Chapter 155: The Tiger

Chapter 155: Chapter 155: The Tiger

Nero reached the southern gallery before Luke did.

The sound that had carried through the gardens came again, deeper now that they were closer, followed by several voices and the metallic movement of the reinforced transport enclosure being secured beneath the covered entrance.

Luke caught up beside him.

"You could pretend to possess dignity."

"I do possess dignity."

"You ran."

"I walked faster than you."

Luke glanced at Nero’s long legs. "At over two meters high, those appear suspiciously similar."

Nero ignored him.

The private southern gardens had been cleared for the arrival, though not emptied. Hale stood beside the Draxilian transport coordinator with a tablet in one hand, while Duncan was speaking to two members of the palace security team near the interior doors. Several animal specialists surrounded the enormous transport enclosure positioned beneath the arcade, its panels reinforced enough to survive both international travel and the occupant currently pacing behind them.

White fur moved through the shadows inside.

Nero smiled.

Luke followed his gaze.

"Oh, she really is beautiful."

Nero looked at him.

"You came for me, apparently."

"I can appreciate multiple things."

The tiger stopped.

Purple eyes appeared between the bars.

For one moment, Nero remembered Tania so clearly that the garden around him seemed to disappear beneath the memory of another white tiger sprawled across warm Sahan stone, ancient and spoiled, allowing a much younger Nero to use her side as a pillow while Chris repeatedly warned him that she was not furniture.

The resemblance was not exact.

This animal was younger, leaner, and more alert, her pale silver stripes clearer against the white coat.

Still, something in Nero’s chest softened.

The doors from the eastern gallery opened behind him.

Sebastian walked out.

He had clearly come directly from whatever wedding work had occupied him that morning, dressed in charcoal trousers and a loose ivory shirt with the sleeves folded to his forearms, black hair brushing his shoulders in soft waves. No collar today, which Nero disliked on principle, although Sebastian had become increasingly suspicious whenever Nero commented on his neck this close to the wedding.

Nero wisely kept that opinion to himself.

Sebastian stopped beside him.

"So this is what dragged both of you from the whiskey."

Luke gestured toward Nero. "He abandoned me."

"I heard a tiger."

Sebastian’s mouth curved.

The lead handler began explaining the release process, but Nero’s attention divided badly between the instructions and the animal watching them through the enclosure.

Sebastian noticed.

"Listen."

"I am listening."

"What did she just say about the inner gate?"

Nero paused.

Luke laughed.

The handler rescued him. "We open the secondary barrier first, Your Highness. She has already completed the sedative recovery period, so we prefer to let her leave on her own."

"Thank you," Sebastian said.

Nero looked betrayed.

"You could have allowed me to answer."

"You did not know."

"I was going to reconstruct it."

"That is not how tiger handling should work."

The secondary gate opened.

Everyone stepped back except the handler.

The tiger remained inside for several seconds, nose lifted as unfamiliar Sahan scents reached her, before she moved forward with slow, deliberate steps.

Nero crouched almost immediately.

Luke looked at Sebastian.

"Is he normally like this?"

"With the tiger?"

"With anything he wants."

Sebastian considered it. "Worse."

Nero extended one hand.

The tiger approached him, sniffed his fingers, and allowed a slow stroke along the side of her head.

His expression became unbearably pleased.

Luke smiled. "I withdraw my earlier criticism. You look almost pleasant."

"She likes me."

The tiger moved past him.

Nero’s hand remained suspended in the air.

Sebastian looked down just as the animal reached him.

She sniffed his trousers, circled once, and pressed her broad white head against his thigh with enough force to shift his balance half a step.

Silence.

Luke covered his mouth.

Nero straightened.

Sebastian cautiously placed a hand between the tiger’s ears.

She leaned harder into him.

Luke lost whatever restraint he had left.

Nero looked at the animal as if she had committed a personal offense.

"You met him for thirty seconds."

Sebastian scratched slowly behind one pale ear. "Perhaps she has excellent judgment."

"That argument is becoming overused today."

The tiger ignored Nero completely.

