Page 32 of Jackal's Pride

The one hundred and thirty-seven might regret it. I knew she would.

For I was an animal, and I thought and acted more like one too.

This beast was one fight away from sinking his teeth in her.

Chapter 10

Maureen

“Here, Mom, let me hold her,” I nudged Mom as we stood by Kara’s crib hours after she had given birth to my sister. It would be years before I learned that a human woman giving birth took longer to recover than what my mom did—perks of being an entity. I giggled as my little sister pursed her lips even when there wasn’t a bottle or Mom’s breast at her mouth. “She looks like a kitty.”

Mom’s eyes wandered to me and softened. “She does.”

“I’m hungry.” Prudence stood at the doorway to Kara’s room rubbing her eyes. She must have just gotten up.

“Come on, I’ll feed you. Mom has Kitty to worry about.” I walked over to Prudence, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out the door with me.

“Kitty?” Prudence’s nose crinkled.

“Our baby sister.”

That made her smile. “Kitty,” she said it again this time with exclamation. “Kara the Kitty.”

“Yep.”

“Hey, you sucking on a tit?” I recognized that bored tone. I opened my eyes and swatted Prudence’s hand away from her mouth. When my sister tried to be humorous, she often sucked. She always looked and sounded like she hated life. Sometimes I wondered if she did.

I blinked and took in three similar faces. Now it made sense why the memory entered my dream. My sisters hovered above me like a pack of wild animals.

The recollection of the day we were cursed left a bad taste in my mouth. One minute life had been carefree and then hours later, the Devil arrived and life changed.

I sat up and my sisters took a step back. Rubbing my eyes, I squinted at my siblings. “What are you girls doing here?”

Kitty spoke around a Slim Jim hanging from her mouth. “We came to see you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Since you’re holding Jackal captive in your home.” Joy poked her head out of my bedroom door, apparently expecting to see him in my living room. “He’s big and has angry eyebrows.”

I dropped my head and covered my eyes with my fingers. I didn’t know which was worse, sisters or brothers. Both could be protective, but sisters were nosy little bitches. It didn’t matter that I was the nosiest of them all. I preferred it if my family stayed out of my business.

“You’re taking care of him. You even cooked for him the other day.” How the hell did she know that? Prudence was far more observant than I liked her to be.

“No, I materialized some for him,” I lied, yanking out my ponytail and rubbing the back of my head. I really needed to stop falling asleep with it up.

“Liar, liar,” Kitty chirped as she swallowed the rest of her Slim Jim and ripped open another. “I wished I would have been here to eat. Believe me, I know when you cook and when someone poofs some up. You cooked for us all the time, remember?”

I wanted to say she left outbefore the cursebut that wasn’t true. Kitty was born the day we were cursed…

It didn’t matter, anyway.

We were all different people now. I tried not to judge Joy and Kitty for their easygoing personalities.

Kitty dropped down on the bed. “I have a good feeling.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, brother.”

“His power worked, didn’t it?” she went on.

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