The Baby Of The White Tiger (BWWM Shifter Romance) Read online

  “They are master recyclers, in case you haven’t noticed.” Dom reminded him. “I’m sure it’s going to be great. From the pictures, it’s starting to look pretty nice.” Dom pulled out her phone and showed him the greenhouse that the coyotes had started to rebuilt.

  “That’s going to look pretty nice.”

  They went to the next set of talks. They were productive; the coyotes had managed to find a few more things to trade for the land.

  “Is the pottery going to be enough?” The coyote was practically panting with excitement.

  The wolf examined them. “It’s pretty close, how many of these artifacts do you have?”

  “We’ve run across a few pieces.” The coyote started to play his cards very close to his chest. He didn’t want to give his entire advantage away.

  “We would definitely be interested in any pieces like these you come across. We’ll give you a fair price and allow your people access to anything we come across about them.”

  “That sounds really fair.” The coyote seemed really surprised, but he didn’t quite trust the wolf’s words. He had been fooled enough before to not fall for it again. “We’ll see if we can get some more stuff for you, but we can’t make any guarantees. Is there anything else you might be looking for?”

  “We have a list here. Would you like a copy?” The wolf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. It was a typewritten list that looked like it had a good number of items on it. “We’ll discuss price depending on what you find and what kind of shape it’s in. Does that seem like it would work for you?”

  “We’ll take look at it and see what we can find. We need to discuss how much is going to be enough to make you happy. You never seem to be giving us a price on anything we bring you.” The coyote reached across the table for the paper and glanced at several lines before folding it up and carefully tucking it away in his shirt pocket.

  “From what our appraisers tell us you have about thirty thousand dollars worth of stuff here and the land is worth one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, so we’ve got quite a bit more to go.”

  “I’m sure that if we sold the beaded leather to a non shifter it would be worth more, maybe the entire one hundred and fifty thousand, if we could find the right collector.”

  “Have you found one yet?” The wolf asked calmly. He was calling the coyote’s bluff, and the other leader at the table didn’t look very happy about it.

  “We need to work together, accusing and threatening isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Gregor reminded both of them. “Let’s take a moment for all of us to calm down before we sabotage what we’ve already accomplished here.” He excused both parties for ten minutes before he walked to the other end of the table. “What do you think? Will it be OK if I go home for a few days?”

  “I don’t think they’ll go to war while you’re away. If not, I might be able to put a stop to it.” Dom told him, she didn’t sound that confident about the last part however. “If you’re not gone for long it should be fine.”

  “How will you be?” Gregor perched himself on the edge of the table and crossed his arms.

  “I’ll be just fine.” She smiled at him, hoping that would make him feel a little better. “All you have to do is arrange some movers, right?”

  “I’ll have to pay my early termination fee on my apartment.” He explained carefully. “I have to tell my mother about the baby.”

  “You haven’t called her yet?” Dom asked, curious about the situation. “Are you afraid of her?” It was a joke, but from the look on Gregor’s face it was obvious that it was at least partially true.

  “I thought that it would be better to tell her in person.” Gregor admitted with an unspoken nervousness in his voice.

  The wolf and coyote came back into the room and Gregor took his seat at the head of the table. “I’m going to be leaving this evening.” He told them, trying to keep his voice calm and metered. “I have to take care of a few things before I move down here.”

  The coyote got really excited. “Do you need someone to guard your mate?”

  “That might be useful. If we do that, I would like both of you to take part in her protection.”

  “I think that could be arranged. The question would be how we do it.” Gregor was unsure of how it would be arranged. All three men at the table looked at each other, trying to find a way that all parties could provide equally.

  After a few moments of silence Dom spoke up. “Perhaps I could stay with one group and be guarded by the other? As much as I don’t like the thought of being guarded, I have to think about my child right now.”

  “You should stay with the wolves, they have better facilities.” The coyote said. “We can provide guards and food. We’re good hunters.”

  “There might be a little problem with that. Dom doesn’t eat meat.” Gregor told the people at the table.

  The wolf spoke up, surprising the others around the table. “The coyotes grow some beautiful fruits and vegetables; you should love to eat their food.”

  “That sounds really nice.” Dom smiled at her soon-to-be hosts. “I also like the way you two are complementing each other. It shows how much progress we’re making here.”

  While the coyote beamed at the compliment, the wolf continued to make plans for them. “We’ll get her things moved over, if there is anything else she needs, she can count on us.” He was serious, making sure that they would have everything prepared. “We’ll be sure to keep her safe and as happy as she can be without you there.” His promise meant a lot to her.

  “That’s going to have to change. You can talk to me. I don’t belong to him.” Dom’s voice was firm. She didn’t like the fact that she was considered Gregor’s mate and not an individual person.

  “Of course, I apologize.” He bowed his head toward her in a symbolic gesture. She knew that it wasn’t going to change anything, but she wanted to make herself very clear.

  “I’ll arrange for one of the women to stay with her in the house, so that she can have some company.” The coyote was already thinking about whom to send. “I will also hand pick three shifts of outside guards. Do you think that five on each shift will be acceptable?” He was careful to pose the question to Dom, looking at her face, hoping for an affirmative response.

