The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe

Chapter 335: Giving Thalor his chance

Thalor’s breath hitched into a ragged gasp as I pulled him closer, deepening the kiss.

For a month, he had been a pillar of restraint, a silent worker in the sun, but now the dam was breaking. He held me with a possessive, trembling strength.

This wasn’t our first kiss, but it felt so much different from the previous time, when he mouth-fed me his water.

This time, his tongue did not relent from tasting every corner of my mouth, leaving his taste, and clinging to mine.

When I leaned back to look into his blown-out violet eyes, I felt, ’Finally, I’m crossing the bridge.’

The bridge that I decided to ignore all this time. It didn’t feel as bad as I thought it was.

I had thought I would be drowned with too much guilt when I finally accepted Thalor, since there is a hollow in my heart. A hollow that is currently missing Damar with every passing second.

But the guilt wasn’t there... Ah, not yet.

Just as I was about to lean in again, I caught a figure at the corner of my vision.

My heart skipped a beat as I turned my head to find Fenric standing at the edge of the ridge, about fifty yards away.

He was just watching us, his red eyes struck with something I couldn’t quite name yet.

Thalor stiffened beneath me, his instincts flaring as he felt Fenric’s gaze. He started to shift, his pupils narrowing into slits as he prepared to defend the ground he’d finally won.

But I stopped him.

"Don’t," I whispered, my hand moving to Thalor’s cheek to keep his focus on me. "It’s okay."

Fenric didn’t growl. He didn’t charge forward to ask what I was doing or why I was doing this. It was as if he had already resigned himself, his heart, so that once this time came, he wouldn’t feel too hurt.

But no matter the amount of preparation, it was enough to settle his heart as he watched me lie on the body of another male.

He stood there for a long, heavy second, his gaze lingering on the way my fingers were intertwined with the merman’s.

Then, with a slow nod and a wary smile at me, Fenric turned. He didn’t look back as he vanished into the shadows of the treeline. He was giving us this because he sort of felt it.

Felt that Thalor wasn’t just here to steal his mate, he had ’earned’ his place.

A wave of gratitude and guilt washed over me, but it was quickly drowned out by the feeling of Thalor’s lips finding the sensitive skin of my neck.

"He is gone, Arinya," Thalor murmured, his voice low and vibrating against my skin, which made my toes curl in the grass. "It is just the sea and the stone now."

I let out a shaky breath, my fingers digging into his shoulders.

Yeah, the sea and the stone.

The ache of missing Damar was still there, a quiet throb in the back of my mind, but right here, under the first stars of summer, the merman’s touch was a grounding force that steadied my heart.

"Should we get out of here?" I asked. "We can’t do any more out in the open. It would seem... improper."

Thalor nodded, his eyes dark with a hunger that made my blood run hot.

"The water... I need the water to hold you properly."

I lifted my body from him, and he reluctantly let go of me. I stood up, my hand brushing over my hair as I offered him my hand.

"Then come on. Let’s go somewhere we can have the water to ourselves," I said, looking into his violet eyes. "To that pool."

Thalor’s eyes widened, a sudden spark of recognition lighting them up. He knew exactly which one I meant—the one we’d tucked away near the edge of the new sector, shielded by a lot of overgrowth.

It was a project he’d helped me finish just days ago, a deep, clear lake. I just did it with him as an experiment, and it actually worked. I hadn’t said anything about it to Noah, but Oryn knows.

He was there when I was looking through the space.

I plan to open it to the public, but not yet.

In the meantime, it was still our secret.

Thalor didn’t say a word and just gave a slow, reverent nod, a smile playing on his lips that made my heart do a nervous little flip.

We walked for a while, and by the time we reached the lake, a crescent moon was already glowing in the dark sky.

The lake was perfectly still, reflecting the faint glow of the night sky, the moon, and the twinkling lights.

I stood on the bank of the lake, the humid night air clinging to my skin, and watched as Thalor stepped toward the edge.

He didn’t just undress; he shed the persona of the land-dweller. As he hit the water, the transformation was instantaneous. The legs that had spent a month pacing the limestone ridge dissolved into a powerful, shimmering tail of indigo and violet scales.

He dove deep into the water, and honestly, I couldn’t help but recall a movie I watched. What was it again? Ah, yes, it was a Barbie series.

There were a lot of magical things going on with magic and mermaids.

To think I would witness a live mermaid transformation. Ah, merman transformation, rather.

When Thalor surfaced again, I subconsciously held my breath. He looked absolutely dazzling.

The water didn’t just run off him; it clung to his skin in heavy, translucent beads that looked like precious pearl drops under the moonlight. He shook his head, and droplets sprayed around him like a halo of light.

Ah, and some might wonder why I can never get over handsome faces? Just look at this ethereal beauty. I’m just one girl.

He swam toward the shore, his movements silent and fluid, like he was the water itself. He reached out, his hand now with elegant, shimmering webbing between his fingers.

"Arinya," he whispered, his voice a low, watery chime.

He held out that webbed hand, an open invitation to the water, and I gulped.

It’s not like it’s my first time taking a dip, but it’s certainly my first time taking a dip with a merman.

I reached out and let my fingers slide against the cool, silky webbing of his palm.

The moment he pulled me into the water, the crest on my wrist didn’t just thrum—it burned with a steady, triumphant blue light. The cool water hit my skin, but with Thalor’s arms wrapping around me, all I felt was a sudden, overwhelming heat.

"I’ve waited for this since the well," he murmured, his face inches from mine, his gills fluttering with his heavy breath.

"I know," I whispered, my hands finding the firm muscles of his shoulders. "I’m sorry I made you wait so long."