To Tempt A Tiger(91)
“Were Anton and Andrey involved, too?” Vlad asked. “Or are they dead?”
“The twins turned themselves in,” Alexis said.
“They’re here? Now?”
“In confinement. They haven’t actually committed a crime, not that we have evidence of, so they won’t be held. They claim they came in to answer questions, and they’re disavowing any knowledge of Yuri’s plans.”
“Did they know he was working with Lei?” Vlad asked.
“They say they didn’t. Anton was surprised to learn Lei was as dedicated to the anti-hybrid cause as your father was. They were both visibly shocked to hear he’d attacked Zoe in the meeting hall.”
“I’ll want to talk to them later.”
“That can be arranged. You might emphasize your woman shot Yuri and can kill them, too, despite being human.”
“She won’t have to because if they get anywhere near us, I’ll rip them apart.”
Alexis tilted her head in acknowledgment.
“Will Zoe’s annuity continue?” Rose asked. “I assumed it came from Lei, but now that he’s dead, does that still happen?”
“The elders have control of his fortune upon his death—a prerequisite to becoming an elder. Once you die, the council takes over distribution of your funds, outside of a few trusts set aside for family. So the annuity is still in effect. Elizaveta said he seemed more bothered by giving money to Zoe than by the possibility of a death sentence. Guess we know why now.”
“I’m glad he’s dead,” Rose said. “Even if it meant Zoe lost the money. I would have happily killed him myself.”
“And no one would’ve blamed you,” Vlad said.
“By the way, Vlad,” Alexis said, “any suspicion you were under because of your father? That’s gone now. The Trackers won’t be following you. No one is keeping track of your movements anymore. As far as the elders are concerned, you’re back to being an upstanding member of the community.”
He gave Alexis a tight-lipped smile. “Gee, thanks.”
She laughed. “Hey, it’s something, right? And it does mean you have the status and power to protect Rose and Zoe, beyond what the law can do.”
“What about Zoe and the Mate Run…” Rose let that trail off. She wasn’t sure at all about Zoe participating in that mating ritual.
Alexis looked away for a moment, then said, “There’s no telling whether or not it will even exist by the time Zoe reaches maturity. Don’t worry about that for now.”
“Something we should know about?” Vlad asked.
“Nothing certain. Nothing I can talk about because most of it I’m technically not supposed to know. But changes are in the wind.”
Vlad nodded, looking thoughtful.
“What about the whole Mate Run for me?” Rose asked. “They made a lot of noise about me having to ‘choose a tiger mate.’ Now that they’ve wrapped me into the hybrid laws, do they expect me to follow the same rules as they expect from Zoe?”
Alexis glanced at Vlad, who was still deep in thought. “You won’t have to worry about it. They’ll hope you mate with a tiger and continue to produce tiger babies, but they finally argued themselves to the conclusion that they can’t demand the same kind of community loyalty from hybrids that they do shifters, and certainly not from full humans. Elizaveta convinced them that they need to start taking a gentler approach, or the problems they already have with the young tigers are going to get exponentially worse with the introduction of reluctant hybrid and human females.”
“What problems with the young tigers?”
“Long story.” Alexis waved that away. “For now, just be assured, you’re officially protected and safe under our laws. Zoe’s annuity is guaranteed. And no one else will be coming after you.”
Rose blew out a long breath. “After the last two weeks, this feels…strange. It’s going to take some getting used to. We can just…go home now?”
“You can do anything you want now.” Alexis stood. “Just let me know when you’re ready to leave, and we’ll set you up with flights back to Phoenix. Don’t forget, there’s a job offer waiting for you if you want it. Keep in touch. We’ll talk.” She glanced at her phone and smiled. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my daughter and youngest son just arrived. If I don’t get to them before Victor, he’ll put them to work trying to find the security breaches.” She shook her head, waved goodbye, and closed the door on the way out.
Vlad was still staring at a wall, contemplating something.