not want him, and she was very annoyed by his inability to take a hint, but he wasn’t a bad man. Killing him would be a waste. His instincts were driving him to more violence than the others, though. If he kept pushing, he’d leave her no choice but to take his life.
She glanced around, trying to find a way of ending this without killing. Victor and Nick were still locked in their fight. From her quick glances, she couldn’t pinpoint who was winning. The one tiger who’d remained out of the fight was nowhere to be seen. Damn, one more to worry about. She rolled Dev over her back and into a tree, then swung around to face his next attack—which came faster than she’d hoped.
She looked for the missing tiger again, her attention off of Dev for a split second too long. Her distraction made him bold. He barreled headlong into her, wrapping her up in his forelegs so she couldn’t catch him with her claws. She roared and chuffed, wriggling and thrashing to throw him off. The bastard was strong and held on, forcing her onto her back. When he got his teeth on her neck, she mentally hissed every curse she knew.
She relaxed just a little so instinct didn’t encourage him to actual rip her throat out, then quickly sifted through her options. She didn’t have many, not with his teeth pressing through her thick neck fur, tipping against her skin. If she reacted too aggressively, he could seriously hurt her, even kill her. Damn it. Damn it. How the hell did she end up in this position? Trying not to kill the idiot, she’d opened herself up to getting killed. A mistake she’d never make again.
Slowly, she tried moving her head, but his jaw quivered with tension, warning her to stop. She stilled, fighting her own instinct to thrash. If he thought she was giving in, he’d raise his head and she could throw him off. But seconds ticked past with his mouth still on her, her breathing harsh in her own sensitive ears.
Her patience wore thin, her ability to remain passive never one of her strong suits, and then she felt his jaws start relaxing. She held herself tight and ready for the instant he lifted his mouth from her throat. Before she could act, another tiger drove into Dev’s side, flipping them both away from her.
She rolled to her feet, assuming her helper was Victor, until she heard the tiger roar.
Before she fully processed the shock of that sound and the help from the fourth tiger, a silent Victor flew past her and joined the others. He and the vaguely familiar Siberian moved like they’d fought together before. Their attack was coordinated and flawless, beautiful in its way. They drove Dev back, reluctant inch by reluctant inch. The Bengal tried to get past them, to fight back, but he wasn’t trained and was no match for the two.
Alexis dragged her attention from the fight to confront the remaining three males. The two she’d beat were slowly slinking away, taking the fastest route out of her territory. Nick remained but he sat off to the side, a casual position conveying an end to his aggression. She kept him in her peripheral vision just in case and turned back to the battle between Victor, the Siberian, and Dev.
The sounds of their fight echoed through the trees, roars that would terrify any humans in the area. She was glad she and Victor had run a circuit of her lands just that morning. No humans were near, and the chances of them getting in over the course of the day without her knowing were low. The last thing they needed was an unfortunate camper reporting sounds of big cats fighting.
Dev was scrappy and hard to put off. Despite being severely out of his depth, he kept attacking, roaring in response to each of the Siberian’s vocal challenges. Victor’s silence was somehow loud in the noise, too obvious to be ignored. Dev fell back under the two tigers’ coordinated moves but refused to leave.
Then Victor rammed into his side, moving as fast as any tiger she’d ever seen. One moment, he and the
She glanced around, trying to find a way of ending this without killing. Victor and Nick were still locked in their fight. From her quick glances, she couldn’t pinpoint who was winning. The one tiger who’d remained out of the fight was nowhere to be seen. Damn, one more to worry about. She rolled Dev over her back and into a tree, then swung around to face his next attack—which came faster than she’d hoped.
She looked for the missing tiger again, her attention off of Dev for a split second too long. Her distraction made him bold. He barreled headlong into her, wrapping her up in his forelegs so she couldn’t catch him with her claws. She roared and chuffed, wriggling and thrashing to throw him off. The bastard was strong and held on, forcing her onto her back. When he got his teeth on her neck, she mentally hissed every curse she knew.
She relaxed just a little so instinct didn’t encourage him to actual rip her throat out, then quickly sifted through her options. She didn’t have many, not with his teeth pressing through her thick neck fur, tipping against her skin. If she reacted too aggressively, he could seriously hurt her, even kill her. Damn it. Damn it. How the hell did she end up in this position? Trying not to kill the idiot, she’d opened herself up to getting killed. A mistake she’d never make again.
Slowly, she tried moving her head, but his jaw quivered with tension, warning her to stop. She stilled, fighting her own instinct to thrash. If he thought she was giving in, he’d raise his head and she could throw him off. But seconds ticked past with his mouth still on her, her breathing harsh in her own sensitive ears.
Her patience wore thin, her ability to remain passive never one of her strong suits, and then she felt his jaws start relaxing. She held herself tight and ready for the instant he lifted his mouth from her throat. Before she could act, another tiger drove into Dev’s side, flipping them both away from her.
She rolled to her feet, assuming her helper was Victor, until she heard the tiger roar.
Before she fully processed the shock of that sound and the help from the fourth tiger, a silent Victor flew past her and joined the others. He and the vaguely familiar Siberian moved like they’d fought together before. Their attack was coordinated and flawless, beautiful in its way. They drove Dev back, reluctant inch by reluctant inch. The Bengal tried to get past them, to fight back, but he wasn’t trained and was no match for the two.
Alexis dragged her attention from the fight to confront the remaining three males. The two she’d beat were slowly slinking away, taking the fastest route out of her territory. Nick remained but he sat off to the side, a casual position conveying an end to his aggression. She kept him in her peripheral vision just in case and turned back to the battle between Victor, the Siberian, and Dev.
The sounds of their fight echoed through the trees, roars that would terrify any humans in the area. She was glad she and Victor had run a circuit of her lands just that morning. No humans were near, and the chances of them getting in over the course of the day without her knowing were low. The last thing they needed was an unfortunate camper reporting sounds of big cats fighting.
Dev was scrappy and hard to put off. Despite being severely out of his depth, he kept attacking, roaring in response to each of the Siberian’s vocal challenges. Victor’s silence was somehow loud in the noise, too obvious to be ignored. Dev fell back under the two tigers’ coordinated moves but refused to leave.
Then Victor rammed into his side, moving as fast as any tiger she’d ever seen. One moment, he and the
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