Chapter 1 Reborn As A Cat

Liora

The last thing I remembered was dying.

No, scratch that. The last thing I remembered was standing in front of the most breathtaking being I had ever laid eyes on, inside a palace so blindingly white it made my eyes water. And then that breathtaking being looked me dead in the face and turned me into a cat.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Before appearing in front of that breathtaking being, I lived an ordinary life, worked an ordinary job as a florist and lived in an ordinary apartment. Yes, everything about my life was ordinary.

Nothing ever happened, and I liked it that way. Mostly.

Except there was Kael.

There was always Kael. My best friend and housemate, and the man I had a secret crush on for the past five years.

Five years. I know, it’s a long time, but don’t judge me.

It wasn’t like I planned it. One day he was just my annoying best friend who loved teasing me and annoying the hell out of me, and the next thing I knew, I was noticing just how ripped he was. I noticed how he never noticed the girls who flickered over him because he was too busy making sure I didn’t mistakenly kill myself.

He was handsome. And caring. Maybe that was why I fell head over heels for him.

“You’re going to be late,” Kael said, not looking up from his phone.

I shot out my tongue, pulling my jacket off the hanger. “I’m never late.”

Kael scoffed and stood to his feet. His eyes finally left his phone and trailed over me, sending shivers down my spine. I always marveled at how good he was at melting my insides. One look and I was a goner.

I glanced away, unable to hold his gaze any longer than two seconds. Still, Kael strode toward me, took my face in his hands, and fixed my hair. His fingers were warm against my cheeks, and I wanted so badly to lean into that warmth.

Maybe in his eyes, I was nothing but a petulant child who needed taking care of. But I didn’t see him like that. I saw everything. All I wanted in a man was in him.

Clearing my throat, I pulled back, my fingers tightening around my bag. “I’ll see you when I get back,” I said, quickly moving toward the door.

I’ll tell him how I feel after work today, I told myself. I’d already planned it all a nice surprise dinner on the patio. Kael would be very surprised I cooked. And then I’d pour my heart out to him.

I had been telling myself that same thing for five years. But today felt different. Today the words were already sitting at the back of my throat, ready and waiting. Today was the day. I just knew it.

Except I never got the chance. Because I never came back home that night.

I wondered what happened to Kael. What was his reaction when he was called to identify my body? Did he cry? Did he wince at the gashes on my body from the accident? What did he do when he found out I would never come back?

I wanted to know so badly. But we didn’t always get what we wanted, did we?

That ordinary Tuesday morning wasn’t so ordinary after all. That day, I lost one life and gained another.

When I woke up after the accident, I was standing in the most luxurious room I had ever had the pleasure of seeing, staring into the eyes of the most beautiful and ethereal being I had ever laid eyes on. Her eyes were like glass, and when she looked at me, it felt like she was looking into my soul.

“Child,” she said in a voice that reverberated even in my bones. “You must be tired.”

And honestly, I was. But I wasn’t about to admit that.

“Where am I?” I asked, glancing around. “What is this place?”

She shrugged, glancing around the room herself, albeit nonchalantly. “This is my chamber.”

I frowned. “Chamber? I need to go home. How did I even get here?”

“You died, child.”

That was the first time the reality of my situation dawned on me. It was real. I was really involved in that accident. I really tears poured from my eyes I really left Kael behind. I didn’t even try to hold them back. What was the point? I was dead. Crying seemed entirely appropriate.

The ethereal being waited. She didn’t offer comfort or tissues or any of the things a normal person would offer. She just watched me cry with the patient expression of someone who had done this many times before.

“If you want your life back,” the woman said an eternity later, “then you will do something for me.”

I should have known from the sinister smile that curved her lips that she didn’t mean anything good. But I was desperate. I wanted to see Kael again. I needed to touch him, to tell him how I really felt.

“Tell me anything,” I said desperately. “I’ll do anything. Just give me back my life.”

Her smile widened. “Just nine missions, child. Complete nine missions for me, and you’ll have your life back.”

I should have asked for more details. I should have asked what she meant by those missions. Because if I had, I would have had an answer as to why I was waking up as a fucking cat.

I glanced at my paws again, mentally cussing the woman out. In my head, I imagined her laughing at my naivety. But whatever. As long as I got what I wanted a chance to see Kael again I would do anything.

Now, where was I?

I glanced around what looked to be a very large, very luxurious bedroom. Everything in it was expensive looking. Dark wood furniture. Heavy curtains pulled half open, letting in grey morning light. A bed big enough to sleep four people comfortably, sheets still rumpled from whoever slept in it last.

Whoever that was, they clearly had money. And taste. And absolutely no idea there was a cat sitting in the middle of their floor, having a full existential crisis.

“Are you done?” A voice said inside my head.

I startled so hard I nearly fell over my own paws. “Who said that?”

“Echo,” the voice answered, drily. “I’m your wolf, and for now, I’m just a voice in your head. I’ll explain all of this to you later, because right now I can feel how confused you are. For now, you need to “

“Wolf? That’s not real. That’s ”

“It’s real now. And you’re a cat. I didn’t make the rules.”

Before I could argue further, or make sense of anything, the door swung open.

I spun around so fast I skidded on the floor, claws scrabbling against the smooth surface, and crashed sideways into the leg of the bedside table. Ouch. That hurt.

A man stood in the doorway.

He was quite tall, or maybe I was too small. His hair was as dark as midnight, and it kissed his brows. His deep blue eyes moved over the room before finally landing on me with the kind of focus that made it very clear he noticed everything.

He noticed me.

We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. My heart or whatever a cat had instead of one stopped completely.

Well, Echo said, unhelpfully. This should be interesting.