They moved to defensive mode, back to back. The other boy, the one with the katana, seemed to lose his nerve and dropped the tip of the sword to the ground. One of the canians transformed into a large gray wolf and circled the twins.
She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye as the Aeternus male swept in from the side, sucker punching Seph on the side of the head, dropping her.
“Hey,” Antoinette yelled.
The girl rose to her hands and knees on the mat, shaking her head. Cal had dropped beside her, and seemed a little dazed, like she’d been struck as well. But then murderous eyes narrowed on the male. Her change started midleap and by the time she landed on the Aeternus’s chest, she was in full snow leopard form. Cal’s powerful jaws clamped down on the fallen male’s forearm and dark Aeternus blood sprayed everywhere, coating his white gi and her silver-gray fur. The other combatants hung back, stunned. Antoinette signaled the students to leave as she raced forward to separate the snow leopard from the bleeding male just as Kitt burst through the door with Oberon close behind.
The Aeternus staggered up, holding back the snarling snow leopard by the scruff of the neck, and slammed her head against the wall before Antoinette could stop him.
Seph struggled to her feet, fury radiating from her like a white-hot heat. Oberon stalked forward, lip peeled back in a growl. He grabbed the Aeternus by the throat and they smashed through the mirrored wall into the office behind.
Antoinette bent over the girl, who’d transformed back to human and opened her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Antoinette asked, helping Cal to her feet.
“Just a little shaky,” she replied, and as she glanced past Antoinette, her face fell. “Oh no, Seph. You didn’t.”
Antoinette turned around to find Kitt wide eyed and pale; shaking fingers touched her lips as she stared at a silver-gray wolf.
What the fuck? “I thought you were both snow leopards.”
“We are,” Cal said. “And we are both wolves.” Cal changed to match her sister before padding over to lick the side of Seph’s face.
Kitt blinked slowly and rallied a little. “How?”
The girls transformed back and Seph placed her hand on Cal’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I was confused and didn’t mean to . . .”
Cal wrapped her arms around her sister and kissed Seph’s forehead as she glanced at her mother. “It’s okay, it’s all okay.” Seph may be the warrior of the two, but Cal was the strength.
Oberon came to Kitt’s side and slung an arm around her. He seemed just as shaken by this turn of events as the felian.
Then he smiled at the twins. “It’ll all be okay; in fact it’s perfect.”
Raven flicked to the next channel, the next, and the next. Being stuck down here was starting to drive him insane. He was certain the room was bigger yesterday. Someone had come in and removed several feet sometime during the last twenty-four hours. He stood up and began to pace up and down the room. Maybe a workout would work off some of this frustration.
He stood in front of the chin-up bar and peeled his shirt off, then jumped to grip the bar. Bending his knees and crossing his ankles, muscles strained as he pulled his body up to tap his chin on the bar. He slowly dropped for maximum muscle control. Up he pulled and down he dropped, getting into a slow steady rhythm, exhaling on each lift, inhaling on each drop. He didn’t bother counting. He’d just keep going until he’d had enough, until his arms could take no more.
He couldn’t bear to watch the twins’ evaluation; as much as he wanted to be there, his presence would distract them from their task. They had to do this on their own.
He sensed her, even through the adrenaline haze, and glanced at the clock on the wall as he dropped to the floor. Half an hour.
It was over already?
As he saw Kitt, he let go of the bar and bent to pick up a towel from the bench. A certain look didn’t leave her eyes as she swallowed hard. He watched her throat work, then the way she licked her lips.
Raven dried the sweat on his face. “From your face, I can see it didn’t go well.”
His gaze traveled down her body, his insides turning to molten lava. Even after all these years, she was the only one to turn him on with a simple glance. But there was something wrong. Nervousness, more than was usual, haunted her eyes.
He moved closer, stopping mere inches away. “What’s the matter, Kitten?”
She leaned forward with that far-off look in her eyes and he doubted she even realized she was doing it. When he reached to pull her into his arms, she blinked.
The spell was broken. Her eyes returned to their usual color. She shook her head, more like shaking off a stupor than indicating no.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she said, the accusation hanging in the air between them.
“Tell you what?” He ran the towel over his chest and under his arms.
Her eyes followed the movement. “About the twins; about what they can do.”
What was wrong? “I taught them how to defend themselves. They’re good. I know.”
She snagged her bottom lip with her teeth and tilted her head, frowning. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what? Look—something I taught them obviously has you distressed.”
She shook her head again, her frown deepening. “It’s not what you taught them, it’s what they can do.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about?” he said, turning out his hands. “What have they done?”
She glanced over his shoulder, that far-off look returning.
“Kitt, what is it. Tell me what’s wrong?” Worry gnawed at the pit of his stomach. She was really starting to scare him. He reached out and took hold of her upper arms.
She dropped her eyes to his chest and then raised her chin, focusing on him again. “Get dressed and meet us in the conference room. There’s something you’ve got to see.”
Kitt made her way back to the conference room. Was it possible he really didn’t know about them?
