Oath Sworn

by Kristen Banet

  I pulled out my phone and searched for the closest one to me. I chuckled as the GPS sent me back to the skyscraper where I’d bumped into the human businessman. I stepped in, appreciating the strong AC they ran in the building. It kicked scents everywhere, telling me only humans were in the room.

  I walked quietly to the security desk in the front and smiled. “Hi, sir. I’m looking for a friend. I’m with the Werewolf Council of North America.” I knew my gold eyes were going to work in my favor, so I blinked them innocently. The more innocent a supernatural monster tried to be, the worse the reaction they got from humans. Humans had a natural prey instinct, really. They might have dominated the globe and became the smartest and most advanced creatures, but they were prey. Actually, the earliest believed ancestors of humanity had a problem with big cats eating them.

  I knew the sort of response I could elicit from the round security officer, who was just trying to enjoy his bagel.

  His face blanched. “The wolves work on floors sixteen and seventeen,” he said quickly. “Welcome to Dallas…”

  “Thank you.” I patted the counter and started towards the elevator. It was funny that he didn’t notice what I was wearing, or maybe he thought it didn’t matter. I was obviously not human and I presented myself as someone he had no chance of identifying. Maybe my casualness seemed like a display of powerful disrespect to the petty human contrivances around me.

  None of that was true, since for all I knew every human in the building was smarter than me, but appearances were important. I wasn’t dressed importantly, so I had to act important. Above it all. Werecats didn’t survive if they didn’t know how to blend in a little bit. It was like Joey and his friends in Jacksonville. They knew I wasn’t human, but I presented myself as mostly harmless and as human as I could. I didn’t try to be innocent and disarming, just normal, talking about things they found interesting, like the football team that I pretended not to care about. They found me less of a threat because of it.

  But they still knew I wasn’t human.

  Part of me wished I wasn’t using all my instincts to make this work, though. I was running on pure instinct, the hunt driving me and keeping my feet moving. The only time I stood still in the building was when I stepped into an elevator with several other people, all of whom gave me a wide berth. A lady looked over her shoulder at me and I could smell the shock in her scent.

  Yeah, lady, realize you and your power suit aren’t the most powerful thing in the elevator.

  My mom was a power suit kind of woman. It kind of made me want to gag, honestly. Not just the women, either. The men too. What was the point of wearing suits to sit behind a desk all day? Professionalism? What even was that? Wasn’t the definition of professional whatever someone decided it would be?

  I mean, I understand not wanting people to show up in booty shorts…Actually, I own a bar. If I hire a couple of waitresses and let them wear little cut-offs, I would own the most popular bar in town. So I don’t really understand that either.

  That put an immature smile on my face, as I slid between a few of the humans to get out on the sixteenth floor. Stone and Mortar, a construction company of the highest caliber and with the most boring name. Realty and construction were popular for the wolves. It gave them positions of employment for their less intelligent, but still very strong, lower pack members. Imagine houses built by werewolves in the suburbs, and then consider that werewolves have been known to heal broken backs. Worker’s compensation took on a different meaning when it was harder to injure and disable the workers.

  I stepped through double glass doors and walked up to the front desk, taking a long sniff. There was a werewolf in the office, or there had been one recently. I grinned as I leveled a stare on the woman at the reception desk, who was watching me cautiously.

  “I’m looking for a werewolf,” I told her, stepping closer.

  “Which one?” she asked, her hand moving. I wondered who she would call if she needed help. A werewolf, or the building’s security? I didn’t plan on letting it get that far. I had no intention of hurting any humans, no matter who they worked for. Scare them a little? Sure, but not this woman, who was already on the edge of screaming just by seeing me. An interesting reaction. It showed me just how bad things were getting for the pack if their human employees didn’t feel very safe.

  “Doesn’t matter, actually. I’m not here to hurt anyone, just talk.” It was a half-truth. I was in Dallas to hurt someone. A lot of someones, really. I wasn’t in the building to hurt anyone, just trying to find anyone I could get information from.

