16. Chapter Sixteen

Ihad never been more relieved to see her face, but it was off. She looked tired, in a modest home, a little too close to the camera. All of it was wrong. She wasn't dressed in expensive clothes, just a simple, somewhat plain dress from what I could see, and her hair wasn't immaculate.

I always thought if I went on a vacation, I would want a week in Zuri's life—treated like a queen, people fanning me, and handling everything, so I never had to get up and clean. It seemed her vacations were the exact opposite.

"Hello, little sister," Zuri greeted, giving me a kind smile. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to find out what was happening and reach out. I've read everything and caught up on the situation. Before we get into any of that, please tell me…are you okay?" The concern touched me, and I swallowed back emotion.

"I'm…I'm going to be fine," I said, giving her a half-truth.

"Don't try to play that game with me," she warned. "I've heard about all of it, from the family's initial reaction, to Davor's…abhorrent behavior. I know all of you can handle this situation without me, but I'm…Jacky, who has been taking care of you?"

Heath.

I couldn't tell her that. Her concern for me—immediate, not an afterthought—touched me. I refused to stress her out on her vacation, though.

"This is just a stressful—"

"Do not try to justify the way this makes you feel by saying it's stressful," she growled. "And don't you dare play nice for Davor's sake. He's not playing nice for yours. Don't you worry about that, though. I'm going to make sure he's taken care of. Father obviously doesn't have him well enough in control."

"I wasn't going to try to justify what Davor did," I fired back. "He's a mean asshole. He's been mean to Niko. He's been mean to me. I don't know why everyone puts up with him. I'm just not…my feelings don't matter in this. We have a problem to fix, and it's my fault…again. I'm an adult who can admit I made decisions that led to this, and now I have to focus on finding a solution."

"Jacky…" Zuri shook her head. "My lovely sister with a big heart…I saw the video."

That cracked through my defense. "I'm fine," I whispered—I was until that moment.

"You look exhausted, and your office looks like you've been living in it. I see the pile of dirty laundry and the takeout containers. I'm not a fool. You've been sleeping in your office. A werecat staying away from the center of her territory is a werecat who is not doing fine. That is more important to me than anything you have or haven't done. We can talk business after I make sure you are okay."

Shit, I didn't have the chance to clean up.

"I berated my idiot twin in an email when I saw Niko's email about Davor. Jabari was only trying to do what I do…he just has no finesse. If he could do it well, he would have known Davor's little idea was terrible and that you aren't okay at all." Zuri's jaw was tight. "If he was good at it, he would have known Davor's intention to make sure you were ‘up to the task' would be more detrimental than helpful."

"I told you if you called her, you had to remain calm," someone said out of view. There were a million ways I could describe the voice—low and husky, definitely a woman, patient but stern. My heart pounded as I realized who it had to be.

Zuri was with Subira, the mother I had never met. I didn't really see her as my mother, but she was definitely special to the family, and seeing her was obviously rare. Now, for the first time since I had become a werecat, I heard her voice. My palms went clammy, and I rubbed them together, wondering if she could see me when I couldn't see her.

"You're right, you did," Zuri said. She took a long deep breath, closing her eyes as she held it, then slowly released. She did it three more times before she looked at me again. "I wish I could fly out to you, Jacky, I do."

"Any advice would be appreciated," I countered. "What's going on? You've been MIA for months."

"We'll talk about that later. First, we need to talk about you. How are you feeling?"

I remembered the sick feeling when it had all started—the violation of my privacy, the exposed feeling, my blurred body.

"I really am doing better, but when I think about it…I feel violated," I admitted. "I'm not sleeping in my house, and I'm getting new security installed. Dirk is really stepping up for me, talking to…" I trailed off, letting Zuri fill in the blanks.

"You can say his name," Zuri said softly. "Heath is a good werewolf, and he's been a wonderful friend of this family."

"This family?" My eyebrows went up. He was certainly my friend, more than that, but I didn't remember any point where it was suddenly decided he was everyone's friend. He and Jabari didn't get along at all, Davor hated him from a distance, and Niko was interested, but I knew they didn't talk. Heath had no chance to build a friendship with everyone in the family.

