Ch 6: Lover to Lover

Jackie was getting really tired of waking up in this blue room. The walls, a muted shade of dusk, seemed to press in on her more with each passing day. It had been a week since she last saw her sister, and there had been no change in her condition. The waiting gnawed at her, a restless ache beneath her ribs. Thankfully, her new boss at Katze Group had been understanding of her situation and pushed back her start date without hesitation.

Luke and Laura were still wary of letting her out of their sight again after she had escaped them before. But after what she could only describe as an intensive education, they’d finally eased up, allowing her a sliver of freedom. That didn’t mean her life had gotten any easier. Between finishing her last online class for school and cramming an entire history lesson about a world she hadn’t even known existed, she was drowning in information. And as if that wasn’t enough, she had to learn how to control her new power.

Much to her frustration, controlling her temper around Luke was proving especially difficult. She suspected he was aggravating her on purpose, to force her to learn, but there was always the possibility that he was just a nuisance. She also realized that Luke and Laura weren’t just siblings, they were twins. That explained their eerie ability to communicate without words, something that annoyed her to no end during their lessons. It was already bad enough feeling like an outsider in this strange new reality. Being stuck with them only made it worse.

Before the day’s lesson began, her curiosity piqued as she thought about her history lessons. “So what does the hierarchy look like?” she asked, arms crossed. “Do you guys have an alpha you answer to? Or a pack? How come I haven’t met anyone else yet?”

Luke, looking both exasperated and offended, scoffed. “You have to stop thinking of us like some rabid pack of werewolves that you see in the media. We are not dogs. Ugh, and Alphas? Seriously?”

Laura scrunched her nose, though she at least tried to hide her annoyance. “We don’t have ‘packs.’ We’re a sophisticated society with small colonies. Matriarchal ones, to be precise.” Her voice was calm and measured, a stark contrast to her brother's. “We follow a set of rules, and when someone deviates, Nundas like Luke and I are there to discipline them. We come from a long, proud French line that once protected the royals. There used to be a royal family that oversaw a council, but they were all murdered a generation ago, and one daughter was thought to survive, but no one has seen her in over 100 years. So now there is only a High Council, six members for each inhabited continent. Our nearest chapter is in London.”

She gave Jackie a pointed look. “And you haven’t met anyone else yet because we’re waiting for instructions from our superiors on how to induct you.”

Jackie blinked. “Induct me? What? But I have a life, not a great one, but still. Will I be allowed to work? Can I still—”

Luke cut her off with a sharp sigh. “Bastet, Jackie, calm down.” It wasn’t the first time Luke had invoked their goddess Bastet in frustration while dealing with her endless questions. His exasperation was almost tangible at this point. “Luckily for all of us, your new job at Katze Group is run by a Nunda, so we don’t have to worry about finding you a safe workplace. The name kind of gives it away. Katze? It literally means cat in German.” Jackie’s jaw dropped almost comically.

‘Did they know what I was? Is that why they recruited me? Or gave me an extension? I don’t think I’ll ever stop having questions.’

He smirked. “Close your mouth.”

Luke, ever the thorn in her side, seemed to know exactly what she was thinking and what she needed before she did. With an easy stretch, he pushed up from his seat, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “Alright, enough talking. It’s time to train. Stand up, p’tit chaton. Time to use those claws.”

With a wink, he turned and sauntered toward the basement, where the training room waited. Laura rolled her eyes but said nothing, excusing herself for errands. That left Jackie alone with Luke. She exhaled slowly, feeling the familiar thrum of irritation, and something else, deep down curled in her chest, which fled at the thought of them being left alone to spar.

Jackie had taken self-defense classes before, so she knew how to throw a punch. But this training was something else entirely. It always began the same way: with controlled transformation. The first few times, she could only manage small changes, her claws, her face, like an unfinished painting, fragmented and incomplete. But after a particularly grueling day, she finally shifted fully. That day, she really injured Luke. And for the first time, she understood what she was capable of, and it both frightened and excited her.

