Page 27 of Tiger Queen

Then, in a flash, I remembered where I was. This was only my second time interacting with this six-hundred-pound beast. It would easily rip my arm off.

Caesar stopped panting and tensed as if he could sense my fear. Slowly I pulled my arm out of the cage, then backed up until I was a safe distance away. Caesar looked offended, then fell back to all-fours and began eating his meal.

As I walked back to the Mule, Jake called out to me: “Told ya.”

“Do you know why he’s in the smaller cage?” I asked.

He removed one earphone and said, “He gets picked on.”

“Picked on?” I repeated incredulously. “He’s the biggest tiger in this place.”

He shrugged.

“This cage is meant for temporary transportation. He needs a larger enclosure.”

“Yup.” He put his earphone back in and resumed working.

I began preparing the next cluster of food trays. Jake was still mucking out the enclosure when I was done.

“Hey!” I shouted. He removed his earphone. “I need to feed the females.”

“Go ahead.”

I bit back my impatience. “The temporary pen you have them in? It’s too small for feeding. They’ll fight. They need to be fed in the main enclosure so they can spread out.”

“So let them out.”

I waited for him to move. He didn’t. “Aren’t you going to leave the enclosure?”

“Nope.”

“You’re just going to stand there while I let these six aggressive females out to feed?”

“Yup.”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Nice try. I’m not falling for that.”

He stared back at me, impassive behind his sunglasses.

I piddled around on the Mule to buy myself some time. The females were all sitting in the temporary pen, watching Jake move the wheelbarrow around like he was a juicy antelope. Some of them even licked their lips. Yet Jake took his time methodically cleaning the enclosure.

The gate between the temporary holding pen and the main enclosure was a thick piece of steel held in place by a metal pin. I walked over and put my hand on it. The six tigers, tensed, ready to be let out.

“I’m gonna do it,” I warned.

Jake growled like a tiger and tossed down his shovel onto the grass, then stalked over toward me and the exit. I tried not to look smug. I had stood up to him, called his bluff, and now he was backing down. It made me feel confident and in charge.

But instead of opening the gate to leave, he reached through and put his hand on top of mine on the gate pin. His hands were calloused and rough. He fixed me with a long stare through his sunglasses, then yanked the pin out.

The gate swung open, and six eager females leaped into the enclosure.

It was like watching a car crash in slow motion, knowing what was about to happen but being unable to stop it. Jake turned away and began walking back to his shovel. The tigers slid around the gate, stalking toward him. They spread out, surrounding him on two sides like they were hunting him on the plain.

One of them reared up, mouth open and teeth glistening in the morning sun. I steeled myself…

…But then she threw her paws over his shoulders and licked his face.

“Yeah, yeah, good morning to you too,” Jake muttered. He rubbed the tiger and gently pushed her off, and another leaped up and took her place. “I see you, Bella. Always the jealous bitch.”

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