  “I don’t think that I’ll need that many, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Dom wasn’t exactly happy about the entire situation, but it made it a little better to see both of the shifters working together so well.

  “Wonderful. When do we need to have everything ready?” The leader of the wolf asked, his eyes shifting from Gregor to Dom halfway through his sentence. It was obvious that something she had said had gotten through to him, but he still had to get used to regarding her as an equal to Gregor.

  “I leave a little after midnight, so if we could have everything prepared by ten tonight that would be for the best.” Gregor made the decision, carefully checking with Dom to see if she found it acceptable. When she nodded in agreement the two other shifters started to eagerly make plans for transport and how they were going to handle the joint operation.

  “I can make sure there’s some food for her when she arrives.” The coyote volunteered carefully. “We have some lovely green onions and tomatoes in our gardens.”

  “I love tomato sandwiches.” Dom volunteered. “With mayo and salt and pepper. It’s best if they’re on potato bread or in a fresh tortilla” Her cravings started to assert themselves as she made some more suggestions. “Oh, and don’t forget popsicles. I love popsicles, especially the red, white and blue ones; you know the ones that are shaped like rockets. I also love pickles.” Her words were getting more and more excited, she hurried through a list of things that she had been craving recently. “Sweet pickles, queso blanco, fresh tortilla chips, make sure we have all of those things.”

  The wolf looked knowingly at Dominique, his face warm for the first time in ages. “I’ll make sure there is someone to get whatever you want
to eat when your mate is gone. I remember my wife’s cravings when she was pregnant with our oldest. I would have to leave in the middle of the night to get her new pickles and ice cream.” He pulled out a small notebook and started to scribble down a shopping list. When he finished he wrote it down again and passed it to the coyote. “Can we arrange to get all of these things?”

  “One of the women in my tribe makes the best pickles. You will love them. I’ll make sure she has a couple of jars for you. My sister makes excellent tortillas and she’ll make sure that you have fresh ones every day. My sister loved sandwiches from this certain place, and they had to be made a certain way.” The coyote explained. “She could tell by tasting it which employee was making the sandwiches and we would have to buy three or four at a time.”

  “I’m sure this is very amusing to all of you, but sometimes the morning sickness is so bad that I can’t keep down anything solid. That’s when I like to have the popsicles. Oh, please make sure you have nutella and asparagus to put on the tortillas.”

  “We’ll make sure there are plenty available.” The wolf told her. “I’ll send someone to the grocery as soon as I leave. We’ll make sure that you have everything you need. We have plenty of people to help you out, and anything else you need I’m sure the coyotes will be able to find for you.”

  “That is probably the first time I’ve seen you smile.” The coyote told the other leader at the table. “It’s nice to be getting along finally.”

  “I would like us to continue getting along.” The wolf’s words sounded strange coming from him, he wasn’t known for really wanting anything to do with the coyotes, so the fact that he might actually be looking forward to working with them was a nice change.

  At precisely ten o’clock that night, a woman walked into the safe house. “I’m here to pick up Dominique.” Her words were precise, well rehearsed and obviously planned. The woman looked around and took note of the fact that everything was already packed and ready.

  Dom stuck her hand out while Gregor watched. “It’s nice to meet you. Let me say goodbye and I’ll be ready to go.”

  “Take as much time as you need.” The woman’s voice grew warm as Gregor walked up to Dominique.

  “I’ll miss you.” Gregor brushed her hair out of her face as he leaned in to kiss her. It was a gentle brushing of her lips, one that nearly made her swoon.

  “I’ll miss you too.” Her eyes centered onto his.

  “I’ll make this as fast as possible. I promise I will be back as quickly as I can.”

  “I hope you don’t tell your mother all of the bad things about me.” Dom joked with him.

  “She will hear nothing but good things from me.” Gregor made an ‘x’ over his heart. “I cross my heart.” He kissed her again, and she leaned into him, devouring his touch, knowing that it would be almost a week before he would touch her again. “I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

  “Are you sure you’re not going north for another girl?”

  “Since the moment I met you, there hasn’t been room for another girl.” He told her. It was an old conversation. She brought up other women a lot, he knew that she held insecurities and fought to make her a little more comfortable in her situation.

  The woman that was there to pick up Dominique cleared her throat, reminding the couple of her presence. “We should get on the road soon. We have people waiting for us.”

  “I’m sorry.” The witch blushed a little as she moved away from Gregor.

  “Are all of these your bags?” Her voice was strained, like she was trying to figure out how many trips it was going to take to get everything into the car. She might have even been trying to decide how it was all going to be loaded so that there would still be room for everyone.

  “Just the ones over there, those other ones are Gregor’s.” Dom responded carefully, examining her feet. She couldn’t help but notice the difference in the amount of luggage the two needed, even though she knew that Gregor would be having most of it moved to their new location while they were gone, it still must have looked very strange to the guard.

