Aunt Hala walked over to me with excitement on her face, "Look at you. So grown up and beautiful." she said. "Well come here and give me a hug." she said, holding her arms open for me and I hesitated but hugged her. "Eight years, it's been so long."

I pulled away, "What are you doing here though? It has been eight years and all of a sudden. . ."

She frowned, "I know, Thalia. I was told to never come back." she said. My parents breathed heavily out their noses and Aunt Hala rolled her eyes. She placed a big smile on her face again, "But nothing was gonna stop me. I was trying to make it as quick as I could but running through the woods from Chicago is not easy. Then I had to hitch hike allot when the woods weren't big enough."

"Oh." I said, brushing my hair back behind my ears. "Well, how have you been?"

"Fine. A much nicer welcome coming from you than from my brother." she said sarcastically. She placed her fingers under my chin as she tilt my head back a little, "Now let me see those beautiful sliver eyes of yours." she said.

"I. . .I don't know how to make it happen." I said, pulling my chin away.

Aunt Hala scoffed as she turned to face my dad, "You never taught her? Shame on you Aron, daddy would be disappointed for not teaching your children for what to come."

"Dad left when you were thirteen. I raised you when I was I was only seventeen." he said coldly. "I took care of you. I got you food and clothes. Made sure you were going to school and I even found a man for you! And how do you repay me? By being rebellious and thinking you new everything in the world."

"I never ask you to do that for me though." she coldly said back and my dad breathed out heavily. "You didn't even ask me!"

"I had to! You were going to pick some low life, some dirty Jaguar from the city. You new where he ended up? Dead!" he shouted at her. "At least Callum had his own home, some money, and you have a good peaceful life. But no, you didn't want that."

"I was sixteen, Aron! Callum was twenty-two. Yes, Callum had everything a Jaguar girl dreamt of but when I realized what I was—my true nature—I knew I would never need a man to take care of me." she coldly said. She held her hand back towards me, "I'm sure your doing the same with Thalia, aren't you?"

My dad bared his teeth, "Thalia is my daughter though, it's different."

"She is a Silver Jaguar, you can't stop it Aron." she said. She turned to face me and walked over, "What is the boy name? Is it him?" she asked, pointing at Ander who was in the corner of the kitchen with his back against the wall and one of his foot propped up. Aunt Hala knew my answer without me even speaking, "Thalia, as handsome as he is you know in your heart you don't need a man to take care of you."

"Hala!" my dad said. My mom growled behind him, her eyes flashing reddish-yellow, and even Ander bared his teeth.

I turned to face Aunt Hala, "I. . .this is my family. Yes dad arranged it but. . .but Ander isn't bad. He's sweet and it is a good thing for my family. I'll grow use to it."

"No." she said, grabbing ahold of my shoulders and made me face her. I turned to look at my dad but she grabbed my chin and made me face her, "You are strong, stronger than any of them. You know why? Because in your blood you are a true Jaguar. In our blood—our ancestors were real Jaguars who were given the ability to turn into human skin. Every generation only one of us can be born but fate wanted you to be born. I knew the moment you were born and I held you in my arms. I felt so much energy coming off of you. And they're afraid of it!" she said, holding her arm out towards my parents. "They know you can take care of yourself. You're not something just to be given as if you were a cow or something. They knew, Thalia. They knew for sixteen years and they never told you. Because they don't want you to leave and be yourself."

My dad came over and took my arm pulling me away from her, "That's enough!" he said coldly to her.

I pulled away from him as I stared up at him because what she said was true. They knew what I was and they never told me. My dad didn't seem very worried yesterday when he saw my eyes and my mom wasn't freaking out either. They expected it to happen to me. "Is it true?" I asked, needing to hear it from them. "Is that true, dad? Did you know this was gonna happen to me?"

My dad breathed out heavily, "Yes. I did know but it doesn't matter! You're still a Jaguar and my daughter."

Aunt Hala came up behind me, "He didn't want to tell you because he knew you would behave differently. He knew if you knew you would feel like you could be who you are. You don't need to follow their rules. Why? Because their only humans who can turn into Jaguars."

