by Celine Yorke
Philippe said to Serena, "Would you like to come for a visit downstairs to look at the den now? It is quite safe, I promise you. Then you can see with your own eyes that most of the people or jaguars down there are shape-shifters."
"Yes, okay," Serena said. A nervous pain went through Serena's stomach as she walked careful down the stairs and entered through a guarded door. Two tall muscular men who seemed to know Philippe let them in. They came into a spacious, dark, mysterious-looking room with dim lights on the walls. It seemed to be the main area of the den. It looked more like a big cavern than a club room. Many people sat around small tables, drinking. Some couples sitting close together hugging and kissing. The women were dressed in daring, tight-fitting, low-cut dresses, showing half of their swelling breasts. A big fireplace with a roaring fire at one of the walls was the main attraction. Several pelts were spread around in front of the fireplace, and three beautiful jaguars were laying on them in front of the fire.
Everyone in the room looked at them, but they showed a certain respect for Philippe. He smiled and nodded to some of the people. He led Serena further into the den, down a long deep dark corridor. The walls were made of large mud bricks, which gave the feeling of walking into a cave. Lots of different passages ran out from the main corridor, with several little rooms in each passage. The rooms had drapes hanging in front of the openings, but some of the rooms were open, so everyone could see what was going on inside.
Serena stopped in her tracks. In one of the rooms with no drapes drawn, she saw a very attractive man and a beautiful woman having sex. A few pelts were spread out on the floor and the couple was having sex there for everyone to watch. Serena's eyes widened. She felt a strange surge of lust rush through her at the sight of them making love. She looked at Philippe and he smiled as if he knew how she felt. Serena smiled back and shook her head.
A big jaguar came out from one of the other rooms and stopped when it saw Serena. It looked at her with green piercing eyes. Serena struggled with her breath. She gasped, and Philippe put his arm around her. He pointed his hand toward the entrance to the corridor, and in a demanding voice, said, "GO."
The jaguar trotted past them.
Serena was a bit shaken, but happy for Philippe's support. She leaned into his chest for comfort. It was all so new to her.
"Are you scared?" he whispered into her ear.
"You bet I am, but I'm trying hard to accept it all." She looked up at him with a question in her eyes. "They seem to have a lot of respect for you. Some even seem to be scared of you. Why?"
"That is because I'm their alpha and they are my pride."
"Does that mean you are their leader?"
"Yes, it is my den, and if they want to be part of my pride, they have to follow my rules."
"Oh, I see," Philippe smiled at her. They walked back to the main cavern and sat down at one of the small tables. Philippe ordered drinks for them. Serena looked around at all the people. She noticed the men couldn't keep their eyes off of her, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, you are quite safe. No one would dare touch you as long as you are with me."
"Thanks, I feel safe with you, but I wouldn't like to come down here by myself," Serena said in a bit of a shaky voice.
"I'm glad you came with me. I feel much better now that my secret is out in the open, to a normal person I care about. When Tom comes, I hope you will arrange an evening where we can meet and get to know each other. I would love to hear about the jaguars in the South American jungle."
Philippe drove Serena home. She felt much better now she had seen the den and Philippe had told her the truth about him being a shape shifter, but it was still unsettling.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Tom got a phone call. It was Victor from the SIS headquarters in South America. "Hello, Tom, how are you doing? Did you catch up with your family and girlfriend yet?"
"Hello, Victor, what a surprise to hear from you. Yes, I've had a wonderful time catching up with them all. I'm about to go to Paris to meet up with my girlfriend again. She was happy to have me back."
"To Paris, good, that's just where we want you. Some wanted criminals escaped from here to Europe. We suspect they could be hanging out around the Mediterranean somewhere. Maybe they are pirating or visiting the big popular cities such as Paris. Carlos Fontana could be behind them, but we are not sure yet."
"I don't know what I'm doing yet. I planned to get back into my studies. My goal is to design and build houses, mansions and beautiful buildings." Tom thinks of himself as more of an artist than someone involved in catching criminals.
"And so you should, if that is what you want to do. And that is where we need you to be. Many of the big bosses behind the crimes are having mansions built with their black market money. So it can be helpful for us to have you in such a place."
"Okay, Victor, I promise to keep in touch, but I want to do a bit of exploring and see what my options are first before I choose."
"I'll give you a call now and again to see how you are doing. Good luck with it all," Victor said. He hung up.
Tom packed his bags to fly to Paris, he would be staying with Serena. She had talked to Violet about him coming and asked if it was okay with her if he stayed with them for a while. Serena would pay the extra rent as long as he was there. The apartment was big, so Violet agreed.
Serena waited for Tom at the airport. She was nervous as she stood at the window, watching the plane land. She walked back to where all the people waited at the gate. She saw Tom coming through the gate and waved to him. He smiled back and ran over to her, took her in his arms, and spun her around.
"Oh, I'm going to get dizzy if you don't put me down," she laughed.
Tom put her down and gave her a long passionate kiss. Serena was nearly out of breath. They both laughed and hugged, elated to see each other again.
"I always catch the bus, but because today is special, I will hire a taxi back to the apartment," Serena said. "I have talked to Violet about you staying with us until we find our own place."
