THE TYGER'S TREASURE ROOM

I stopped just short of stepping through the opened black door frame. Even though a moment ago, there was nothing there but slate grey stone walls, now there was a perfectly right-angled black rectangle in front of me. Everything about this door was unnatural and wrong, and of all the age old wisdom for choosing the doors you step through, I felt quite sure there should've been warning about stepping through doors made of black curse.

Bell's black curse was enigmatic to put it mildly, and I didn't mean it as a compliment. At this point, the door, even though it laid quite flat on the wall, was so black and opaque, it looked uncannily solid. Meanwhile, the excess black curse continued to fume released from a black flame that wrapped around his cursed arm. The flame licked and lapped from his broad shoulder to his outstretched hand, around his angular jawline, and lapped up into his dark tousled locks. Would that hurt or at least tickle? But Bell didn't seem bothered by it though, in fact, he was just standing there like it was perfectly normal to have your whole arm fuming with black curse.

What looked the most deadly, was not the solid door, nor the black fumes, but what was tucked unobtrusively in his shadow - the curse as if in its viscous liquid form. Because unlike the solid rectangular doorway which didn't move, or the black fume that waved like a curse flag over my mate, the curse that slunk in his shadow had a depth that I could not see through, and it moved along with him, sliding across the floor as he took a step towards me, lengthening and shortening according to the light source above us.

For now, it remained contained, under his feet, in the shelter of his death god cape, but there was something about it - let's just say my lucky sense of direction would never step on a Tyger's shadow.

The human children in my elementary school liked to sing, "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a tiger by the toe."

Good luck with that.

"Princess?" Bell was standing in front of his portal. He looked puzzled by my hesitation, and then spied his own open palm and the small raging curse on it. After considering this, he put that hand behind him and offered me his other hand.

I made a face at that. Did he think I was scared of his cursed hand? Of course I had to prove him wrong. I set my face to the most pigheaded stubborn expression I could muster and reached for the hand he had kept behind his cape.

I was the Alpha! As if I would be afraid of anything.

The moment our hands touch, something like a warm static shot through my hands, leaving a tingle where our skin touched. That was new.

{Mate ~ ❤️} Boo informed me rather pleased with this new development.

I couldn't decide if this was a good thing or not. On one hand, Bell WAS my soul mate. Our mating bond had been somewhat sealed by the mating bands on our arms, but I'm not sure why... maybe it was the magic in the air.

{Or the kiss...}

That didn't happen! There was NO KISS.

Bell smirked and without another word, stepped through the damn portal. The moment I stepped in I felt my teeth clench - good feelings gone.

This wasn't the first time I was stepping through such a portal, I didn't like it then, and I didn't like it now. Not even with my mate by my side. It was just... grrr... my hair was standing on its ends and it wasn't the static - although it might have been, I don't know. The inside of the portals were cold, unnatural, dark spaces filled with an energy I couldn't place. Whatever, let's call it static. Although it wasn't. But it made my hair stand and it made my wolf seriously unhappy.

The only good thing was how Bell had pulled me closer, his black curse now wrapping itself protectively around me - which I suppose could have been something dangerous in itself, but I felt safe - or at least as safe as someone walking through a passage of nothingness could feel.

All this while, the tingling when Bell touches me continues to play where his hand touches... Maybe our mating bands broke. I don't know - it was only two steps and we were on the other side, but whew. I WAS NEVER GOING THROUGH THAT AGAIN.

And then I realized this treasure room of his probably didn't have a door.

WTH.

Bell carefully let go of me and unwrapped his curse fumes from around me, like someone unboxing something very fragile. I crossed my arms feeling rather peeved about the lack of doors in his castle. I mean, seriously! This wasn't going to pass the fire safety inspection! Did they have such things here in the Colored Mountains?

"This is the treasure room." Bell said.

Where's the treasure?

I blinked at the large expanse of pillars holding up arches for what looked like an infinitely large and pointless hallway.

There were some very large chests, left like luggage from centuries ago. One of them was left opened, its contents of gold coins and jewels spilling out like some kind of cheesy pirate treasure advert. I mean seriously - the entire set up was like the most typical treasure chest set up ever.

And it wasn't very impressive either. I mean, a giant chest full of gold would've impressed me any day - hey, a single gold doubloon would have impressed me - but set against the drab grey stone walls of this cavernous hall... it was a bit meh. And I did mention that it looked very posed right? Like the few boxes were arranged just so, with one of the opened just so... like how Christmas trees with pretty wrapped empty boxes would look "just so" at department stores.

Bell smirked at my expression, "I see my princess is not one who is greedy for gold."

No, your princess was just not into obviously fake-looking set-ups.

"Come, princess, I will show you the treasure beyond." Bell led me by hand past the pathetic little stack of boxes and suddenly, as if by magic, a veil lifted up and all around us were mountains of gold - there weren't even boxes. The gold and jewels and fancy stuff just piled up against the pillar from end to end.

"Not all that glitter is gold. Nor is the treasure what you behold." Bell told me.

