Part of me expects not to wake up ever again. That whatever poison the evil cat shapeshifter put in me killed me where I stood. So, when my eyelids do lift open, a tiny part of me feels sad that I’ve woken up. I felt like that a lot for weeks following the werewolf attack. I thought I’d gotten over my depression. I guess I was wrong.

“Rise and shine, little wolf. It’s time for the cat to play a game of mouse with a very valuable dog.”

I frown at the sound of the cat shapeshifter’s taunting voice, my mind spinning as I slowly sit up on the sofa I’m lying on and take in my surroundings.

Purple walls, leather sofas, a large cheetah print rug in front of a fireplace. The entire room is one big, tacky man cave.

“Glad to see the poison didn’t kill you.” The cat shapeshifter plops down into the sofa across from me. His lips spread into a lazy smile as he stretches his arms across the back of the chair. “Not that I don’t plan on killing you eventually. But first, I need you for collateral.”

I blink the grogginess from my mind. “Collateral for what?”

“Not for what. For whom.” He props a foot up onto his knee. “I’ve been wanting to get the attention of your little prince forever, but he has more guards than even I can take on.”

Strange, since I didn’t see any guards at the club. Then again, werewolves were all over the place, so perhaps they all were his guards.

“And what better way to draw out a prince than to capture his princess,” he continues to prattle on, looking rather pleased with himself.

“I’m not a princess,” I reply, checking my neck for open claw wounds. Surprisingly, the injuries have already healed and left behind no scar tissue. Thank God. The last thing my body needs is more permanent marks.

“Oh, but you are.” He slants forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Princess of the Violet Mountain pack, one of the most powerful packs that’s ever existed. Also, the same pack that destroyed my entire family.”

I gulp. “Look, I’m sorry you lost your family, but I promise I had nothing to do with that.”

“Oh, I know you didn’t. And I didn’t lose my family!” A roar rips from his throat as he snarls at me. “They were stolen from me by your pack and locked up, all because of a crime they were falsely accused of.” He musters a calming breath before he flops back onto the sofa. “But that’s okay. I’m about to get them back. Then I’m going to make your pack suffer, just like they made my family suffer.” He polishes his fingers on the front of his cloak and begins humming an unfamiliar tune with a crazed look in his yellow eyes.

I need to get out of here.

I steal a glance around the room, searching for a way to escape.

“I wouldn’t try to escape if I were you.” He grins. “Until my poison clears from your veins, you’ll drop dead if you go any farther than twenty-five feet away from me.”

My shoulders slump. Fuck. How did I go from living the dullest life ever to being held prisoner by a revenge-driven shapeshifter cat with slightly disproportioned eyes?

“Do you know what makes this situation even better?” He waits for me to respond. When I don’t, he sighs. “Fine, don’t play along. But I’m going to tell you, anyway, because I’m bored and hate awkward silences.” He stretches out his legs. “The best part about this is that your prince is out there, losing his damn mind, knowing that I have you and could very well kill you if I want to.”

“I really doubt he’s losing his mind. He barely knows me.”

“Are you really that stupid? Or are you trying to play me?” When I say nothing, delight lights up his eyes. “You don’t remember.”

I squirm, biting back the urge to ask him how he knows. The little he knows about me, the better.

“Well, this is interesting.” A thrilled grin rises on his face. “I wonder how your prince feels about that.” His grin vanishes as someone pounds on the door. He glances at the clock then springs to his feet. “That must be our guest of honor.” His long legs carry him across the room, and he fixes a smile on his face before he pulls open the door.

“Jules, how lovely to see you again,” the cat greets cheerfully, blocking my view of the doorway.

I release a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding. For a moment, I worried that maybe another crazy cat shapeshifter had arrived.

“Where is she?” Jules booms. “I swear to the wolves, if you’ve hurt her in any way, I will kill your family, and then kill you, slowly and painfully.”

His murderous tone makes me shudder.

The shapeshifter leans against the doorjamb. “That’s a bold threat for someone in your position.”

“Philip, where the fuck is she?” Jules growls.

Philip dramatically sighs. “Man, I forgot how moody you werewolves can be. Although, your princess doesn’t seem to carry the dog rage. She has more of a gentle quality to her, doesn’t she? So fragile. So innocent. So delicious.”

Pulling a disgusted face, I start to reach for a vase to fling at his head, when an ear-splitting growl causes me to freeze.

“Will you calm down!” Philip shouts. “You’ll wake the whole damn neighborhood up.”

“I’ll calm down when you give her to me,” Jules spats. “I need to know she’s okay.”

“So damn dramatic.” Philip steps back. “Fine, come see your precious princess. Just remember what I told you on the phone. She’s currently under my poison, which means, if I die, so does she.”

Another low growl thunders across the air, and then Jules steps through the doorway. His eyes immediately find mine and intense relief washes over his features. He strides toward me, his flaming violet gaze frantically skimming my body.

The violet glow throws me off again. So does his alarming panic as he assesses me.

“Are you okay?” he asks when he reaches me.

I nod. “Yeah, except for the whole poison thing and the annoying company, I’m just peachy.”

He offers me an apologetic look. “Cat shapeshifters are known for their annoying personalities, but Philip is the worst I’ve met yet.”

