To Tempt A Tiger(40)

Vlad didn’t say anything, but there was clearly an undercurrent of tension between them.

“Anyway,” Alexis said, “with your brothers coming back to Phoenix, we need to make sure your daughter can control her tiger. Then…” She faced Rose. “Then, I’m sorry to say, I think you need to bring her to the elders. For her own safety.”

“We’re not ready for that yet,” Vlad said. “You know why.”

“I know why you’re hesitant. But Elizaveta will make sure everyone behaves. She’s going to want to meet your daughter.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Rose said. She rubbed her eyes. “I’m not entirely sure what you two are talking about. But I’m not taking my daughter anywhere she might be in danger.”

“Believe me, I understand,” Alexis said. “I have a daughter. I’d kill to protect her.”

“Then we understand one another.”

Alexis smiled. “Perfectly. That said, there’s no way to keep her hidden from the tigers now that Vlad’s brothers are suspicious. They’ll keep coming around, trying to figure out if she’s his or not.”

“We tried to throw them off the scent, but Yuri’s dug up Zoe’s medical records,” Vlad put in. “They’re probably convinced she is mine by now. I’m sure that’s why they’re coming back to Phoenix.”

“There you go. You’re out of time.” Alexis frowned and half to herself said, “We’re going to have to make her medical history disappear. Don’t want blood samples floating around in the human world.”

Vlad cursed and settled his hands on his hips, hanging his head. “Dammit. I forgot all about that. I’ve been so worried about her shifting and my brothers finding her…”

Alexis waved him off. “Don’t, Vlad. The Trackers will take care of it.”

“They can do that?” Rose asked, frowning at them both.

“Not the first time they’ve had to,” Alexis said.

“But the doctors have run all kinds of tests on Zoe. Do I have to worry about human scientists now, too?” It was much too early in the morning for this. Rose wanted to scream.

“I’ll make sure it’s taken care of, Rose,” Vlad said.

Alexis echoed his assurances. “There won’t be any samples or records of those samples left that might lead humans to her.” She took a deep breath. “But this is just one more reason you need to bring her forward, present her to the elders, and make her an official part of our community. It will mean our enforcers and the power of the elders can be brought in to protect her. She’ll be much safer that way. Especially because she’s a girl. And she can shift.”

“Vlad’s told me she needs to be covered under your laws for her own protection. I was just hoping we wouldn’t have to introduce her to that world yet.”

Alexis exchanged a look with Vlad before saying, “You know about the Mate Run?”

Vlad glared. Rose frowned. What hadn’t he told her about it? “He told me it was how the tigers were staving off extinction. What don’t I know?”

Vlad and Alexis stared hard at each other for a few minutes, then Alexis said, “Nothing you’ll have to worry about for years.” To Vlad, she said, “She’ll need to know all of it before you go to the elders.”

“What don’t I know?” Rose demanded.

Vlad glanced at her then looked away, not meeting her gaze when he said, “The tigers will expect Zoe to take part in the Run because she’s a shifter.”

“No.” Rose didn’t even think about her answer, it was so automatic.

“Rose…” He held his hands out to the side, palms open, and shrugged as if he didn’t know what to say to that.

She didn’t care what reasonable excuses he might offer. She would not allow the tigers to force her daughter into being a breeder for them. Zoe would grow up knowing she had choices, choices Rose intended to protect fiercely if need be.

The fact that Vlad had kept this little bit of information to himself hurt, and she wondered what else he hadn’t told her.

Alexis looked at both of them as the silence drew out, then said, “That’s a long way off. Nothing you need to even think about yet. The first thing we have to do is make sure Zoe is safe and protected.”

“Which means taking her to the elders now?” Rose asked Alexis.

“Yes. It does.”

She turned to Vlad, her eyes narrowed. “You wanted to wait until Zoe could shift. Is that the only reason you wanted to wait?” Now that she knew he’d kept one important nugget of information from her, she was questioning everything he’d said.