Oh. A spell. I knew this - not because my mate was suddenly speaking in rhyme (although that would have served as an obvious clue), or because my hair shimmered at the words (another pretty obvious sign something magical and exciting might be humming in the background), but because I KNEW this spell - it was a very big part of lycan legends. When the hero went in search for the truth/love/himself/treasure/power... or whatever, usually (although not always), he would have to unravel such a spell, or a variation of such a spell. It was where the saying came, that only a wolf with a true heart would be able to meet the Lycan King - Did the Tyger King run with the same policies? Hahaha.

Anyway, a true hero would not have a heart greedy for money. Because money was cheap - an oxymoron yes. It was explained to us pups that this was deep truth in life - that the truly important things in life were the things that money couldn't buy, and how the love of money devalued the truly precious things, blah blah blah... but if you saw what I saw in the treasure room, you'd understand the line was quite literal too. At least in this case, the gold and jewels and magic artifacts and everything was just piled up like it were a rubbish dump.

"All this is mine now." Bell told me and then he looked almost forlorn, "But in gaining them, I realized it did not satisfy me."

I could've told you that and saved you the trouble.

"The world has endless treasures." Bell was suddenly right in front of my face. His cursed hand lifted my chin so my eyes would meet his amber golden ones, "But I know now, there is only one treasure I cannot live without."

Duh.

That would be his heart - specifically the dark red jewel, aka his heartstone which was now hanging around my neck. I mean, I could've told him that too.

But Bell looked like he was having an epiphany moment and I didn't want to give him any spoilers.

"I was such a fool." His low voice rumbled. Music to my ears. I kind of dig the lyrics too.

"I thought that if I attained enough wealth and power and influence, I could crush my enemies under my feet and..." Bell trailed off...

Well, technically, that was a logical conclusion.

"But..." Bell said, his golden eyes like pools of gold. I could not tell how it was possible for eyes to look like a honey commercial, but yeah... and like a bee to honey, I felt myself get sucked into this gaze.

"Now I realize it is not enough to simply crush my enemies under my feet. I will dominate the entire lycan world and reign above the world - I promise you, your enemies will be my enemies, for every tear you cry, I will make them pay in blood tenfold. The entire world will turn at your pleasure, or heads would roll."

Wow, that went dark real fast.

Bell picked up both my hands in his, "I vow that I will do anything and everything in my power to make you happy."

"But I AM happy." I blurted out. TBH, I wasn't quite following the train of his dark logic. I mean, why did it matter to him if I were happy? Just because his one treasure was worn around my neck? I would have protected it whether I was happy or not, I mean, he was my soulmate.

And also the idea of heads rolling didn't really sound like something that would make me happy. I wasn't like the Queen of Hearts, you know. Bell though... that was the Mad Hatter right there. But wait, this wasn't Alice Through the Looking Glass! I shook my head, "Bell..."

Did everything have to revolve around your vengeance? Could we not be so quick to spill blood and roll heads? But if I asked him to just, I don't know, have a picnic with me by his lake. Or take me to the amusement park and ride the Ferris Wheel with me and watch the fireworks... of course I had to find an amusement park with a Ferris Wheel AND fireworks... AND I probably should get a hold of their fireworks schedule and time our visit... but you know what I mean.

What would make me happiest would be if Bell was happiest. I certainly wouldn't be happy knowing that my soul mate wasn't. But what if being happy to Bell wasn't sunshine and roses? What if it were vengeance and bloodshed - like Dark-Lord-Death-God-Megatron style?

WHY?

Why did my love have to be so complicated? Especially since it should've been obvious to the goddess from the start that I was particularly bad at complicated stuff?

Bell leaned closer. Omo. We were going to have another accident!

So I did what any quick thinking alpha wolf would do - I head-butted him and ran for it, "Race you to the end!"

Bell's growl was low and savage behind me, so I ran faster. Nevermind making Bell happy. How about just NOT making Bell angry?

As I ran for my life, skidding and scrambling over the piles of treasures, with a furious Bell closing in fast behind me, I had an epiphany of my own: Treasure or no, if it's tripping you up when you're running for your life, you're better without it.

{Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.} Boo quoted, in lycan no less. But yeah, if it's going to keep your heart trapped in this abyss due to its sheer volume and weight, its not a good treasure.

A good treasure should be one you could love and hold and take everywhere with you - like a flip knife. Yup. I was definitely going to get myself one of those someday.

Bell's growl warned me, but not in time for me to dart away from his grasp. He pounced - it was very sudden - even with the growled warning. I can't believe he outran me in his human form. I was cheating, running on full wolf power too. It should've been physically impossible... but then I looked and saw his portal close behind his leaping form.

He was cheating too.

He tackled me, wrapping his arms and curse fumes around me, and then turning us both around so that he would take the full impact as we smash against the hill of gold and treasures - which hurt by the way. I've ran and skidded and half stumbled through enough treasure by now to experience first hand that small treasures felt like hard pebbles and rocks.

That cartoon where Scrooge McDuck swam in gold coins... that was one tough duck.

Anyway, I sat up straddling mate who pushed his upper body up so that I ended up sitting on his lap. Bell's cursed fumes cleared and he checked me, "Are you hurt anywhere, Princess?"

Pfff... of course not!

And then he sighed, "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"