Chapter 12
Cleo gracefully descended the branches outside Virgil’s window and felt a rush when her inner animal smelled the night air.
She loved exploring the dark woods and climbing trees, but never had she moved through them so effortlessly.
When her bare feet touched grass, she sprinted across the yard and along the fence bordering the pasture.
Tak’s white horse whinnied before galloping in the opposite direction.
Freak. I’m a freak. Why me? Why can’t I be normal? Nobody loves me. I’m nothing but a walking curse. The way they looked at me! I’m not a wolf. Why couldn’t I be a wolf?
Her poisonous thoughts fueled her as she scaled a fallen tree and leaped over twisted roots.
When she located her favorite climbing tree, she swung up to the first branch and scaled higher than she’d gone before on the old oak.
The thick branches were sturdy, and she wedged herself between the trunk and a bough that angled upward.
She’d barely had a chance to catch her breath before jumping at the sight of her own tail. Tears welled in her eyes, and when she covered her face, her fingers explored the unfamiliar shape of her broad nose.
Devastated didn’t begin to describe her maelstrom of emotions.
As a child in the Breed world, she knew she had to either be a Relic or a Shifter.
She didn’t possess the physical traits of a Chitah, and she would’ve known right away if she were a Sensor.
After obsessively watching educational programming and studying Breed history, it seemed less likely she was a Relic.
They specialized in specific fields, and while life interested her, she didn’t have any innate knowledge beyond the ordinary.
Not unless her gift was playing a musical instrument.
There was always a chance she was a human, but she didn’t think that secret lab would’ve kept her if that was the case. They never spoke about her Breed in her presence, let alone explained why they were keeping her.
She delighted in wearing cat ears but never thought anything of it. All this time, it was probably an early sign she wasn’t a wolf.
Footfalls sounded from the shadows, and a dark figure silently climbed the tree.
Lucian swung into view and took a seat on a branch to her lower left. He drew in a deep breath and looked around. Others would’ve been terrified by this height, but Lucian climbed trees all the time. In fact, she’d even seen him scale the side of the house with ease.
“Nice view,” he said.
Running away crossed her mind, but there was no point. Uncle Lucian could run as fast as a wild cheetah and track her scent.
He flicked his golden eyes up to her. “What is it you’re most afraid of?”
She steeled herself so she wouldn’t cry again. “That I don’t belong anywhere.”
“I’ve always felt that way.”
“Why?”
A thin-lipped smile appeared as he anchored one foot against the trunk. “You know what Chitahs are supposed to look like. Pale hair, pale eyes, tall. I stood out in my family. Even now, people think my black hair and shorter stature mean my gifts are defective.”
“Yeah, but I am defective.”
He plucked a leaf from a branch and let it twirl to the ground. “There’s a difference between a defect and an upgrade.”
Cleo couldn’t rationalize that.
“The world can be unforgiving,” he said. “People always look for a reason you shouldn’t belong. Your job isn’t to convince anyone that you belong. Own your space and claim it. Don’t be afraid of opinions. Not everyone’s a prick.”
She wiped her nose, which didn’t feel like her nose. It made her reexamine her face again to search for whiskers or hair. Her human ears weren’t where they should’ve been, and she moved her hands to her new ones. An owl hooted, and she cocked her head, fighting the instinct to hunt it.
“People are scared of what they don’t understand,” he continued. “It doesn’t mean anything about you is wrong. In fact, it’s pretty damn cool.”
“Cool?”
“Hell yeah. You can see me, right?”
She nodded.
“Well, it’s pitch-black out here, so that means you have night vision. Leopards can see seven times better in the dark than people, so that’s an advantage.”
“How do you know that?”
“I read. What about your hearing?”
Everything seemed sharper, but the thoughts swirling in her head made it difficult to concentrate.
Lucian shook his hair away from his eyes.
“My guess is whichever physical trait of your animal is showing, that sense is sharper. Who knows? Maybe eventually, you’ll come all the way out.
Or maybe you won’t. Once you develop a close relationship with your animal, you might learn how to summon only the specific traits you need. ”
She climbed to a higher branch and lay on her stomach so she was looking down at him. “What do you mean?”
He looked up. “Chitahs don’t shift, but we have similar traits to cats.
