Primals (Reverse Harem 1)

“Maybe he’s lonely? He said so himself. He hasn’t had guests in centuries.”

I climb up the steps, stopping right in front of her. “He’s the last Wolf of his clan here in Japan. I believe I told you that. And he doesn’t trust humans.” I glance at Kyle. “Humans helped to take out his clan. That’s why he hesitated. Plus, we Wolves have a long-standing feud with Cats. He didn’t want to lead us to a Cat but in the end, he thought it necessary. Frankly, I’m not looking forward to it.”

“I didn’t get all that when I read his mind.”

“Don’t let what you see in a person’s mind cloud you from seeing what’s in their heart.”

Clarissa sighs, standing up. “So, now, we find this Cat?”

I nod, turning around. “Like I said, I’m not looking forward to it. Cats are very good at hiding and they’re very tricky.”

“Yeah. I always thought my cats were more clever than my dogs.”

I give her a frown.

She puts up her hands. “No offense.”

I continue down the stairs. “Why don’t we try focusing more on the problem. The sooner we find Noboru, the sooner we’ll get answers.”

I keep going until I reach the bottom where Theo and Kyle are already waiting. Theo sits on the ground, gazing at the stars. Kyle stands in front of one of the wolf statues guarding the shrine entrance, deep in thought.

“Wolves used to be worshipped here, you know,” I tell him.

“Yeah. I got that.” He touches his chin. “What puzzles me is this – you said Akira is the last of his clan and the wolves endemic to Japan are now extinct. Are those two facts somehow related or just coincidence?”

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I answer, staring at the statue. “You’re right. We, primals have a direct connection to the animals whose blood we share. If they go extinct, so do we, though the opposite is not true. They could still go on without us.”

He turns to me. “Yet Akira is still here. That means...” His blue eyes grow wide. “The sightings...”

I hold a finger to my lips.

Kyle’s eyes gleam like a kid’s as he turns back to the statue. “Fascinating.”

I leave him to his thoughts and approach Theo and Clarissa, now seated side by side. “Time to flush a Cat out of hiding.”

“THERE HE IS!” I POINT to the black cat running across the rooftop.

I jump on the roof, chasing it as fast as I can while Theo continues pursuit from the ground.

You’re not getting away from me, Cat.

He goes down to the ground, landing on all fours without a sound. I continue running on the rooftops, Theo still on the ground, chasing Noboru into an alley.

There, I pounce on him, missing him by an inch. He jumps straight into Clarissa’s arms, clawing and squirming desperately to become free until Kyle appears and splashes water on him from his bottle.

Quickly, he turns into his human form, quickly outgrowing Clarissa’s grip. Theo grabs him, though, pinning him to the ground. Again, he squirms but it’s no use. There’s no chance escap

ing a bear’s strong grip.

“Give up or I’ll break your bones,” Theo threatens and he goes still, panting.

“Are you alright?” I ask Clarissa.

She nods as she looks at her arms, the scratches from Noboru’s claws are already healing, though she scowls at me as though I’m somehow to blame for her having gotten scratched in the first place.

I stand above Noboru, hands on my hips.

“What’s a Wolf doing in Japan?” he snarls. “This isn’t your territory.”