I chuckled softly.“That too.Tell me.”
“When he attacked you, why didn’t you shift and take care of him?”
“Because I don’t have the same privileges as everyone else.Smart people don’t wield that power since our animal’s actions could result in deadly consequences.”
“He stabbed you.”
“Mm-hmm.But I can’t die from being stabbed, and he knows that.It’s not attempted murder, and even then, that falls in a grey area.He wasn’t trying to kill me; he was trying to dominate and frighten me.”
“For what gain?”
“It’s an intimidation tactic—one criminals pull with smaller Councils.If I had shifted, my tiger would have ripped his head off.All officials, even those who work for the higher authority and Mageri, have to maintain a level of integrity and control to build public trust.If they see me as reactive and violent, they’ll demand I step down from this role.”
“That sounds like a load of bullshit.”
“Maybe so, but killing him would have ended my career—at the very least.There weren’t any witnesses, and if you kill someone, you definitely want a witness.His goal wasn’t to die, but that’s how it could’ve gone.My job isn’t to be the executioner before a trial.”
“People around here might think you’re weak.”
“Is that how you see me?”
He furrowed his brow.“No.”
“It takes a lot of control to cage a tiger, and the leaders around here know it.They’ll respect the way I handled the situation.Just look at Packmasters for example.People goad them all the time and even instigate fights, but how often do you see a Packmaster exploding into violence?They understand the consequences, and so do I.Maybe you haven’t dealt with Shifter Councils in the past, but I’m sure your Chitah elders are no different with how they handle themselves in volatile situations.How many instances can you think of where they flipped their switch and murdered someone?I’ve been a Councilwoman for a long time, Lucian, and I am not about to let a low-class juicer with bad breath and cheap shoes take this job away from me.Once we catch him, he’ll be the Mageri’s problem.”
Lucian watched our muted reflection in the television.The fireplace next to it whistled when a gust of wind echoed down the chimney pipe.
“We haven’t seen each other much this week,” I threw out, wondering how to broach the topic of our affair.
“I’ve been trying to finish so you can get your father up here.”He scratched beneath his whiskery chin and cast his gaze upward.“I’m almost done rewiring.I was checking out the attic space, and I think you could fortify a few spots.Cheap materials, but it’ll make it harder for someone to climb up there and break in.If you want to Vampire-proof this place, that’ll take more upgrades.But there aren’t many Vamps around here, so it may not be worth it.”
“Whatever it takes.”I closed my eyes for a moment.Visions of Marcus bringing down that knife filled my head, and I rubbed my eyes.
“Don’t tigers live in groups?”
“Some might, but there’s no structural order with us like in packs or dens.Most of us are loners or live with close family members.”
“By choice or by nature?You’d be safer in a group.”
“Honestly, I don’t know.I’ve always been independent and never tried living with others.It might be nice since I enjoy people so much.It gets lonely out here.That baby shower showed me what I’ve been missing.You’re lucky.”I closed my eyes, drained from all the excitement and shifting multiple times.
Lucian cleared his throat.“Since you’re going downstairs, I’ll finish up in the attic.It’s cooler at this hour, and I’m a night owl anyhow.”
“Thanks for taking care of my father.”
“He’s not a bad guy.I can tell by his scent that he doesn’t hate me, but he sure as hell doesn’t trust me either.”
“You’re crawling around in his daughter’s house.A father’s job is to worry.”
“He’s good atJeopardy—he almost beat me.”
My eyes popped open.“He let you stay in there with him?”
“He had the show on, and we were answering the questions at the same time.He’s competitive, so I hung out until it was over.I like that show, but it was an old episode.”
“I bet you’re the smartest person in your family, aren’t you?”
He shrugged one shoulder but didn’t seem flattered.No blush to his cheeks or his chest puffing out.It seemed he simply knew it to be true.
