The Mistress of Black Grove Manor (19 page)

              “Have dinner with me,” he said.

              She looked from his eyes to his nose, and then to the soft pink of his lips. He looked at his collarbone, admiring how his bones jutted out.

              “How about this,” he said. “We have dinner and we can try to figure out a plan about the shifters. But you have to promise me you’re not going to kill anybody.”

              “I can’t promise that.”

              The anticipation was too much. She moved upwards, as if to kiss him, but he didn’t move. Instead, he placed a finger to her lips.

              “Uh-uh, not yet. Not until you admit you like me.”

              “Hey that’s not—”

              “What? Fair? All you have to do is say those three little words.”

              “Not in your lifetime,” she said.

              “That’s four words.”

              Laura huffed and walked away.

              “So I’ll pick you up at eight?” he called after her.

              She put her middle finger in the air. She heard him call her charming before disappearing around the corner. What was that about? She thought to herself. Laura tried, but she could barely convince herself that it was all about the research, the revenge. And who was he to tell her that she had feelings? She was the ruler of her own heart, a domain that frankly she was barely familiar with herself.

              Should she tell him the truth? That she was developing feelings for him? But he’d been such a tease earlier; he’d definitely hold this above her head. They were meant to be getting dinner later, so she had some time to kill. Perhaps she could find a way to get some more research on the panther shifters. Then, a thought dawned on her. Why didn’t she just call her family and ask them? Of course, they had no idea she was even down here. When they’d asked why she was leaving, she told them it was a long-term vacation. That had been a lie, of course.

              Back in her room, she decided to call her cousin, Esmeralda. Laura knew she lived somewhere in Rio, but how far wasn’t clear. Digging through her purse, she found a faded address book. She dialed the ink-smeared number, jiggling her foot nervously as she waited.

              “Hello?” said a voice.

              “Esmeralda? Es Laura.”

              “Laura, mariposa, how the hell are you?”

              Laura laughed. She explained to her cousin that she wasn’t in the best of moods; detailing her situation with Arturo and all the women he slept with. She also touched upon the subject of their grandfather, and the role she was playing in her revenge scheme. Esmeralda was silent for a long time. Normally a patient listener, her silence extended far beyond Laura’s commentary.

              “You okay?” Laura asked.

              “There’s something I need to talk to you about,” Esmeralda said.

              Laura waited patiently on the phone for her cousin to continue. When she did, she found herself unsure if she could keep listening. Esmeralda explained to Laura that her grandfather was one of the elders that carried the shifter gene. Since he gave birth to Laura’s mother, who gave birth to Laura, she too carried this gene.

              Unsure of what to say, Laura lay back down on the bed. She traced circles in the duvet, trying to think of how to respond. Esmeralda continued to tell her that she’d never been able to shift before because she hadn’t been told about it. This made no sense to Laura.

              “So you’re saying I’ll be able to shift now that I know about it? That doesn’t make any sense.”

              She tried a couple of times, but it din’t work. Laura definitely didn’t feel any different. It had nothing to do with the fact that she was knowledgeable about the ability to shift. There had to be something else, something that she had to do with her own body in her own time. Esmeralda suggested that she go out into the jungle to try and get her mind in order. Laura thanked her and got off the phone. She was frustrated, slightly, that no one had told her up until this point.

              Why hadn’t her family told her what had happened? They had so many secrets, that they practically spilled out of their closets. But this one was unbelievable. She was a panther shifter, a beast that had killed her grandfather. What was wrong with her family? How could they have kept something like this from her? Were there any secrets about her grandfather’s death that she didn’t know about?

              When she couldn’t bear it anymore, she went in to take a second shower. There was still time left before Arturo was meant to pick her up.

*****

              Arturo walked out of his room, a red rose in his hand. He wasn’t sure what the night had in store for him, so he wanted to be prepared. It was safer to approach Laura when she was all buttered up.

              He went to knock on the door when a voice called out to him. It was one of the younger chefs, a boy who called himself Fabio.

              “Hanging out with your girlfriend again?” asked Fabio.

              “What do you mean ‘again’?” Arturo asked.

              “Nothin man, slip of the tongue. So are you really dating that chick? I saw her downstairs with you the other day. Man, she’s hot.”

              “Fabio, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be cooking something?”

              Fabio leaned closer to Arturo, motioning him to do the same. Arturo had no idea what was going on. He felt like he was in the twilight zone.

              “What?” Arturo asked, rolling his eyes. Fabio and the other chefs were always acting so weird around him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something was always off about them.

              “The boss says to watch your back. He doesn’t care that you’re of the Emerald bloodline. Bring the girl in the jungle again, and you’re dead.”

              “Excuse me?” Arturo asked. “You’re one of them? One of us?”

              Fabio shushed him. “He knows what she is. You need to lay low for a while, alright?”

              Knows what she is? And what exactly is she? Arturo thought to himself.

              “Alright man,” he said.

              Fabio walked down the opposite end of the hallway towards door 17. He banged loudly, whining until a girl with enormous eyes swung the door open and dragged him in by his collar. Arturo whistled.

              He knocked on Laura’s door, expecting her to be ready. Instead, she opened it with just a towel on.

              “Hi,” she said, blushing. “Um, come in. Come in, I need to talk to you about something.”

