Page 34 of The Jaguar's Flower

“Think that’s bad. Who’s gonna tell 004 he’s the last one left?”

Mac fell through another void.You are a monster. A monster, Mac. No wonder Avel hates you. You sicken him!

“Mac!”

Chapter twenty-three

Thevoicecameback.As Mac rested in the darkness, he finally turned to the voice. “Who’s there?” he called. The jaguar moved onto his hands and knees before he rose to his feet. When he stumbled forward, he struggled with his thoughts. He heard his name called again and spotted a blue-haired woman.

Violet watched as one of him disappeared, and another fell. The violence displayed on that version of Machiavelli ate at her heart. She stepped forward when he spoke, but she still didn’t understand what happened or how there were three of them.

It felt like she missed part of the problem while her mind worked tirelessly to figure it out. “It’s Violet.” Her words were soft as she drew closer to him.

“Do you remember me, Machiavelli?” She paused when she was within arm’s length of him. Her hand reached out to him, but she stopped just short of touching him. “What’s going on?”

Then it finally all clicked in her head. There were three of him because he wasn’t a single entity. She should have known it after the way she reacted to him, not the first version of him she met. “You were a triplet?”

Her floral fragrance filled the room, and Mac gasped.Violet.His mind still swirled with memories. Was this Renfield’s doing? Another experiment? Did they ever leave the facility? When she stepped closer, the jaguar embraced her as he sank his fingers into her hair.

“How are you here? Were you here the whole time?” When he pulled back to gaze into her blue eyes, he noticed her vibrant hair that matched her irises. His pale flower was now blue. “Is this a trick? Please tell me you’re not a trick.”

“I don’t know what this is.” She didn’t know how to answer him, so she told him what she knew. “When I woke up, I was in your arms with a strange man beside us. You didn’t wake up, and I felt your pain.” Her arms tightened around him. “I couldn’t leave you in pain. He let me come here so that you’re not alone.”

Mac’s eyes shifted from side to side as he tried to remember previous events. When a memory hit, the shifter’s gray eyes widen. “I remember. We were in a swarm of ravens, and he said he needed to take us.” His brows furrowed. “I blacked out and ended here. These are my memories.” As soon as he said the words, the surrounding scenery changed again.

She buried her face against his chest. “Your dreams. He said he couldn’t wake you up.” When she looked up at him, she fought the tears. “Is this what you went through?” She cupped his cheek as she watched his eyes. “How could they do that to children? You were all so young.”

“They didn’t care.” Mac cupped her cheek. “This was all I knew for so long. They took it away from us when I thought there could be hope. Every chance they could, they dangled it only to rip it away.”

He wiped a tear that fell down her cheek. The shifter didn’t want her to be sad for him. Without his training, he wouldn’t be the soldier he needed to be to protect her.But you didn’t protect her. She died on your watch.Mac shut his eyes. He refused to believe those words.

When his eyes closed, she kissed him. “We’ll get out of here. There’s hope, and hope is still with us” As she glanced around, she recognized part of the facility. “We’re near the labs, so we’re not far from the exit.” She turned to face him again and whispered, “We’ll get out of this together.”

Mac tugged her back to him. “No.” When she questioned him, he shook his head. “I know where this memory leads.”Let her see the monster you are.The shifter shook his head.I’m not a monster.

When he inhaled, he felt her lips pressed against his again. He cupped her face as he deepened the kiss before he nuzzled her nose. His eyes opened to lock onto hers. “If I’m correct, you will see me differently.”

Violet’s heart broke at his words. “Mac.” She sighed and kissed him. “Nothing can make me see you differently.” She took his hand and pressed it to her chest. “When I said I was with you, I meant I will always be with you. They committed atrocities, so you’ve done things to survive. That doesn’t change who you are.”

Before Mac could respond, he heard Mica’s voice.“Make it quick.”

They both looked down the hallway. Instead of the hallways of the facility, a dark room appeared before them. Two younger versions of Mac and Mica sat on a bed with no one around them. “I don’t deserve to live, Mac.”

“You had to do it, Mica. If you didn’t, then 004 would have killed you.” Mac grabbed his brother by the shoulders. “You are a survivor. Remember, we promised we would complete the course.Perfectus miles, brother.”

Mica shook his head as tears fell. “How can I look at myself in the mirror knowing I killed my best friend’s only sibling? I’m a monster, Mac. I can’t continue. You must do this. It’s a death match. There is no other way. Kill me. Do it quickly, and you will become a soldier. You and Avel.”

“I can’t do that.” Mac choked on his words.

“Mac.” Mica grabbed his brother’s arms until he held Mac’s hands. “I need you to kill me. I cannot be the perfect soldier anymore.”

As the room shifted, Mac stumbled back. He felt Violet’s hand on his arm before the jaguar could look at her. He could barely see the new scenery in front of them as he heard the other shifters whisper. “I can’t.”

As she heard the others, Violet glanced over, only to shudder. Her gaze returned to Mac as she cupped his face. “You’re not a monster.” She couldn’t imagine how he felt but knew he wasn’t a monster.

”You did your brother a mercy. They would have twisted him more. Look what they did to you.” She kissed him. “You did what he asked. The guilt would have eaten him alive like it’s doing to you.”

The fight between the brothers began. The whispers continued as the bell rang for the second time. Mac barely nuzzled Violet’s palm as his heart tightened.

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