Taming The Tiger Man - Genma Series #1

Angelina was stunned in front of the cell. Her eyes lingered on the man inside it. He sat against the wall, his muscular body covered in a brown skin tone. However, an almost shoulder-length black bang concealed his face as he bowed.

Was he another object of experimentation?

"Mr. Nixon, w-where is the Inyiak?" Angelina whispered while the man raised his head and stared back at her.

"Doctor, you're looking at him," Nixon replied as he held laughter. "Have you studied the files that Doctor Fonda gave you?"

Angelina shut her mouth. Last night, she had only been able to read the first few pages of the file, so she had no idea that the Inyiak could transform back into a human.

"I missed that information," Angelina muttered, while the man in the bars seemed interested in their conversation. However, he watched them without saying anything.

"Doctor, can you start the examination? They scheduled this animal to train at ten in the morning."

Nixon's reprimand made Angelina flinch. She turned to him with a surprised expression. "What training?"

"Did Doctor Fonda forget to explain what you need to do?" Nixon asked back. "The beast is a fighting animal. You should maintain his health so we can perform him every Tuesday night."

Animal? Angelina glanced at Ramaik. However, the man's pair of black eyes showed no offense at all. Did he not understand our conversation?

Angelina remembered the collection of inhumane photos she had seen. Pity for Ramaik made the woman glare at Nixon.

Angelina moved closer to her bodyguard and whispered, "Mr. Nixon, can you stop saying that word? It's so inappropriate, especially since he can hear it."

However, a burst of laughter escaped the man's lips. "Doctor, you're very good at humor."

"I'm not joking!" Angelina hissed. She glanced into the cage before her worries multiplied. Had those crazy humans taken away Ramaik's intelligence?

"You're too sensitive," Nixon chuckled. He walked over to the closet, where Angelina had first taken the medical supplies, and grabbed an empty box before throwing it at the bars.

The loud thud startled Angelina, and she squealed in shock as the man inside the bars jumped toward them and roared.

Angelina paled when the transformation took place in front of her. Ramaik's eyeballs changed to yellow. The four fangs grew as the Sumatran tiger fur covered the back and arms. The figure roared and tried to claw at Nixon.

"See? He's an animal," Nixon explained casually. He approached Ramaik while that creature let out an angry roar.

Nixon raised his gun high before slamming the tip against the bars with a loud clang. "And we should treat him like an animal."

"Are you crazy?!" Angelina screamed while pushing Nixon away from the increasingly violent Ramaik. "Stop bothering him!"

Unfortunately, their energies were vastly different. Angelina's direct attack had no effect at all. Nixon was motionless and smiled wider. "Doctor, your actions can be categorized as sexual harassment."

"Oh my, you are so annoying!"

Angelina's shriek now replaced the angry roar. She stood with her back facing the cage and glared at Nixon. "If you don't want to help, you should stay away!"

"Doctor, I just wanted to help you see that animals aren't like people," Nixon complained, feigning disappointment. "That creature possesses a body like ours, but he's a beast. The last time, he snapped his opponent's neck in just a few minutes."

"Snapped?" Angelina instantly remembered the condition of her patient the last time. Ramaik was injured. Could it be the result of a fight before he killed his opponent?

And, wound?

"If you want to, we can watch the next fight later. Consider it our first date." The weightless joke from Nixon made Angelina want to whack his empty head with her shoe. However, the roar and the clink of metal behind her made Angelina unable to stand it anymore.

Angelina suddenly turned and screamed angrily at Ramaik while he was still showing his four fangs. "Ramaik! Can you behave?! Even tigers in zoos can act more polite!"

Strange, but true. Ramaik instantly stopped roaring and looked at Angelina with a surprised expression.

"Good. Now I have to check on you." Angelina snorted before turning to her bodyguard.

Nixon stunned. However, she ignored his reaction and handed Ramaik's file to him. "Mr. Nixon, take this, then help me record the examination."

