Page 159 of Beasts of Mine

“In an ancient hidden jungle temple.” I reminded Luca as I gestured toward the refrigerator and then broadly at the stone surrounding us.

“It was expensive.” Luca admitted with a faint grimace. “And getting it here was unpleasant.”

“How?” I asked Luca, genuinely unable to imagine any reasonable method of delivering a refrigerator this deep into the rainforest.

“Tavian.” Luca answered with one word, his face so matter-of-fact that I immediately suspected the story was much worse than he was admitting.

“That explains absolutely nothing.” I told Luca, already picturing Tavian hauling the thing through the jungle with far too much confidence.

“It explains most of it.” Luca replied as he pushed away from the wall and headed toward the next room, apparently satisfied to let my imagination handle the rest.

I followed him through the living area, taking in far more evidence of an actual home than I had expected. There was a bathing room supplied by collected and filtered water, with a raised stone basin and simple gravity-fed shower. Another room contained tools, repair materials, rope, sealed medical supplies, and enough practical equipment that it looked more like a workshop than anything ancient. Clothing hung inside carved wooden cabinets protected from humidity by drying packets, while shelves held folded towels, spare linens, soap, and other supplies that made it clear the men had done far more than occupy whatever sections of the temple happened to remain standing.

“Where are Malek and Tavian?” I asked Luca after realizing I hadn’t heard either of them since we arrived despite their scents lingering throughout the rooms.

“North boundary.” Luca answered as he opened another cabinet and checked the contents. “They planned to stay at one of the trail shelters tonight. They knew I asked for today.”

“You really are coordinating.” I told Luca, remembering my accusation from yesterday and the suspiciously smooth way all three men had been giving one another time alone with me.

“A little.” Luca admitted as he glanced toward me, showing no particular shame about it.

The sleeping rooms were farther inside and weren’t bedrooms in the modern sense so much as old chambers reclaimed and softened over time. Platforms had been repaired and covered with thick mattresses, woven mats, blankets, pillows, and mosquito netting where necessary. One larger room held several sleeping spaces rather than separate beds, and the combined scents inside stopped me just beyond the doorway—cedar and damp earth, citrus leaves and spice, sandalwood and herbs, all layered together. My shoulders relaxed before I consciously realized why, and the overnight pack suddenly felt twice as irritating against my back. Luca noticed the change, but whatever he made of it, he kept to himself.

“This one is usually ours.” Luca explained as he stepped past me and rested one hand against the broad sleeping platform, leaving enough room that I could decide whether to enter farther. “There are other rooms if you want your own space.”

I looked around again, taking in folded blankets inside an open cabinet, clothing stacked neatly along one side, and a low shelf holding books, a lantern, a small charging bank, and several personal items that made the room feel occupied rather than prepared for visitors.

“I thought leopards were solitary.” I told Luca as I lowered my overnight bag onto the floor and rolled one shoulder after finally getting the weight off it.

“Leopards are.” Luca answered as he crouched beside one of the storage boxes and opened it. “We’re people who turn into leopards.”

“Convenient distinction.” I told Luca as he pulled out a folded blanket.

“We like sleeping together sometimes.” Luca explained while placing the blanket on the platform and smoothing one corner beneath his palm. “Sometimes we don’t. Depends on the night.”

“And if someone joins your pack?” I asked Luca, running my fingers over the worn strap of my overnight bag while trying to make the question sound more casual than it felt.

“She decides where she sleeps.” Luca answered simply as he finished with the blanket and stepped away. He didn’t follow it with a lecture about pack expectations or turn the question into something bigger than I had asked. Luca simply moved on as though choosing where to sleep was obvious, and I liked that more than I wanted to examine right then.

“Show me the solar setup.” I told Luca as I picked up my camera bag, needing something practical before my thoughts wandered too far ahead.

Luca led me into one of the driest interior rooms, where the solar system was modest but far better organized than I expected. Panels on two repaired roofs fed into a battery bank housed safely inside, with a basic inverter and several protected outlets. It wasn’t enough to run high-draw appliances constantly, but with sensible use there was easily enough power for camera batteries, a laptop, radios, phones, drives, and lights.

“You could charge two camera batteries at once here.” Luca explained as he pointed toward an outlet near a broad worktable beneath one of the brightest windows. “Maybe three, depending on the charger.”

“You already decided this table is mine.” I accused Luca as I ran one hand over the smooth surface, noticing both the useful natural light and the amount of room available for a laptop beside camera equipment.

“No.” Luca replied as he leaned one hip against the edge of the table. “I decided this table has good light.”

“And that outlet happens to be beside it.” I pointed out to Luca, gesturing toward the wall.

“It was already there.” Luca answered calmly, glancing toward the outlet as though he had nothing whatsoever to do with how convenient it suddenly looked.

“The chair?” I asked Luca as I gestured toward the sturdy wooden seat tucked beneath the table.

“Also already there.” Luca replied without hesitation.

“The sealed box sitting underneath it?” I asked Luca as I crouched and pointed toward the waterproof container.