  “Are you sure that’s all you need?” She took note of the two duffel bags. “If there’s anything else you need, it may be hard to get a hold of.”

  “It’s only going to be a week and I’m sure that I’ll have access to a washing machine. Plus, if I absolutely need something I’m sure they can find it for me.” Instead of answering the guard nodded and walked over to the two small suitcases. She picked them up and started to lead the way outside into a car sitting at the curb, idling. Dom climbed into the passenger seat and the other woman climbed into the back seat. “Let’s get this done.”

  Chapter3

  Her new safe house looked nice enough from the outside, but it wasn’t home. The outside was stark and white like a chain hotel. It was almost sterile in its appearance. The land around the building was dotted with nice little houses. The area looked like a mixture of the suburbs and a city center. She knew that there were other areas of the tribal lands that she wouldn’t be allowed in. These were the areas where meetings were held and spaces that were used for special rituals.

  She noticed the touches that they made in her room to make her feel a little better about her situation, a little more at home, but it just didn’t seem to work very well for her. The flowering plants were carefully placed all around the small apartment, but it didn’t make her feel any better about being trapped here in protective custody.

  The woman stayed with her, leading the way into the apartment and checking every room before the witch was allowed to step foot anywhere. “By the way, what’s your name?” Dominique asked her guard.

  The woman responded with a thick accent, betraying her native language as being Spanish. From the sound of her voice it was obvious that she was from southern Mexico. “My name is Rosa.”

  “That is a beautiful name.” Dom tried to make conversation. If she couldn’t talk to the girl it would be a very boring week. “Are you going to be with me all week?”

  “Yes, my uncle asked me to stay with you, to guard you. This apartment is very nice, is it not? The wolves always have such nice houses.” Her English was stilted and rough, but she sounded very intelligent, with clear bright eyes betraying her desire to learn all about the world around her.

  “It’s a lot nicer than my house.” Dom admitted, smiling at the young lady. It was very clear that she was a few years younger than the witch, but she didn’t hold that against her, even at a young age shifters could be vicious combatants and were excellent at sniffing out trouble before it arrived.

  She laughed a little. “I imagine that your house is very nice.”

  “Nope, it’s a pretty old place. My grand-mother had lived in it her entire life.”

  “I’m sorry, I do not understand.” The woman squinted, trying to wrap her mind around a sentence that had been practiced so well it was now said too quickly for non-native speakers to understand.

  Dom felt a little guilty about speaking so quickly. She searched her memory for any Spanish that she knew, it wasn’t much, but it would be some help. “My… Abuelita… she lived there her entire life. She was there since she was a girl.” Dom smiled eager to learn how to communicate with her host. Rosa was a beautiful young lady and it was very obvious that she was related to the leader of the coyotes, a man she had spent a good portion of time looking at as she sat in on Gregor’s talks. She wondered if this woman was his niece or cousin, and how many members of his family there were that carried the lovely high cheekbones and dark straight hair. She wondered if there were many coyotes with the dark eyes that looked like they could burn right through you and look straight into your soul.

  “Ah, si, si, tu Abuela. I see now.” Rosa smiled once again, happy to have made a new friend. “It must be very nice to be mated to el tigre.” Her teeth were straight and bright, a typical sign of the carnivorous nature of the shifter. In general, they were very proud of their teeth and took excellent care of them.<
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  Dom sighed. It seemed like everyone was interested in her relationship with Gregor. “I guess so. I mean it’s not like most people think.”

  Rosa giggled, implying some things about the closeness of the witch and her shifter mate. Her face was a little red as she asked the question. “It must be exciting, yes?”

  “A little, my life hasn’t been the same since I met him.” Dom had to admit it, but it wasn’t the first time she had been asked these questions, and she was pretty sure that it wasn’t going to be the last.

  “I don’t understand.” Rosa smiled again, but it was a confused smile filled with frustration at not being able to understand her charge.

  Dom searched her mind for the right words to explain what she meant. All that she could find was an old song lyric. “I think you could say that I’ve been living la vida loca.”

  Rosa smirked and giggled a little. Dom was sure that she had caught the joke and couldn’t help but smile back. “He must be good in bed, very tough, very much macho. Tigre men must be very macho.”

  “I don’t like machismo very much, but he’s nice to me.”

  “Macho is nice, macho will always protect you.”

  “Sometimes they will protect you from too much, but it’s nice that he doesn’t try to protect me from too much.”

  “I can smell the baby.” Rosa added, changing the course of the conversation. “He will be powerful.”

  “That’s what they tell me.” Dom’s voice was quiet and she sat down with her hand over her stomach.

  “You smell like a shifter.”

  “I know.” Dom’s heart started to race a bit, but she concentrated on slowing it. It was a form of auto hypnosis, one that would stop the shifter from smelling the fear that was associated with this conversation. She hoped that the line of questioning would end soon, after all, no one would think of a Doppel, they were just too rare.

  “Not like el tigre.”

  “I know.” Dom grew frightened. Could they smell the child’s power, if so, would that would give her an extreme disadvantage in the current violent times?