Heart of a Fighter (Rocky River Fighters 1)

“We need to talk,” Ian replied, voice gravelly.

The tiger surprised them both when he nodded and stepped back, gesturing them inside. Alex exchanged a wary glance with Ian before they went in. They’d been expecting hostility and resistance, not willingness to talk to them. Alex looked around, expecting a trap, but everything seemed ordinary. The other tiger had been sitting on the bed, but he stood when they entered, crossing his arms with a scowl as he glared at them.

“Why the fuck did you let them in here? Fucking traitor tiger and weak, puny human.”

With a hiss in his throat, Alex took a few steps toward him, letting his dragon show in his eyes. Ian put a hand on his arm, but Alex hadn’t been planning on more than showing this tiger who the weak and puny one in this room was.

“Fuck,” the tiger exclaimed, stumbling back a few steps. “You’re a fucking dragon?”

He looked over in surprise when the other tiger chuckled. “I’ve told Zane before not to make assumptions. I’m Kian, by the way. And we don’t mean you guys any harm. Any of you, Shelby included.”

Ian growled deep at the mention of his daughter. “Then why the fuck did you come here and hide what you are?”

Kian exhaled, running a hand through his hair as he sank down into a chair. “Look, I’m going to be honest here. I’m part of Farrah’s tribe.”

“Wait, you’re that Kian? Like, the prince of the tribe?” Ian glanced over at Alex. “Farrah is Shelby’s mother.”

Ducking his head, Kian shook it quickly before looking back up. “I hate when people call me a prince. I’m just a tiger shifter, like the rest of the tribe.”

“You’re more than that,” Ian muttered. “I didn’t spend much time with the War Cats, and you were away while I was there, but your dad is alpha. You’re next in line, and your bloodline is one of the purest. Prince is suitable.”

“We’ll just have to agree to disagree. My bloodline doesn’t make me any better than the other tigers. When I arrived home, and saw how Shelby was being treated—”

“Kian. Don’t give them information they don’t need,” Zane gritted out.

“I will tell them what I want, so be quiet and don’t interrupt again,” Kian said sharply.

“You sure sound like a prince to me,” Ian said with an arched eyebrow.

Waving a hand dismissively, Kian replied, “Believe me, I don’t always sound like that. But Zane gets overzealous sometimes. As I was saying, when I saw how Shelby was being treated, and found out you’d been fighting for custody of her, I lobbied hard with my father to let you take her. I was pleased when he finally allowed it, but you must understand that I became attached to your daughter in that time. I had to know if you were a good man, with the ability to defend her, should the need arise. I wanted to do it in secret, so Zane and I used a masking agent to cover our tigers’ scents.”

Ian was quiet for a moment as he studied the man, but Alex knew he heard the truth in that statement as well. They weren’t here for nefarious reasons. At least, Kian wasn’t. Alex shot a look at Zane, who had fury burning in his eyes. Zane might be a whole different story.

“I guess I can understand that, but I still don’t like you hiding what you are. I don’t like deception, and regardless of your reasons, that’s what it was.”

“Understood,” Kian replied, inclining his head. “But tell me, what tipped us off? How did you figure out we were tiger shifters?”

“From Ivan,” Alex spat out, rage overtaking him. “He told Cammie tiger shifters sold her info to him, and you two are the only unknown shifters around.”

“Ivan? Cammie? I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Kian said with a furrowed brow.

“Bullshit,” Alex gritted. He heard the truth in Kian’s voice, but it had to be them. He glanced at Zane, taking note of the satisfaction in the tiger’s eyes. Kian might not have known anything, but Zane did. “You bastard,” he hissed, lunging for the tiger.

“Whoa,” Ian said, stepping in front of Alex and stopping him with a hand on his chest. “I know you want to kill him, but not until we get answers.”

“What’s going on here? I don’t understand,” Kian demanded.

Not taking his eyes from the smirk he was going to wipe off the bastard tiger’s face, Alex replied. “One of our fighters—no, she’s more than that. She’s my mate. She’s also a dragon, and she’s been hiding from males who would kidnap her and force her to mate them. And your bastard tiger sold her information to one of them. To the same fucking dragon who killed my sister, and her parents in front of her when he tried to take her the first time.”

He watched from the corner of his eye as Kian stood ramrod straight, expression hard and voice like ice as he asked Zane, “Is this true? You sold a female’s information to someone who wished to harm her?”

Zane swallowed nervously. “I didn’t know what they wanted her for,” he said mumbled. But then the cockiness returned, and he shrugged. “And what do we care for shifters who are not of our tribe? Besides, everything looks to have worked out for these people, and I was paid a handsome sum for the information.” His hesitated again when he caught sight of the anger on Kian’s face. “I just wanted to make enough money to get us out of this hellhole hotel, and into something nice. It’s not fit for you, Prince.”

“I have the money to do so, if I wished, and you know that,” Kian hissed. “I don’t need to stay anywhere else. You could have gotten her killed, you fool. At the very least, she would have been miserable, having to mate the man who kidnapped her. I ought to let these fighte

rs have you for that offense.”

“No,” Ian said as Alex’s head whipped around to glare at him. He wanted to beat the tiger’s ass in the worst way. “I know Alex is chomping at the bit to take a few bites out of his hide, but I think Cammie deserves that right. Let them have a few rounds in the ring, and we’ll call it even.”