Page 27 of Finding my Shifter Soulmate

The hornbills descend from the sky, feathers flying as their powerful wings create a windstorm in the shallow cave opening. Rama shakes his mighty face against it, snatching the limb from Sabrina in his jaws. I want to rush over to her, but there's a wall of animals in the way, and I can't break free.

The birds fly to her rescue and reach her just as she drops to her knees in terror. I watch in awe, my heart alternating between aching for her and rejoicing with the knowledge she's been saved from the animal. One bird lands on her shoulder, its talons digging into her skin. Another circles overhead and screeches, distracting Rama from my mate. When the leader of the flock leaps from his perch and dives towards Rama, the feline snarls and swipes at the aggressive hornbill with his meaty paw.

Despite his rage, the massive tiger only manages to hit air, the angry beak of the hornbill avoiding his strike. It flutters off and circles again. Rama's guard watches Rama's exchange with the animal from the ground, where he's caught under the raging rhino.

I wiggle through the madness, but each time I try to make headway, someone blocks my path. The pandemonium intensifies, and with each step, I feel like I'm pushing against a cement truck. Sliding around, I see Sabrina watching as the birds continue their assault on the tiger, as they beat at the cat's face, scratching with their razor-sharp beaks. Their mission of revenge is obvious; their viciousness is warranted. The giant feline staggers toward my mate. Just before he reaches her, the Komodo dragon moves out of a crevice in the earth and cuts him off.

A yelp escapes his mouth as the lizard lunges for him. Rama dives to the side, narrowly avoiding the dinosaur's jagged, bacteria-ridden mouth. He turns around and tries to crawl away, but two brave cockatoos land on his head, clawing and pecking. Feline instincts win out, and the tiger fights against the bright birds on his face, spitting and screaming, clearly enraged that the winged pests are getting the best of him.

Meanwhile, I struggle to make my way to the pair, but when jaws close on my tail, I throw my body backward, sending whoever had caught me reeling from the recoil. Another snarl threatens on the right, so I swerve toward the sound. Pushing my tired limbs, I ignore the fatigue and pull myself to my feet to run.

The battle for the queen's life is far from over.

Jumping on a fallen trunk, I leap toward a cliffside and push off the edge. My body contorts in the air, soaring gracefully for a few seconds until I land at the mouth of the cave, just in front of Sabrina.

"Get back," I order her. "Go back into the cave. They're too close!" Turning my attention to the tigers, I watch as the rhinotakes a moment to pull himself up from the ground and gore the enemy's underbelly with his sharp horns. Blood spatters from the rhino's attack, and the tiger shrieks and falls onto his side, gasping to fill his lungs with air.

He doesn't make it up again. As I watch, his life drains, and he collapses to the earth, motionless. Rama sees his friend fall, and his whips around from his confrontation with the Komodo to join the fray. He doesn't seem to notice that I've Inserted myself between him and my mate. He's too distracted by the chaos around us.

With Sabrina safe again, I turn to the closest tiger. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to rip his skin from his flesh, so I oblige. In a blur of fury, I attack, slashing and clawing and lashing. Within seconds, I realize that it's less of a fight than it is a purging of my whole being. The anger and the hatred I've held inside of me release with each lethal strike.

The tiger flails beneath my claws, and I make quick work of him. Just as the massive cat expires, Rama attacks from the side, snarling and snapping. The battle is as loud as the crack of thunder, just as boisterous, but nowhere near as fleeting. I circle him, kicking up leaves and dirt as my stride grows more confident. I'm a ball of vengeance, and by the time I'm done with this monster, he'll know he can't touch my tribe and my people. Never again.

And before I can even get a good look at his face, I ram into him, clawing and biting every inch of his flesh that I can get ahold of. With my Barong-enhanced strength, he's no match. Under my weight, he struggles, but he has no more back-up, and he doesn't stand a chance. My claws slash his face, his chest, and his guts. Within seconds, the poison and venom inside me, administered with each deadly kiss, shut him down.

As he starts to limp, I rise on my hind legs, the sun glaring behind me and turning the red and gold of my coat to a fiery sheen. His breath deepens, his tail twitches, and his eyes swim with dread. The creatures of the jungle cry their approval as they watch on. I finish my tirade by pushing the dying animal to the floor, my jaws going in for the final blow.

"Stop!" Sabrina's voice rings out over the cheers, silencing them. Her anguish squeezes my heart, and I lift my head away from Rama's throat, even as I hold him to the forest floor with my paw on his neck. The tiger breathes raggedly, wheezing in and out of his lungs. He's far too weak to put up a fight. Sabrina approaches me, her arms extended as if she intends to get between Rama and me. As though she plans to save him.

I shake my head and warn her to move back. But she ignores me, continuing closer. When she bends down in front of us, looking down at the beaten tiger, she caresses my ear. "Please let him live. There's been enough violence for one day."

Spoken like a true queen, but I'm not sure I can do it. I'm not sure I can see past all the hate and destruction the creature in front of us has caused. Not sure I can overlook all the violence that might ensue once he's free.

Sensing my hesitation, Sabrina leans forward and presses a kiss to my cheek, paying no mind to the slobber and blood I'm sure is smeared there. "There's another way."

"What makes you so sure?" I ask.

"The statue. It spoke to me again. While you all were out here tearing into one another, the Barong temple has provided an alternative to more violence. And it has given me hope." She holds out her hand to me.

"Then tell me," I implore, growling in the face of the tiger and putting my jaws closer to his jugular.

"Gede, I need you to trust me," she says. "I can use the statue to bring peace to this island again. I'm just asking you to give me the chance to prove it."

The tiger sputters and coughs and squirms. For a moment, I'm too distracted by the sound of his dying breaths. I wanted to destroy him. Everything inside me wants to make him pay.

"Gede?" Sabrina says.

I meet her gaze and narrow my eyes, trying to understand what could possibly be gained from allowing him to live.

Sabrina continues. "The gods are speaking. Now. To me. So are the spirits and the ancestors of the original Barong and all the Barongs before you. You ancestors, Gede."

She says it like she's absolutely certain, and that belief rolls over to me. I grunt at the tiger and get to my feet. As soon as I'm up, I grab his scruff and give him a good shake. "If she sees one inkling of a sign that you're going to turn out to be a problem, I'll kill you, slowly and painfully. Do you understand?"

The tiger doesn't argue, and when I drop him, he falls into a crumpled heap. He stares at me as I sit next to Sabrina. The beast pants on the ground, looking around for his collective, but they've all either been defeated or have run off.

I look around, noticing how my team has regrouped into a single solid wall, blocking any exit. Everyone stands his or her ground, watchful of what's to happen. When the beasts draw nearer, they stiffen and raise their hackles, but I toss my head,ordering them not to attack. I'm wary, too, but Sabrina might be right. Her conviction fills me with a hope I haven't felt in ages.

Sabrina pats the top of my head like an obedient dog, a smile on her face. She's proud of me. It makes my chest swell to realize that I've done right by her, made her proud. "What do you want to do, Sabrina?"

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