Today, she needed to let off steam.

She stood still, watching Luke shift first, his body unfurling into something bigger and more feral. He was already tall in his human form, but now he loomed over her at nearly seven feet. His eyes, now the shape of a cat's, were sharp and knowing, made brighter against the blue-silver fur spreading across his face, into the disarming cat ears sprouting on the top of his head. He looked like a Chartreux cat if a Chartreux cat had been sculpted into something more fearsome and lethal.

Realizing she was staring too appreciatively again, Jackie rolled her eyes, took a steadying breath, and reached for that glowing well of power inside her. It flared in response, surging through her bloodstream, coiling around her bones. Her skin prickled as soft flesh gave way to fur, and a familiar pressure built beneath her nails before they lengthened into wicked, curving claws. Her face is light brown with a dark chocolate spot surrounding her green eye, making it stand out. The scent of Luke, an ocean in the summer, filled her senses, wild and electric, and she knew, without seeing, without thinking, exactly where he was.

Then he pounced, but she was faster. Anticipating him, she stepped aside with a predatory grace, grinning as she twisted and slammed a kick into his back. He stumbled but recovered effortlessly, pivoting to strike back at her. She dodged, deflecting his arm before driving her fist toward his face, only for him to catch her wrist midair. In a single fluid motion, he twisted it behind her back, pinning her in place against his chest.

“Put your weight into it,” he said in a low rumbling voice next to her, his fanangs brushing the top of her ear. “Trust your body. Trust your instincts.” Then he shoved her away and gestured for her to try again. Jackie’s frustration simmered beneath her skin. She hated being told what to do, and she hated how her body responded to him. But this time, she bit down on her stubbornness and listened to his instruction.

She inhaled deeply and attacked again, only now, she let go. She trusted the instincts humming through her muscles and tuned into the subtle shifts in the air her whiskers picked up. The once overwhelming flood of sensory information sharpened into something she could use. And suddenly, she wasn’t just keeping up with Luke; she was pushing him back. The moment he realized he was losing, his movements turned sly, feinting low toward her legs. But she wasn’t fooled. Instead of dodging, she barreled straight into him, slamming him onto the ground and pinning him beneath her.

“Ha! I won!” she huffed triumphantly while straddling him.

But before she could fully catch her breath, Luke twisted beneath her, and in the next heartbeat, he was the one hovering over. He was grinning with sharp teeth as he pinned her body to the ground beneath him with her arms held together in one of his hands above her head. Jackie’s breath hitched when he didn’t move. She became painfully aware that he was lingering and felt the heat between their bodies. She could feel the wildness thrumming in both of their veins. Before she could open her mouth to break the tension, he pushed himself up and away from her in one smooth motion, leaving her lying on the floor, breathless and rattled. Propping herself up on her elbows, she muttered, “Cheater.”

Luke smirked. “I didn’t cheat. You just celebrated too soon.”

“You’re just a sore loser.”

The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on her. She was the one who didn’t handle losing well. Luke gave her a knowing look before tossing her a towel and shifting back to human form. Jackie followed suit, gritting her teeth as the change burned through her healing, leaving behind a quickly fading constellation of aches and bruises where Luke had landed his hits. In human form, she could see all the places he was healing from all the places her fists and claws hit him, all the faint, angry marks along his arms and shoulders.

For a moment, their eyes locked across the training room. Just as Jackie opened her mouth to say something resembling an apology, Luke cut her off.

“You’re improving much faster than we expected.” He tilted his head, considering her. “And you’re a lot stronger than anticipated.”

Jackie snorted. “I’m shocked. Were those almost compliments, Luke? Does all that sweet talk work on the pretty girls?”

“Pretty girls? Yes.” His smirk deepened as he turned his full attention to her. “Beautiful ones? To be determined.”