"By being a friend to you, he is a friend to this family. I don't want to make the distinction anymore. My…perspective may have changed recently, and I'm not going to give you a hard time for letting him help you."

It felt sudden, but I had no idea what Zuri was going through to prompt this sudden acceptance.

"Okay…yeah, I went to Heath. After I called the family, the next day Dirk and I cleared the cameras off my property, then I went to Heath to talk about new security Dirk and I could manage and find names of contractors to install it…and I broke down. Right there in his office. I fell apart."

Someone whistled off-screen, and Zuri sent a glare in that direction.

"Is someone else there? Besides…Subira?" I asked, frowning deeply.

"Yes," she answered but offered nothing else. "And said person is supposed to be out for a time, so I could speak to you alone." She continued to glare in that direction until something happened that made her content again. "Gone now. Continue."

"I am so lost right now." What the fuck was Zuri into? Was it a friend? Another werecat? A human?

"Jacky, I really can't—"

"You can; you're just too scared to," Subira said from wherever she was hanging out off-screen. "She's your sister, not one of your brothers. It's really those boys you're hiding from. Let her know. If you open up to her, she will be more willing to open up to you. I know I don't need to explain this."

"Okay, but at the end," Zuri said, running a hand over her face. "Jacky, let's just stay on topic right now."

"Sure. What would you do in my position?"

"Exactly what you are doing. Keep playing hardball with them. Remind them you are going to live for an eternity, and you can always bargain with the next generation. The thoughts and ideas of men change rapidly, the world moves swiftly. You can bide your time to get what you want. They can't. I don't have a problem with you telling them all about us. Because we're so closely related to werewolves, they know our weaknesses. They don't yet know our strengths, but if they want to, they need to give you everything." She reached out, and from the look of it, she was touching the screen.

"I don't want you to keep looking like this, darling. Please take care of yourself. That worries me more than the humans, do you understand? You have it hard in our family as the youngest. You've forged a different path than what we're used to, but I am curious to see where this path leads. I came out here because I'm tired. I thought it was because of the drama you had caused, but in reality, I was just tired of the life we live. I don't want to see you become one of us—one of Hasan's powerful and reclusive children with no hope of normal lives. I want you to keep fighting for what you want in life. I just want to see you live through it and be happy."

I blinked several times, tears filling my eyes. "What's gotten into you, Zuri? You used to demand that I be every bit the queen you believed I was."

"You're a werecat and the ruler of your territory. You were always a queen to me. I should have said it more often. Seeing you like this…hurts me." She blinked as well, and I caught the glisten of her tears. She took a deep breath. "Oh, I'm so damn emotional these days."

"You can tell me what's going on. I told you about my breakdown."

She nodded and leaned back from the computer. Something seemed off as she turned in the swivel chair, but when she stood up, the situation became very clear.

It was a beachball-sized problem.

"Oh my god, you're pregnant," I gasped. "Oh my god." I leaned back, then rushed forward, getting closer to the screen. "Oh my god! Zuri! What?" I threw my hands over my mouth, trying to remember coherent thought, but Zuri backed away, showing me the entire story, posing with her hands wrapped around her belly.

"I met a man at the beginning of my vacation, and my…preventative measures failed. In an unlikely turn of events, I discovered I was pregnant shortly after this man decided he needed to head home…in the Sahara Desert." She smiled, but it looked tired. "You can't, under any circumstances, tell our father or any of our siblings about this. They will come out here and find me. They will force me to live with Hasan until the baby is born. I want to give birth with Mother attending me and let this child be born in the wilds where I believe it will belong, where I feel most at home." She slowly ran her right hand over her baby bump.

"The…the other person…" I pointed, but I didn't really understand why.

"The father," Zuri answered softly. "His name is Kushim. He's an Immortal. He was passing through my territory, looking for a rogue who had stolen something from him. We connected as I helped him and decided to have…a bit of fun, thanks to that connection."

"Let me get this straight. You met an Immortal, had sex with him once, and got pregnant, defying all the odds since it's really rare for werecats to get pregnant."

