The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 255: Better a leather bag than a mud bath

Inside, it was suddenly quiet. Well, quieter.

The smell of wet leather, wood smoke from our packed supplies, and the scent of four damp adults filled the small space.

"Phew," Fenric puffed, wiping rain from his eyes. He sat down heavily, his shoulder brushing against the tent wall. "Talk about a close call."

The space was small. With the four of us and the cubs, we were packed in like sardines. I crawled over to the basket, checking on the little ones. They were wide-eyed and silent, their ears pinned back by the terrifying sound of the thunder.

"It’s okay," I whispered, pulling the basket into the center of our huddle. "The thunder doesn’t bite. It’s just loud. We’re completely safe." I kept whispering to them, hoping my solemn voice would drown the thunder that was frightening them.

But then it rumbled again and they dug themselves into my embrace, even finding their way into my coat.

"Whoa!"

They were so scared of the thunder. Well, what child wouldn’t be? They were almost a month old, but they were still pretty much newborn.

Damar sat beside me, his skin still cool from the rain. He reached out, his hand finding mine in the dim light.

"The wind is strong," he noted, his voice low as the tent fabric groaned under a heavy gust. "You need to keep warm."

"Well, if we scooch together, we’ll definitely be warm," I said.

Noah leaned back against the troller, which we’d managed to wedge halfway into the tent’s mouth to act as a windbreak. He looked at me, then at the cubs, then at the two other men.

"Well," Noah said, a dry chuckle escaping him. "Our first night on the road and we’re already huddled between rocks and sealed by a leather tent." He looked at the cubs buried in my chest. "Welcome to the great outdoors, kids."

I looked at my husbands faces, illuminated only by the faint light filtering through the hides.

We were cramped, we were probably going to be sore by morning, and the ’Great Plains’ we were supposed to venture on were currently a muddy nightmare—but as I felt Damar’s fingers interlock with mine, I realized I didn’t mind the detour.

"Better a leather bag than a mud bath," I said, leaning my head on Damar’s shoulder. "Let’s just pretend this nightmare isn’t happening outside and fall asleep."

I closed my eyes slowly, my hand brushing the beads of my cubs.

It wasn’t nighttime yet, but thanks to how dark it had become due to the rainstorm, our bodies were interpreting it as night, and the exhaustion we had built from the journey started kicking in.

’We need to get to where other beastfolks are, so we can at least get proper shelter by the time the rain falls again.’ I thought to myself and felt one of the cubs snuggle on my breast, searching for my nipple.

Being close to my chest already gave them the idea that they were going to have a quick snack.

I chuckled and looked up to see Fenric, Noah, and Damar watching me.

I thought we were all going to sleep, but they were watching me so intently, their different-colored eyes shaping mixed emotions that I couldn’t interpret properly.

"W-what is it?" I asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It’s just..." Noah spoke up but paused, as if he didn’t want to be the one to say it. He looked at Fenric and he said,

"It’s no surprise that you’re a strong female," Fenric said. "But even then, I still get surprised when you give such accurate and measured orders. I can’t help but fawn over you whenever I think about it."

My heart did a little soft flip at his words.

"Ari has always been the strongest female I have ever seen," Damar added, his voice smooth that it made my toes in my boots tingle.

"Yeah, I can testify to that, and believe me, I’ve seen a ’lot’ of females," Noah added, and I narrowed my eyes.

No one said otherwise so why was he bragging? Tch.

My facial expression twisted a bit and they ended up laughing. Damar pressed his head into mine, snuggling. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"The beast god did us a great deed by blessing us with you." He whispered, and that little flip my heart did become something more potent, and my heart began to hammer rapidly against my ribcage.

It felt like the words had melted all forms of doubt and worry that lingered in me, replaced by a sense of relief and satisfaction for what I have done and will continue to do.

"Jeez, you guys know how to make me blush," I said, my ears atop my head twitching as I buried my face in Damar’s neck, hiding. "You don’t need to say all that. I already know what I mean to you." I whispered. "But still, it was great hearing it from you."

As my words died down, what was left was the sound of a rhythmic pounding in my chest and the heavy patter of rain outside. But even the noise of the rain seemed to die down as we found comfort in listening to each other’s hearts.

I thought we’d call it a night. I thought the moment would last until we closed our eyes in sleep and then woke up the next morning to wet soils and a misty atmosphere but it did not.

Just as we were preparing to call it a night and fall into the deep slumbers of sleep, I heard footsteps outside.

No, it wasn’t a footstep. It was more like footsteps.

What am I even saying?

Those didn’t sound like the step of a two-legged waking being. It was four-legged, carrying its heavy body about, swaying, definitely heading in our direction.

My ears twitched, listening closer and I was right. I did not imagine it.

I turned to the rest, wanting to alert them but they were already a step ahead, crouching as their eyes were fixed on the pegged tent covering the entrance.

Damar placed his hand over his lips, telling me to stay calm and not make a sound.

They felt it, and they knew it... A beast was heading towards us.