Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
And Kitty would grow up to be a formidable protector.
“These animals are different. They are smarter, more aware, and the bond with them is deeper,” Diana said. “Every species is different when it comes to forming a connection. Tigers are solitary and self-sufficient. They have to be coaxed. Lions are clingy and social. They reach out. The tigrionex are like us, Augustine, inquisitive and social. They are curious about humans. They seem to like us and seek the bond, and they are persistent about it.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“We don’t know. But rebuffing an animal that seeks to bond that intensely is difficult. It feels unnatural. Especially when you are Matilda’s age.”
From the way she made it sound, if the child and the cub came in contact, the bond process would happen almost involuntarily.
Diana shifted in her chair, sliding one leg over the other. It wasn’t a calculated movement, but he had to make a conscious effort not to linger on the lines of her body. The last time they’d met, it had been like that, too. He’d dismissed it as a passing attraction then, but it was worse now, with her in his client chair.
“Because of the difficult pregnancy, we decided to wait to introduce Matilda and the cub. We want to make sure Kitty survives. If Matilda bonds with her and the cub dies, the trauma to my niece would be catastrophic. That’s why the Baylors can’t be involved in this matter. Matilda spends most of her time at the Baylor compound. In the two months since they bought that estate, Matilda made friends with every mouse and bird on their property. She spies on the Baylors constantly. Nothing happens in that house that my niece doesn’t know about.”
“Can she hear through mouse ears?” he asked.
Diana looked at him for a second. “Vikilinta recording devices are one inch long, have the width of pencil graphite, and weigh nineteen grams. They’re voice-activated and can record up to four hundred hours of audio. A healthy adult mouse weighs between forty and forty-five grams, can carry twice her body weight, and can be convinced to wear a harness.”
And now he felt like a fool. What in the world was he thinking? The child was a budding Prime, not a mythical Beastmaster. Something about the connection between tech and animals always short-circuited his brain.
“Of course. However, I can’t imagine the Baylors would look favorably on that kind of security breach.”
“I’ve stressed the need for privacy to her multiple times,” Diana said. “I do not believe her obsessive recording is malicious.”
“Then why is she doing it?”
Diana sighed. Her face took on a slightly worn expression. “It is my understanding that a child subjected to early trauma, such as losing a mother in a horrific way, often seeks to establish control over her environment.”
“Matilda is afraid that she will miss something vital and the people she cares about will die.”
“Yes. You see now why we’d hidden the cub.”
He understood perfectly.
“Matilda keeps the information she overhears confidential, unless something alarms her.”
Ah. That’s how Diana found out about Arabella’s internship. Matilda must’ve discovered it and shared it with her aunt.
Diana studied him for another moment and turned the tablet toward him. On it, Kitty took shaky steps on stubby legs. She stumbled over to her frightening mother and batted at the otherworldly beast with her small paw. Celeste lowered her head. The cub tried to pounce, fell, and let out a frustrated noise, a tiny baby growl.
“You said something was stolen from you. They took the cub,” he guessed.
“They did.”
For a moment something vicious and cold shone through Diana’s eyes. It seemed so incompatible with her usual demeanor, he wondered if he’d imagined it.
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Have you received a ransom demand?”
“No.”
“You need MII’s help to find and recover Kitty,” he said.
“Yes.”
“You’ve gone to great lengths to keep Kitty’s existence secret. Someone discovered it against all odds, infiltrated your security, and stole the cub. If this was a money grab, by now the kidnapper would’ve reached out. This tells me two things: the entity behind the theft wanted the cub for a specific purpose and the culprit is likely another House.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
They both knew what was left unsaid: a conflict like that meant House warfare. When Houses clashed, they paid the price not just in money, but in lives, and that cost could be staggering. Diana’s face told him she understood all of that.
“Do you have any suspects?”
“No.”
“If you had to guess?”
“Any animal mage would kill to possess a tigrionex,” she said. “People know we have Zeus. We’ve had multiple offers from many Houses who want to purchase him. We rejected all of them. One of the Houses attempted to break the bond between Zeus and Cornelius.”
“What happened?”
“They are no longer a House.”
To become a House, a family had to produce three Primes in two generations. To remain a House, it had to have at least one living Prime. The Harrissons had killed at least one rival animal Prime. Possibly more.