Do you know how I found you? A scent trail.
Then I spotted you up in the tree. You don’t have those abilities naturally, but your animal does.
I’m guessing since you two are fused right now, you can also hear better with those ears.
There might come a time when you want to eavesdrop on a conversation across the room or see in the dark.
All you’ll need to do is partially shift. ”
“So only my ears if I want to hear something?”
“Maybe. This is only your first shift, so you haven’t figured out your limitations or possibilities.
You’ll need to play around with that.” Lucian glanced up at her.
“Chitahs might’ve started from someone like you.
Ever think of that? Being different isn’t a curse; it means nature is saying ‘screw all this shit—let’s switch it up.
’ I know it’s not what you expected, but life throws you curveballs.
” He rolled off the branch, gripped another, and landed on a lower bough.
“Besides, you don’t have to take turns with your animal.
All that blacking out—most of the guys in the house hate it. ”
“Why?”
“Because they’re afraid of what their animal might do.”
Cleo wasn’t completely sold, but it didn’t feel like her heart was ripping out of her chest anymore. “Everyone’s gonna laugh at me.”
“Let them.” He jumped to another branch with catlike reflexes. “I dealt with that shit growing up. It’s hard, but they never get the last laugh. You do.”
Cleo swung on her branch, let go, and fell fifteen feet to a crouching position on the same branch as Lucian. She stood with perfect balance and held her uncle’s gaze. He was about five inches taller than her five-foot-five stature. “I don’t want people laughing at me. I want to be normal.”
“What’s normal?” He grinned fiendishly. “Humans don’t know we exist, your aunt turns into a giant tiger who likes scratching on the porch rails, Violet shifts into a puppy—don’t forget that. Joy and Atticus show her off around town so people won’t be afraid. That’s what you have to do.”
“What are you saying?”
He patted her head. “Don’t hide what you are, because it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Get to know yourself first, and stop all the what-ifs.
It’s your first night out. Don’t give your animal all that negative energy to feed on, especially her first time out.
If you want to sulk out here all night, that’s your call. But you’ll miss the surprise party.”
That piqued her interest. “What party?”
“Bear’s planning a cookie party. I think Quinn’s more excited about it than anyone. Tak won’t mind if you let your animal run around the house, but she needs to meet the pack. Come on.” Lucian dropped to the ground and extended his arm.
Part of her wanted to find a cave and cry herself to sleep, hoping she would wake up and all this would be a nightmare.
But she felt compelled to return, and not because of the party.
She wanted to get a closer look at everyone’s reactions.
Would they whisper about her? Ask the Packmaster to make her leave?
Keep the babies away? The only way to know how the world would treat her was to see how her family would treat her first.
She reflected on her conversation with Krys—his warning that all this could disappear if her real family claimed her. Maybe it would be for the best. But what if her real family didn’t accept her?
Instead of taking Lucian’s hand, Cleo’s animal compelled her to jump over him and run toward an uncertain fate.
I waited in the quiet living room, reflecting on what I’d just witnessed upstairs.
After Cleo flew out the bedroom window like a scene from Superman, Lucian went after her.
Even though her animal had every right to explore the woods, Tak didn’t want her alone in her current mental state.
Lucian wasn’t the best communicator in the house, but he would give her honest advice, and sometimes people needed the truth.
The rest of the pack was waiting on the deck for her to return.
I stared at the candles flickering in the fireplace.
This was the most important day of that girl’s life, one she’d remember forever.
I felt bad she would have to put up with stares and shitty remarks from strangers, but despite that, I’d never seen anything cooler. Who wouldn’t be envious of a hybrid?
The others hadn’t seen her up close. Most of them noticed only her tail and ears. They didn’t see her round pupils expand when she got angry, the predatory stare that could stop a heart, the tiny brushed hairs on her broad nose. And they sure didn’t get a look at her fangs.
No wonder.
From the beginning, Cleo had never been afraid of Eden’s tiger and related to her animal more than everyone else’s.
Why didn’t I see the signs? Her nocturnal habits, always eating fish, jumping on things like a nimble little house cat. Quiet. Watchful. Cats are solitary, and wolves are pack animals. But lots of animals don’t live in groups, so she could’ve been a flying squirrel for all I knew.