“I bet.” I stare at his eyes as the violet color enhances.

He must realize what’s going on because he blinks until his violet fades to blue.

I want to ask him why his eyes keep glowing violet, but now doesn’t seem like the right time. I make a mental note to do so, though, adding it to a very long list of things that are already confusing me.

“So, now that you’ve seen that she’s okay, it’s time for you and I to strike a bargain.” Philip plops down in a chair and gestures at the sofa I’m sitting in. “Please, Jules, make yourself comfortable. We’re going to be here for a while. That is, unless you want to try to take her and see how far you’ll make it before she dies.”

Jules’ lips twitch, but he turns around and sinks down onto the sofa beside me. “You have some balls, cat, using the princess as a bargaining tool.” He rests his knee against mine. “That’s basically like putting a target on your back.”

I move my leg away from Jules, and he flinches.

He shouldn’t take it personally. Before the werewolf attack, I wasn’t a fan of being touched. Then after it happened, I became even more closed off. The only exception is Legend. Although, when Jules had me on his lap in the club, I actually felt momentarily comforted.

So strange.

When Philip notes the space between us, he grins. “Your princess seems to have a distaste for you.”

Jules grinds his teeth, but he doesn’t offer a rebuttal. His silence makes Philip’s grin grow.

“Seeing this—her hatred for you—makes me extremely happy.” Philip slants forward with glee. “Tell me, Jules, what does having your alterum dimidium animae detest you feel like? Does it hurt? Does it make you hate yourself? Because it should. You don’t deserve to be happy for what your pack did to me.” He reclines back in the sofa, still grinning, as Jules opens and flexes his hands, that heartbreaking sorrow flooding his eyes again.

Okay, this cat is really grating on my nerves.

Raising my brows, I scoot closer to Jules, then reach over and lace my fingers through his.

Jules glances at me with his brows dipped. I almost expect him to pull away, but he latches on to my hand. My heart thunders in my chest from the contact, but I remain composed and smile sweetly at Philip.

“Detest, huh?” My words wipe the smile right of his face.

Philip frowns. “I know you’re acting. I can feel that you’re afraid of him.”

I refuse to let him be right. Not after he drugged me and dragged me here against my own freewill.

I rest my head on Jules’ shoulder, a soft breath rushing from my lips as the scent of moonlight engulfs my senses. “Am I?”

Philip’s lips spasm. “You can’t even remember him.”

“No, you speculated that I can’t.” My tone is surprisingly even. “I never said anything of the sort.”

The cat’s jaw ticks. “I can tell that you don’t.”

Jules outlines circles on the back of my thumb, causing goose bumps to sprout across my skin. “I didn’t come here to discuss what Elora doesn’t or does remember. I came here to discuss a bargain.”

Philip scowls at him. “You’re not in charge here. I am.”

“You know that’s not true,” Jules replies coolly. “All I have to do is make one single call and your entire family dies.”

Philip leaps to his feet, growling. “Then she dies with them.”

Jules shakes his head, the epitome of calm. “All I have to do is lock you up until the poison wears out of her system.”

“You and what army?” the cat snarls, his claws snapping out.

Jules nods at a window, his eyes never wavering from the cat. “Why don’t you go see for yourself.”

Rage roars from Philip’s chest as he stalks over to the window and jerks the curtain back. “I told you to come alone!” he hisses

“And you thought I would listen?” Jules untangles his fingers from mine and rises to his feet. “You threatened my alterum dimidium animae, poisoned her, kidnapped her, and you thought I’d just let you get away with it?” His deadly cold tone sends a shiver over my body. “You should’ve known better.”

Okay, I really need to find out what this alterum dimidium animae thing is.

Philip reels around with both sets of claws out. “Your pack took my entire family away from me. What did you expect me to do? Bow down and simply accept it?”

“You know as well as I do that what happened to your family has nothing to do with me. I fought my father’s decision to imprison them, but he doesn’t listen to anyone but himself.” Jules’ tone conveys an edge at the mention of his father, and his fingers fold inward, the silver rings burning more of his flesh.

Philip momentarily remains silent as he studies Jules. “I know that.” He flexes his fingers, retracting his claws back inside his knuckles. “But I can’t just let them remain locked up because your father falsely accused them of murder.” He rests his arm on the mantle of the fireplace, gazing at the crackling fire. “My family didn’t murder her or her parents.” His gaze flits to me. “And the fact that she’s here should be enough proof.”

A piercing sensation lodges in the center of my heart. “Wait … Your family was accused of killing me and my parents?” I glance helplessly up at Jules. “Are my parents … dead?”

His throat bobs as he nods.

Tears burn my eyes. “Maybe they’re not, though?” I sputter desperately. “I mean, I’m still alive and you thought I was dead.”

“Elora …” Jules starts with pity in his eyes.

“Don’t call me Elora please,” I cut him off. “That name doesn’t make sense to me, and it brings back painful memories.” Of werewolves and evil.

Looking worried, he sits down beside me. “Lake, we know for sure that your parents died because …” He takes my hands in his. “Because we found their bodies the day you disappeared.”

My heart literally dies in my chest.

My parents are dead.

I don’t know why, but I always hoped that maybe I simply just got separated from them and they couldn’t find me. But they never even looked for me. Because they’re gone.

Because they’re dead.