"That sounds great."
It was the weekend, and Violet's day off from work. She was there to greet them when they arrived home. "Tom, this is my very nice roommate Violet, and Violet this is Tom," Serena introduced them to each other.
Violet held out her hand. "Welcome, Tom, I heard so much about you."
"And I heard a lot about you, pleased to meet you."
"I have a pot of tea ready for you and some toasted cheese sandwiches."
"Oh, how nice of you, Violet, thanks!"
Serena showed Tom into her bedroom with his bags. After a quick kiss, they joined Violet in the living room with the delicious sandwiches.
"Tom wants to take up his studies as an architect again. Do you happen to know where the best place to do that here in Paris would be?" Serena asked Violet.
"Other than the university where I did my study as a computer programmer, I don't know where else would be a good place. Why don't you ask Jock Lassalle if he knows where Tom can get accreditation? He might have some sort of connection."
"What a good idea, why didn't I think of that?"
The next day when Serena got to work, she went to the reception desk. "Hi, Michelle, do you think I could have a word with Jock?"
"I'll give him a call." She pushed the button on the intercom. "Serena wants to speak to you. Can she come in?"
"Yes, sure, send her in."
She knocked on his door before he opened it. "Come in, Serena, and sit down. What is on your mind?"
"You know about my boyfriend Tom, who studied to be an architect? He has come here to Paris and is staying with me. I was wondering if you would be able to help him along. Perhaps give him some advice, or if you knew an architect firm who would be willing to take him on to help further his studies."
"Tom has come to stay with you? That's lovely for you. I will do what I can to help him. Give me a little time to call some of my connections. Maybe I can pull
a few strings for him, but I'm not promising anything." Jock smiled.
"Thank you so much. Tom won't let you down. He won a scholarship to the USA because he is so talented."
She went back into the workroom and got busy with a new creation. As usual, she got so caught up in her work she forgot all about her conversation with Jock. The design awards were coming, and she wanted to be nominated. She was working on some new styles, sketching silhouette ideas, when Jock entered and came over.
"I contacted an old friend of mine who is in the construction business. His firm employs architects. He would like to arrange an interview with Tom." Jock sounded very happy with his result.
Serena was far away in her own thoughts and looked up at Jock after a long pause. "Hum? Oh, I'm with you. That is fantastic. Tom will be happy for that."
Jock laugh, "You sure get involved in your work. Anyway, here is the phone number for my friend, Matias Mackrid." Jock handed Serena a small card.
"Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate all you've done."
"Think nothing of it." His eyes twinkled.
When it was time for her lunch hour, Serena phoned Tom and told him the good news. He got on the phone right away and called Matias Mackrid. They scheduled an interview the same afternoon.
He brought his portfolio and certificates with him for the interview and told his story. Matias seemed pleasantly entertained and took a liking to Tom right away. He looked at Tom's portfolio and seemed impressed. He offered him a trial so they both could see how Tom would fit in with the other architects.
"If things work out and we are both happy with each other, we will get you on our payroll." Tom was pleased with that arrangement and promised to start the next day. It was late in the afternoon, so he thought he would head over to Jock Lassalle's and pick Serena up from work.
She was delighted to see him. When he told her about the good news, she was overjoyed. She jumped up and down, clapping her hands like a kid. "That's wonderful, Tom. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and hope it works out. Then I can keep my job and we don't have to move anywhere else." Tom laughed with her, and they seemed just like any happy young couple walking along the river Seine holding hands. Serena thought about the many times she walked along the waterfront by herself, wishing Tom could be with her, and now he was right here beside her. The lights sparkled, and everything felt magical.
She smiled and looked at Tom. "There is a cozy little café not far from here. We could go there for dinner."
Tom smiled back. "Yes, we should celebrate. Thanks for putting in a good word for me." He planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
"You're welcome. I hope you will be happy there. I have a big thing coming up with the designs of the year awards. I would like you to be there with me so you can see the outfits I entered in the competition."
"I would love to be there and see all your beautiful creations."
They found a nice table and enjoyed their meal, watching the river Seine.
The next morning, Tom arrived at the studio. Matias Mackrid welcomed him and took him into the area where the architects worked. It was a huge area, with drawings spread out all over the tables, and sophisticated computers along the wall. A few big boards with chalk drawings all over them were scattered around the place. Four men worked on special drawing tables. They all got up from their chairs and came over to shake hands with Tom and welcomed him to the team. A nervous rolling, fluttery feeling in his stomach had been bothering Tom all morning. But it was now replaced by a feeling of warmth flowing through him. Great, I'm back doing what I love to do.
Matias Mackrid filled the men in with a little of Tom's background. He then let Aiden, the supervisor of the architect team, take over from there. They had just gotten a new order to design a mansion for a very wealthy man, and were in the process of drawing the design of the building. A little jerk went through Tom when they showed him the drawings and told him they wanted to make a small model of the mansion first. He noticed someone was speaking to him and jolted out of his thoughts.
"I hear you are good at making mini models of buildings, so maybe we can get you to start making a model of the mansion together with Walter."