Sebastian, however, became more serious as the handlers explained her routines, feeding requirements, and existing commands. He asked about stress reactions, access restrictions, how she behaved around unfamiliar staff, and whether exposure to crowded corridors could overwhelm her.

Nero listened better this time.

"I don’t want her wandering somewhere she can get frightened and hurt herself," Sebastian said, glancing toward Hale, "and I particularly don’t want someone turning a corner and discovering a tiger without warning."

Hale nodded. "Private residential corridors only at first. Southern gardens, the internal courtyard, this gallery, and the adjoining family wing. Staff will have access notifications before she enters any section."

Duncan added, "Public administration stays closed. So do service passages and kitchens."

Luke looked disappointed. "The kitchens seem discriminatory."

Sebastian ignored him.

"And if she refuses to return?"

The handler smiled. "Food usually solves that."

Nero looked toward the tiger.

"Understandable."

An hour later, they tested the first interior route.

The tiger followed Sebastian.

He crossed the garden gallery, and she padded behind him.

He entered the long private corridor leading toward the family sitting rooms, and she followed.

When Sebastian stopped to speak with Duncan, she stopped beside him and sat.

Nero called her from several meters back.

She looked at him.

Nothing else happened.

Luke leaned against the wall, visibly delighted.

"This is the best reason I’ve had to visit you in months."

Nero gave him a cold look.

Sebastian started walking again.

The tiger stood immediately.

Luke laughed.

"She has chosen."

"She has known him for an hour."

"Perhaps she is an excellent judge of character."

Sebastian glanced back. "Luke, you’re becoming my favorite person today."

Nero looked offended by both of them.

They eventually reached the broader family hall overlooking the inner garden, where the handlers had brought several enrichment toys ahead of the transport.

Nero found a heavy braided rope.

His mood improved immediately.

He dragged it once across the polished stone.

The tiger dropped low.

Sebastian saw the pounce coming before Nero did.

She launched herself forward, caught the rope, and nearly pulled Nero off his feet.

Luke doubled over laughing.

Nero braced himself with both hands around the rope.

"She is stronger than she looks."

"She’s a tiger," Sebastian said, leaning against one of the carved columns with his arms folded. "What exactly did you expect?"

Nero pulled.

The tiger pulled harder.

Sebastian sighed as Nero, Crown Prince of Saha, future king, enigma, and allegedly one of the most dangerous men alive, became completely absorbed in a tugging match with a white tiger in the middle of his palace.

"She still needs a name," Luke said.

That stopped Nero.

The tiger released the rope at the same moment, sending him backward two steps.

Sebastian laughed.

The animal immediately abandoned Nero and returned to Sebastian.

Of course she did.

Sebastian looked down at the white head nudging beneath his hand.

"Niva."

Nero repeated it.

"Niva."

The tiger’s ears turned.

Luke straightened. "That was suspiciously successful."

Sebastian smiled and stroked her head.

"Niva, then."

Nero came closer, pride already recovering.

"Niva Altera."

Sebastian looked at him.

"We are not giving the tiger a royal surname."

"She belongs to our household."

"She is an animal."

"Tania had one."

"Tania had whatever Chris allowed her to have because everyone was afraid to argue with an elderly tiger."

Nero smiled. "Exactly."

Sebastian shook his head and started toward the adjoining corridor.

Niva followed immediately.

Luke watched them leave.

"You lost your tiger to your fiancé."

Nero started after them.

"She is still coming home with me."

"That sounds like consolation."

Nero had just opened his mouth when Sebastian stopped several meters ahead.

His body went rigid.

The smile disappeared.

One hand moved abruptly to his lower abdomen.

Nero’s attention snapped to him.

"Sebastian?"

Sebastian drew in a sharp breath.

The next sound was a rough groan.

He folded forward.

Nero crossed the distance before Luke fully understood what was happening, catching Sebastian around the torso as his knees weakened.

The humor vanished from the corridor.

Sebastian gripped Nero’s arm, his other hand pressed hard below his stomach.

Nero’s voice changed completely.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Lower—"

Sebastian broke off as another wave hit.

Nero lifted him without hesitation.

Behind them, Luke was already calling for medical staff while Hale moved from the far end of the corridor.

Niva followed.

Nero did not notice her at all.