Page 27 of Tiger's Curse
I stammered, “Okay, what do you need me for? What do I have to do?”
He turned back to me and continued, “We came to this hut for a reason. The man who lives here is a shaman, a monk, and he’s the one who can explain your role in all this. He wouldn’t share anything further until we found you and brought you here. Even I don’t know why you are the chosen one. The shaman also insists that he must speak with us alone. That’s why Mr. Kadam was left behind.”
He leaned forward. “Will you stay here with me until he returns and at least hear what he has to say? If you decide afterward that you wish to leave and return home, Mr. Kadam will arrange it.”
I stared at the floor. “Dhiren—”
“Please call me Ren.”
I blushed and made eye contact. “Okay, Ren. Your explanation is overwhelming. I don’t know what to say.”
Varying emotions flitted across his handsome face.
Who was I to reject a handsome man—I mean tiger.I sighed. “Alright. I’ll wait and meet your monk, but I’m hot, sweaty, hungry, tired, in need of a good bath, and frankly, I’m not sure I even trust you. I don’t think I could take another night of sleeping in the jungle.”
He sighed in relief as he smiled at me. It was like the sun bursting through a raincloud. His smile filled me with golden bright happy rays. I wanted to close my eyes and bask in the warm glow.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry that this part of the journey was uncomfortable for you. Mr. Kadam and I had a disagreement about luring you into the jungle. He thought we should just tell you the truth, but I wasn’t sure if you would come. I thought that if you spent a little more time with me, you would learn to trust me, and I could reveal who I was in my own way. That was what we were arguing about when you saw us by the truck.”
“So that was you! You should have told me the truth. Mr. Kadam was right. We could have avoided the entire jungle hike and driven here.”
He sighed. “No. We would’ve had to cross through the jungle anyway. There’s no way to drive into the sanctuary this deeply by car. The man who lives here prefers it that way.”
I crossed my arms and muttered, “Well, you still should have told me.”
He twisted the apron tie. “You know, sleeping outdoors isn’t all bad. You get to stare up at the stars and cool breezes ruffle your fur after a hot day. The grass smells sweet and,” he made eye contact with me, “so does your hair.”
I blushed and grumbled, “Well, I’m gladsomeoneenjoyed it.”
He smiled smugly and said, “Idid.”
I had a quick flash of him as a man snuggled up next to me in the forest, imagined him resting his head on my lap while I stroked his hair, and decided to focus on the matter at hand.
“Well, listen, Ren, you’re changing the subject. I don’t appreciate the way you manipulated me into being here. Mr. Kadam should’ve told me at the circus.”
He shook his head. “We didn’t think you’d believe his story. He made up the trip to the tiger reserve to get you to India. We figured once you were here, I could change into a man and clarify everything.”
I admitted, “You’re probably right. If you had changed to a man there, I don’t think I would have come.”
“Whydidyou come?”
“I wanted to spend more time with . . . you. You know, the tiger. I would have missed him. I mean you.” I blushed.
He grinned lopsidedly. “I would have missed you too.”
I wrung the hem of my shirt between my hands.
Misreading my thoughts, he said, “Kelsey, I’m truly sorry for the deception. If there’d been any other way—”
I looked up. He hung his head in a way that reminded me of the tiger. The frustration and awkwardness I felt about him dissipated. My instincts told me that I should believe him and help him. The strong, emotional connection that drew me to the tiger tugged at my heart even more powerfully with the man. I felt pity for him and his situation.
Softly, I asked, “When will you change back into a tiger?”
“Soon.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Not as much as it used to.”