  “Why?” she demanded. She grabbed something, pulling it towards her slowly. I sighed, reaching over to stop her from doing whatever that was. I tried to not bare my teeth as I felt the silver and looked down. A fucking mail opener. The human had more spunk than I had given her credit for.

  “I’m Jacky Leon. Heath Everson will know who I am, and it’s not an enemy. Or an ally. I’m impartial at best, completely neutral at worst.” Half-truths. I was supposed to be. I wasn’t anymore.

  “Are you…are you a werewolf? Security just said someone from the Werewolf Council was coming…”

  “That was me, but no, I’m not a werewolf.” I debated on how much I trusted the human and went in deep. It wasn’t about trusting her in the end. She needed to see, and she could tell someone a strange woman came up looking for them.

  I focused my stare on her more, focused on seeing her as prey for just a moment. My eyes shifted into a nearly colorless world, which proved to me my cat eyes were on full display.

  What was more memorable than a cat-eyed woman named Jacky Leon?

  “They might also know me by Jacqueline, though I wouldn’t count on it.” I smiled politely.

  “What are you?” She was shaking now.

  “Nothing you should ever have to worry about. Humans aren’t something I generally play with.” I released her, letting her keep her letter opener. “Please, all I ask is that you pass on that message, if you don’t want to tell me where I can find one of them.”

  “Okay.” She was nodding vigorously. She obviously hadn’t believed me when I had tried to make her feel safe. I was one of the monsters that went bump in the night.

  Well, no, I’m not. A good werecat doesn’t go bump. It’s completely silent before it kills. I’m here, though, so I must not be a very good werecat.

  I stepped back slowly and didn’t turn to the door until I knew it was within reach. I didn’t want to take a silver letter opener to the back. I didn’t go to the elevator, heading instead to the stairs and climbing up to the seventeenth floor for a similar game. This business was an accountant’s firm. Good idea for any immortal supernatural species, since money was needed if living comfortably was the goal. Secrecy also took money, which was one of the reasons I let Hasan give me a lot of it when I had walked away. Well, also because he wouldn’t let me leave until I took it. There was werecat tradition of giving away a quarter to half their wealth when their ‘young’ decided to branch out on their own.

  The front desk here didn’t have a woman. A man was standing behind it, frowning at something. As I walked in and closer to him, I could smell werewolf, but he wasn’t it. Again, just the scent of a recent one, but not one I felt I could track. It led deeper into the offices, someplace I couldn’t go with all the eyes on me. Or maybe the werewolf was gone, having worked all night, then headed home. It was possible that the scent in the center lobby of the building was just too covered by all the humans and I had missed it.

  “Hello, sir. I’m looking for a werewolf.”

  He glared up at me then looked back down. It felt like he saw through me, not really taking in anything about me, dismissing me in the very second he’d glanced. “So? You one of those kinky fan girls?”

  That took me aback, sending a rush of revolted shock through me. “How about fuck no, asshole? Now, before I come over this desk, how about you either tell me where I can find a werewolf to talk to or take a me
ssage for me?”

  “No, lady, I don’t think so.” He didn’t look back up. Wow, this one was an incredible specimen of a prick high on power. He didn’t look like he belonged at the desk. I sniffed, curious, and realized I knew him.

  I reached out and grabbed his tie, yanking him closer. It had him falling over the desk, trying to brace himself. Before he could call security, I covered his mouth. I bared my teeth, letting the feline in me come out a bit. It made my canines longer and sharper, curving them wickedly. When they were nearly half an inch long, and my cat eyes were glowing, I knew I had his attention.