Heat crawled up Jackie’s neck at his nickname for her, little kitten. Flustered, she huffed and turned away before he could see the blush creeping onto her cheeks. Making her way to the kitchen, she argued with herself.

‘What the hell was that? That was a stupid thing to say. He’s unfairly attractive, but that means nothing. You are no longer messy. And he is messy. And annoying. And not worth it. Maybe a little worth it? No. No!’

Her internal war screeched to a halt the second she stepped into the room, the rich scent of food pulling her back to reality. Laura stood over the stove, reheating dinner. The moment Jackie caught the scent, her stomach roared. Shifting always left her starving, and Laura’s food was always delicious despite knowing exactly what was in it.

She had learned the hard way. The first time she ate with them, she’d practically melted at how good everything tasted. Then she found out what she had just consumed. And promptly threw up her guts. Laura had explained it calmly. The Nunda didn’t need fresh human organs, but they did need them at least once a month. The hearts and livers. It was all harvested and distributed through a strictly regulated, secret supply chain. Animal organs could technically work in a pinch, but they weren’t nearly as effective. So, Jackie ate the deliciously disturbing yet necessary meals.

The next morning, Jackie started her new job. She changed outfits three times between black and red ensembles. She barely touched her breakfast. Even her morning run with the twins did nothing to shake the nerves buzzing in her veins.

‘You don’t deserve this job. You won’t be able to focus with everything else going on.’

As she stepped out the door, she had the strangest feeling.

Thankfully, so far, her workday has been perfectly mundane. She was brought to a small conference room for orientation and had to watch a few boring videos about workplace conduct and company values. Everything seemed normal until the CEO walked in. The shift in the air was immediate. A presence of power, wrapped in an elegant frame. The woman was tall and slender, her blonde hair coiled into a precise, tight bun. But it was her eyes that caught Jackie’s attention, one sharp blue, the other a ghostly gray, giving her a predatory intensity.

“Guten Morgen, Jackie,” she greeted smoothly, her light German accent crisp and demanding. “I am Ingrid. I wanted to welcome you to the Katze Group personally.”

Jackie blinked, momentarily stunned. Was the CEO there to greet her? She managed a response. “Hello. I’m honored you came just to welcome me.” Her voice wavered slightly, suspicious. “How did you know I’d be here?”

Ingrid offered a small, knowing smile. “I run this company. I make it a point to meet every Nunda who joins our ranks personally. Each of them has a special role to play here.” A pause. Then, deliberately, “That’s why I knew I had to hire you before anyone else.”

Jackie’s pulse stuttered. “Wait, you hired me before I even went through the Change. How did you know?”

Ingrid tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing like a cat scrutinizing prey. For a long moment, she examined Jackie in unnerving silence, as if assessing something unseen. Finally, she spoke. “Your name and your eyes from the photos submitted with your resume.”

Jackie stiffened. Ingrid continued, her voice light, but edged with certainty. “Your family is well-known. Powerful. I assumed that’s why you applied here.”

“My family?” Jackie’s throat tightened. “Ami and Brenton Bennett?”

Ingrid scoffed, an amused sound. “Oh, child, you don’t know?” She shook her head, lips curling into something close to pity. “Your last name is not Bennett. Your father’s name is Rami Ashraf. Your mother, we are not entirely sure. But the Ashrafs would not marry off their son to a nobody. So both bloodlines are strong. Very strong.”

The words crashed over Jackie like a tidal wave. Her name. Her father. A lie. Everything is a lie. Her world, which had already been shifting under her feet, tilted dangerously. Ingrid seemed to recognize the storm brewing behind Jackie’s eyes. Without another word, she excused herself and told Jackie to go home to collect herself.

Numb, Jackie left the building, her feet moving on instinct rather than thought. And somehow, without even realizing it, she found herself exactly where she needed to be. Looking for comfort, looking for her sister. But the moment she stepped inside, her breath caught in her throat because her father was there too.