All at once my dad, mom, Ander, Peter, and Gesikah all bared their teethes and their eyes turned. Aunt Hala pulled me behind her and she growled back at them. All of this was crazy! All of this was so new right now and I couldn't handle it right now.

I stepped in front of Aunt Hala, "Stop it! Just stop it all of you." I said. They did what I said and the four reddrish-yellow eyes Jaguars stepped back from us.

Aunt Hala put her hands on my shoulders and leaned down towards my ear, "I also have a feeling Evander also knew about this. I know his ancestors are apart of the Olmec." she said, making Ander eyes widen as he stared at me and he quickly shook his head. "If he knows—if his parents know—of course he'll want you as his wife. You're very special, Thalia."

"Hala!" dad yelled at her. "Shut up!"

I stared at Ander and he breathed out, opening his mouth to speak but no words came out and guilt was written all over his face. I was waiting for him to deny it, saying that wasn't true and he didn't know any of it but it never came.

"Your dad was doing the same with me with Callum." she coldly said and my eyes stung with tears as Ander continued not to speak. "To them, you're nothing but your parents meal ticket to a more comfy lifestyle."

My dad pulled me away from her again. He pressed my back against his chest, his arm around me, "Get out of here, Hala! Stop lying to my daughter and never come back here again—"

I pushed my way of his arm and I went over to Ander, "Is that true?" I asked him. He stared down at me with guilty eyes. "Ander! That isn't true right? Of course you wouldn't just agree to marry me because of what I am, right? You're not using me." I said, nodding my head and waited for him to agree that he wasn't using me at all. I know my feelings for Ander may not be romantic as I thought but I hated feeling like I was being used. I believed in time—and hoping my feelings for Rian would vanish—I would begin to be in love with Ander. I agreed to this because I thought I was a normal Jaguar and maybe Ander actually really did like me. What if he only agreed because of what I am? That I could give his family one day either Silver Jaguars children or grand-grandchildren? I scoffed as I felt around my eyes tickle a little, "It's true?"

"Thalia, I never meant to hurt you." he said quickly. "Yes, I did know but once I met you I actually began to like you and fall in love—"

I brought my hands up and pushed him, "Don't give me that bullshit!" I yelled. He was pushed back to far, slamming into the wall, and he fell to the ground. He groaned, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked up at me with wide eyes. Pain and anger filled my chest, "You were only using me! You don't really love me."

My mom grabbed my arm and made me face her, "Thalia, we never meant to hurt you! Of course we weren't using you as a meal ticket. You're my daughter, I would never use you like that."

Angry with all this news was pissing me off. I grabbed my mom wrist and tighten my fist around it, "Don't touch me!" I growled. I knew truly deep down I would never dare hurt my mother but all the anger inside of me was making me lose control.

I felt her bones in her wrist crack and she cried in pain as trying to pull her wrist away, "Ahh, Thalia!"

My dad and Aunt Hala came over. Aunt Hala pulled my hand away and dad held onto my mom who was holding her hurt wrist against her chest. When I realized what I had done, my eyes widen and my jaw dropped. "Mom!" I said, going towards her but I stopped myself when she looked up at me with fear. I stared at her as I stepped back, shocked at myself because a mother should never look at her daughter like that.

I turned the other way, ran into the living room, and out of the house in nothing but the white robe.

*

Tears were rushing down my face when I got to the lake. I sat down on the small boulder and brought my knees up to my chest. The winter morning was cold and there was allot of wind but I never felt more warm in only a robe.

It was one thing to betrayed by Ander but my own family? I don't know if Kavan knew but my parents did. My own parents who I thought would tell me everything lied right in my face for sixteen years. Until Monday I believed I was a normal Jaguar girl and I thought my parents knew I was a normal Jaguar girl but they knew I wasn't.

Was what Aunt Hala saying the truth? They were worried about telling me because I might be more rebellious if I knew? My own parents should have been honest with my from the very beginning and I never would have acted differently from them. As much as their worried, I still feel like the normal Thalia I always was.

