Royal Line Page 2

  Headquarters wasn't going to be happy that they were going to lose another male, although maybe Phoenix would donate sperm. That would be a huge help. The fact that Phoenix was from a royal line was going to make progeny even more valuable to Headquarters.

  "What is it? Are you working for someone?"

  Answering that would just confuse the matter so he left it for now and decided to jump in with both feet. "You're a shapeshifter. A Saffron Tiger to be specific." There it was, as bald and plain as day.

  Now came the disbelief and the laughter--he'd done more than a few of these and knew how it went.

  "Fuck you. That's not cool. What? You got Mom's medical records? You're a sick fuck."

  "I had no idea your mother was committed until you told me. But once you did, I knew why." Grio shook his head. "I know it's not easy to believe, but it's true. And I'm willing to bet that you know it. Deep down inside you've always known you were different."

  "Everyone's different. You're insane."

  "No, I'm not." He shook his head. "Indulge me a moment--I've still got two minutes left. What did your mother tell you about yourself?"

  "The same shit every mother does--I was special, magical, that our family was special. The difference is that she believed it."

  "The difference is that she was right. Did she never tell you why or show you?" That was the part that confused him. If Phoenix's mother had known, why hadn't she offered her son proof?

  "Show me what? She was insane, man. She was on lithium for her entire life."

  Ah, that would explain it.

  Grio pushed away the anger that someone would drug a Saffron Princess into oblivion. She should have been revered, pampered and cared for. He couldn't change that now, though, none of them could. He could, however, bring her son home to his true being.

  "Show you this." With that, he thought of his beast, drew it out of hiding, knowing his eyes would be glowing, and then the air would shimmer and then he would be his tiger.

  Shaking off the remnants of his tattered clothing, he pawed the ground and bowed to his Prince--he might have been able to fight that instinct as a man, but his beast knew better.

  "Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. She was right. I'm crazy, too."

  Grio shook his head from side to side. That was not the take-away here. Amazing Saffron Tigers was the take-away. He was one--big and strong--and so was Phoenix. He hadn't counted on Phoenix not believing his own eyes.

  "Okay. Okay." Phoenix's fingers wrapped around the door handle.

  Changing back was harder, especially so quickly, but Grio did it because his tiger was clearly not helping Phoenix believe in shapeshifting man tigers. Now the question was, which would Phoenix find scarier--a tiger or a big naked man?

  Phoenix bolted mid-change, slamming the door behind him and taking off.

  Fuck. Grio was already mostly human, so he stumbled to the door as he made his change the rest of the way, pulling it open and taking off after Phoenix.

  Phoenix was fast and fueled by fear and utter panic, feet pounding on the dirt. Grio was tapped into his beast, though, and it fueled him. As did the knowledge that he couldn't let Phoenix get away.

  He was soon on Phoenix, leaping for the man and bringing them both down. They fell hard together, but he couldn't help that.

  Phoenix roared, the earth seeming to shake for a moment. Oh, that had to hurt a human throat.

  Staying right there, Grio kept them both down. "Easy, Phoenix. Easy."

  "Let me go. You don't tell them I'm crazy, I won't tell them you grabbed me." Phoenix sounded hysterical, the words coming out as near screams.

  "You're not crazy, Phoenix. You're a tiger like me."

  "People aren't tigers. People aren't tigers." Phoenix repeated the words like a mantra.

  "No, but Saffron Tigers are people."

  "PEOPLE AREN'T TIGERS!" Oh, Phoenix could shout. It was rather magnificent. He was going to be something else when he finally believed.

  "You saw for yourself," Grio pointed out. He was prepared to make another demonstration, too.

  "I've lost my mind."

  "No. You've found yourself." He stood, grabbing Phoenix up.

  Phoenix's muscles were jerking, rippling, the pheromones in the air too much to resist. They called to each other. It was everything he could do not to slam their bodies together. Instead, he dragged Phoenix back toward the house, moving more and more quickly.

  The tiger was coming, Grio could smell it, giving every movement more purpose, more urgency. He needed to get Phoenix back to the house where he could contain the man's tiger until Phoenix had more control. And believe in it.

