The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella)

Chapter 1683

"Don't run," Arabella cautioned, well aware that predators like felid had an instinct to pounce on anything that moved quickly.

Standing still might be safe, but the moment you bolted, you were pretty much asking to be chased.

Horace ground to a halt, his knees wobbly with fear, "So, boss, what do we do now?"

Wait around to be tiger chow? Hardly an option. If only they had thought to bring smeat from the market earlier. That might

have spared them this terrible dilemma.

He spotted a rock on the ground and was about to reach for it when Arabella interjected, "Don't crouch down."

In the eyes of a tiger, making yourself smaller only increased its urge to attack.

"lI saw sstones over there. We could throw them at it," Horace explained.

"Don't provoke it. If that tiger had wanted to eat us, it would've pounced the moment we set foot on this island. It's got plenty of

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ways to take us down without warning. We're in its territory now, and its appearance is more of a warning than an attack."

"So what's our move?"

"Stay put for now."

Despite his fear, Horace stood still.

"Follow my lead. We're going to back away slowly. Take the path through the weeds."

Horace didn't understand the logic, but he mimicked Arabella, stepping backward, one cautious step at a time, towards the

overgrown shrubbery.

The tiger watched them retreat, yawning before turning and sauntering away.

"Boss, this place is so eerie." Horace shivered as he stayed close to Arabella, "How do you stay so cool?"

"I've got a taser."

No wonder Arabella was so brave, "But boss, are we really faster than a tiger? If it charges, can we really hit it first with a taser?"

"Humans can't outrun tigers, but whether we can hit it first depends on the situation."

Anyway, the best policy was to avoid angering the beast at all costs. Then, other animal cries echoed across the island.

"Boss, let's pick up the pace." Horace almost wished they ran at once, "That Sean really left us in the lurch. No one's cto meet

us since we arrived."

Clearly, Sean wanted to see them beca laughing stock, attacked by wild animals.

"Surely he set the meeting here just to watch the show."

No one scheduled a business meeting in a place like this unless they were up to no good.

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"The only lights on the island are from that villa up ahead. | can't believe Sean actually lives in this haunted place. Doesn't he get

the creeps coming in and out?"

"The predators here are domesticated by him. They're familiar with him and his crew and normally don't attack. Because of long

tof staying close to human, that tiger didn't go for us right away."

That was why Arabella had chosen to retreat cautiously.

"So that's the deal." Horace said, gaining sinsight, "Boss, if we start running now, do you think other animals might jump out

and go for us?"

"It's possible," Arabella preferred to walk as if on a leisurely stroll.

Inside the villa, a man stroked a young tiger like a pet cat, his interest piqued as he watched through the monitor that the

newcomers were approaching his lair with an air of calm.