"Oh, it wasn't a one-night stand," Zuri admitted, smiling. "More like a two-month stand. We got out of bed to eat, and we talked." Her smile turned dreamy. "About pirates and bandits through the ages. It was so…perfect." She sighed happily, and I saw her cheeks darken with a blush.

"See, this is how you ended up pregnant," Subira said, walking on-screen and pointing a finger at her daughter.

I lost all the air in my lungs. She was so short, probably five-foot-two, and had long, beautifully braided hair like Zuri, though Zuri towered over her, closer to five-foot-nine. The face, though—Zuri had inherited her beauty from this woman. Subira laughed, and it was at Zuri's expense, who laughed along. This was the bond between a close mother and daughter.

I finally saw more than just a painting of this woman, and the painting didn't do her justice.

"Immortals are immune to magic and nullify it in other things when they touch it," Subira continued. "You were so enamored with your bandit, you didn't consider while you made love to this man, his touch would stop the spells protecting you from pregnancy. That, my lovely daughter, is why I told you to not fall for love!" She was still laughing as Zuri waved her off.

"You love Father!" Zuri reminded her, grinning.

"I do," Subira said, her smile also turning peaceful as if thinking of Hasan was her favorite thing to do. "He's a fool, that man, and you'll learn your bandit is as well. Love tends to do that to men."

Oh, they're still both madly in love with each other. It's not just Hasan.

Will Heath become a fool? I have to watch out for it now.

Subira finally turned on me, her smile not fading, only changing. It became indulgent.

"And you," she whispered, coming closer to the camera. "I expected we would meet under different circumstances. I have been told Hasan calls you Jacqueline, but…if I may, I would like to call you Jacky like the others do."

"Jacky is fine. Why haven't we met yet?" I dared to ask.

"Imagine being Changed by a man like Hasan, introduced to all of our children, then told you're one of them now. It's easier to finish easing someone into the family slowly. If you had stayed with Hasan for the decade he needed to teach you, I would have visited, but…" She trailed off, considering me. It felt as though I was being disassembled and my every part checked for defects. "You had to reckon with some uncomfortable truths, and I decided I wouldn't involve myself and rush you or pressure you in any way. I have heard of your adventures, though." She raised an eyebrow at me, amused as heat flooded my cheeks. "And what adventures they have been. We'll talk about them one day." She stepped back again and lifted her hands. "I can't stay. I've been making a potion for Zuri to help with her discomforts. I need to check on it."

Then she was gone, leaving me and Zuri staring at each other.

"That's really not how she wanted to meet you," Zuri said as she came back toward the camera and sat down in her swivel chair. "At least the initial introduction is over."

"She's…"

"She's our mother," Zuri said with a wise nod. "She's special."

"I think I caught that," I whispered. "A potion? Is she…" I leaned in close. "Is she half-witch?"

"There's a reason she had to leave the second Tribunal seat empty," Zuri said softly. It clicked for me as Zuri said it—half-breeds couldn't hold ruling positions. Subira, a witch making potions, couldn't also rule the werecats on the Tribunal. It was a conflict of interest, people would say. "And…a reason I've had to leave it open."

Spells. Potions. Runes of power, symbols that have magic no matter who uses them.

"Are you—"

Zuri put a finger over her mouth, and I stopped, not daring to go further. This was a secret. Mother wasn't, not really, but Zuri was.

"Everyone in the family knows Mother is a witch. Normally, she tells you, but you hadn't met her yet," Zuri said softly. "She was born one and Changed into a werecat later. The story is more complicated than I'm letting on, but there are some things she needs to tell you. Jabari is cranky right now because I'm blocking his connection with me."

I just stood there, giving my sister a wide-eyed, confused stare. She chuckled softly.

"Jabari and I were born twins of a magic user. We have a connection. We can feel each other over vast distances, though at a certain point, it grows weak. Mother, for my pregnancy, has helped me block that connection, so he can't track me down. It's something we've never told anyone, except Mother."

"Why are you telling me?" I asked, laughing in shock. "What? I'm…the last person in this family you should give your secrets to right now."

"Because I know one of yours," she said softly.