  “Jacky Leon. Not a werewolf, but looking for one. You and I had a run-in this morning, actually. I remember apologizing to you and getting called a street trash whore. Very good. Now, next time a little lady bumps into you on accident, you maybe should be a little kinder, because you never know when that might come back to haunt you. I’m stronger and scarier than your bosses. I’m not a danger to them, though. Or I shouldn’t be. I just need to talk to them. So, will you take the message for me or let me know what I need to hear?” I ended that quite sweetly, giving him an innocent smile. I let him go slowly, releasing each finger individually. “Are we good?”

  “Good,” he agreed softly. “I can’t tell you where any of them are. The few coming in right now are coming in at night, and for good reason. They can defend themselves better if they’re not worried about humans getting in the mix and getting hurt. I can’t call any of them either. They’re all dark. I will keep your message in mind, though, ma’am. Jacky Leon, looking to speak to the werewolves of Dallas. Not a danger if you’re not provoked, correct?”

  He was a lot better at this than the woman with the construction company, that was clear.

  “That’s right, good sir. And about the other thing?” I crossed my arms.

  “I’m sorry. You caught me on a bad morning.” He lowered his head. “Will that be all?”

  “Yes, and no need to call security. I’ll see myself out.” I turned on a heel and left the firm.

  It was a short elevator ride down and I left the building quickly, out into the rapidly warming morning.

  I spent all morning walking around Dallas, confronting different human employees, asking them to spread my name. All the while, I made sure to get my scent on damn near everything I could think of without going full cat and just rubbing the walls. I touched casually during polite conversations, keeping the contact appropriate, like hands and shoulders. I leaned on walls, signs, and posts when I was tired, especially around corners and intersections. I hit up everything I could find in and around downtown Dallas, opting not to go over into Fort Worth, which was technically a big city all its own a very short drive away. If the wolves wanted me, they would have to come to the area of the city I was slowly but surely putting a claim on.

  Because that was the last part of my plan. I was letting my magic and my scent soak in and become part of the land. Normally, a werecat would go out in their feline form and mark a border, and a special connection would be created from the act. After that, the magic soaked in towards the center, where a cat would always be. It filled the region and gave me all my niftier abilities, like being able to track a supernatural creature on my land without needing to actually go find them. I could focus on them like a hot spot in my mind’s eye and know where they were on my territory.

  I was doing it differently here. Each person I touched was marked subtly with my scent, and that sent a message. They were mine. The more I walked, the more I was connected with the land. It would never be mine until I made a perimeter run, but I was throwing a challenge out there, just to get attention. The werewolves, if they met my trail somewhere, would notice it.

  At lunch, I looked up a small deli a few blocks away, on a street I hadn’t hit yet. I started walking, taking in the sights. Being mission-oriented was keeping me focused, and that helped me enjoy the city more than a casual visit, scared for my life. I didn’t much care for my life at that moment, so that was a big worry off my plate.

  I was a block away from the deli when the scent of wolf hit me, the first time all day I’d gotten it out in the open. I inhaled harder, trying to find the source, but couldn’t. For all I knew, it was from a passing car. Shaking my head, I kept walking and found the deli. I slipped in and went to the counter, ordering two simple turkey sandwiches with triple meat and no vegetables at all. I didn’t need anything but the dairy and protein for the moment.

  I could still eat vegetables, even though felines were obligate carnivores, because my human body still needed them. My cat just needed to do a few things to my diet that would make many humans very concerned, like steaks were served to me blue now. It was the step below rare, and most restaurants didn’t even offer it due to health concerns. I needed a lot more protein in my diet, and even if I accounted for the increase in that, I had to triple my calorie intake when I was active. I had been very active and very bad at eating enough in the last week, which was going to make me crash due to lack of energy soon if I didn’t start keeping an eye on it.

  While I didn’t care about my life too much, because Carey remained mine and my cat’s number one priority, eating was very important. I couldn’t save her if I was passed out from malnutrition.

  I sat down with my order and took a large bite of the first one, frowning as a blonde teenage girl walked in. The reason I frowned at her was because she smelled like she had just been cuddling a werewolf, an idea that made me want to spit my food up. It wasn’t because werewolves smelled bad, but because of her age. Teenage werewolves were unpredictable and dangerous, unfit to be making out with some high school human girl.