Nixon's body moved to follow orders, but his gaze remained fixed on the creature in the cell. He took the file from Angelina's hand while whistling softly. "I didn't expect you to be able to tame him so quickly. It took Doctor Fonda about a week to get the animal to obey. It's really like a monkey handler with a mo—"

"Mr. Nixon! Wait by the door!" cut Angelina exasperatedly. A big man with a big mouth!

"Are you sure? Weren't you the one who wanted me to be close to you?" Nixon smirked and raised one eyebrow.

"I want you to shut your mouth so I can work," hissed Angelina fiercely. Unfortunately, the effect was the opposite. Nixon, the circus clown, touched his left chest while acting like he had a heart attack.

Angelina finally decided to ignore the crazy man. She took the blowpipe that contained the anesthetic needle from the box and slipped it between her lips.

She turned around and gasped when she saw that the figure in the cage was now human again. Ramaik gripped the bars while he was watching Angelina with a friendly gaze.

How can he change form so quickly? Angelina thought without daring to move. Was the emotional change triggering it? She remembered a bulky green figure who often broke things when angry.

However, before Angelina's shock wore off, Ramaik suddenly smiled and purred like a cat. His action made Angelina's cheeks feel hot with embarrassment.

The tiger man found her presence pleasant. And it felt very unethical to drug a man who was interested in her.

She finally removed the blowpipe from her lips and asked with a stammer. "R-Ramaik, may I examine you?"

Unfortunately, the man she was talking to just tilted his head to the left and continued to observe Angelina's face in silence.

Can he only roar? Angelina thought pityingly. She finally returned the blowpipe to the box and took the stethoscope.

"I need to examine you," Angelina carefully explained as she pointed the stethoscope to Ramaik.

Ramaik's eyeballs widened momentarily. The creature puffed out his chest and slammed it against the bars until Angelina gasped and stepped back a few steps.

Ramaik gave another soft snore. Angelina observed her patient's face and found no signs of aggressiveness.

So, he agrees. Angelina cleared her dry throat, then muttered nervously. "I-I'll wash my hands first."

*****

Water flowed from the sink near the cage as Angelina washed her hands with the antiseptic soap and dried them. She then approached Ramaik. That creature was still standing docilely.

Angelina adjusted her watch before putting a stethoscope on his chest directly before her eyes. Ramaik's heartbeat was slightly faster than yesterday, causing her to listen for a full minute before making a report.

However, curiosity forced Angelina's eyes to trace the patient's body parts. Ramaik's human hands were muscular. They were smaller in size than when he turned into an Inyiak. However, she was amazed because she found that there was no trace of tiger fur at all, only human skin.

The stethoscope was still attached to Ramaik's chest when Angelina's gaze climbed to the shoulders and stopped at the black metal collar with a small red light on his neck, like an animal chain.

Angelina looked up slowly to continue her observation. He had a firm jaw, thin lips, a straight nose, no snub, an oval face, and black pupils.

Their gazes met. The woman's breath caught as she heard her patient's heartbeat become a little faster.

The low purr and faint smile from Ramaik's lips made Angelina's cheeks feel warm. Even Paul had never looked at her like this.

Undeniably, the creature was interested in her.

Time seemed to stand still until Nixon's exclamation startled Angelina. "Doctor, so what's the beast's heart rate?!"

The disturbed Ramaik instantly roared and caused Angelina's ears to ring. She removed her stethoscope from her ears and reflexively walked backward with a pale face.

Unfortunately, Nixon was not impressed at all. Instead, the big man brazenly threw an empty plastic bottle at the bars, causing Ramaik to shape-shift and slam himself into the bars.

Angelina stared in horror at the scene unfolding. However, the woman's eyes widened as she saw a slight red stain on the white plaster that covered a wound on her patient's back while he was still acting wildly.

Annoyance replaced the trepidation that had taken hold of Angelina's heart. She took a few seconds to fill her lungs with oxygen before screeching as loudly as she could at the two childish grown men.

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