Shadows of Orange

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Ryker and Rain arrived at her room, Ryker opened the door for her. They walked in together, and Rain was pleasantly surprised by how clean and welcoming the room felt.

“They did a great job in such a short amount of time,” Rain praised as she looked around.

“This pack is very efficient when it comes to cleanliness, I’ll give them that,” Ryker replied with a smile. Ryker sat on the box bench along the wall while Rain sat on the foot of the bed facing him. “So, you asked if we could talk about my story. What would you like to know?”

“Everything,” Rain answered.

“You have to give me a starting point.”

“The beginning. You said that you’re an Alpha tiger and that you’re over 200 years old. I know we've lived a long time, but you’re one of the oldest, if not the oldest, weretiger I’ve ever met,” Rain stated.

“Well, as I mentioned, I was born in Russia, but my family immigrated to America when I was a young cub,” Ryker said.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did your family immigrate?”

“Because we were being hunted,” Ryker answered and dropped his head. Rain frowned when she heard this. She knew all too well what it felt like to be hunted by poachers because of their genealogy. “My father was the Alpha tiger in Russia, and we had a small pack. When hunters and traffickers learned of our existence, my father had the entire pack move to America. Unfortunately, many of the pack members were captured or killed during our escape. As you know, unlike other supernatural species, we’re born as tigers. We don’t have a separate soul in our bodies, the way wolves, vampires, or bears do. We are our tiger.” Rain nodded in agreement.

“And we are seldom in our human form, because we prefer to be in our tiger form. That’s why we’re hunted.”

“Exactly. My family survived, and we were able to live amongst humans for a long time. But eventually, my father was caught, and he was slaughtered for his fur by poachers. My mother died from natural causes.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rain said with the utmost sincerity. Ryker smiled in appreciation.

“When I took my father’s place as Alpha tiger, I went looking for others when I started to hear that our numbers were quickly diminishing. I found about a dozen and created a whole new pack here in America. Unfortunately, instead of human poachers and traffickers catching up to and my pack, it was supernatural traffickers.”

“Is that when you were captured?” Rain asked. Ryker nodded.

“I didn’t have a mate, but I did have my partner. She was pregnant with twin cubs, and we were excited to add to our species, but fate had played a cruel joke on me,” Ryker said, his expression dropping.

“What do you mean?”

“Unlike our supernatural brethren, we don’t mark our partners, let alone have a single mate to procreate with. So, we would never know when our partner is being unfaithful.”

“Oh, no,” Rain immediately knew where this was going.

“Oh, yes. She had cheated on me. And our Tiger god didn’t take too kindly to that. Her cubs, or children, I should say, died at childbirth. When I sensed that they didn’t have much tiger blood in them, I kicked her out of the pack.”

“What happened to her?” Rain asked.

“She was captured and killed for her hide.”

“What about the other tigers?”

“Many of them branched off on their own, because rather than co-exist with humans, they wanted to remain in their tiger forms.”

“And with hunters, traffickers, and poachers profiting off of tiger fur, they were eventually slaughtered, weren’t they?” Rain asked, knowing all too well what direction Ryker’s story was going. He nodded in confirmation.

“I eventually found myself alone, wandering without a pack. I thought I had found a haven for our kind, but by the time I realized it was a trap, I found myself shackled, tranquilized, and waking up in a cage the size of this room,” Ryker explained as his eyes darted around.

“How long were you held captive for?”

“I don’t even know. I was already a prisoner when J, Lanie, and Lexie arrived, and they were only infants at the time.”

“Is that why you’re so protective of them?” Rain asked.

“Yes. They were like the children I never got to have.”

“Why were you held for so long? Why didn’t they try to sell you?”

“That was the original plan; however, when they realized how strong I was, Marvin, the man who was the head of the trafficking ring, decided to locate a female so he could breed us. Why sell only one tiger for their pelt when you can create dozens more and make even more money?”

“He was going to stud you?”

“That’s exactly what he wanted to do. But luckily, by that time, our numbers had dwindled so far that he couldn’t find a female weretiger. At first, he was going to get a real tiger and force me to breed with her, but because we have human DNA in our blood, I told him that it wouldn’t work. The DNA would be too tainted, and the cub wouldn’t be worth much.

“But that’s not true,” Rain countered and furrowed her brows.

I know. But he didn’t know that. I needed to endure as long as I could, but I also knew I couldn’t endure forever. Luckily, I didn’t have to. I, along with many others who had been captured by this group, were rescued and given the option to return home or stay with our kind, or to seek refuge in any of the werewolf packs that helped us escape.”

“And that’s what you did?”

“That’s what I did. I chose Golden Moon because of the girls. I wanted to remain their guardian. And now, I’m a special guard here. I assist in running patrol training and teach the wolves to not only listen with their ears but also see with their eyes, taste with their tongues, and smell with their noses. As apex predators, we tigers are known for our skill in hunting, and my knowledge of hunting allowed the wolves to become more highly trained in tracking and dispatching.

“How long ago did you come to this pack?”

“It’s been several months now. The pack members are friendly and cordial, and the little ones are loving. I’m learning a lot from their newly appointed Alpha.”

“And that would be Lanie’s mate? Because she’s the Luna?” Ryker nodded, glad that Rain was understanding everything. “So, do you submit to him?”

“I don’t, actually. He’s not truly of Alpha blood. But I respect him enough to be submissive when it is required of me.”

“And now, here I am,” Rain added.

“And now, here you are—A tiger mate. You are a very unexpected surprise, Rain.”

“I know, I saw the shock on your face when I said we’re mates the other night. However, I am curious to know why you didn’t react a little more, well, more excitedly,” Rain questioned. Ryker nodded and sighed. He knew that she would eventually bring up his lack of enthusiasm.

I was more in shock than anything, also because male tigers are not monogamous. Rain flinched at his response, and Ryker saw this. “Rain, you have to understand that I chose to be loyal to my partner, even though she wasn’t loyal to me. But with how fast our numbers are declining, I had planned on mating with several females to try and create more tigers, even if they were hybrids.” Ryker’s admission hurt Rain.

“Are you saying you would openly cheat on me, just to raise the number of weretigers in the world?” Rain questioned, agitation in her tone.

“No, I wouldn’t. Not behind your back at least,” Ryker answered honestly. Rain was taken aback at how brutally honest Ryker was being. “Rain, I understand that this is hurting your feelings, but tigers are naturally polygamous. Male or female, we don’t mate with the same tiger for life.”

“But that’s for wild tigers, not weretigers!” Rain exclaimed and stood up abruptly. “Rain, I’m not saying that I would openly be polygamous. But if another female tiger were to show up and ask that I breed with her, and that’s a huge if, I would come to you and ask you.”

“WHAT!?”