that he was thinking for the first time that it must get confusing at times to others.
“Oh, I see. Well, it’s very nice to meet you,” she told Kian.
“And you as well. It is nice to see Ian and Shelby so happy.”
Holly smiled at him before glancing down shyly. Looking up, she held her hand out to Shelby. “Shelby and I are going to go inside and get some studying done. She has a test on Monday, and I happen to know it’s a tough one,” she said, winking at her.
Shelby’s groan echoed around them as Ian leaned in and kissed Holly softly. They turned to walk back to the house, and he smiled as Shelby spoke.
“Do we really have to study, Holly? It’s Saturday! Saturdays are for running and playing and having fun. Not studying,” she said, voice coated in disgust.
“Have you studied for the test at all, Shelby?” Holly asked, her voice saying she already knew the answer.
“No,” Shelby answered reluctantly.
“Then yes, we have to study.”
Heart full, Ian stood staring after them, a smile on his face. How the hell did he ever get so lucky? His life was perfect now, full in a way he never suspected it could be. Well, it would be if they could figure out who was trying to kill him, he amended with a frown. But even that couldn’t detract from the soul deep happiness he was feeling.
“You look very happy, my friend,” Kian said, bringing Ian back to the present. “This makes me glad. You deserve happiness, you and Shelby both.”
“It’s not something I ever thought I’d find. I was adamant that I wouldn’t take the risk again, not after Farrah, and especially not with Shelby. Farrah had me fooled so thoroughly, and it’s something I’m still ashamed of. But Holly is absolutely nothing like Shelby’s mother, and that was apparent after five minutes of being around her.”
Frowning, Kian opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of a truck coming up the gravel driveway distracted them both. Stiffening, tiger alert in his chest, Ian narrowed his eyes as he watched the driveway. Relaxing when he saw it was Chase’s truck, he crossed his arms as he waited on Chase to park and walk over to them.
“What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay away from this mess,” Ian demanded when Chase was close enough.
“And hello to you, too,” Chase said with a smirk.
“I told you to stay away from Rocky River and the fighters until we had this figured out.”
“Whoever this is, isn’t trying to kill me. And I want to help.”
“There’s nothing you can do, MacKeltar, and the last thing I need is for you to be collateral damage. You need to go back home. If this person is willing to target Holly, no one in my life is safe, friends included. I don’t need you on their radar.”
“I’m not leaving you to face this alone,” Chase said stubbornly. “And before you say you’re not alone, yeah, I get that. But another pair of eyes and ears, another brain to help figure it out, can only help.”
Ian was just opening his mouth to reply when he heard Cammie shout, “Move!”
Looking around in confusion, he registered a whistling sound right before Kian cursed, and a thud sounded on the barn behind them. Spotting Cammie and Alex as they ran for the woods, he turned to see Kian clutching his shoulder, and an arrow embedded in the barn wall, still quivering.
It felt like it took forever for his mind to absorb the details, but it was really only seconds. Letting loose a string of curses, he rushed to Kian, peeling his blood soaked hand away from his upper arm.
“It is fine,” Kian gritted out between clenched teeth. “It more grazed me than anything. It just took me by surprise.”
Ignoring his reassurances, Ian studied the wound, relief flooding him when he saw that Kian was correct in his assessment. Even as he watched, the blood had slowed to a stop and the wound was closing. Giving Kian a nod, he moved to study the arrow sticking out of the barn, glaring at Chase as he passed.
“Now do you see why you need to get the hell out of here and stay gone?”
Chase didn’t reply, walking over to study the arrow. Decorated with red and blue feathers, it had three slash marks halfway down. It was a personal, distinctive design, although it gave no clues as to who the design belonged to. Still, it was one more thing they could use to track this person down with.
Hearing footsteps, he turned to see Cammie and Alex returning just as the screen door burst open and Shelby ran out. Skinny legs pumping fast, she ran to Ian and threw her arms around his waist, squeezing tight, before going to Kian and doing the same. Holly followed her, cane in hand, limping as fast as she could, grimacing as she asked more of her leg than she should.
“You two shouldn’t be out here,” he said, automatically looking around for any movements in the woods.
“Whoever did this was gone, and they were fast,” Cammie said grimly. “It was like they were a ghost. Their trail disappeared before they even got past the property line.”
