Addie thought about Kendrick, his strength, his surety. “How did the white tigers feel about being prizes for these princes?”
Ben snorted a laugh. “Let’s just say that when the Shifters as a whole decided to fight back, the white tigers were in place, nicely close to the princes. A lot of princes lost their lives at that time. Of course, unfortunately, so did most of the white tigers. They sacrificed themselves to start the Shifter-Fae War. That’s why there are so few white tigers now.”
“Kendrick is unique,” Addie said, thinking of his rare flashes of smile, his emotion-filled green eyes. So were his cubs, who were watching Ben with all seriousness.
“Unique,” Zander said with a laugh. “That’s one word for him.”
The man had been lying flat on his back across the top step of the porch, and now he sat up. “I have to confess something. It’s kinda burning a hole in my chest.”
“What?” Addie’s alarm returned.
Zander, his braids swinging on either side of his face, looked ashamed and chagrined. “Dylan was totally right,” he said. “I was the Shifter healer who found Lachlan. I’d been traveling around, seeing the world, and I came across a mostly dead Shifter. I had no idea who he was, or why he was half dead, so I took him back to my hideout, and I healed him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“What?” Addie was on her feet, her agitation surging into anger. “You said you had nothing to do with it!”
Zander rose, unfolding with grace. “No, I said there were other Shifter healers in the world and asked what I’d be doing in Canada. I never said it wasn’t me.”
“Splitting hairs.” Jaycee had come up off her chair and was next to Addie. “Polar bears have a lot of hair. Why didn’t you admit it?”
“With Kendrick and all his angry Shifters sitting there?” Zander asked in amazement. “No way. I wanted to live until dinner. I planned to take him aside this morning and tell him, but I didn’t get a chance. Anyway, I had no idea who Lachlan was or what he’d done. All I saw was a Shifter clawed up and bloody, unconscious and unable to speak. I’m a healer. I couldn’t walk away. I patched him up, and when he was well enough, I left him. Had places to go, things to do. I didn’t know what had happened to him. I barely said two words to him and he didn’t talk to me. I didn’t even ask his name.”
“Because of you, Kendrick might get himself killed,” Jaycee flared. “You should have left Lachlan alone to die.”
Zander lost his embarrassed look and became stern. “That’s not what healers do. We don’t decide who to save and who to let die. That’s not our job—we save a life. Anyway, Kendrick should have dusted him. He didn’t do his job.”
“Don’t you dare blame Kendrick for this,” Jaycee said hotly. “You should have told him.”
“Why? It’s ancient history, and I didn’t know the guy had anything to do with Kendrick until I saw him at the fight club last night.”
“How do we know you aren’t with Lachlan?” Jaycee demanded. “I should kill you, just in case—”
Addie stepped in front of her. “Stop it. He says he didn’t know, and I believe him.”
“I didn’t,” Zander said. “I promise you. I’d never seen the guy before. But I know he’s tremendously strong. He’d never have survived otherwise, doesn’t matter how good I am. And I’m good.”
“Glad to hear it,” Addie said, looking Zander up and down. “You can go out to the Shiftertown right now and make sure Kendrick doesn’t die. If he gets a paper cut, you heal him. All right? So get going.”