- 'First of all, you have to relax as much as you can to make him feel safe. Now you're giving him your stress, and that's not a good thing.'

- 'No, no shit!' I replied bitterly, my teeth clenched, and with my most beautiful glare.

Look that I quickly reported on the snake that was undulating more and more strongly on my arm, an obvious sign of his growing irritation.

- 'Try to lower your heart rate, that's the main thing that irritates him. He instinctively mirrors his movement on it.'

Now that he said it, it was becoming obvious, but it was easier said than done. I wasn't particularly afraid of snakes, but this one was potentially deadly and I was already on the verge of collapsing, both physically and psychologically, before this umpteenth problem befell me.

- 'Look at me and breathe deeply. You both need to calm down for this to have a chance of working. Because as you so rightly pointed out earlier, he doesn't know you well. He only came to you because he had no other choice.'

- 'Thank you very much for the indirect compliment! I appreciate it very much,' I replied, sarcastically.

As usual, he did not acknowledge my comment and continued his explanation as if I had not opened my mouth.

- 'Feel his animal essence and try to get in touch with it. Once it's done, visualize Adam in his human form and project this image towards the essence of the cobra, it should work,' he said as if he was doing it every day.

- 'It sounds simple when you say it, but strangely enough it would surprise me very much if it were,' I muttered before closing my eyes and trying to do what was expected of me.

Against all odds, I had no trouble emptying my mind and finding the essence of Adam. It was similar to Martha's, but subtly different. But even before I had time to make contact, I felt overwhelmed by a soft, warm and silky feeling that smelled like a cat... Feline. Instinctively, I tried to contact her with my thoughts, but to my greatest surprise, I only encountered the void. Well, the void, not quite. It was as if this rich smell emanated from a small part of me, which I had never been aware of until now. A whistle as furious as it was hostile gushed out of Adam's mouth, and Jude instantly pulled out his bow.

- 'What was that?' he asked worried and suspicious.

- 'I don't know,' I replied, not very unconvincing.

I couldn't help but notice the doubt in my voice. I would suspect that it certainly had something to do with Feline and more precisely with the bond we had unintentionally forged. Had it definitively disappeared or, on the contrary, had it changed something in me? I had to admit, I was lost and I didn't know anything! Sooner or later I had to talk to someone about it if I wanted answers. So why not Jude? He was the only metamorph I was close enough to make it possible.

Truth be told, I was afraid to talk about it. Afraid to admit that I missed this strange connection. Mainly the horrible feeling of loneliness that never left me and that had suddenly dissolved when I came into contact with the panther. It was now that she had disappeared that I realized it. But above all, fear that it will be unusual or even abnormal, even for shape-shifters, and that I will once again be sidelined and treated like a freak. All these mental prevarications had not lasted more than a few seconds but had not gone unnoticed in the eyes of Jude, who stared at me with a cautious look.

- 'You smell like cat,' he said, his face distorted by a frown. 'If I didn't know you, I'd swear you were a feline shapeshifter. Could it have something to do with that panther I thought I saw when Aria escaped? Are you hiding something from me, Christina?'

It was not so much his incisive tone as the fact that he called me by my first name that destabilized me. As far back as I can remember, I think it was one of the first times he used it. Even if it was ridiculous, it bothered me enough to make me lose the lie I was going to tell him and, apparently, my reaction was exactly what he had expected. How did he manage to figure me out so well and so quickly? When I was with him, I felt like I was transparent and I didn't like it at all.

- 'Why? Do you have a problem with big tomcats?' I replied meanly. 'Anyway, it's none of your business. So let's finish what we started so we can finally get out of this gloomy forest.'

He looked at me offended but said nothing, as if he felt hurt that I didn't confide in him. I may liked him at times, but he also irritated me sometimes! He was not consistent enough in his reactions and behaviours towards me for me to trust him completely. Moreover, what happened between Feline and me was too important for me to tell someone I didn't trust, even if I never saw her again. A wave of mild heat suddenly broke through me, as if I was standing in front of a good chimney fire in the middle of an icy forest, followed by a smell of warm fur and the feeling that a big cat was rubbing its head against my arm.

