The Year of the Tiger (Book 3 of The Almair Series) (Completed)

Chapter 19

"Ah, the Almair," a female said when Tygra and I walked into her house. She smiled and bowed her head in respect. "It is nice to meet you finally," she added before she looked at my wounds. "I would have hoped that it had been on better terms." Anger filled her voice, and I could tell that she didn't like the fact that I was injured.

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter much," I said, offering her a small smile. "It's not the first time that I had been "severely" injured."

The female hummed and nodded her head. "Sit," she said, gesturing to the table. "Is your leg broken?" she asked in concern as I limped to the table and pushed myself up.

"We heard it snapped," Tygra said, answering for me. "I tried to get her to sit on my back, but she wouldn't."

"It shows weakness," I said, my voice wavering from the strain of lifting myself onto the table. "And, Marcus had been following us until Shardul came and got him."

Tygra frowned and shifted in her feet. She looked guilty, and I couldn't help but as to why she had thought that I wouldn't know. "You knew?" she asked, glancing at me to be sure. "You weren't supposed to."

I shrugged my shoulder as the female started to help me take off my clothes to see the injuries that I had received from my fight. "I am a predator, Tygra," I said, talking about the fact that I was a Wolf first and foremost. "I sensed his presence."

"That man is going to get himself killed," the healer said. She clucked as she lifted my arm. A scowl appeared on her face as she took in the amount of blood that I had lost as well as the wounds from yesterday. "And you are too." She shook her head and started to get to work, cleaning up wounds that didn't need stitches and stitching up those that did.

"I've not been killed yet," I replied, causing her to chuckle. "I've been injured more time than not, but I have not been killed."

"You have been close to dying a couple of times," Tygra said. "Remember that one time on the roof at the dojo?" She glanced at the healer before looking at me, smirking. "Azalea would get a kick out of this."

I bit back a groan and rolled my eyes. I didn't know why she had to bring that story up because it had not been one of my finest moments. "If I remember correctly, you, James, and Mia went before me."

"With your brother telling you all not to do it." She leaned against the door and smirked when I scowled.

"It seems to me that your brother has more brains than you," the female, Azalea, teased, and I shrugged because it was true. She smacked my shoulder softly. "No moving. Don't mess me up."

"I think Dark Forces had cut the wire," I said, giving her an apologetic smile. "I know that there had been a couple of "unexplained accidents" that had happened over the years."

Tygra nodded her head. "The small blast in fifth grade was the thing that made my parents pull me out," she said. "I am surprised that your parents kept you in school."

"They wanted to take me out, I think," I replied. "I cried and said I wanted to go back to school. And, they wanted me to have a "normal" childhood."

"As normal as it can get with people having it out for you," Tygra snorted. "When do you think your parents knew that you were the Almair?"

"Probably before my birth," I replied. I bit my lip as Azalea popped my shoulder back into place and let out a small breath as some pain eased. "I don't think that they would not have known."

Tygra nodded her head. "Got a boyfriend?" she asked, and I nodded. "Name?"

"Matt. You?"

"Girlfriend. Sort of." She sighed when I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Azalea, who was "minding" her own business. "I'll tell you later."

"Don't mind me," Azalea said, finishing with whatever was wrong with me. "It is none of my business that you like someone from a different clan." She smiled at Tygra, trying to comfort her. This deep sadness resonated around her, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She lost someone that she loved, and I knew that I would have been heartbroken if I lost the man I loved. "I was in love with a man from the Wolf clan," she added. "You two knew him." She looked down and cleared her throat.

"Was it Master Yin?" I asked, and she nodded. I took her hand and squeezed it, giving her a small smile. "I miss him too," I said. My heart broke for her because I knew that my staying with him made it so that she couldn't say her goodbyes.

Azalea squeezed my hand. She offered me a small smile, and I could tell that she didn't blame me for staying with him in his last moments. "I know," she said softly. "I know."