Walter came over, smiling to the depths of his brown eyes, and looked up at Tom. "Yes, let's get started. I will fill you in and show you the drawings to give you an idea of what we have to work with."
CHAPTER NINE
The more Tom studied the drawings of the mansion, the more convinced he was, it was similar to the mansion they built for Carlos Fontana. He enjoyed what he was doing, so he continued to work on the mini model with Walter. Still, he couldn't allay his suspicions. When he came home from work, he called the SIS headquarters in South America and asked to speak to Victor.
"Hello, Tom, how are you doing? Are you settled in Paris yet?"
"Yes, I'm in Paris now and I have a job in a building firm working with the architects. They are working on a new project. They got an order to build a mansion. They want me to make the mini-model of the mansion. When I look at all the drawings spread out on the table, I can see it is very similar to Carlos Fontana's mansion. I don't know if it is a coincidence or maybe there is more to it than meets the eye. I thought I would let you know."
"Thanks, Tom, it is possible there is a connection. I will send Franco over to investigate the situation so we can catch the crooks before they do too much damage."
"I hope you don't stop the building of the mansion so I'm out of a job," Tom joked.
"No, we will only send out our feelers. It takes a while to track the whole operation down."
"Okay, I suppose I will see Franco soon, then?"
"Yes, but please keep it quiet."
After working at Matias Mackrid for a week, he called Tom into his office. "We would like you to continue to work for us. How do you feel about a permanent position?"
"Thanks, I like it here and would be happy to work for you." Tom was pleased and hopeful, it was nice to get his career back on track. When he got home from work that day, he thought he'd better tell Serena about his suspicions.
"I called Victor the SIS commander in the headquarters in South America. He is going to send Franco over here to do some investigating."
"Maybe we should talk to Philippe. You can get Franco to meet his dad and all the guys from the Foreign Legion. Philippe would like to meet you, so that is a good excuse for us to visit him. Time has gone by so fast since you came, Tom. I was so happy we were together again that I kept putting off what I should have told you sooner."
"Okay, I'm ready to listen." Tom sat up against the wall behind the bed and Serena sat next to him.
"When I came back from Sweden, Philippe contacted me and said we needed to talk. He had something he wanted to tell me. He picked me up and took me to a restaurant. He asked me if I ever heard of shape-shifters. I said you told me you had lived with some in the jungle. He then told me he was a shape-shifter and he was an alpha for a pride of jaguar shape-shifters. He had a den downstairs below the restaurant. Well, it blew my mind, and I fainted.
Tom's mouth dropped and he sat there and stared at her. "Fuuuuuuck Fuuuuuuck," It was as if someone stabbed Tom in the chest. "That must have been one hell of a shock for you. No wonder you fainted." Tom found it hard to believe.
"I wanted to go home, but promised to call him when I was ready to hear the rest of the story. I did and he told me that is how he survived from the pirates. He took me down to the den. I was terrified, but the jaguars were beautiful. I'm not angry at him, he is a nice man and we are still friends, but only friends, and he understands. He said he didn't expect me to want to keep on dating him after he told me his secret." Tears ran down her face as she told him the story.
Tom took her in his arms and comforted her and held her close to him.
Serena rested for a moment. "Philippe would like to meet you, especially after I told him about how you lived in the jungle with the jaguars. How do you feel about that?"
Tom whistl
ed. "Phew, that was some story you just told me. I'll need to digest that first, I think."
After a few days, Tom was ready to meet Philippe.
Serena called him, "Hi, Philippe, it's me, Serena."
"Hi, Serena. Are you and Tom ready to come for a visit?"
"Yes, I told Tom about you, and he would like to meet you too."
"Come over tonight after work and I will get some Chinese for dinner. How does that sound?"
"That sounds good, we'll be there."
Philippe was the perfect gentleman and was happy to see them. He is handsome. I can understand Serena falling for him, Tom thought to himself. An aching pain burned through his chest.
"Let's eat before it gets cold." They sat down at the table, and Philippe poured them each a glass of red wine. It didn't take long before they all felt at ease and the three of them talked like they were old friends. Philippe reminded Tom of Chan, and he felt sure that they would become good friends.
"A good friend of mine who is an undercover SIS agent is coming over from South America. He is the one who helped uncover the case I got tangled up in. He needs some connections here. Would you be able to arrange a meeting with your dad's friends from the Foreign Legion?"
"I'm sure that can be arranged. I will talk to my dad and see what we can work out. Why is he coming here? Is there some problem?"
"I'm not sure, but the SIS are always on the tail of someone." Tom didn't want to say too much.
"I hope you don't mind, but I'm curious to hear about your experiences in the jungle with the jaguars. Serena probably told you I'm a shape-shifter myself. I would be very interested to hear how the pride you lived with went about their lives over there."
"They are a lovely species, loving and peaceful people, and if it weren't for them, I doubt if I would be sitting here today. But there is a lot of danger in the jungle, and you have to be very fit to survive. I was lucky my good friend Chan taught me how to survive. He pushed me to my limit every morning to do my exercises, climb the trees, and shoot with a bow and arrow."