  It seemed that was going to take a little bit of time.

  He began running again, pulling Phoenix along behind him, his instincts telling him to get in the house. Now.

  "No! Let me go!" Each roar got louder. The tiger was so close now.

  They stumbled through the door and Grio slammed it closed behind them, hitting the locks closed through the security system. Then he faced Phoenix, head on.

  The tiger was right there, Phoenix's face flattening out.

  "Don't fight it. It will feel strange but it shouldn't hurt." He remembered his first time. He'd been young, with his family, and it had been so much fun to run and leap and simply be a baby tiger. He felt bad for every single one of them who didn't get to experience that, but it seemed especially unfair for Phoenix, having spent his whole life thinking his mother was insane.

  "Fi-i-i-i-i-i-i-ight." Phoenix's word was a yowl.

  He went to Phoenix, stroking the broad, still changing face. The harder Phoenix fought it, the longer it would take. "You're doing great. Just feel the change, let it happen."

  Phoenix's golden eyes were terrified. Utterly terrified.

  Grio rubbed their noses together, growling deep in his throat. Calling to Phoenix's tiger. The seams of Phoenix's clothes started to go, tearing away, and Grio felt his own tiger surging to the forefront, called by Phoenix's change.

  Suddenly, a regal male stood before him, perfect, lovely. Fucking breathtaking.

  Grio changed again--he couldn't have stayed human in the face of his prince in full-blown tiger mode.

  As soon as he'd changed, he bowed again before his prince.

  Eyes the color of jewels examined him as Phoenix stared at him. He raised his head and called out softly to Phoenix. He meant no harm. He was not a threat. Phoenix sat, never looking away. The cat wasn't panicked, was calm and quiet. Phoenix might not have known what he was, but the tiger prince had amazing instincts.

  Grio bowed again, then very deliberately turned his back on Phoenix. He sat and began grooming, offering his submission to his prince. He was no threat, and he knew his place was beneath his prince.

  Phoenix huffed softly and then headed off, curious and exploring, trying the doors, the windows. Grio pretended to be absorbed in his grooming, but he was watching, admiring.

  A low rumbling filled the air, the prince searching for an escape. Even in tiger form, he remained suspicious.

  Leaping to his feet, Grio headed toward Phoenix. It was time to get them back to human. He was sure Phoenix had a lot of questions and tigers were a lot of great things, but being a conversationalist was not one of those things.

  As soon as Grio came close, the prince snarled, warning him back. Oh. Prickly. He would be less threatening as a man now, so he thought about his human form and changed back, standing before the beautiful tiger that Phoenix had changed into.

  "Time to change back, Phoenix. We need to talk."

  Phoenix's upper lip curled, his eyes cutting to the door. The need to escape was still at the forefront of Phoenix's mind. The door was locked, though, and Grio wasn't worried about Phoenix escaping.

  "Think about being human and let the change take you." Learning to do this at will was one of the hardest lessons.

  Phoenix shimmered, but the tiger held on.

  "Come on, man. This is an important skill, but you're a
smart guy. I know you can figure it out. Think about your human self. Hell, think about how mad you are at me and how you have to have a human mouth to yell at me."

  Phoenix looked at him and roared, the sound pushing him back. Oh yeah, Phoenix was still pretty damn mad.

  "Stunning beast." Fucking beautiful. Grio had never seen his like.

  Phoenix roared again. And again. The message was crystal clear. Let me out.

  He shook his head. "I can't."

  Another roar and then Phoenix attacked the door, paws tearing and beating at the wood.

  "Come on, Phoenix. I need to talk to you."

  The heavy paws landed on the floor, and Phoenix started to shimmer, the cat finally fading away.

  "That's it, Phoenix, good job."

  Shit, Phoenix had a sweet body. God knew where the man's glasses were, hopefully on the floor where he'd first changed and not broken. Grio forced himself to look up at Phoenix's face instead of letting his gaze wander over the delectable body.

  "Don't call the psych ward, please."

  Grio snorted. "They'd lock me up first. But why would I call them when I know what you are, what I am? It isn't an illness, it's our species, and it's a gift."

