Page 16 of Blind Date with a Werewolf
“There is nothing wrong with my English,” Hamza said hotly.
Asil could taste the fact that the boy thought his own words were a lie.
Presumably, like Asil’s contact with his people, Hamza’s native tongue was Urdu. Asil spoke Hindi, a close enough cousin that they could have understood each other. But the boy had been rude, so Asil would continue their interaction in English.
“Grandmother said to tell you that we now believe that this tiger belongs to a branch of our family that has not produced someone who could take their true form in two generations,” Nura said.
It was unlikely that “Grandmother” was Nura’s actual grandmother. They were all related, the Tiger Queen and her subjects. But after twelve centuries, some of them were not very related.
“They did not know to go to her for help when one of their children was stolen.” Nura frowned. “We are going to do something about that—reach out to branches we have traditionally let fall. Anyway, Grandmother says that this part of the family lives in a borderland area where abductions are not as rare as they should be. They do not know who took her. Someone broke into their house while they slept and took her without waking the household. Not even her sister who shared her room.”
She looked at the tiger and, in Urdu, said, “We have come to take you home, little sister.”
The tiger didn’t move except to lash her tail.
Asil had tried Hindi on the tiger, but he was fairly sure that, to her, he was still the enemy.
Above them, the rafters of the old barn creaked. Both of the newcomers froze, looking upward. The plastic dust sheet and the darkness kept them from seeing most of the area near the roof.
“It is an old barn,” Asil told them with a slight smile. “And the wind is wild.”
“Old buildings are noisy,” said Nura thoughtfully.
Her brother looked at Asil with narrowed eyes.
Asil met his eyes and let his smile get sharper as his wolf slid out from the shadows to inspect the intruders.
“We are wasting time,” Hamza said, but he dropped his gaze and his voice was thoughtful. He was reassessing Asil.
That’s right, child, Asil thought.Listen to your inner beast. It knows when it meets a predator more dangerous than it is.
Nura bent down to untie her boots. Barefoot, she changed into a tiger in a small burst of excess magic that turned into ephemeral sparks. Her true form—those bearing the ancient curse considered the tiger their true form—was large, though still within the limits of a natural Bengal tiger.
“My sister is right.” Hamza examined the cage door and took a moment to figure out the latch. “I apologize for my hasty tongue. I do not like cages, or to see one of our own inside one.” He paused and gave Asil a shy look. “She is also right that my English is not easy and it makes me defensive.”
Asil could feel the subtle shift in the atmosphere as Hamza chose to concede Asil’s dominance. Smart boy.
“I did not like leaving her in the cage, either,” Asil allowed, because it had been a pretty apology. “But she didn’t like me any better than she liked her captors. She was safer in the cage than out.”
“I believe you.” Hamza opened the door of the cage and let his sister slide in. He hesitated for half a breath and then closed the door again. “She is still afraid. Who knows what she has been through since she was last among her kind?”
“Nothing good,” Asil agreed.
The larger tiger, Nura, swatted the smaller on the hip, knocking her off-balance. Then it only took a bump on her shoulder to set the captive tiger on her side. Nura draped herself over the other tiger’s shoulders, pinning her to the ground. They both went still.
After a few minutes, Nura retook her human shape, once again clothed in the silks she’d been wearing from the start. At her impatient gesture, her brother opened the cage door. Nura walked out and stopped to put her boots back on.
The tiger hesitated in the opening, staring at Asil. Then, as if she hadn’t been on a killing rampage just a few hours ago, she slunk fearfully into the open, keeping the other two between her and Asil.
Who was still sitting on the floor with his back against the lioness’s cage.
Hamza noticed both of those things.
Nura eyed Asil as she redonned her coat. “Zoya tells me that they had a collar on her that kept her docile.”
It would take a very stupid person not to hear the rage in her voice.
Asil nodded. “There were two.” He waved a hand to indicate the lioness behind him, who had worn the second one.
