The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 83: I’m choosing myself

"At least," he leaned down, his chin dropping above my head as he said with cold eyes. "...I never made her cry."

Kaelor flinched.

I hadn’t realized how clearly Damar had seen it but he did make a point.

What’s the use of crying over spilt milk, they say? It’s not like you can get the milk back to the glass and even if you do try to replace it, it’ll never be the same milk that spilled.

There’s no way a mere apology can make up for the tears he made me shed, is what Damar meant.

"You talk about protecting her and freeing her," Damar continued, his emerald eyes burning. "But you never once asked her what she wanted."

Kaelor looked back at me, desperation creeping into his voice.

"Arinya... tell me this isn’t real. Tell me you’re not serious."

I swallowed. My chest hurt, and my throat ached, like I had just screamed at the top of my voice and needed to be hydrated.

But I didn’t look away. I needed to see this to the end.

"I am serious," I said. "Unlike what you believe, Damar never forced me. He never threatened me. He never treated me like something fragile that would break if I made my own choices. He never forced his will on me."

Even when he wanted me to be his spouse and wanted to consummate with me, he ’asked’ me for it. He waited for my answer. He tried to trust me even on our first meeting when I could be like any other girl who would run to report his presence in the forest to my tribe.

If that’s not the highest level of care and respect one can have for a person, then what is it?

I placed my hand over Damar’s scales, feeling the steady thrum beneath.

"He listened to me," I said. "And you didn’t."

Kaelor staggered back half a step, as the ground had shifted beneath him.

"...You’re choosing a snake over your own blood?"

I frowned at his emphasis and made sure he got my response into his thick tiger skull.

"I’m choosing myself."

That was when something finally cracked in his expression—not rage, not jealousy—but fear.

Fear of losing me.

Fear that he already had.

The forest rustled softly around us, feeling the tension between us.

Then, as if it had been planned, we began to hear footsteps.

Who would come to this junction in the village unless they were headed North?

People seldom head north since there’s nothing to find there but we were hearing footsteps.

Not one, not two... It looked like a total of four folks were coming this way.

I felt Damar’s body tense instantly, his tail tightening just enough to anchor me without pulling me back. His head lifted slightly, pupils thinning as he assessed the newcomers before they even came fully into view.

I also tensed up quite a bit.

This meant Damar would be exposed to more folks and this would no longer be between Kaelor and me, but the folks who hate me.

What should I do?

Should I hide Damar?

Should I make him run?

But then I would be stuck here with Kaelor.

There is no telling what he would do once we were alone.

And if I intend to run with Damar, Kaelor might make a big deal out of it and tell the village that I had been kidnapped by a feral snake.

It’s all a mess.

So, we can only stand here and wait for whatever was to come.

And then, we began hearing their voices,

"Of course, we need to follow you, since you don’t know these parts of the village too well." That was... Zevak? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Oh no, if he were one of the folks coming, then surely there is one troublemaker who will be in that approaching quad.

My fists clenched and my throat tightened.

"Brother Zevak is right."

"Of course," I muttered under my breath. She was definitely there.

Veyra was the first to step into the clearing. She had her back turned to us as she held the hands of the other female in their midst, trying to please her with her fake smile.

But the corner of her eyes caught us and she turned, being the first to see Damar’s massive form behind me.

She froze for half a second, her blood running cold and then her lips parted in a sharp gasp, hand flying to her chest like she was the one being threatened.

"A snake?" she shrieked. "Why is there a snake here?!"

Zevak and Ashren immediately moved in front of her, instinctively shielding her, their bodies rigid and hostile.

They both stood at alert, ready to transform if they had to buy them their eyes landed on me.

"Arinya?"

They looked at me, shocked, and then at Kaelor, who was in front of us.

What was this situation? And why was there a snake behind me?

Their expressions were pretty obvious to read.

But the one whose expression wasn’t so easy to read was Solin.

She stopped quietly, her eyes sweeping over the scene—Kaelor’s disheveled state, and Damar’s protective posture, despite him being the one I needed protection from.

And after analyzing, she said nothing. Just watched.

"What’s going on?" Zevak demanded. "Kaelor, why are you bleeding?"

Kaelor wiped his mouth and noticed there was still some blood he hadn’t wiped out.

He clicked his tongue and opened his mouth, wanting to say something when Veyra cut in first.

"I knew it," she said shakily. "I knew something was wrong when she kept disappearing at dawn and coming back at dusk. She must’ve been plotting with a snake to do something bad to our tribe." Veyra’s eyes filled with tears. "I’m scared, brother." She clutched Ashren’s arm. "She brought a snake to the tribe this time. Who knows what she’s planning?"

The act was so obvious to see through, with her jumping to a conclusion like that, but you could always count on my dumb brothers to fall for it.

"Bringing a snake to the village... Arinya, have you finally lost your mind?"

I clicked my tongue quietly.

If Veyra doesn’t cause trouble for me and blows this out of proportion, then she isn’t Veyra.

Does she always have to look for ways to screw me over?

What? I brought a snake into our village?

Is that how she’s going to paint me as a criminal this time?

I did think she was running out of ideas to convict me, but this is crossing the line.