The dinosaur let out an ear-splitting roar of pain and rage, and threw itself against the tower, desperately trying to dislodge the tiger. Her claws lost their grip on its back, but her jaws held tight. Destiny could only watch in horror as more cracks opened in the golden marble of the tower, and it began to tilt inexorably toward them.
As the tower started to fall, Ethan dropped his sword, as if in panic, and tipped his head to stare up at the pterodactyl. Seeing his unprotected throat exposed, it dove in for the kill, claws first like a hawk dropping down on a rabbit.
Ethan leaped upward and grabbed its feet just as the tower toppled. Screeching, the dinosaur flapped its leathery wings in a frantic attempt to stay airborne, but Ethan’s weight sent it spiraling down toward the ground.
Within the tiger, Destiny experienced the surreal slowing of time she’d experienced before in combat, allowing her to see many possibilities in a split second that felt like an eternity. The T-Rex, distracted by her attack, was too busy trying to throw her off to notice that it was about to be squashed flat by a hundred tons of golden marble. But her tiger had sure noticed. Her muscles were bunched to leap off the T-Rex. And once she did, the T-Rex would look up and jump clear as well. Their one chance to kill it would be gone
.
Not yet, Destiny told her tiger.
The big cat’s instinctive fear of death was overwhelming. Her panicked shriek filled Destiny’s mind. Jump! Jump! Jump!
Her tiger was too strong for her. She was going to jump off, and then the T-Rex would kill her. And Ethan.
She had to save him.
Destiny fought her tiger, locking her muscles in place and her claws into the T-Rex’s neck. She watched, her blood like liquid ice in her veins, as the dinosaur thrashed and her tiger shrieked and the tower fell and fell as if in slow motion, blotting out the sky.
NOW!
Destiny released her hold on her tiger. The edge of the collapsing tower brushed against her tail as they jumped clear, then rolled head over paws on the marble street. A reptilian bellow was abruptly cut off as the tower smashed into the T-Rex with a tremendous crash.
Chips and fragments of marble flew out like shrapnel, and a cloud of golden dust rose up. When it settled, she saw a giant pile of shattered marble, and, protruding from opposite ends of it, a gigantic claw and the tip of a scaly tail.
But Destiny had no time to relax and be relieved. A furious reptilian screeching arose from the other side of the rubble pile, then a very human yell. She raced around it, intent on helping Ethan in his battle. She skidded around the corner, her paws slipping on the smooth marble, and found Ethan and the pterodactyl engaged in a desperate struggle on the ground.
The flying dinosaur’s toothed beak snapped, its razor-sharp talons slashed, and its immense leathery wings flapped wildly. It was so much bigger than Ethan that at first she couldn’t even see him. Then both wings slapped into the ground at once, and she saw that he was astride the pterodactyl with his strong arms locked around its neck, his face buried in its back to protect his head from its beak and claws.
Before she could do anything to help him out, the muscles of his arms bulged. There was a sharp crack, and the pterodactyl went limp. He had broken its neck.
Ethan jumped free, standing with his back to her. Instantly, he bolted toward the tower, shouting her name.
Unable to speak, she roared. Ethan turned around so fast he almost fell, then ran to her. He dropped to his knees before her, stroking her and burying his face in her fur. When he finally raised his head, she saw that his cheeks were wet with tears.
“I thought you were dead,” he saw, his voice raw and choked. “I was yelling at you to jump, but you didn’t. I couldn’t get free of that thing until it was too late.”
She was a tiger—a tiger who couldn’t even control herself enough to become human again—but he’d run toward her, not away from her, without even a second of hesitation. Even as she felt his arms around her, it seemed impossible.
As if he’d guessed her thoughts, he said, “I’m not afraid of you. I could never be afraid of you. Your tiger isn’t a monster, it’s a part of you—the part that’s wild and fearless. Angry and willful and stubborn, maybe, but that’s part of you too. That’s okay. I’m like that too. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be Marines and bodyguards, we’d be accountants or interior decorators or baristas. But no matter how fierce your tiger is, it’s only as fierce as you are. She’d never do anything that isn’t in your own heart. You’d never hurt me, so neither will she.”
It’s true, her tiger said. I’d rather jump into the big lizard’s mouth than hurt him.
I believe you, Destiny replied. Though she couldn’t speak aloud, she intended her words for them both.
It was no struggle to become a woman again. As she did, she watched as Ethan’s expression changed from one of intense relief to one of mingled desire and guilt, as if he was looking at something he knew he shouldn’t be. His face flushed pink, and he pulled off his shirt, turned his back, and held it out to her without turning around.
Only then did she realize that she was stark naked. Again. She snatched the shirt from his hand and pulled it on. He was tall enough that it functioned as a short dress.
“You can turn around now.” Her own voice came out choked and thick as she added, “That was the best thing anyone ever said to me. Thank you.”
Ethan swept her into his arms and held her tight. Only then did she relax and let go of the adrenaline rush of battle. He was so strong, and his muscular body felt so good against hers. For the first time in what seemed like years, she felt safe and protected. If another T-Rex came stomping in, they’d face it together.
“Don’t ever believe there’s anything wrong with you,” he murmured. “You’re perfect. And your tiger is perfect too. You just took down a fucking T-Rex!”
“It mostly took itself down, but I’ll take the credit for distracting it,” Destiny said. “But you! You took down a pterodactyl all by yourself. Bare-handed!”
With his face pressed against hers, she felt as well as heard his chuckle. “Is that more or less cool than doing it with a sword?”