“Are you okay?” Oberon asked from just outside the room. Through the glass she could see the twins sitting with blankets wrapped around their shoulders, clutching each others hands.
“I’m fine,” she said, taking a bottle of water from the small fridge and unscrewing the top. “It’s just the shock.”
Antoinette placed her hand on Kitt’s shoulder. “They’re scared and confused . . . Could someone tell me what’s going on?”
She took a large swallow of water to soothe her dry mouth as Raven came into the room, his hair still damp from a really quick shower.
Raven glanced around the room and his face transformed into pure delight—then quickly fell at the girls’ disconsolate postures. “What’s wrong?”
Oberon frowned. “It’s probably best to see for yourself.”
Raven looked at Kitt closely. She couldn’t meet his eyes, in case he saw the fear in them.
“Let’s go in,” Oberon said.
“RAVEN!” the girls yelled in unison and ran to him, almost knocking him off balance with the force of their contact. He wrapped an arm around each of them and stroked the back of their heads, the concern on his face increasing.
“Hey, hey,” he said. “It’s all right.”
Kitt stood in the background. He had a connection with them she would never have. He’d helped raise them, tended their scraped knees, chased away nightmares in the middle of the night, and tucked them into bed at night. She was just the woman that gave them birth.
“Show him,” Oberon said.
“Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Impatience strained his tone.
“Just watch,” Oberon answered.
The girls stepped back and threw the blankets off their shoulders; they were still wearing the Abeolite suits underneath. Fur spread across their skin as they dropped to their hands and knees. The change came quickly and smoothly: one turned into a snow leopard, the other a wolf. Raven stumbled back, his hand out searching unt
il he found a chair, then he fell heavily into a nearby seat.
“They were both felian, at the Awakening. No—” He shook his head. “This isn’t right.”
“Show him the rest,” Kitt said.
They turned their heads as one and gave a little nod. Soon the snow leopard thinned out and legs grew longer, while the other’s legs shrank and rounded.
Where once stood the cat, there was now a wolf—and vice versa.
Raven’s mouth opened and shut soundlessly, his eyes wide as he tried to grasp the enormity of it. “This is impossible.”
His surprise was real. He couldn’t possibly fake his reaction. He really had no idea. The girls changed to human form and picked up the blankets again.
The room was silent. The twins hung their heads as if they’d done something wrong. Kitt didn’t know what to say to make them feel better.
“Both of you?” Oberon said. “You both can do this?”
The twins nodded their heads in unison.
“We mustn’t let anyone else find out they’re Dúbabeo,” Kitt said. “Especially the Jordan Pride.”
“What are we?” Cal asked, fear causing a tremble in her voice.
“I’m sorry, Dúba-what?” Antoinette asked. “Isn’t it good they can take both forms?”
Kitt laughed. Even in her own ears, it sounded half hysterical.
“They are a myth, a legend,” Oberon said from where he leaned against the wall. “They’re not supposed to exist.”
“So they do, isn’t that good?” Antoinette sat on the edge of the table and crossed her arms.
Oberon came away from the wall. “Good? It’s fucking miraculous. These girls defy the odds on every count. Identical twins are rare; for a mating of two different Bestiabeo lines to result in a pregnancy is so low, it’s near enough to impossible. And while Dúbabeos have been recorded in the far recesses of our history as a myth, they were seen as something to be honored and feared. Something that only existed to serve the Bestiabeo people.”
Oberon walked around to the twins. “To put all that on the head of these girls would be monumental—they’d never be free again.”
Chapter 22 - Angel in Disguise
Gideon waited outside the Academy. He leaned against a tree, watching a piece of trash driven by the wind cross the parking lot. The door opened. A male skipped down the steps. Gideon pushed away from the tree trunk.
“NO, HE’S NOT THE ONE,” Ealund said.
Gideon relaxed again and crossed his arms.
And then he saw her.
His heart pounded heavily against his chest. Years ago, he’d escaped a prison and seen the most beautiful thing ever created. Her. And then he’d been locked away again.
“WHO IS SHE?” Ealund asked.
“My angel,” Gideon replied. “My own personal angel.”
Now here she was again, even more beautiful than before. Twice as beautiful—no, three times. And she was headed his way. He panicked and looked around. She mustn’t see him. The time was not right. He hid behind the tree and circled the trunk as he watched her pass.
Her perfume wafted on the air. He closed his eyes and inhaled. Oh. My. God.
She’s mine.
“PATIENCE,” Ealund whispered in his head. “NOT YET.”
He was right. Not yet. He wasn’t ready.
“HE COMES.” Ealund looked at the male descending the stairs. “YOUR NEXT SACRIFICE.”
“No,” Gideon said. “Not him. He’s not even a student.”
“HE IS MY CHOICE,” Ealund said. “MAKE IT SO.”
Chapter 23 - Taste of Blood
The twins were silent on the drive home. Kitt glanced in the rearview mirror. They just sat on the backseat, heads together, holding hands—fear etched on their young faces. She wished she could do something to alleviate their worry.
