CHAPTER SEVEN
JES
Jes sat, too stunned by Jared’s attack to move. When she finally came to her senses, she ran after him. But by now, she did so mostly out of fear of the direction he’d taken—having received the clear feeling that Justice stood out there—waiting….
When she reached the alley, she had the distinct feeling she was too late. She raced down the darkened backstreet in the direction she felt Justice waiting. She’d never felt anyone’s presence so clearly, and she couldn’t breathe through her fear.
He’d kill her partner. And she’d be helpless to stop him.
She could no longer hide her secret. She had to keep Justice from killing her partner. Upon realizing that, in a flash she transformed, now racing at lightning speed, coming around the corner to find her partner backed against the wall—and a large, male Jaguar snarling and pacing in front of him. Her partner appeared more terrified than she’d ever seen him. In fact, she’d never seen him show fear before.
He didn’t look too happy to see the second Jaguar, albeit a smaller one, coming from the alley.
Sensing her, Justice turned. Upon seeing her, he stopped and transformed back to his human-like form. “What the hell?” he snarled.
She shape-shifted back, too. Brushing herself off, she strode toward the naked man, as naked as he was, completely aware of that fact, and too angry to care.
“It’s one thing,” she snarled at him, “to think you’re the Ancient One, to think you’re actually supposed to kill—murderer.” She waved her arm wildly and pointed at her partner, who stood there as white as chalk. “But what explanation do you have for trying to kill a cop?”
Justice stared at her, obviously taking in her fully naked form. Taking her all in and making no bones about it, which only enraged her further.
“Are you going to stand there ogling me, or are you going to explain yourself!” she said.
He grinned. “Well, I’m too surprised to see you again…. Then, to see you, my mate in the form of our people and beautifully naked…. So, I think, for now, I’ll stick to ogling. It makes sense, somehow.”
She stood directly in front of him. now. Which, even as angry as she felt, was a dangerous place to be. Surprised, she found herself electrified by the power between them. It shocked her into silence. This same power, which had always been between them as children—which had only grown stronger as they became teens and reached puberty—was now amplified a hundredfold.
For a long moment, she considered the eyes of a killer—mute to realize, what she felt was anything but disgust—or even fear.
She began to tremble. She fought back at her emotions and failed. She turned to look at her partner. He stared at the two of them as if he were looking at a UFO—and was now staring at a pair of aliens.
“Oh, come on,” she growled. “Of all the times for you not to keep your usual stoic behavior—now is not the time.”
She looked back at Justice, who turned away. “Where do you think you’re going? You’re not going anywhere!”
He reached his car and opened the door. He turned back and grinned at her nude form. The vision of him—gloriously bare and proud—forever branded in her head. She wanted to hide her eyes—but met his gaze boldly.
“What are you going to do? Stop me?” He gestured at her naked form. “With what? Your pistol—or your handcuffs?”
Jes flushed. She promised herself she’d feel mortified later, if only she could fight what she felt, right now. She knew she would be mortified—when she got home and lay safe in her bed—remembering that her partner watched the two of them—stripped—and arguing.
She couldn’t even arrest the killer.
As if….
What on Earth had made her think she could arrest him? Did she think herself stronger—or more powerful? Obviously, he was too strong for her to handle alone. And who exactly did she think she could call in to help her?
Her partner?
She nearly snorted out loud—staring at Justice.
He gave her a mock salute and got in his car. She heard the quiet purr of the engine a second later, and he drove away.
Just like that….
She stared after him and tore her gaze away, looking back at her partner.
It was going to be a long night….
Jes and Jared were settled into a booth, sipping on Cokes and eating burgers before she trusted herself enough to speak.
Jared looked clearly poleaxed. He hadn’t said a word, not even when he stood there and watched her pick up her ripped clothes from the middle of the alley and put them back on—what was left of them….
Under any other conditions, she would have been furious. But not a single expression crossed his face. He watched her, as though nothing registered. So, she hadn’t said a word. She might have been concerned that he’d been traumatized by something that so clearly went against everything humans so often believed—but he seemed more introspective than upset.
He proved this when they’d made their way to their booth at the café, and he’d been able to speak, giving the waitress his order. He even seemed calm as he did so.
Too calm.
She ate a fry, watching him, waiting for him to break down or freak out.
Nothing.
Frankly, he was freaking her out.
It seemed to her that if any other human had seen—what he had tonight—they’d be going bananas right now. She should be sitting here trying to pick up the pieces—and trying to hold his world together.
Shouldn’t he be feeling as if he’d been living an illusion? Shouldn’t he be thinking that everything he’d known—had been a lie? If it were her, she’d even question what the human government knew about this—which was quite a bit…
Well, at least they knew they were not alone on this planet. She was unsure of what else they knew.
But Jared should be questioning everything, right now—not sitting there quietly drinking a Coke.
She’d come face-to-face with Justice. Yeah…and she felt more than a little bit freaked out, herself. Yet, here she sat, trying to fix things with her partner—when she wanted to go after Justice….
And not to bring him in.
She wanted answers—answers to where he’d been all this time. Answers to where his sisters disappeared to. Answers to why she’d been left behind—abandoned.