  Phoenix shook his head. "I was having a hallucination."

  "Wow, you are stubborn." If him shifting didn't do it, most people began to believe once they'd actually shifted themselves.

  "Not stubborn, crazy. Do you think they'll sedate me?"

  "No, because you aren't going to tell anyone." It was rule number one. "You never talk about it to anyone who doesn't know." Because yeah, then they'd all be in the psych ward, or worse.

  Phoenix stared at him, eyes wide, burning.

  "Do you need me to shift again to prove that it's real, that you're not losing your mind?" Which he would do, but all this back and forth in such a short time was tiring. He sure hoped the place was stocked with a whole lot of meat.

  "No. I want to go home now." Oh yeah, Phoenix was very stubborn.

  "That's not going to work. You need to learn how to control it, how to live as a Saffron Tiger."

  "You said that you'd let me go home. You said five minutes. That was up ages ago."

  "I will let you go home. Once we're both confident you won't spontaneously shift in the middle of a class or something even more public."

  Things were going to get ugly soon. He could see it in the way Phoenix twitched, shuddered, in the way those fingers moved.

  Grio stepped forward, doing something he'd never done with a new tiger before. He pressed his lips against Phoenix's, kissing Phoenix.

  Phoenix stepped backward, then immediately stepped forward and kissed him back before collapsing in a heap, landing with a thunk.

  Okay. Fainting. That he was prepared for, that he could deal with. He would focus on that and not the kiss. Fainting prince of tigers, fainting prince of tigers--that was his sole focus right now.

  Picking Phoenix up, Grio carried him up the stairs to the bedroom to lay Phoenix out on something soft.

  Chapter 2

  Phoenix sat on the edge of his mom's bed, trying not to stare at the restraints at her ankles, her wrists. They looked like they hurt, so bad.

  "Nix, son, you have to pay attention to me."

  "I am. I mean, yes, ma'am." He stared at his foster mom, Meghan. She was always there, solid and quiet, offering him a smile when he looked to her for reassurance. Meghan had been his family for six years. Most of his life.

  "Pay attention!" His mom snarled, drawing his focus.

  "I am!"

  "You're not like other boys."

  No, he wasn't. His mom was crazy.

  "You listen to me. You are special. We both are. A royal line, Nix. Royal."

  "Royal. Yes, ma'am." He wanted to go home. He had a new video game that he had saved up all his allowance to buy.

  "You aren't listening!" she screamed at him.

  He jumped up, running right for his foster mom's open, comforting arms. "Meghan!"

  "Nix! Get back here!" His mother pulled at her restraints, voice becoming hysterical.

  "Let's go, honey, we don't have to stay here." Meghan hugged him and turned them to the door.

  "You're not normal! Listen to me! You're going to hurt someone!"

  Phoenix looked at Meghan, horrified, but she just shook her head, looked sad. "She's sick, honey. You're not going to hurt anyone."

  "We're special! You need to be prepared! Special!" She continued shrieking at him all the way out.

  He looked to his foster mom. "I want to go home, please?"

  "You know it."

  "Then let's go home, honey."

  Meghan shook him. Then she shook him again.

  * * * *

  "Wake up. Phoenix. Wake up."

  Oh fuck, his head hurt. Hell, everything hurt.

  "Come on, your majesty. Wakey-wakey."

  Phoenix groaned, trying to focus. How much had he had to drink?

  "That's it. I have a nice rare steak for you. I bet you're starving."

  "I..." His stomach snarled at the smell of meat and he nodded before he focused. Who was that? Where was he?

  He was in a bed, but he wasn't actually lying down. Instead he was propped up against pillows, a plate of steak being placed in front of him, a fork and steak knife pushing into his hands.

  "Thanks..." Oh, man. Maybe food would help. He was so fucking confused.

  "Just eat, man. I know you need it."

  He dug in, starving. He'd never had a better steak. Never. It tasted so damn good.

  The man--Grio, right?--ate, too, almost snarfing the food down like he hadn't eaten in days.

  Right. Wait. Shit. "You kidnapped me."

