“You bite and stay tiger.” A transformed Johan sounded proud as he slapped Phoenix on the back.
“Yeah.” He’d at least succeeded in one respect. But… “I didn’t manage to hold on to it when he shot me.”
“Soon.” Johan sounded confident, and Phoenix could only hope he was right. It would be useful to not turn into a naked man with only his fists in the midst of a fight with claws.
They headed back for the village, him on two legs, Johan on a more useful four. Phoenix immediately went to the hut to checkon Nadirah, only to find her gone. He threw on his shorts before emerging with a frown. Upon seeing Zafira, he asked, “Do you know where Nadirah is?”
“Gone. See doctor with Farah.”
“Did she get worse while I was gone?”
Zafira shrugged.
“How long ago did they leave?”
At that query, Zafira frowned, the language barrier not allowing her to understand.
A shrill howler monkey cry erupted in the distance, which then repeated, widening Zafira’s eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“People come.”
Judging by her look of panic and the way she began waving her arms and barking at the children, she didn’t mean harimau.
Johan emerged from a tree hut, naked, of course. He leaped to the ground and glanced at Phoenix. “Intruder. Hide.”
Almost everyone scattered. The women, children, and elderly headed into the jungle, but Johan and anyone capable of fighting, including Phoenix, remained. Those who could changed into tigers before climbing the trees to lurk. Phoenix didn’t have time to ask one of them to claw him. He chose to instead climb into the tree holding his hut and hunched on a limb, much like a vulture, watching the path that led into the village. It didn’t take long before he heard people approaching.
Lots of them.
Hard-looking men in mismatched camo stomped into the clearing, more than a dozen, armed to the teeth and attentive to their surroundings. Several of them broke off from the main group and took up positions on their knees facing the forest, ready to shoot. The others formed a square that aimed at the treetops.
An army of poachers?
That unlikely thought quickly fled as Phoenix saw who arrived next.
Nadirah and Farah shuffled into the village, their hands bound behind their backs, obvious captives. Worse than the sight of them? The man who marched behind holding a gun to their heads.
General fucking Davidson.
Chapter Seventeen
The day kept getting worse.It began with Nadirah puking first thing in the morning—a rarity for her. She’d then woken from her nap hungry and nauseous at the same time, leading her to debate staying in her nest and wallowing in misery, but she knew fresh air would do her some good. So down she went, snaring a cup of water that threatened to come right back up.
Farah spotted her and came over, took one look, and asked, “When was your last menses?”
It took Nadirah a moment to clue in why she asked. “Um, a while. But I’m not very regular.” She’d been diagnosed with PCOS years ago, leading to very unpredictable periods.
“You’re with child,” Farah declared with certainty.
Nadirah shook her head. “No, I can’t be. I was told by my doctor I’d have great difficulty getting pregnant and would most likely have to resort to in vitro fertilization if I ever wanted a child.”
A statement that led to Farah snorting. “That might have been true if your mate was a normal male, but you’ve been frolicking with a harimau who is both strong and virile.”
The bluntness brought heat to Nadirah’s cheeks. “I guess it’s possible I’m pregnant.” They’d not been using protection andmade love once or more a day. She bit her lower lip. “I don’t suppose you have a test so we can be sure?”
“Other than my eyes and experience?”
