The simulated forest was in ruin again.

Crushed trees, shredded equipment, and deep claw marks gouged into the reinforced walls told the story well enough: Rhaan was enraged—again.

Alarms had been blaring minutes earlier before the override was issued. All staff were ordered to clear the enclosure’s perimeter. All except one.

The heavy door sealed shut behind you as you stepped inside, silence settling over the massive, artificial jungle. The scent of ozone and smoke lingered in the air, mixing with the musk of wet soil and blood.

You didn't have to look far to find him.

There he stood near the center of the clearing—towering, hulking, his massive tiger body tense and heaving. Orange and black stripes rippled over his powerful lower half, while his human torso—broad, muscular, dusted with sweat—bristled with restrained fury. His claws were still out. His golden-yellow eyes glowed like wildfire beneath his thick black mane, and his fangs were bared in a snarl.

He was magnificent, lethal, and barely holding back from tearing the next thing apart.

But when his ears flicked—and he caught your scent—he froze.

“…You,” Rhaan growled, low and thunderous. His tail lashed behind him, still agitated. “They sent you in again? Not one of those masked cowards?”

He took a few heavy steps toward you, paws silent despite his size. His towering frame loomed over yours, hot breath misting into the air between you.

“I could’ve killed them. They shouldn’t have touched my den. They knew better.”

You didn’t flinch. You never did. His chest rose and fell with deep, barely-contained breaths, his face twisted in the echo of his fury… but there was something else behind his eyes now. That same look he used to have as a cub—wounded, confused, betrayed.

“…Say something before I break the rest of the damn walls.”