30 The Tiger

As if time stopped, they were stuck in a mid-walk position not knowing whether it was alright to move which was quite a comical sight if only it wasn't a tense situation. Sweat drops from Ley's forehead fell to the ground as her mind went through various thoughts.

"Is the spell malfunctioning?" She whispered to Sera.

"Of course not!" She replied, clearly offended by the question. 

Ley was wondering how they were discovered. Since there were no growls when they talked that meant the masking spells were still working, she turned back around slowly to take a look.  There were all sorts of trees and shrubs between them which blocked Ley's vision but she still could see two piercing pinpoint lights glaring at their direction.

"Let me try something," she said then grabbed a hold of Sera's arm then started pulling her to random directions. They slowly went from side to side and there was no reaction at all. They tried to move forward and then backwards this time but it went unnoticed too.

"It doesn't see us at all," Sera muttered impatiently then dragged Ley to retreat further from the area.  When they were a few meters away from their original position, threatening growls disturbed the quiet night again which froze the two again from fleeing.

Sera looked back and exclaimed in surprise, "Shit! Is that a tiger?"

Sweat rolled down Ley's back at what she heard and glanced back, "Double shit. That is Landon."

A humongous tiger, many times larger than its wild kin, stood in front of them motionlessly. Half of its rear body hidden as if it was just peeking at them. Looking at its menacing appearance, stripes of black and dark orange cover the face, extending towards the body. If the size wasn't a big indicator enough of its shifter ancestry then the long pair of canines protruding downward out of its mouth past its jaws like those ancient predators recorded by the humans would send alarms that there is a shifter in front of them.

The animal form of shifters was always larger than the normal animals in the wild however some exhibit unusual body parts. There are records of shifters who have two heads, more than one tail, abnormal wings, etc. In this case, the oversize canines manifested in the animal form however not everyone has it. These traits were synonymous to power and abilities greater than the others. Meeting a shifter with an animal form like this was a terrible situation that Ley hadn't expected. She hadn't seen Landon's animal form before but she's highly sure that the one in front of her was him.

"It doesn't see us but it definitely knows that we're here," Ley realized.

"Are you kidding? Is that even possible?" Sera asked in astonishment.

"Intuition," she replied simply.

"That's cheating," Sera whined but stopped when Ley pointedly glance between the two of them, "How will we get out of here then?"

"Okay. Here's what we're going to do. I'll stay here and distract him with something while you run away with the body," she told Sera.

"I don't think that would work," Sera replied worriedly.

"Don't worry. I'll just make some random excuse but bring me to that tree first so I can hide before you go," she pointed to the nearest one.

They walked warily behind the tree while monitoring Landon's reaction. When they successfully reached it, Ley signaled for Sera to go immediately. The moment Sera separated and ran away from the area, the still tiger immediately moved to follow however Ley blocked its way and said, "Hey, it's me."

Hot breath swept Ley's hair off her shoulders as she faced Landon's shifted form without moving to prevent her from being seen as a threat. She tilted her head upwards to see his face and she saw the same amber eyes radiating intelligence even on a different form. He put his face so close that his whiskers tickled her nose and his canines could probably go for her jugular within a second. It took all her concentration to not flinch or defend herself from her mind's perceived threat.

She was expecting him to shift back but it didn't happen. His tongue lolled out and his face stretched into what looked like a grimace. That's when it dawned on Ley's mind that she's currently faced with the animal within Landon. It surprised her that he even let his tiger entity take over without fear of losing control.

A few seconds passed and it started circling around her slowly as if it was examining her.  Moments passed by and it sat back after bending its hind legs, towering over her. Chuffing noises soon emerged as it bumped its head lightly to her shoulder which caused her immobile body to turn even stiffer in shock. Ley didn't know what to make of its reaction but since it didn't attack her then the most dangerous moment has passed.

She raised her hand slowly and rubbed its cheek when it didn't show any aggression then gently said, "Can you let me talk to Landon? I need to ask him a few questions."

It stared at her with those clever eyes then gave her hand a lick which tickled her because of the rough surface of its tongue. It took a step back then Landon emerged faster than a blink of an eye. His ability to shift quickly spoke of his prowess. The uncomfortable rearranging of body parts were barely seen.

She would like to analyze more but her brain short-circuited from astonishment when Landon appeared in all his naked glory. She felt all her blood rushed to her head and her heart pounded unceasingly when she unconsciously gawked as he stood up. A series of adjectives would have come out of Sera's mouth if she was the one in this situation but all Ley could do was gaped like a fish in front of Landon. Clothes were disintegrated every time they shift so of course Landon would appear naked in front of her. Typical shifter wouldn't care about the nakedness as it was something they got used to since growing up but Ley wasn't the usual sort.

She snapped out of it when she heard Landon chuckle then indignantly told him out of embarrassment, "Aren't you going to get changed?"

"Why? Are you bothered?" His husky voice washing over her ears, half-teasing and half-sensual. Her already battered mind took another hit. 

"I'll talk to you once you're decent," Ley said then resolutely turned her back on him as she felt her face heat up uncontrollably. His only reply was a chuckle and all she heard after was the rustling of leaves and cracking twigs. She presumed that he had a cache of clothes within the area since it's his territory anyway.

"I'm good. Let's talk," he announced after a few minutes.

Oh shit. 

She turned around and it took all of her control to stop from uttering her thoughts. He was leaning on the tree casually with his jeans riding precariously low on his hips while his upper body remained unclothed and exposed to her hungry sight. If he's trying to mess with her head, it's definitely working wonders. She avoided looking at his muscled torso and focused on his face but not looking doesn't mean that she didn't remember what they look like. 

Focus!

"I heard you have a body in your hands," she coolly said after managing to control her straying thoughts.

"Your resources really amazed me," Landon replied mildly surprised but she saw a calculated look in his eyes when he heard her purpose in coming.

"I shouldn't have had to utilize it if you came forward voluntarily with the information," she narrowed her eyes along with the words.

"Only a few hours passed besides there was no assurance that this body was connected to the case we're working on," he shrugged, unrepentant.

"I want to see the body."

"Let's go then."

She followed him inside the same building she left with Sera earlier. They traced the same path and she braced herself for his reaction when he opened the door to the room where they stored the body.

Landon stilled for a few beats then uttered,"It's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone?" She reacted indignantly to follow the flow of the situation.

"I need to conduct an investigation on this. I'll let you know all the information tomorrow on our way to that engraver," he stated calmly though she can sense his barely leashed rage, simmering on the surface.

"I don't appreciate secrets when you wanted cooperation Landon," she warned, letting him know that she was not pleased at all with what he did, before leaving the premises.

She left the base in a rush to immediately go home and examine the body they stole. Dread settled on her stomach as she thought of what it could mean. It's as if the threads holding her together started to unravel.

She had a really bad feeling about it.