The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 237: Damar, it’s you, right?

Just then, I felt a chill run down my spine, not from the cold, not from the snow underneath my boot, and definitely not from the way they were holding me.

Instinctively, I turned my head, slowly and cautiously.

The other two noticed my shift immediately and turned their heads as well.

There was something strange. There was no sound at all.

And you might be wondering what I mean when I say there was no sound because the cave was empty and Damar was asleep but... The fire... I hadn’t heard the fire crackle since we stood at the entrance.

Inside the cave, the fire was always on—the crack-pop of the wood was the heartbeat of the cave, one I had gotten so used to knowing and memorizing. It brought out a constant stream of smoke that made the cave warm but was directed through the small opening at the entrance. But as we stood at the entrance, the smoke had stopped and the air felt... still.

Too still.

I gulped and turned around fully, freeing myself from their hold.

"It probably just went out," I said, though I knew fully well that we had restocked the fire before stepping out so it wouldn’t go out and Damar wouldn’t be cold.

The other two looked at me with uncertainty in their eyes, and a lot of caution. Of course, nothing in the cave could harm me, there was no threat, but there was a sense of dread.

I stepped inside first, my eyes adjusting to the dimness without the fire.

As soon as I saw the fire blazing heavily, air got caught in my throat. There was nothing wrong with the fire.

Then, what was that silence that filled us? I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who felt it that time.

As I thought about this, Fenric called,

"Arinya, look..." His voice was still and I looked at where he was pointing, the spot Damar had been nesting. It was empty.

Where did he go?

I searched around with my eyes and noticed how a shadow shifted near the back of the cave.

"Damar?" I called and then the shifting stopped. "Damar, it’s you, right? Hurry and come out."

My heart was racing. I felt uneasy and uncertain. I felt strangely cautious even though I was facing the man I loved so much.

Then, Damar finally stepped into the dark in a human form, where the fire showed his visage. His skin was pale and marked with faint, shimmering patterns that looked like phantom scales. His hair flowed more shimmeringly than I remembered and was a wild, silken mess cascading around his shoulders.

Then, wait, what was I seeing? Were those legs?

Damar had a pair of long pale legs that trembled slightly, like a baby taking their first steps. Now I know why one of his hands was on the wall of the cave.

His legs were beautiful and... Where did they come from?

But it wasn’t his legs that stopped my head, it was his eyes. I looked up and met his emerald eyes glowing darkly,

They weren’t soft. They weren’t longing. They were those same emerald slits I’d seen earlier—sharp, hungry, and predatory, like he could see through my soul.

He didn’t look at Noah or Fenric. He looked straight at the basket in my arms, and then his gaze traveled up to my throat.

"Ari," he rasped.

He took a step toward me, his movements a bit shaky but still graceful and predatory, entirely different from the gentle man who used to glide towards me on his tail.

The legs made a difference and... I know I shouldn’t be looking, but I was curious to see what was between his legs, and my eyes went there.

They were there, alright, those twin head juniors that knew how to make a mess of me.

So, aside from the gaze in his eyes and the new pair of legs, there’s no ’much’ difference.

Fenric and Noah suddenly grew defensive, as if Damar were a threat they needed to protect me from.

They felt it too. The different vibe and energy he gave. He always seemed mysterious and wild—too wild to handle, but right now, he felt ten times more of that.

He seemed dangerous and he was headed straight at me.

My breath hitched. I know Damar won’t hurt me. He will never hurt me, so I have no reason to be scared but... I gulped... The fear he was spreading was there.

I clutched the basket harder, hoping the babies would not wake up to this pressure and get a wrong first impression of Damar.

"Damar, wait," Noah cautioned, his voice low. "You just woke up. You’re still—"

Damar didn’t even acknowledge him. He ignored him and stopped just inches from me. I could feel the heat radiating off him—he wasn’t cold-blooded anymore. He was burning.

He reached out a long, pale hand, his fingers grazing the edge of the basket. The white-furred girl—his daughter—opened her emerald eyes at that exact moment, as if she were waiting for the right moment this whole time.

For a second, the predatory sharpness flickered as he looked at the baby. His gaze softened, as they say, and I almost saw the corner of his lips curve, but as if there was an instinct driving him, the softness disappeared and turned sharp as he raised his head to look back at me.

A single, dark vein pulsed in his neck but his expression did not contort.

He looked into my eyes, traced the surface of my skin to where his mark stood proudly on my neck, partially covered by my coat, and then flicked his tongue.

He drew closer and then whispered.

"Mine,"

My spine immediately shivered at that one word, like I had been possessed. My grip on the basket tightened and my heart thumped.

This guy... So it was true? Noah wasn’t just kidding to lighten the mood back then?

Right now... I looked into his eyes, as if searching for the rest of the warmth in his sharp emerald eyes... Was he in a rut?