“Oh my God, did someone shoot an arrow at you?” Holly asked, eyes wide as she looked at where the arrow was still sticking out of the barn. When she glanced back at him, the beautiful depths were filled with fear.
“We’re okay,” he said, moving to take her in his arms. “No one was hurt.”
“It doesn’t look like it to me,” she replied shortly, shrugging him off and moving to Kian. Before he could stop her, she studied the wound, looking up with a frown on her face. “This isn’t right. There’s so much blood around it, but the wound is mostly closed. This doesn’t make sense.”
Fuck. “I really need you to get Shelby back inside the house. I can’t handle the thought of either of you getting hurt.”
Frowning, she looked like she was about to get stubborn and demand answers, but Cammie spoke, beating her to it.
“I agree that they need to get inside, but now I’m not convinced you’re the target, Ian.”
“What? I just had an arrow shot at me.”
“No, Kian had an arrow shot at him. He was the target.”
“But someone was messing with Holly. It makes sense that they’re going after me. Maybe they mixed up Kian for me.”
Frowning, Cammie looked between the two of them and shook her head. “I don’t think so. I mean, now that I’m paying attention and really looking, you two do have a lot of the same facial features. It’s uncanny, really. But Kian has darker skin and black hair. You’re lighter skinned, with light hair. And your builds are a little different. That would be what was obvious to the shooter, not your facial features. They were too far away to be able to see those clearly.”
“This makes no fucking sense,” Ian muttered in frustration.
Watching as Kian made his way to the arrow, he was deep in thought and barely noticed the way Kian stiffened. Turning, Kian said, “I must go now.”
“What? Kian, you can’t leave. Now more than ever, you have to see that.”
Whirling around, Kian glared at him. “I see nothing. But regardless, I am a prince. You can’t tell me what to do. I’ll come and go as I please.”
Shocked, Ian watched him turn and stride to his truck. Silence echoed through the yard as Kian started the truck and peeled out, gravel spitting under his tires.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Alex said. “I’ve never seen or heard him act like that.”
Ian nodded in agreement, glancing over as Holly spoke, her voice incredulous. “He’s a prince?”
Exhaling, Ian tried to come up with an explanation, but came up short. He didn’t want to lie to her, not any more than he had to, but they were quickly piling up. And he was afraid they would bury him, along with any chance he had to make this work with her, when the truth finally came out. Holly wouldn’t take kindly to being lied to. Maybe waiting to tell her everything wasn’t the best idea. Sooner rather than later would probably be wiser.
“Dude, what the hell is wrong with Alex?” Chase asked, voice worried.
Shit, what now? Whipping around quickly, he saw that Alex was stiff as a board, his body vibrating, eyes wide, and gasping for air. He was having a vision. Alex’s gift was seeing the future, and Ian couldn’t help being hopeful this was one that would help with finding out who their would-be murderer was.
“Oh my God. Is he having a seizure or something? Shouldn’t we be calling 911? Why is everyone just standing around like this is normal?” Holly asked, voice scared and frustrated at the same time.
Oh fuck, Holly. Holly was seeing all of this. How the hell was he going to explain this to her? Exhaling, he acknowledged that maybe it was time to tell her the truth. She’d seen and heard too much at this point, and it was something he was going to have to tell her soon, regardless. Before he could reassure her, Alex started gasping, muttering something under his breath that made Cammie freeze.
“Tigers,” he said with a gasp. Locking eyes with Ian, he said, “The tigers are coming. War Cats. A lot of them.”
Mind blank, Ian stared at him for a moment, trying desperately to grasp what he was saying. When he finally did, dread dumped into his system, turning him cold with fear.
“Tigers?” Holly asked, voice a few octaves higher than normal. “What is he talking about? Someone tell me what in the world is going on.”
Swallowing hard, Ian glanced over and locked eyes with her. “Holly, please take Shelby and get inside. You two aren’t safe out here.”
Setting her jaw stubbornly, she shook her head. “No. Not until someone tells me what’s going on. None of this is making sense. You all sound absolutely crazy.”
“Please, Holly. Get yourself and Shelby in the house and out of the open. I promise we’ll talk as soon as we’re done out here. I swear,” he told her, staring into her eyes and willing her to go along with it.