Kitt pulled up in front of the Pride’s city residence. A huge concrete wall surrounded the grounds, and the house sat about six hundred feet from the front gate. More than anything, she didn’t want to return them to her brother—but Oberon was right when he said if they didn’t go back, it would just make her brother and father suspicious. She and Raven had no choice.
Kitt climbed out of the car and stood in front of them, feeling a little nervous herself.
“Just be careful and everything will be okay”—again wishing she could wipe away their discomforts, their scared and confused expressions—“and there’s nothing wrong with what you are,” she said in a low voice so no one could overhear. “You are very special.”
They both smiled the same resigned smile, and she got the impression they were now trying to make her feel better.
“What if they want to know what we did?” Cal asked.
“Ah, that reminds me.” Kitt opened the trunk and took out retail shopping bags from some of the trendiest stores, which contained items that Bianca had picked up. “Just say we went shopping and had a bite to eat.”
A private security guard in a cheap black suit and tie stepped out of a small booth near the thick perimeter wall. The way he held his left arm was a dead giveaway: he carried a gun beneath his jacket.
“Here comes Uncle Nathan,” Cal said, nodding to the large late-model car that came along the street and pulled into the drive beside them as she took the bags from Kitt.
The guard in the booth hit a button and the immense iron gates slowly rattled open.
The tinted black window of the car lowered with an electronic whir and Nathan’s disapproving features appeared. “You girls, head up to the house—I want to talk to your . . . to Kathryn.”
Her stomach sank. The last thing she needed right now was any more of his bullshit.
“Don’t worry.” Kitt hoped the twins understood what she was referring to. “Just go on in.”
The girls looked uncertain. Cal glanced at her uncle and then grabbed her sister’s hand and started up the drive.
Kitt gave them a little wave goodbye as they turned before walking through the gate, then they continued up to the house.
“Well?” Nathan said after they’d gone.
“Well, what?” Irritated, her foot started tapping as if she was in felian form, her tail would be flicking like mad.
His brow creased in his I’m-disappointed-in-you expression. “What did you find out about the campus killer?”
“You’re joking, right? Besides, if I knew anything more, as I mentioned the other day”—she approached and placed her hands against the window, leaned in a little—“I’d report it to Tyrone, not you.”
His lips thinned and tightened, the surrounding skin turned white, and a muscle ticked with the tension in his jaw. He waved off the security thug in sunglasses who started toward the car.
“I see you’ve taken to hiring humans,” she said.
“You know the appeal a newly Awakened female has on felian males. The girls have no training on how to tone down their attraction. The other males were getting too distracted; humans aren’t as susceptible.”
Maybe, but she’d seen how the guard looked at the girls as they passed; the way his head tilted to the side watching their asses as they climbed the drive to the house.
“Is everything okay here, sir?” the armed human asked.
“Yes.” Nathan tapped his driver’s shoulder. “She’s just leaving.”
His window rose, dismissing her. The car moved forward and up the driveway to the house. The bodyguard stood inside the closing gate, watching her from behind his dark shades. If she transformed, she could rip out his throat before he had a chance to pull the gun.
Where had that thought come from?
Nathan wasn’t a total fool. He would’ve hired humans who’d been training to deal with Animalians. In fact, the Family business offered just such a service to train bodyguards for their wealthy, questionable clients.
He stood there long after the gates closed, staring her down as she got back into her car. Time to go home. As she drove back to her empty apartment, she was tempt
ed to go to the Bunker but knew it was just an excuse to see Raven, no matter how she tried to justify it.
The delicious smell of food cooking greeted her as she opened the door to her apartment. Maybe Oberon had decided to stay in the spare bedroom after all, knowing she would need some company.
She dropped her bag on the table and went into the kitchen.
It wasn’t Oberon.
Raven stood shaking spices into something bubbling on the stove. He looked up and smiled. “Pasta will be ready in five; there’s a bottle of red breathing on the table— Why don’t you pour a glass?”
“Oberon’s going to kill you when he finds out you’re gone again,” she said, actually relieved he was here.
“He’ll have to catch me first,” Raven said and dropped the smile. “I think we have to talk.”
Her cell phone rang. She scrabbled through her bag trying to find it. It rang out by the time she finally fished it out so she looked at the missed caller ID. Oberon’s number flashed. She hit redial.
“I think you’re busted,” she yelled into the kitchen.
“If that shit is there, I’m going to rip him a new one,” Oberon growled when he answered.
“Yes, he’s here,” she said. “Cooking me dinner.”
“Does he understand the danger he puts you both in?” Oberon growled again. “Do you want me to come get him?”
“No, I think we have a few things to discuss.”
“Tell him, next time he wants to go out, at least let me know first. And call me if you need anything. I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“I will and I’ll see you later,” she said and hung up the phone.
The wine sat on the table just where he said. She poured two large goblets and carried them into the kitchen as he spooned rich red sauce over a bowl of spaghetti.
As he picked up the bowl of pasta she held the glass to his lips. He took a sip and then gave her cheek a quick kiss before carrying the food to the table.
“I learned this recipe from a little Italian woman on a cane farm where I was working near Cairns.”
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