She watched her partner scarf his burger with a hearty appetite. In fact, he didn’t seem shocked, at all. He seemed—calm. Only, quiet—and calm.
She swallowed. She couldn’t eat a thing.
Finally, he looked at her, raising a brow at her lack of appetite. “You’d think you were the one to see two Jaguars walking around in the center of Chicago, in the middle of the night. Two—human-like Jaguars. You know the type. First they’re Jaguars—and then they’re human.” He seemed to think about that. “Or human-like.” He stared at her. “Are you human when you’re not Jaguar?”
Her brows shot up at this. Was he joking?
He grinned at her. “Settle down, Jes,” he cajoled. “It’s not every day a man gets to see something that sets his whole world right again.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “If you’re talking about me standing in the street naked….”
He laughed. “Well—that, too, mind you.” But he shook his head, belying his words. “No, Jes. I’m talking about the Jaguar People.”
She frowned at him, now. “I don’t follow.”
His face grew serious. “It’s just…. Jes, I’ve gone my whole life thinking this life I’d been living couldn’t possibly be all there was to it. That nothing else exists, except for cleaning scum off the streets. Then, tonight—it’s like a whole world of possibilities opened—right before my eyes.”
She stared at him. Was he serious? “I’m glad you see possibilities.” She frowned again, her suspicious nature taking over. “What possibilities?”
He grinned, again. “Relax, Jes. I’m happy there’s more to this world—than there appears. An
d if there’s that much—perhaps there’s also a spirit world.” He’d almost whispered that like people were going to look down their noses at him for believing.
She frowned at him, now. “Of course, there’s a spirit world.” She watched as his stoic face lit, for a split second before the shades went back down.
She couldn’t believe this. She stared at him, as she realized she’d never once, in five years, had a conversation with him about the spirit world. Was he that afraid to believe? Was she that out of touch with her own people?
The Jaguar People were a spiritual race. It said a lot, her not knowing this about her own partner. Well, she also wanted to protect the people and so tended to avoid all conversations that led her thoughts in that direction, so as not to accidentally give away something she’d regret.
But perhaps she’d been a little too obsessed, lately.
“You said something to him about thinking himself an ancient one?” he prodded.
She almost smiled. The cop was back, asking questions. She nodded. “There are ancient ones who hunted murderers. Justice seems to think this is what he’s meant to do.”
“Is that why he didn’t kill me? He seemed to contemplate what he should do with me—even before you arrived…. As if he was trying to decide—whether he should actually kill me….”
“Well, there’s that at least,” she breathed, almost in relief.
He seemed to study her for a moment, contemplating. “What do you intend to do about him?”
She looked up in surprise. “Bring him to justice. Why? What else would I do?”
His slate-grey gaze narrowed in surprise, eyeing her. “And say what to the police—or to the judge for that matter? What could you say? Hmmm? Judge, the boy killed all those gang members when he turned into a large, jungle cat! A Jaguar to be exact.” He laughed at the thought of it. “They’d laugh you out of court—and you’d be out of your job.”
“I’ve thought of that.” She toyed with her napkin, deep in thought. “If I can’t bring him in, I’ll take him before the Tribal Council.” She looked at him, then. Not that the Tribal Council would agree with her. “But he must be brought to justice—at least some sort of justice.” She laughed at the irony. “Now, there’s a concept.”
He leaned forward in the booth, his big body closing the distance significantly, despite the table. “Why do you want him so bad?”
“You’re a cop!” she snapped. “You should know.”
“Humor me.”
“No!” she snarled and pulled up short, shocked at her own behavior.
“Why?” he demanded.
“The People are not supposed to harm humans!” she whispered furiously. She looked at him desperately. “We’re meant to protect them.”
He raised a brow. “But you just got through telling me there are ancient ones—who hunt murderers,” he shot back. “So why do you judge him for doing so?”
She wasn’t too happy to have her words thrown back in her face. It felt like betrayal, and Jes had a problem with betrayal.
He held up a hand in penance. “Look, Jes,” he appeared to search for the right words. “I’m not saying he should get to play vigilante. But… there’s a difference between a true vigilante and a man fulfilling the role of an entire race.”
“No!” she snapped. “There’s not. There’s no difference at all.”
“Okay,” he appeased—but ruined it. “So, would you mind explaining the—umm—chemistry I saw—,” she saw him wince at the rage building inside her, but he still finished, if somewhat lamely, “between—the two of you?”
“Don’t you ever say that again!” she growled, still in a heated whisper, and with more than a little rage. “I don’t want to hear something like that spring from your lips, ever again!”
He grinned. He tried to smother it—and failed. “Wow, Jes!”
She held up a finger. “Don’t!” she warned.
He seemed to think better of saying any more, but after a moment, he asked, “What happens when the Jaguar People mate with humans?”
She sat back in the booth and stared at him. “What did that take you—all of an hour?”
“Come on, Jes. Enlighten me a little here. I just learned humans are not the only race on the Earth. Give a man a break.”
“Well, if the human species wasn’t so arrogant, they’d have reached that obvious conclusion a long time ago!” She moved to get up—disgusted.