Searching his eyes for a long moment, she finally exhaled, nodding as she held her hand out to Shelby. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go inside. We can play Barbies again, or whatever you want.”
Shelby hesitated, casting him a frightened gaze that made his stomach hurt, before she walked over to Holly and took her hand.
“Could you send the others outside when you get in?” he asked softly.
Nodding, she didn’t say anything else as she led his daughter back into the house. They all stayed silent as they waited for Jax, Piper, Seth, and Amelia to come outside. When everyone was gathered, Ian quickly explained everything that happened.
Looking sick, Jax said, “I’m sorry, man. We didn’t know any of this was going on out here. We were in the attic, and I was playing them my new song. We didn’t know. We should have.”
“No, Jax. You had no way of knowing what was going on, so don’t even go there.”
“What the fuck,” Seth exclaimed. “Why the hell would the War Cats come after us?”
“I don’t know, but there’s no way we can hope to take them on, especially not if they’re sending a lot of tigers. They’re extremely well-trained warriors. We don’t stand a chance,” Ian said grimly.
“Where’s Kian?” Piper asked, looking around.
“Don’t know. He looked at the arrow and then took off. I don’t know where he went, or if he’ll be back.”
“I bet it’s because he knows this is Zane,” Seth said. “And before you tell me to cut it out, look at the facts. These attacks have been aimed at you and Kian, both people that Zane has issues with. You for some unknown reason, and Kian because he ordered him home, which was likely a disgrace to Zane. Then Kian looks at an arrow that has distinctive markings. We might not know whose it is, but it would be obvious to someone who knew the shooter. And he takes off. Now Alex says the War Cats are coming for us. Who else, besides the alpha, Kian, and Kian’s second, can call the tigers to war? This is Zane, I’m telling you.”
Blowing out a breath, Ian nodded. “I have to admit you have valid points there.”
“Of course I do. You should have fucking listened to me to begin with.”
Putting her hand on his arm, Amelia rubbed gently, trying to calm her mate down. “What’s done is done. Now we have to decide how to react.”
“I’m not running,” Jax said softly, ignoring the worried look Piper gave him.
“Neither am I,” Seth agreed.
“Us three will stay, then. Try to talk to the tigers, explain. Alex and Cammie, you guys take the mates and Shelby and get out of here. Go to Cheyenne or somewhere else, put some distance between yourselves and the storm brewing.” Glancing at Chase who’d been listening quietly with a frown on his face, Ian said, “You all should get out of here, too. Warn your family and the shifters at Bear Claw and go.”
“We can help, Ian,” Chase said stubbornly.
“Not against the War Cats, you can’t,” Ian replied grimly. “And this isn’t your fight. I’m not risking any of you getting hurt for me. Get your family and friends and get out of town.” Turning to Alex, he asked, “Did you see any sign of when they’ll be here?”
“I saw them passing through that clearing by the mountains about ten miles outside of town.” Hesitating, he blew out a breath. “We were meeting them out there, stopping them before they got close to town, and I looked at my phone. It showed tomorrow’s date.”
Stunned, Ian exhaled sharply. So fucking soon. It didn’t leave them much time to prepare, and nowhere near enough time for him to spend with Holly. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough, but a measly day… fuck.
“Wait, what did you mean by we?” he asked, the rest of Alex’s words hitting him.
“I was with you, Seth, and Jax. And I want to be there.”
“Alex, no. I need you protecting the girls, and you have a baby on the way—”
“I want him to be with you guys,” Cammie cut in. “If I weren’t pregnant, I’d be there. But I can’t be, so Alex is the next best thing. I know he’s not on the level of fighting skill we’re on yet, but he’s a motherfucking dragon. He can char a whole field of them, if it came down to it. Without him, you guys don’t stand a chance, but with him, you guys could win. Let him be there. I’ll take the girls and hide us well. I’m good at hiding. You know that.”
Ian wanted to protest, but Cammie made a lot of sense with what she was saying. She was absolutely right. He didn’t want to put anyone else at risk, but having a fire breathing dragon on their side could only help.
“All right. Let’s get a plan hammered out and put in place. I have some explaining to do to my mate, and I know we all want to spend as much time as possible with our loved ones.”