Shadows of Orange

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It had been 48 hours since Rain showed up at the Golden Moon pack seemingly out of nowhere, and she had been asleep for the majority of those hours. Ryker never once left her side as he continued to mull over the fact that he now had a mate of his own.

While he patiently waited for her to regain consciousness, Lanie and Lexie would periodically check on him and bring him his meals. Ryker’s appetite was even more ravenous than that of a werewolf, and they would have to get him three helpings of whatever was being served. The only time Ryker left the hospital was to get his daily run in his tiger form. He would do the rest of his workout in Rain’s hospital room, which was what he was currently doing at that very moment.

He was in the middle of doing push-ups when he noticed Rain’s head moving side to side. He quickly jumped to his feet and went over to her bed.

“Rain? Rain, can you hear me?” Ryker asked softly. Rain scrunched her face a few times and smacked her lips before she finally opened her eyes. She squinted and looked at her surroundings before her eyes landed on Ryker.

“Who are you?” she asked in broken English. Ryker furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Rain, it’s me, Ryker. Your mate,” Ryker replied.

“Mate?” Rain questioned. Ryker nodded. She stared at him for a moment, thinking about what he had said. She thought back, and her memories replayed in her head. “Wait. No dream?” she questioned.

“No. It wasn’t a dream. I’m real,” Ryker answered. Rain tried to sit up, and with Ryker’s help, she was able to sit at more of an angle. That’s when she held her throat and coughed a little.

“Water?” she asked.

“Yeah, right here,” Ryker said, and poured her a cup of water that was next to her. She smiled with gratitude and sipped the water from the straw. Once she had her fill, Rain leaned back against the pillows.

“Hetoaveibeanchea khnhom now montirpety?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” Ryker replied.

“Um… Here,” she pointed to the room. “Why?”

“Oh, you mean why are you in the hospital?” Ryker confirmed, and she nodded. “You fainted.”

“I what?”

“Mmm… Ryker didn’t know the term for fainting in Khmer, so he had no other option but to use his phone. He pulled up G**gle Translate, typed out what he wanted to say, and showed it to her. When Rain read the translation, she nodded in understanding. She gestured for Ryker’s phone, and he happily gave it to her. She wrote something in Khmer and gave the phone back to Ryker.

“Tae​ khnhom​ now​ ti​ nih​ your​ bonna​ haey?” (How long have I been here?)

“Two days,” he answered while holding up the number 2 on his right hand. Rain nodded and smiled. “Are you feeling okay?” Ryker asked, hoping the question was simple enough for her to understand.

“Yes,” Rain replied.

“Rain, I’m going to ask you some questions. If you don’t understand me, let me know, and I can use the phone again,” Ryker said. Rain c*cked her head to the side. Ryker smirked and used his phone to translate for her. When she saw what he was asking, she nodded in agreement.

“Okay.”

“First, how old are you?”

“I am … Mmmm …” Rain didn’t know numbers in English that well yet, so she used her hands. She held up a nine and then a seven. Ryker’s eyes bulged out of his head in shock.

“You’re … 97?” Ryker reiterated to make sure he understood.

“Yes,” Rain replied with a curt smile and nodded. Ryker was surprised, for he had expected her to be younger. Rain noticed Ryker was deep in thought after she revealed her age to him. “I’m too old?” Rain said, but more as a question.

“Hm?” Ryker looked up at her. Her question dawned on him. “No, it’s not. You’re older than I thought. That’s all.” Rain took a few seconds to digest what Ryker had said, and she believed she had understood him.

“Yes. I am not young, but also, I am not old,” Rain stated. “You know? For tiger.” Ryker nodded in understanding. “More questions?”

“Umm… How did you get to America?”

“I told you. Bad men bring me.”

“Right. You did tell me. Hmm… Why were you trafficked?”

“I … Um … Buyer wants to make a baby with me.”

“I’m sorry, what!?” Ryker growled, his tiger side coming forward. “Who the f*ck is the buyer!?” Ryker questioned with anger.

“I don’t know. I hear bad men say he is tiger, too.”

“What? What do you mean they said he’s also a tiger? He’s a weretiger?” Ryker asked. Rain nodded. “There’s another male weretiger out there?” Ryker said more to himself, but Rain heard him. “Okay, hold on a second. Did you ever meet him? The buyer?” Rain shook her head.

“No.”

“Then did he know of your existence?” Ryker asked, but Rain only tilted her head in confusion. Ryker typed out his question on his phone and showed it to Rain.

“Oh,” Rain responded, took his phone, and typed out her reply. Khnhom​ trauv​ ban​ ke​ chuonh daur haey​ anak​ chuonh​ daur​ ka​ dak​ lk​ khnhom. Khnhom​ min​ doeng​ tha​ anak​ tinh​ chea​ khla​ tiet te teal​ te​ anak​ doek​ chonhchoun​ brab​ khnhom. (I was trafficked, and the trafficker put me on sale. I didn't know the buyer was another tiger until the transporters told me.)

Ryker read her reply and nodded, understanding it fully. He was still surprised that there was another male in existence, and that he was trying to force Rain to mate with him.

“Do you know why he wants to breed with you?” Ryker asked, but immediately realized the question was too complex, so he typed it out again on his phone. When Rain saw what he had typed, all she could do was shrug her shoulders. She had no idea what the buyer's motive was. Ryker typed out another message to Rain, and she waited for him to finish. Once he turned the phone around, she became crestfallen.

You know as well as I do that our numbers are down to less than ten. I didn’t know there was another male weretiger in existence. His motive for breeding you could be as simple as wanting to increase our numbers to preserve our species, or sell the cubs for money.

Rain didn’t like what Ryker was insinuating. If she ever did conceive and give birth to her cubs, she would kill anyone who would even attempt to take them from her.

“Rain, if we have cubs, they will be protected. This werewolf pack is like a family. They will protect everyone in it, including you and our future cubs.” Rain nodded, understanding the gist of what Ryker was telling her. All she heard was “cubs” and “protection,” and that’s all she needed to understand.

She took his phone and told him that she’s always wanted cubs of her own. Not just to save their kind, but because being a mother has always been a dream, even if she were to mate with a different species. But now that she has met her mate, who is also a tiger, she wants nothing more than to give him cubs.

When Ryker read the message, his heart swelled with appreciation and gratitude. Ryker never believed he would be a father again, but with Rain as his mate, that could very well change for him. And that was something he highly anticipated.

“You want cubs?” Ryker asked, and Rain immediately nodded. “Then let’s make some cubs.”