I felt someone behind me and I smelt her as she walked over. Aunt Hala appeared next to me and she sat down next to me. She moved some hair that had blown across her mouth away, "I didn't tell you those things to hurt you. I just thought you deserved the truth."

I wiped across my face, "Everything I've known has been slapped right out of me." I said, sniffling.

"I know how you feel, Thalia. I was once your age." she said. "Aron was so shocked when while I went through it all. Your dad isn't such a bad man, I do believe what he thought with the arrange marriage was the best thing he could do for his little sister. It meant he knew I would be taken well care of. I got pissed when he met you mother only because he choosed someone he fell in love with and I couldn't. It wasn't fair since I didn't have a choice. I felt so alone, believing I was the only one in the world like this."

"Aren't you?" I asked but quickly fixed me. "Weren't you?"

She turned to look at me, "No. I actually did meet a few others. The story in our family said only one of the true Jaguars survived after the Spaniards came but our family came from an ancient tribe that was in a location where modern day Chiapas is. More were in Brazil and Chile. There isn't a whole bunch, I only met about six in the last twenty-two years. That what made me believe the whole one every generation thing was bullshit."

I pushed my hair behind my ears, "How are we true Jaguars when we're like this?" I have many, many questions that I needed answers and only she knew them.

"When the Jaguars mated with the Hybrid Jaguars, each generation body became more and more human. Like lets say back in the day, a real Jaguar mated with a Hybrid one—the humans who can turn into Jaguars, the term we use—the child will be born as in a human body but once it reached a full year that child shifted into the body of a Jaguar cub. Generation after generation the bodies of each child born became more like a Hybrid. That's why not everyone in our family became like this but every once awhile we're born. Our bodies is human but our soul always been true Jaguar." She snorted, "Actually, we could have shifted way before our sixteenth birthday with enough concentration. It's just our bodies have that strength when we're sixteen."

"Well what about...about being in love? Can we fall in love?" I asked.

She chuckled, "Of course we can, we're not emotionless."

"With whom though? Full Jaguars, Hybrid ones, humans?" I asked since I was so curious about Rian. He was so confusing since I have never felt this way about a human boy before. Ander, yes there was an attraction but something about Rian. Something that I kept going back to him.

"Well our kind did mate with Hybrid ones. Humans? I only know of one story." she said, making me turn towards her and my ears perked up. "It was a girl who had a mixture of culture of indigenous Jaguar and another who was mixed with Spaniard Jaguar. It wasn't to uncommon for a Jaguar to sometimes breed with humans. Especially with the Spaniards because they were people they never seen and thought if they breed with them they have the Spaniards on their sides. Mayor backfire there though." she said, rolling her eyes and huffed heavily. "Anyways, the mixed Native and Spanish girl name Isabelle went to North America sometime the nineteen hundreds. Meet a human slave in either Mississippi or Louisiana, I can't remember. Can't find that damn book but anyways that why our skin is darker than most of the tan ones like the Espina's."

I grabbed her arm, "We have a little bit of human in us?" I questioned.

Her eyebrow arched, "Ouch." she said, pulling away. "If my bones were as weak as your mother they would be crushed. No, the mix of a Jaguar and human only resulted in another Hybrid. Those children mated with some of the American Native Jaguars.Then soon later more darker skinned Jaguars were born of a different family. It kept going back and forth to different skin shades of Jaguars. We're mixed with allot of things, Thalia. God knows what else we are but it isn't uncommon in Jaguars these days."

"So it's possible we could fall in love with a human?" I asked.

She shrugged, "I guess so, I always been attracted to Hybrid Jaguar males. They can at least level better up to my Jaguar than a human can." she said. Her eyes narrowed at me, "Thalia. . .do you have feelings for a human boy?"

My jaw dropped when I was gonna say something but a lump formed, "It doesn't matter, I plan to stay away. I can't bring them into our world."