  I watched her, able to swallow my food and go for another bite as I realized she wasn’t injured. She ordered something and turned my way when they handed her the order.

  I raised an eyebrow as she walked directly to me, sitting down quietly and without asking.

  “I know you aren’t human,” she said quietly, leaning over as she unwrapped her sandwich. “Um…We’re going to eat lunch, then leave together, okay? Like we’re friends.” She was speaking quietly enough that none of the other humans in the room would have been able to hear. “You’ve…you’ve gotten people’s attention, which is something it seems like you wanted.”

  “How do you know?” I asked softly, keeping my eyebrow raised. “You’re human.”

  “My dad,” she whispered. “He’s Everson’s fourth. Inner circle.”

  “Is he who I smell on you?” I asked, going back to my sandwich. “And what’s your name?”

  “Oh, um…my name is Stacy, and yeah, he hugged me and told me to stay safe before I came in. He’s going to take you where he thinks you want to go.” She took a tentative bite of her own lunch. “Look, I’ve never done this. I’m nineteen and the pack is in shambles, which…I never thought was possible. I don’t even know what or who you are. They won’t tell me. They just said I’m safe around you. They don’t think you’ll hurt me.”

  “Why did they send you?” Another girl sent by the wolves. Either they were very smart or cowards. I couldn’t decide which.

  “They don’t want a scene. Heath didn’t think my younger brother would work because he’s…well, he’s human, too, but he’s also a seventeen-year-old boy.” She gave a wary smile that I returned. That was kind of cute, really. The wolves were smart, then. They sent a very good little message. ‘Look, we don’t want problems. To show you that, here’s the most non-threatening thing we have. A seemingly kind nineteen-year-old human girl. She’ll be completely at your mercy.’ Amazing. It was a risk. I could easily kill her, but they knew my kind well enough to know that wouldn’t happen.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I promised gently. “I don’t plan on hurting Heath or your dad either, if he’s loyal to Heath.”

  “Oh, good. Thanks.” She giggled, nodding. A faint pink blush covered her face. “So…what are you?”

  “A werecat,” I answered. She was going to find out soon enough
. There was no way things were going to stay quiet once I was in the middle of a bunch of werewolves and in front of Heath. “Rarer, different. Solitary creature.”

  “Heath started acting really weird when he found out some Jacky Leon was leaving messages for the wolves in the city. That’s you. So…”

  “I need to keep my information to myself until I see him. What gave me away first? Was it the roughing up of the guy at the accounting firm?”

  “Yeah. He’d left my dad a message, that my dad didn’t get until an hour ago. Said you scared the shit out of him. Why did you do it?” Now she was interested. Still wary, but curious.

  “He dismissed me for a pack-bitch,” I answered. “A human who fucks werewolves for kicks. Even insinuated I…uh…” Well, damn. How do I tell a nineteen-year-old that he said I screwed werewolves in their animal forms? It was just a disgusting thought—and a total myth. Even I knew that. No self-respecting were, cat or wolf, would ever do that. The wolves even had a Law against it.

  “Oh, gross!” She choked on her own tongue for a minute, probably trying not to gag. I didn’t say anything as she took a large swallow of her drink, shaking her head. “Wow, that’s awful. Someone should talk to him about that. He likes werewolves, but he’s one of those who doesn’t understand what all the fanfare is about. I get it. My dad is one. Has been since I was 3, but that’s no reason to be rude about people who find werewolves impressive.”

  “I don’t find werewolves impressive,” I said, smirking. “Maybe because I’m higher on the food chain, but that’s neither here nor there.”

  “Are you really?”

  “Well, your dad might have a different response, but yeah, I am. It’s long been a point of contention between my kind and theirs.” I smirked. “One I’m not going to bring up when I’m around them, promise. Not here looking for that kind of fight.”