“People didn’t dress like that in your hometown?”
“In Williamsport? No. Even Cognito was a little reserved in those days, so Josie stood out.”
“Josie?”
“That was her nickname. I sometimes called her pussycat, after the comics. It was an inside joke.” Claude stood up and brewed a pot of coffee. “Humans were protesting the war, fighting for civil rights, and speaking out for women’s lib. But it was different for Breed. We had issues of our own, and maybe some of the human protests galvanized people within our own communities to make big changes. Josephine was outspoken against what she called the patriarchy of Breed culture. Almost every organization was run by males. The laws were riddled with holes, and women didn’t have all the protection they deserved.”
After the coffee brewed, Claude poured two cups and set them on the table. He sat across from me but turned his chair toward the door.
Steam rose from his cup, and he let it sit on the table to cool. “Josie wanted more female leaders. She was part of an activist group that showed up at all the meetings organized by our elders and the Lord. It wasn’t just Chitahs, they wanted change everywhere. Especially with the higher authority. Leaders were and still are selected by their peers. It’s not a public vote.” He sipped his coffee. “Change was more important to her than anything.”
“Even you?”
“Especially me.”
“Why?”
He released a deep sigh. “I represented something she was fighting against. She equated mating her kindred spirit as a step back. I never pushed her. She was willing to give me her body, just not her heart. Josie wanted to change the world.” The light in his eyes dimmed. “She mated another male. He was a Mage, a representative for the higher authority. She thought by publicly mating her natural enemy that it would bring everyone together, but I knew that wasn’t the real reason.”
I warmed my fingers on my mug. “What was?”
“Josie thought if she could mate with someone in power, she could be the puppet master who pulled the strings—that she could change the laws from the inside, because their efforts on the outside were failing. Her comrades didn’t understand, and their protests escalated to violence. They threw Molotov cocktails into the homes of important men, and when one of those incendiary weapons set fire to a Mageri councilman, everything changed. They became renegades and went underground. The higher authority declared them outlaws and wanted anyone affiliated with them killed.”
I furrowed my brow. “They can’t do that. Dead or alive is the rule, but they can’t order hits.”
He lifted his cup. “When eighty percent of the panel was Mage, they could do whatever they wanted. The Mageri formed first, so when the higher authority was conceived, it was hard to get leaders from all the Breeds to join. Nobody wanted to be the bad guy and have a target on his back.”
I got up and sat on the edge of the bed to face him. “So what happened?”
“There was an insurgence. When some of the revolutionaries were killed, others joined. The higher authority wanted to snuff them out before they lost control. Many lives were lost on both sides. It lasted several years. They eventually negotiated a peace treaty and allowed the rebels to remain in the Bricks with no fear of retaliation in exchange for adding a few women to leadership. By then everyone wanted peace.”
I reached for Claude’s baseball hat and held it in my hands. “What happened to Josie? Did she stay with that man?”
The color drained from Claude’s face. “Josie was found in the river.”
Thunderstruck, I stared at his hat, unsure of what to say. Whatcanyou say to a blow like that?
He touched the handle of his mug but didn’t drink. “I found out on a Monday morning while eating a bagel in a café. I turned the page of the newspaper, and there it was. I still remember the sound of two males laughing, the bell jingling when a female walked in, the jasmine smell of her perfume as she passed my table. Everything in that moment crystallized. My kindred spirit was dead. They said it was suicide, but I didn’t believe it. Someone murdered her.”
“I’m really sorry.”
All four of Claude’s canines elongated, but he kept talking as if he wasn’t aware. “First I went after her mate to get answers. I smelled lies, went primal, and I killed him. Then I went to question her former acquaintances who were living it up in the Bricks. I smelled lies and killed some of them. I went on a killing spree, and I couldn’t stop. I never got answers. I never got the truth.”
“How are you still alive?” I shook my head. “Killing a higher authority member is a death sentence.”
“True, but I wager they didn’t want him there anymore and were glad he was gone. He was a corrupt man, something Josie didn’t know when she mated him.” Claude stood up, grabbed his bag, and then lingered by the door. “Sometimes you don’t get answers, and that’s the worst kind of torture there is. To never know how or why your loved one died. To never know what their last words were. And though I probably killed her murderer, I don’t know for certain, and I never will. At least they found her body.”
I stood up and joined his side. I wanted to say she didn’t deserve a guy like Claude, but he would have been offended. His kindred wanted to change the world and thought marrying strategically would help their cause. She was willing to sacrifice her own happiness for a greater good. It was what brave people did. “I’m glad you’re here now.”
“Viktor rescued me from cage fights, you know. That’s where I ended up. I had so much rage. I get why some of these women might do it. They’ve been held back in life, and they’re trying to get what they deserve—money and power. They’re easy targets. That’s why I took this job. Viktor turned my life around and gave me a chance to help people and not hurt them.”
I handed him his hat. “I know what you mean. You didn’t have to tell me all that, but I appreciate it. I won’t tell anyone else.”
He took the hat. “It’s not a secret. I’m sure most of my deeds are well documented in the higher authority’s files. Viktor fought hard for me, and so I’ll fight hard for him. Even if it means wearing gold panties.”
I rocked on my heels. “If it’s any consolation, you’re the hottest guy in the club, even fully dressed.”
He leaned down and touched his forehead to mine. “Take care of yourself, female. I worry about you.”