His gentle laugh stopped her. “Yeah—I can see where you’d come to that. In hindsight, it seems more than a little arrogant.”
His honesty took the heat out of her next words. “There are a lot more races than you’d like to know about, living their lives here on Mother Earth. They walk among you every day.”
He stared at her, with more than a little surprise. But his face didn’t show the concern she expected. No. His usual stoic behavior gave way to full-blown curiosity—the same curiosity that always got stamped out by human adults when they spotted it in their children, Jess thought with some disdain.
She frowned. What’s wrong with this man? She’d known him for more than five years. This was the last thing she’d expected from him.
“How many more?” he asked.
She laughed at his obvious enthusiasm. “Too many to count.”
“The Fae?”
She nodded.
“Wow!” He thought about that. “The UFOs?”
“They’re trying to keep some others from taking over the Earth, but sometimes one sneaks by and abducts humans…,” she muttered.
His brows shot up. “Okay, double wow!” He let out a low whistle. “How about… vampires?”
She could see that he kidded her now, but he wouldn’t like the answer, so she didn’t say anything.
He eyes widened, amazed. “No! You’re not saying…,” and for once, he finally seemed shocked. “You are saying....”
“Oh, yeah!” She grinned briefly, then sobered. “But they’re badly misunderstood. The tales have become interwoven between their two lineages, from one race of beings—part of who had—mutated—so to speak—and part of the race who were—invented, for lack of a better word. Perhaps I should have said—genetically altered with a virus. Then, there’s a faction called the Crow People....”
Jared frowned at her.
She groaned. It really was—going to be a long night.
“A long time ago, way before the Earth—there existed a race of people, like I said, called the Crow People. They came here, much like my own people, and we lived in harmony—alongside many others.” Jes watched his face to see how he’d received this before she went on. “But after Atlantis, some of them didn’t want to—die. They didn’t like the fact that they had to. It’s not that they hadn’t before,” she shrugged, “but we all lived for so long, it seemed as if we didn’t. And, so, when they were supposed to cross over, they went to the fifth dimension instead—the dimension of the Fae—and they learned how to stay there.” She set her plate on the outside of the table where the waitress would take it.
“Over time, they figured out how to—come back as something human-like, but still more spirit. Yet, they had to—consume blood—to stay human. Other races didn’t agree with them taking over—like Gods. There were wars. Over time—those who agreed developed a code, so they didn’t control the humans.
She picked up her napkin and began fiddling with it. “But another race existed, too, who liked to—experiment on people. They are the Grays….” She made a face. “They still like to experiment on people.”
He sat forward. “That’s why people claim they’ve been abducted?”
She winced, looking at him. “We try to keep that from happening. But they experimented with making another form of Cat People, another form of Crow People—and some others. They—used a virus for some of these experiments. The species who mutated from these were—genetically modified—by this group, a group who wanted to gain control over the world. There were a few such beings, who were
genetically adapted, also. But none like this one….”
She hated talking about these beings. It made her sick inside to think of it. She cringed, thinking about how anyone could have done these things.
“They used the Crow People for this because they were a winged people. I guess—perhaps in part because they had already learned how to walk between two worlds with some human form—but they used a virus from bats to expand on this.”
“And they created the Vampire?” Jared nearly shrieked. “Vampires are mutants?”
“Only some of them are mutants,” she corrected and winced, again. “Some of them are powerful and old—who consider themselves pure.”
“And they feed off humans?”
She saw when he grasped the full implications of what she’d told him.
“No,” he said. “The virus… The mutated race infects the humans….” This time he winced.
She nodded. “And the old ones do try to keep control over their people. But as you can see, some of them don’t think they should be controlled by anyone. Some of them don’t consider themselves part of the old, at all. And to make matters worse, some of the old ones don’t want to—claim them—as well.
He frowned at her. “So, the rogue ones are the bad ones? Do the old ones ever go bad—or rogue?”
She shook her head. “No. They’re disciplined. And the—ummm—mutated ones, they’re not bad, either. It’s certain rogue members who are bad,” she muttered again, “like the rest of us—who’ve had members go rogue. But these rogue members are powerful, and like to play on the fears humans have of Vampires, from all the stories over the centuries.”
His mouth rounded in amazement. He obviously hadn’t expected this—not at all. Of all the stories, he’d heard, he’d apparently chalked this one as pure fiction. “Were your people… genetically modified?” he asked.
Jes shook her head. “Well, like the Crow People—a little of both. We have some who came from a different planet. We are—were—one of the races of the Starborne. My ancestors were from a long way from here—and a long way from most of the other Starborne. But…” she didn’t like to think of this—much less speak of it. “There were some who were also genetically modified, yes.” She held up her hand to ward off more questions. She grew shaky, uncomfortable with this conversation. She’d never been put in such a position—of having to talk about this before. “It was a long time ago…,” she finished lamely.
She waited for him to ask about the others, but he seemed disinclined to have any more shocks for the night. She didn’t blame him. It wasn’t every day you learned that your entire world had been built on an illusion. A misconception that could change in the blink of an eye—and, with it, take away everything you thought you’d known….