The clanging door of his container gave him an idea. A bad one, but he had no other option. He climbed to his home for the past few weeks, his nose wrinkling at the stench emanating from within. The rain hadn’t quite managed to sluice the smell of puke, but he steeled his delicate nose against it. He grabbed hold of the loose door and sat on the edge of the box, legs dangling, and then stuck his leg through the opening.
Am I really going to do this?
A nearby shout had him gritting his jaw before he intentionally rammed his kneecap with the metal panel. The first slam, he pussied out and the blow barely hurt.
Hearing the voices mere seconds from discovering him, he took a deep breath, pulled his leg back slightly, and this time closed the door with all his strength against his calf.
Crack.
The pain, intense and sharp, stole his breath, preventing him from crying out. But it wasn’t enough. Before Phoenix could lose his resolve, he made the wound worse, forcing the splintered bone through flesh. The agony didn’t make him scream, but he did, however, roar as the severe injury triggered the shift.
In mere seconds, the throbbing disappeared. Weird how that worked. Severe bodily trauma brought on the change and, in doing so, healed all the damage. Just in time, seeing as how the sailors reached the front of the ship.
Rather than wait for them to find him, the next time the door swung open, Phoenix leapt out and hit the slick deck with four paws—but didn’t slide. Thank you, claws.
The sailor who first came around the corner of stacked containers caught sight of him—AKA the giant tiger—and his mouth rounded as big as his eyes. He wasn’t the only crew member to gape in astonishment.
Phoenix didn’t understand the flurry of shouts that ensued, but if he had to guess, it went along the lines of“Holy fuck that cat has big teeth and claws. Get a gun.”
In short order, there was a sailor at either corner of the cargo units holding a weapon aimed at Phoenix. At least they didn’t fire them. Seemed the claim that Malaysia revered tigers might have been true.
Since there was nothing else to do, Phoenix curled into a wet kitty ball and napped. The storm died down within a few hours, and the next morning they sailed smoothly into port.
However, disembarkation proved impossible, as the watching sailors got replaced by more official-looking types. They held rifles trained in Phoenix’s direction, but he wasn’t worried they’d shoot, seeing as how those same uniformed dudes tossed him a freshly caught fish—which he devoured. He’d always enjoyed sushi, and even better, why feed him if they planned to kill him?
An hour or more after their arrival at the dock, Phoenix roused from his warm nap in the sun to the arrival of someone new. A beautiful woman of mixed race—Asian and Caucasian, if he had to guess—her reddish hair loose and wavy, framing delicate features. She chattered briefly with those guarding him before turning her gaze on Phoenix.
She spoke, but he didn’t understand a word. He did, though, grasp her interest in him, so he stood, and her left brow rose.
Yeah, baby, I am a big boy.He took a step toward her, causing the guys with guns to tense. She said something sharp and shook her head.
The blokes with weapons relaxed, and she moved slowly in Phoenix’s direction, crooning softly. He had no idea what she said and didn’t care. Fascinated by her scent, he didn’t notice others crept close. Didn’t realize the danger—and trap—until hefelt the dart that hit him in the flank. In seconds, he succumbed to the injected drug.
And woke in a zoo.
Chapter Two
The big felinewent to sleep without incident, and Nadirah breathed a sigh of relief. She’d not been sure what to expect when she’d gotten the call that a tiger had been found on board a docking freighter. Usually, Nadirah rescued tigers and other animals before they got smuggled out of the country. This was the first time she’d ever been called to recover an animal being brought in.
Despite what had to have been a rough crossing, the bedraggled feline had met her gaze and stared as if fascinated by the sight of her. The fixation went two ways because, what beautiful eyes. Nadirah had been working with tigers for years. Had studied them extensively before taking on a job as an animal caretaker for Zoo Negara. Never had she seen one with such unique eyes as the male cornered on the ship. The orbs almost appeared human, given the small round pupils. A genetic anomaly, most likely.
While she’d kept it distracted, two people armed with tranquilizer guns had crept in close enough to dart it. One seemed to be enough to put it to sleep, but just in case, she administered a second injection to ensure the big male remained unconscious during its transport to the zoo. They currently hadan empty enclosure since they’d had a feline relocated to another facility. Whether or not this tiger would stay with them would depend on a few factors, the key one being, had it been stolen from elsewhere?
It took just over an hour to make the journey from Port Klang—the busiest dock for freighters in Malaysia—to Zoo Negara. The 110-acre zoo catered to over 470 species, which included various mammals, birds, reptiles, and aquatic creatures.
Nadirah monitored the transport of the mystery tiger, ensuring he was handled with care. She didn’t immediately place him in the enclosure for public viewing but rather in the closed-off indoor area where she could examine him. It took a few men to lift the beast onto her scale for weighing. She took notes. Three hundred and thirty-seven catty, which was just over two hundred pounds. Full length, including tail, just over three meters.
His stripes were distinctive, despite his bedraggled fur. He’d obviously not groomed himself since being discovered in the storm. She ran her hand over his flank, smoothing the hair and feeling the toned muscle. She inspected the feline, head to tip of the tail, and found, other than being disheveled, he appeared in perfect health. Whoever smuggled the tiger aboard must have been taking care of him. Still, one couldn’t be too cautious, hence why she prepared a few inoculations. She managed to inject two before the smooth breathing of the beast changed. She hustled out of the cage and shut the door just as the tiger opened an eye. He blinked and then immediately fixated on her with those strange orbs. So human-like.
“Hello,” she said in Malay.
The tiger stared but didn’t growl or move.
“Welcome to your new home. For now, at least. Inquiries are being made to see where you might have been taken from.”
The tiger rolled to its feet and approached the bars.
“If you’re thirsty, there is water in the corner.” She spoke to it as if it could understand, an odd quirk of hers. She found it sometimes helped to keep the beasts she worked with calm, but she also did it because of herNenek. Her mother’s mother loved the old legends and used to tell Nadirah stories of weretigers, folk who could change into the striped felines. According to Nenek, these werecats lived in a remote village in the wild jungles covering the southern peninsula. Complete fantasy, of course. Still, those stories started Nadirah’s fascination with the striped felines and led to her specializing in their care.
