Chapter 158: Gentle Giant
Easter~
Tiger’s hand was warm in mine, strong but gentle, like the earth itself had reached up to hold me. As he opened the front door, I expected sunlight or the porch or even the usual guards walking around in pristine uniforms. But instead, I saw... trees.
Not just trees. A forest—breathtaking, otherworldly, alive in a way no forest had any right to be.
"Wow... this is breathtaking, Tiger." I whispered.
Tiger didn’t say a word. He simply looked at me, those glowing green eyes full of ancient quiet, and smiled. Then he stepped forward, tugging me gently. I followed.
The second we crossed the threshold, the door vanished behind us, leaving only the thick, golden hush of the woods. I clutched Donut a little tighter, not from fear but from excitement.
The air smelled like earth and rain and something sweet, like wild honey. Shafts of sunlight filtered through the tall canopy, painting the mossy ground in gold. Tiger looked... transformed here.
No—he belonged here.
The forest reacted to him like he was the sun. The trees leaned in, their branches stretching toward him. Vines shifted to make way. Animals—squirrels, birds, even a little fawn—ran up to him without fear.
With a quiet murmur in a language I didn’t understand, Tiger crouched and conjured handfuls of food from the air—berries, nuts, roots. The animals ate from his palms like he was their mother.
I was speechless.