Caitlyn took a seat and pressed a hand to her chest. "Cait." She gestured toward the woman.
"I am Malai." The woman smiled, then passed them a wooden plate filled with rice and some kind of grilled meat.
"I'm starving." Carlos popped a piece of meat in his mouth. "It's good. Tastes like chicken."
"Which means it could be a frog." Caitlyn pointed across the village. "There are our clothes. They must have washed them." They were hanging on a line to dry.
"Welcome." A large man dressed in baggy green pants sat on the mat beside them. He had long black hair and golden eyes. He introduced himself.
"Oh." Caitlyn was surprised. "This is Raghu," she told Carlos. "He was much furrier the last time we saw him." She smiled and bowed to him.
Carlos bowed. He pressed a hand to his chest. "Carlos." He motioned to Caitlyn. "Cait."
Raghu inclined his head. "He is a were-panther, yes?"
Caitlyn nodded and replied in English, "Yes."
"You do not speak our language?"
She shook her head no. "Not yet."
"But you understand me?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"You can communicate with us when we are shifted."
"Yes."
"That is most unusual. I have never met a human with that ability." Raghu accepted a plate of food from Malai. "She is beautiful, yes? She is my mate."
"Ah." Caitlyn nodded, then said "Yes" in his language.
Carlos leaned close to her. "What is he talking about?"
"He's married to Malai." Caitlyn smiled at the woman. "I agreed that she's beautiful."
"Oh." Carlos went back to stuffing food down his mouth.
Raghu chewed on a piece of meat. "My mate came from the Lisu. They are known for their beauty."
Caitlyn tilted her head. The Lisu were a hill tribe, completely mortal as far as she knew.
Raghu regarded her curiously. "I do not understand why you are still human."
She gave him a perplexed look.
"Your mate is a were-panther, but you are still human. Is he reluctant to bite you?"
She sat back, confused. She wasn't fluent yet in the were-tiger's language, but she managed a few words. "Why...bite me?"
Raghu's golden eyes shifted from her to Carlos. "He must bite you in order to make you a were-panther."
"What?" Caitlyn scrambled to her feet.
Carlos jumped up. "What? What's wrong?"
Her shock quickly sizzled into anger. "You - You jerk!"
"What?" He glanced at the empty plate in his hands. "Okay, I ate all the food, but it's not the end of the world. I'll get you some more."
"You can bite me and make me a were-panther?" she cried.
His face paled and the plate tumbled from his hands.
Chapter Twenty-four
Tears blurred Caitlyn's vision and she trembled with anger. How could he not tell her something so vitally important? "Why didn't you tell me?"
He leaned over to set the wooden plate on the bamboo mat. "I can explain."
"You should have explained weeks ago! What the hell are we even doing here?"
"We can discuss it later in private."
"I'm upset now!" She glanced around the circle of villagers who were watching her curiously. Damn, she was providing them with a soap opera. She lowered her voice, but it still shook with emotion. "At least tell me if it's true. Can you turn me into a were-panther by simply biting me?"
A pained expression crossed his face. "In theory, yes."
"Then in theory, you never had to come here to look for a were-panther mate. You could have taken me!"
"Catalina - "
"What was wrong with me?" Her old fear came reeling back at full force. "You didn't think I was good enough?"
He scoffed. "You're all I've ever wanted. I'm not giving you up, even if I find a jillion were-panther women."
She blinked. "You - You're staying with me?"
"Yes." He scowled at her. "I thought I made that clear in the grotto."
She scowled back. "I thought that was...sex talk."
"That was love. I told you I love you." He pulled her into his arms and fastened one hand to her jaw to force her to meet his hungry gaze.
The village women sighed in unison.
Caitlyn thought she might melt at his feet. "So you don't want to marry a were-panther now?"
"No. I want you."
"When did you decide that?" She didn't know whether to kiss him or slap him. He had her so confused.
"I've been considering it for a while."
"And you didn't tell me?" She pushed away from him. "I'm still angry at you."
He gave her a bewildered look, then picked up the plate and handed it to Malai. "Can you get her some food?" He pointed at the plate, then at Caitlyn.
Malai nodded and scurried away.
Caitlyn snorted. "It's not about food, Carlos. It's about honesty."
He stiffened. "I haven't lied to you."
"You kept the truth from me. You didn't tell me you were planning to stay with me."
"I didn't realize I needed to. As far as I'm concerned, we're already married."
"Well, it would have been nice if you had told me. And what about your little habit of dying every now and then? You should have told me about that. I suffered needlessly."
He arched a brow. "I suffered a bit myself."
She winced. He had a point there. "You still should have told me. I'm detecting a pattern here, and I need you to be upfront with me so I can trust you."
He scoffed. "Caitlyn, I died last night to protect you. You can trust me."
She folded her arms over her chest, frowning.
Malai returned with another plate filled with food and set it on the bamboo mat. "You were right, husband," she whispered to Raghu. "They bicker too much."
He nodded. "She's a fiery one. He should wear her out with a long bout of sex."
The village men nodded in agreement while the women giggled.
Caitlyn's face grew warm.
"What did they say?" Carlos asked.
"Nothing," she grumbled.
He arched a brow. "Something about me being hen-pecked?"
She groaned inwardly. "I...was wrong to doubt your trustworthiness. You were willing to sacrifice yourself in order to protect me, and I'm more grateful than I can say."
When he reached for her, she stepped back and lifted her hands to stop him. "But I'm still upset that you didn't tell me I could be turned into a were-panther. You knew all along that I could be your mate and a mother for your children."
"And I knew the transformation would most likely kill you."
She paused, stunned.
"It's true, Catalina. I've seen mortals die in agony, unable to survive the transformation."
She swallowed hard. "Are you serious?"
"My cousin married a mortal, and when she attempted to go through the transformation, she died a miserable, painful death. Her father was so enraged, he massacred my people."
Caitlyn swayed from the impact of his words. All those people had died because a woman hadn't survived the transformation?
He grabbed her arm. "Are you all right?"
"I..." She shook her head. She could actually die? This couldn't be right. It was too cruel a twist of fate. She and Carlos were perfect for each other. It had nearly killed her when she'd thought he was dead. And now, if she tried to become his mate, she could die?
"Come, sit down." Carlos tugged on her arm. He waited for her to sit beside him, then placed the plate of food in her lap. "You look pale. You should eat."
She glanced down at the food without seeing it.
Then she looked around the circle of villagers who were all watching her like she was on prime-time television.
She attempted speaking the were-tiger language to Raghu. "Your mate is from the Lisu tribe? She's human?"
"Malai is were-tiger now," Raghu answered proudly and smiled at his wife.
"Was it hard for her to change?" Caitlyn asked.
Raghu's smile faded. "Very hard, but my Malai is strong. Only those with the heart of a tiger survive it."
Caitlyn gulped.
"Akkarat," Raghu said to one of the men. "You tell our guest your story."