Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Jumping easily onto the window ledge, she poked out her small and elegant head, then reached out to test the ledge with a single paw. Satisfied it was wide enough, the cat eased itself out onto that narrow strip. Part of its paws edged over the very side, but it ignored that. This was instinct, its focus on getting out of here—and to Ivan.
The human part no longer ascendant, Soleil rolled her eyes inside her furred skin. He’s not our priority, she said.
The cat took a moment to yawn. But despite its desire to go to Ivan, it was the cubs that were at the forefront of its mind. Two tiny babies it had protected and shepherded around the forest more than once, amused by their antics even as it tried to be stern and teach them the proper way to do things.
Soleil padded slowly, oh so slowly, along the edge. And when she heard movement below, she froze. More leopard scents, heavy and strong. Would they smell her? In her favor was that she’d been around leopards the entire time since she was brought into the HQ.
She’d also slept for hours in a space thick with their scent.
It might give her just enough of a shadow scent that the people below would shrug off the part that didn’t belong. Regardless, she didn’t take the risk of moving.
Her ears pricked as voices began to drift up. She didn’t dare alter her balance by attempting to look down, see them.
“No hits on her fingerprints or DNA,” a male voice was saying. “Lucas says she’s a cat, he’s sure beyond any doubt. He just can’t pin down the species.”
“What about facial recognition?” Another unfamiliar voice, this one a woman.
“Still running,” the first speaker said. “I’m hitting every database I can. Even managed to hack into the DMV.”
“You’re going to get arrested someday.” A dry comment.
“Please, I’m too good to get caught. But even if she is in there, it’s going to take some time. Facial rec takes a ton of computronic power.”
“She still not talking?”
A grumble. “Healers. Obstinate as all hell and twice as bossy.”
Laughter. “You’re just grumpy Tammy put you on bed rest after that injury.”
The grumble and the affection both startled Soleil. Those two were dominants, a wave of primal power in the air that made her cat’s nostrils flare, but she could swear they considered Tamsyn their equal or maybe even more senior than them—and that they loved her.
Her cat wanted to whimper, need clawing at her. It hated being alone. Dreamed of a family like this one.
The voices faded as the cat fought its need to give voice to its pain, the two dominants wandering down toward the front of the building.
Soleil didn’t worry about their hunt for her identity. They wouldn’t find her in the DMV database. She’d never learned to drive—a lack that she’d cursed herself for many times over since she began her grief-maddened quest, but she still hadn’t been able to make herself take that step. She didn’t mind riding in cars, but to drive, to take control of a vehicle … No, she couldn’t do it.
Her heart began to beat too fast, echoes in her mind of a ruined voice telling her she was sorry.
Baby, I’m … so … sorry. Get … out. Out, my … Leilei. Out … baby … the fuel …
The smell of burnt flesh, the tattoo of melted tires on asphalt, the pounding thunder of the rain, it came back in a crashing roar, like it had happened yesterday.
The animal opened its mouth, wanting to yowl in pain. She should’ve expected this. The human part had been ascendant for so long that the cat’d had no outlet for all the layers of its grief, and it was now getting shaky.
Stars in her mind, connected by that silvery-red spiderweb so lovely and delicate that the cat lifted a paw to bat against it. A mere touch of play, but it was enough to recenter her most primal half.
It began to pad its way along the ledge once more, using its claws and its tail to maintain its balance. It had to pass by one window on its way to the far edge. The cat stilled before nudging its head forward so it could sneak a look inside.
Not a bedroom, but a storage space set up with neat rows of shelving … through which Tamsyn moved with a small datapad in hand. The cat ducked back its head, fighting its natural tendency toward friendliness. Tamsyn was the most dangerous changeling to it now—she’d been close to Soleil, would recognize her scent if she caught a hint of it.
The only slice of good luck was that the window was fully shut. And when she dared another glance, it was to find that Tamsyn had her back to the window.