Primals (Reverse Harem 1)

“I ask the questions.” I squat in front of him, that I can look him in the eye.

“And what makes you think I know the answers?”

“Because you Cats are too curious for your own good.”

He chuckles. “And we’re also good at keeping secrets. What makes you think I’ll answer?”

“Because you can’t keep secrets if you’re dead.”

I nod at Theo and he tightens his grip.

Noboru whimpers. “Alright, alright. I’ll answer. Just don’t ruin my clothes.”

I roll my eyes.

Get on with it, I hear Clarissa urge from behind me.

“What do you know of primals who are more human than animals?” I ask.

Noboru’s eyebrows crease. “What do you mean? We are all both humans and animals, not one more than the other, though of course, some are very good at pretending.”

“I’m not talking about acting. I’m talking about primals who cannot adopt an animal form.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“Let me make myself clearer.” I lower my head and gaze into his golden eyes. “Tell me what you know about artificial primals?”

“Artificial pri...?” He stops, eyes wide.

He knows something, alright.

I grab a handful of his hair. “Tell me what you know.”

He yowls, and struggles to pull free. “Not my hair.”

I pull at the strands. “Tell me!”

“Alright, alright. I don’t know much, okay? All I know is what I’ve heard.”

I loosen my grip. “And what have you heard?”

“That there’s this facility in Africa.”

“Africa?” Clarissa asks behind me.

“A scientific facility,” Noboru goes on. “I don’t know the details but they were making something there, conducting experiments, forbidden experiments. The...”

Just then, I hear a thud and turning my head, I see Clarissa falling to her knees on the ground, her face pale.

“Clarissa?” I ask at the same time that Kyle shouts, rushing to her side.

She doesn’t answer, seemingly catatonic, and so I go into her mind, seeing an image of a picture on a shelf, a picture of a couple at their wedding, the woman with the same hair as Clarissa, the man with the same eyes.

A memory.

Your mother and father were on their honeymoon in Africa when they had an accident, a woman’s voice speaks. Your father died on the spot. Your mother survived, which is a good thing because she was pregnant. She had to wander for days until they managed to rescue her. Unfortunately, she died giving birth to you. You are what remains of them, a precious legacy of the love they had for each other.

I blink, as I process this.