"I wish I could says you should follow your heart but I think that's a good idea." she said, making me roll my eyes. She gently placed her hand on my arm, "I'm only saying that because our worlds are two different. Being with a human is dangerous."

I awkwardly looked away, "And what happens if I might have bitten him?"

She was quiet for a moment and I looked back at her. She looked slightly amused, "Means he's yours." she said, making my eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Mostly Jaguars—Hybrids—do this in the big cities but when they don't wanna totally kill a human they'll mark them. Like say keep around for amusement, they'll bite this human and mark them. Mostly to feed on. It's like watching TV while eating for those Jaguars who do it. Only good thing that comes out of that is no other Jaguar will bring harm to that human because he or she already been taken. Never usually happens because the Jaguar fallen in love with them." she said, chuckling.

"I didn't mean to do it." I said, groaning. "Rian is thinks I was just being a little to rough and it's a hickey on his neck. I haven't told him anything. I lost control of myself one night and started to bite him but I only got a drop of it before I stopped."

She made a face, "Oooh Thalia, you gotta be more careful. Not because you almost killed him but because you bit him, left, and he doesn't know what you are. That's dangerous grounds to do."

"I know, I know. Thank God he wasn't very suspicious and didn't pest me with questions." I said. I sighed heavily, "So what is this book you mentioned?"

"It's this journal that usually get written by each Silver Jaguar in our family. Only two of them have written in it but it's give good information. I was giving it by a great aunt whose mother name was Dorothea, also a Silver Jaguar. It's somewhere in my closet at my apartment." she said.

Something hit me, I realized since we haven't seen Aunt Hala in eight years how did she find where we were? "Aunt Hala." I said. She made a 'hmm' moan and paid attention to me, ready for more questioned. "How'd you know we were here in Harmony? How'd you know where we were?"

"Kavan told me." she said, making my eyes widen.

"Kavan in Chicago?" I asked.

She nodded, "Yeah. I haven't seen in so long I didn't think it was him but it was. Handsome boy he grew up to be. He was flirting with this Jaguar girl at a club when I went over to him and he told me everything." she said. "He told me not to ask you this but I just have to."

"Ask me what?"

"Do you wanna come leave with me?" she asked, making my eyes widen. She took my hand, "Thalia, you know you don't have anything here. My only chance to live how I want, the only way I got freedom was leaving. You're dad loves you but he's still gonna try to make you marry Ander."

"No, no not after today." I said quickly, shaking my head. "He'll understand now that why I can't go through with it."

"Won't." she said, making my eyebrows furrowed together. "You won't go through with it, not if you don't wanna. No matter what, you better not go through with it Thalia if you don't want it. But if you come with me, you'll never feel the judgment you'll get from your father. You know even if he doesn't make you, he'll blame you for everything that ever happens wrong. Peter won't let you guys stay, not if you don't marry his son."

"No, they're good friends. Ander lied to me—they all lied. I'll just make them feel guilty for lying and everything will be fine." I said but I seemed to only try convincing myself.

Aunt Hala shook her head, "You don't really believe that, do you? Jaguars aren't that helpful. Peter will make sure his family is secure before Aron's. He wants a wife for his son—a wife who has an important family also. Why would he just let you guys stay if you won't become his son wife? He'll kick you guys out."

I shrugged, "Then no matter what I hurt my family if I don't marry Ander. If I don't agree to marry Ander, we get kicked out. And if I leave, I'll make my parents lose not only a good home but another child. No one really wins."

She sighed heavily, "It's time to do something that makes you happy now, Thalia. Not what makes them happy." I lips my dry lips and lowered my head. I knew she was right and I did kind of want to leave with her. She seemed so indepenant and lively. I could see how strong she was by looking in her eyes and I wished I could be that strong. I want my own happiness. But. . .my family. Rian. "I'm only staying for a week, Thalia. I have to know by next Saturday."

I nodded, "I understand. I'll think about it."

*-*

Just a fun fact, I decided that I would make this a series called The Silver Jaguars. But each story will tell a different story.  There will be three more books in the series.