The Protector (Under Rewrite)

Mystery

Two Days Later:

Alice was seated on the couch, the cub curled up beside her; resting peacefully. These past couple of days she's been caring for the little guy, Rose being a big help in making sure it was cared for during the times she left home to search for the mom. All she could recall was the look of pure fear in the tiger's eyes whenever it heard the loud roar. Her family helped in the search, but no one found anything out of the ordinary; no new smells. It struck Alice as odd, even going as far as to retrace her steps only to see a broken field and no signs of where the two went.

She did speak with Carlise, trying to gain more information about tigers; though he didn't know a whole lot about caring for them. It was his theory that the tiger she saw had to be the mother, the mom would be more protective of a cub which would explain why it attacked her in the first place. However, because of the rarity of white tigers, he was unsure about how reliable the internet would be in gaining more information. Though, Alice soon recognized the cub was a female. At first, they didn't check the sex, but considering how loving the cub was it was easy to distinguish the gender.

The TV was playing in the background, Alice's mind elsewhere. Across from her were Rose and Emmett on the couch, Jasper seated in the love seat next to them, and Carlisle in the large armchair, Esme resting on the arm of it. Edward was hiding in his room, faint music making its way down the stairs. The show "The Walking Dead" was playing, it was stereotypical and cliche, and with how old they all were they found it fun to watch. They were watching a less-than-gory scene of a zombie tearing into one of the survivors whenever a noise sounded at the back door. They all looked in its direction, confusion painted on their face.

Alice took in a deep breath, though she failed to notice any scent. She turned towards Jasper, hoping he could get a read.

He looked at her shaking his head, "I don't sense anything out of the ordinary, though Edward is oddly annoyed."

Standing up Alice made her way to the door, her family trailing behind.

Reaching the door she opened it to see the white tiger she'd encountered two days ago. It was covered in blood in some areas, with scratches on its front leg. It made eye contact with Alice, while she stood there frozen. Pushing past Alice the tiger stumbled into the living room; her family parting for it.

They stood there for a moment; shocked, before trailing behind it. The scene that greeted them was saddening. It had its head resting on the couch, its giant body remaining on the floor, as it laid new the now awake cub who was more than happy to see its mom. The cub stood, placing its front paws on the mom's face, licking and nipping at her ears. Though, the mom made a little movement, only letting out a heavy sigh.

Alice snapped out of it, moving towards the two of them. Rose placed a hand on her shoulder, uncertainty reflecting in her eyes. She smiled and moved away from her, stopping a few feet away from the tiger. It looked in her direction, not exhibiting any fear. Hearing a noise behind her she her head to see Carlisle moving towards her, "She looks like she has some major wounds, can you try getting closer and see if she'll let me near her?"Alice nodded, shifting closer to the mom, who lifted its head slightly eyeing her. Taking a deep breath Alice settled down beside her, "I know you probably can't understand me but I need you to remain calm," she spoke gently, holding out a hand.

The tiger stared into her eyes for a moment, causing an odd feeling to come over Alice before it gently nudged her. Taking that as a hint Alice gestured for Carlisle to come over. The tiger made no move to attack him as he examined her body, her eyes never straying from Alice's.

Carlisle sighed, "The cuts are deep on her side, and it looks like she has a broken rib or two, I can't get a good feel on her though. I have to sedate her to stitch her up and fix the ribs that are broken. I'll go get my bag if you can keep her still."

Alice nodded, placing her hands on either side of the tiger's giant head, trying to offer soothing touches. A low purring noise came from its throat, its body slumping as it rested its head in her lap.

The sub shifted moving to lay against Alice's shoulder, which was resting on the back of the couch. The tiger's eyes remained slightly open, staring up at them both. Alice heard Carlisle dash upstairs, the jingle of his medical bag, as he settled down beside her. She could sense her family behind her, watching as Carlisle filled up his needle with a clear liquid. The dose was higher than any human could tolerate, but enough to knock out an adult tiger. It would only sedate her for a couple of hours though, and whenever she woke up she'd have to take it slow.

Alice understood what he was saying, they would have a couple of tigers around for a while; at least until she was healed - at which point it was her choice to leave or stay.