The cub followed the tigress with tentative steps, his body still weak but his mind focused. The jungle was alive with sounds—chirping birds, rustling leaves, the distant roar of unseen creatures. But nothing compared to the pounding of his own heart. His instincts screamed at him to act, but his human mind hesitated, replaying memories of failed decisions, moments when his body had been too slow, too weak.
"Watch and learn," the tigress said, her voice steady. She moved silently, her movements a blur of muscle and grace. The cub tried to mimic her, but his small body was clumsy, his steps heavy on the ground.
He watched as she stalked the deer, her golden eyes fixed on her prey, each muscle in her body coiled like a spring. There was no hesitation in her movements, no uncertainty in her gaze. She was a predator, born to hunt, born to survive.
The cub's mouth watered at the sight of the deer. Hunger gnawed at him, but it wasn't just hunger—it was a deeper longing. A need to prove himself. To prove that he could belong to this world, to this life. He had failed as a man, but maybe, just maybe, he could succeed as a tiger.
The tigress crept closer, her tail flicking with precision. She paused, every muscle tensed, and then—without warning—she pounced.
The cub watched in awe as the tigress struck with deadly accuracy, bringing down one of the deer with a powerful leap. The kill was swift, efficient, and without mercy. The jungle had no place for weakness, no room for second chances.
The cub took a step forward, his claws digging into the earth as he approached the kill. His instincts urged him to act—to tear into the deer's flesh and feed. But something stopped him.
What if this is wrong? The thought flitted through his mind, uninvited. In his human life, he had been taught compassion, empathy. The idea of taking a life—of being so merciless—was foreign to him.
He hesitated, his eyes flicking from the dead deer to the tigress. She watched him with steady eyes, her golden gaze never wavering.
"Don't think," she said softly. "Just be."
The words struck him like a blow. Don't think. Just be. In his human life, he had always thought too much, overanalyzed every decision, every mistake. But here, in the jungle, there was no room for doubt. There was only the need to survive.
The cub took a deep breath, his mind silencing the storm of conflicting thoughts. His claws sank into the deer's flesh, and for the first time since his rebirth, he felt a sense of purpose.