Page 33 of The Jaguar's Flower

Matilda tapped her clipboard with her false nails. His lips pursed together in disgust before he stripped out of his uniform. Privacy and consent did not exist for them. A foreign concept, but he knew the terms. Confusion slipped through him.Where have I heard those words before?

“Who are you thinking about?” Mac shifted his eyes to the right, but darkness consumed the room. He eyed a younger version of himself. No scars marred his skin that replicated Avel’s.

His heart tightened when the jaguar noticed the brightness in his gray eyes. Mica stood before him. “Don’t lie to me now. I know you like I know our brother. You get this twitch in your right eye when you think of someone. Do I know her?”

You died?Mac’s words didn’t match his thoughts. “Why do you assume the person is a woman?” When Mica laughed, the jaguar felt his throat tighten with emotions. “If you must know, I think I made a friend. 009 to be exact.”

Mica barely smiled.

“What is it, Mica?” When the other jaguar shook his head, Mac pushed again. “You know something. What is it?”

“I heard he is next in the fighting arena.” Mica inhaled. “He’s against 001, and no one wins against her.”

“The reason she’s chosen as 001.” Mac sighed. “Why are you telling me this?”

Mica helped Mac with the workout equipment. The unscarred brother sat down once items were put in their proper racks. “Take a seat, Mac. We gotta talk.”

Mac paused.Machiavelli.He heard his name again, but the voice faded into the background. His dark gray eyes glanced over to Mica when he sat on the mats. “Alright, Mica. Talk.”

“I heard one of the staff members talking last night.”

“Where did you go?”

“Not important. Just know I heard them talking, and if it’s correct, then we might win this last course. We’ll become soldiers. The wholeperfectus milesand nothing will stop us. Not Renfield. Not any new nurses who think they can harm us or silence us.” Mica grinned.

Mac drew his brows together.I heard this before. Where did I hear this from? Why does my heart hurt?“What did they say? Does this ensure we will win our matches? Avel is up tonight against one of the cadets, and you and I have our own matches tomorrow night.”

“It ensures there will be no more fights for the last course. Another facility needs more shifters, from what the staff said. They are looking at cadets that lost their rounds. There is a chance.”

“No,” Mac interrupted. “We cannot fail our mission to Renfield, Mica. We must be one. It is what he demanded. If we fail.”

“We won’t.” Mica patted his back. “But, brother.” The jaguar sighed. “If there is a chance that we do, then we know we still stand a chance to survive. We will have our final moments, but at least we survive.”

Mac shook his head. He heard his name whispered in his ear again, but Mica pulled him back to the moment. “I hope you are right, Mica.”

The scenery shifted in front of Mac again.He died. Mica is dead. He’s gone. You killed him!The jaguar gripped his head. He ignored the thoughts as he crumbled to his knees. The mat padded his fall until he heard Avel’s voice.

“Are you prepared for tomorrow?” His voice never returned to normal after Matilda injected him with a serum. It silenced him for a year until his vocal cords healed.

“It’s possible I might be up against Mica tomorrow.” After the fight between 001 and 009, it became apparent they rigged the game from the start. When 009 won the match, the staff tranquilized 001 and a few other shifters before transporting them. The facility wanted the brothers to fight. There was no other explanation for it.

The staff members set everything up. They knew Mica would have overheard them. They wanted to give the brothers hope, and they took it.Mac wished he didn’t know the truth. It would have saved him the heartache.This is why we don’t trust. Why do you never listen to anyone who gives you hope? You lose it all, Mac! All of it!He shut his mind off.

“If either fails, you repeat the program for another year.” Avel gripped Mac’s shoulder. “It will be fine, Mac.”

“Do you really think that happens?” Mac turned his slate eyes to his brother. “We’ve been together all our lives, brother. Leaving one behind is incomprehensible.”

“Tie the match.” Avel shrugged. “They will have no choice but to force us all to graduate together. They want us as one, then what better way to prove it?”

Because the final round between me and Mica is a death match. That will be the end of all the matches, and why no cadets of the program fight anymore.Mac shook his head. “Only if Mica wins this fight against 004. The fight would be easier if it’s against him instead of our brother.”

The bell rang to alert the brothers. When Mica fought against 004, Mac froze in time. Every movement slowed.We already know how this plays out.Mica wins the match.You fight him next. You killed Mica.

When the jaguar shut his eyes, his heart raced with anticipation. He heard every sound that occurred in the fighting ring. When Avel touched his shoulder, Mac opened his eyes. He caught Mica’s smokey eyes before his brother broke the shifter’s neck. The sickening crack silenced everyone around the ring.

A nurse arrived shortly after. Mica turned to leave the ring. Before the brothers went after him, Mac heard the other shifters around him. “It was a deathmatch. I heard these are the last fights after tomorrow night.”

The jaguar held his breath. “Isn’t the next match a fight between the brothers?” Mac watched Mica fade behind the rabble.

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