  Grio simply nodded. "Can you imagine doing what we did out on the quad of your university?"

  "What we did?"

  One of Grio's eyebrows went up.

  Phoenix's mind went back, but there was nothing, just a quiet blankness. And the recurring nightmare of the last time he'd seen his mother.

  "You honestly don't remember?"

  He looked for cues. He was naked, Grio wore only a pair of jeans, top button open. The room was softly lit, masculine. He was under the covers.

  "Did we have sex?" God, please say they used protection. Please.

  "I'd love to say yes. It would be so much simpler." Grio scrubbed his face and sighed.

  "Did you drug me? I feel...so weird."

  "No. I can't believe we have to go through all this again." Grio got up and started pacing, like some big cat in a too small cage.

  A low rumble built in his chest, and Phoenix stood. "Where are my clothes?"

  "They're torn and tattered. It happened when you shifted." Grio came over to him, standing over him and staring at him. "We are Saffron Tigers and you are a prince among us. I know you don't want to hear it, but it's the truth."

  "A prince. Me. Excellent." His brain seemed to be hiccupping, over and over.

  "Did you deliberately ignore the tiger part?"

  "God, yes." And he'd continue to. That way led insanity. No wonder he'd had the nightmare starring his mother. Crazytown was right here.

  "But that's the part that's most important! Do you honestly not remember shifting? Exploring this place, roaring at me? Why do you think you were so hungry for meat so rare it barely just came off the cow?"

  Phoenix was not going to listen to the nonsense. He wasn't. People didn't turn into tigers and what the fuck was a saffron tiger anyway? That was the name for a shitty Indian restaurant.

  "What's it going to take to make you believe?" Grio's hand landed on his shoulder.

  A roar left Phoenix, this insane sound. "Back off."

  "You didn't hear that? You roared at me. You. Are. A. Tiger."

  He whipped around, staring at Grio--the huge man had the oddest eyes and who colored their hair like that? Orangey-red with dark and black streaks. Crazy people did, that's who.

  Grio was right there, undeniable and refusing to ba
ck down. "What are the odds that your mother, you and I all share the same hallucination? You don't know me from Adam."

  A deep growl built inside him, which was insane. In. Fucking. Sane. Because this guy could clean his clock. "And yet, you seem to purport to know me."

  "I know about you. There are only about a hundred of our kind. Headquarters finds Tigers who don't know, like you, and I'm sent to inform them and train them, teach them--you--how to be what you are out in the world."

  Phoenix could hear his mother in his head plain as day, like she was right there. "We're special, you and me." If they'd been so special, how come she'd died in an insane asylum?

  "I know it sounds insane, but you watched me shift--you shifted yourself!" Grio touched him again.

  Tail twitching, Phoenix stepped forward. "What do you want?"

  "I need you to believe what you are and learn how to be a tiger."

  Phoenix let out another roar, allowing it to tear out of him, slam into the other man.

  Grio took a step back and bowed his head. "You are our prince."

  Phoenix felt like he was being pulled apart in the center, like his brain was cracked.

  "Would it help if I changed again?" Grio asked. "I can again, quite easily, now that I've eaten."

  Phoenix opened his mouth to respond, but it didn't matter, nothing came out. His muscles rippled, the world going razor sharp.

  "Oh, there you go! You're a tiger. And a magnificent one at that. There's a mirror here. Come on." Speaking softly and not looking at him, Grio backed away, indicating he should come along.

  His ears swiveled and he tried to decide whether or not killing the man was good or bad.

  "Come on." Grio kept walking, head down slightly.

  Phoenix finally decided to follow. The big male was courteous, unfrightened.

  Grio stepped aside suddenly, a mirror there, showing him a tiger. Oh. Oh, wasn't he fine? He stared, smoothing his whiskers.

  Grio chuckled, hand landed on his neck, stroking him. "You are a beauty. The most beautiful one I've ever seen."

  He preened a bit, stretching and arching, his stripes rippling.

  Grio suddenly shifted behind him, the tiger bigger than him, but not better looking. Head lowering to the ground, Grio bowed to him.