              Arturo shrugged and followed her into the room. Laura didn’t speak for a few seconds, tightening her towel around her chest. One false move and Arturo would rip her towel off in seconds. She couldn’t let him know she wanted him. God, he was such a pain.

              “Um, so, I talked to my cousin earlier. And I know this is going to sound weird, but I’m a shifter. A panther shifter, like my grandfather. And you.”

              “What?” he said.

              She took a few steps back, hoping he wasn’t mad at her. It wasn’t her fault; Esmeralda had been the one keeping it a secret.

              “Are you…okay?” Laura asked.

              “That’s incredible!” he exclaimed. He lifted her into his arms, her towel falling partially off. Laura placed his arms around his neck. She leaned in to kiss him and at the last minute he said,

              “No way girly, not until you admit that you like me.”

              “You are being so ridiculous!” she exclaimed.

              He dropped her on the bed, tossing her towel onto the floor. She covered her chest, suddenly feeling exposed. Closing the space between them, he climbed on top of her, pinning her arms down.

              “Say it,” he cooed in her ear, biting her earlobe.

              “Ah- fine. I said fine, I like you. Now it’s your turn.”

              Instead of answering, he kissed her. They writhed like that for a few minutes before Arturo got off, exclaiming that they had dinner reservations. Too stunned to protest, Laura rolled off the bed and began to get dressed.

Chapter 7

              Before exiting the room, Arturo scoped out the hallway. Finding Fabio gone, he motioned for Laura to follow. She shrugged her shoulders, asking him what was going on. He hissed at her to keep silent.

              They ran down the hall, taking the back stairwell. Laura didn’t ask Arturo what was going on. She trusted him. She could tell something was going on, but it wasn’t worth the risk to ask him. She would wait until they got to their destination. Part of her wanted to turn back and head to the hotel’s restaurant. She was so hungry she could eat an entire horse and then some. But risking leaving Arturo wasn’t worth it. They exited on the bottom floor, running out into the backyard.

              Arturo motioned for her to continue following him. They ran across the lawn, Laura kicking her heels into the tall grass so that she could meet his pace. They entered the woods, kicking up dirt as they went. The jungle swallowed them whole, the dark limbs of the trees waving in a warm wind. He led her towards a clearing in the middle of the jungle.

              “What are we doing here?” she finally asked.

              “I’m going to teach you how to shift,” he said, flashing a grin at her.

              “What?” she asked, incredulous.

              “Yep. Now you’re new at this, so I’m going to teach you how. For me, my father tossed me into the nearest forest for a week and forced the transformation out of me. I don’t want to do that to you. Plus I don’t know how I could stay away from you for a whole week. So. Ready?”

              “Sure.”

              He took her into his arms, dancing her slowly in a circle.

              “What are we doing?” she giggled.

              “I’m helping you to become in-tune with all your chakra spots. There are specific locations on your body that become synced up when you shift. Kind of like with marital arts, you have to be completely in-touch with your entire body. So just follow my lead and I’ll teach you how to do it.”

              They picked up dancing again, Arturo twirling her in a wide circle. The more they danced, the more Laura could feel different parts of her body become illuminated. She thought back to an exercise she did back in high school. She was in a senior year psychology class, and her teacher taught her how to meditate by imagining a blue light on her forehead. She was supposed to imagine the light flooding throughout her body, purifying every part. Dancing had a similar effect. Instead of a blue light, she felt red and orange.

              Her muscles became illuminated and overly tawny. Just like Arturo, she felt her muscles expanding and contracting. He dipped her low, causing her to laugh. Their foreheads touched and she felt her eyes begin to glow. Suddenly, an intense hunger took over her.

              “Let me go,” she said.

              “Laura?”

              “I said let me go,” she growled, pushing him against an enormous palm tree. She felt hunger tear apart her entire body as her skin swapped out for fur. It was painful at first, and she noticed blood leaking out from several places that didn’t shift properly.

              Her jaws were large, and heavy. She swung her head back and forth a few times, getting a feel for her new body. Just when she thought she was getting the hang of her body, she heard claws touching dirt.

              “They’re here,” Arturo said.

              “Who?” she asked. It surprised her that she was speaking telepathically with Arturo.

              She hadn’t noticed it the day the panthers attacked, but they could all speak to each other from within their own heads. She figured it made more sense that way. The mouth and jaws of a panther were too expanse and it would be incapable to master any kind of vernacular that way. At least not without some complications.

              “What is she doing here?” one of the elders asked.

              “She doesn’t belong,” hissed another.

              “She is with me,” Arturo said. “And you all need to leave. Since when do the panthers of the jungle band together?”

              “Since we learned there is another of the Emerald bloodline walking our forest.”

              “This girl?” he asked incredulously. “She is not related to me.”

              “It’s okay,” Laura said to him. “I can handle it.”

              Cana stepped forward, walking around Laura. It didn’t matter that this woman, this female shifter, was trying to intimidate her. In panther form, Laura felt unstoppable. She felt capable of anything.

              “Get out of here,” Laura said. “Quit bothering Arturo. He doesn’t owe you anything.”

              Cana stepped closer, her jaws inches away from Laura’s.

              “Or what?”