« I'm here. »

I was so happy to feel her close to me again, both physically and psychologically, that I could not hold back my smile and my little cry of surprise. This did not go unnoticed in Jude's eyes, of course. But after all, I didn't care.

« Why didn't I feel you anymore? »

« It was your boyfriend who was blocking me. As long as he was connected to you, I couldn't talk to you and then I was afraid to distract you at the wrong time. »

Just hearing her psychic voice again was doing me a lot of good. Perhaps that's why I didn't say anything at the word "boyfriend". I had the feeling that I understood her better, as if her thoughts were clearer, more "humane" in a way.

« You didn't tell me that part of the reinforcements were feathered! I almost ate him,» she said in a disgusted tone.

What I didn't know was whether the disgust applied to Jude's nature or the fact that she had missed a good meal.

« Both. »

- 'What the hell is going on here?'

Jude's exasperated voice reconnected me with reality and I realized that Adam was more agitated than ever. God, I almost forgot I had a cobra wrapped around my arm!

« If it's not too risky for you, I think you'd better show up. This would save me from tedious and unnecessary explanations. »

« Pfft, you're kidding! I have nothing to fear from a common chicken, even in human form,» she replied condescendingly.

Just as she was mentally responding to me, she came out of the undergrowth and came towards us with grace and flexibility, not without suspicious glances at Jude. Which means she couldn't be as comfortable as she claimed. She did not answer me clearly, but I nevertheless perceived her contempt for my last thoughts, and that made me smile inside. I decided to calm things down with Jude, because he had already pointed his bow and arrow at her with his usual speed - and even though I didn't think he would shoot, I didn't want take any chances either.

- 'Jude, Adam... This is Feline. It was thanks to her that I was able to free Aria and get us out without too much damage. Oh yes, and as you can see, she is a black panther and she won't hurt you,' I sarcastically said.

- 'And you're positive about that how... exactly?'

His eyes were shooting daggers at me and he had never seemed so suspicious as now. This observation shocked me a little and, after a second of reflection and a deep sigh, I still decided to tell him the truth.

- 'Because I'm mentally communicating with her, like... a kind of telepathy.'

I had refrained in extremis from saying "as with you", because I didn't know if he wanted Adam to know. So I gave him an interrogating look thinking that it would help him understand my hesitation. Speaking of Adam, by the way! I realized that he had dropped off my arm the moment Feline approached us. He was a few metres behind me, on my right, and seemed to be undulating much faster than before.

- 'Ask the panther to move away and get closer to him,' Jude said hastily. 'He is starting his transformation on his own and it will not be a pleasant experience. Having you near him will help him,' he said in a voice that had regained its impersonal coldness.

I did what he asked me without arguing and stayed close to Adam throughout his metamorphosis. To say that this seemed long and painful would be a euphemism. I felt like I was plugged into a socket and thousands of ants were trying to get out from under my skin. When it was finally over, I rubbed my arms to remove the last remaining tingling and held out a hand to Adam to help him get up despite his tremors. At that moment, Jude's smell surrounded me and he passed me by without looking at me to crouch down near Adam.

- 'It's okay. Now that he is in his human form, he will let me approach him again. You've done enough! I'll take care of it.'

- 'What's your problem? You don't like panthers,' I deliberately provoked him.

His cold and impersonal tone had made me angry and I wanted him to react.

- 'No, although as a bird shapeshifter I don't particularly carry felines in my heart. Especially those who are big and stupid enough to try to eat me,' he shouted in a poisonous voice with a dark glare towards Feline, over my shoulder.

This led to an aggressive growl from the interested party.

- 'No, what bothers me is that you didn't tell me about it when I asked you. If you still don't trust me after everything that's happened, then... we might as well keep our distance from each other.'

He turned his back on me and helped a shaky and ragged Adam to get up slowly. I remained silent for a moment staring at his back, while telling myself that he was right and that I should have told him about it; when his discomfort at my question about his wound suddenly came back to mind, reviving my anger which very quickly replaced guilt.

- 'You're absolutely right. We might as well keep our distance, since you don't trust me either. You blame me for not answering your questions, but you don't answer mine either. So you're in no position to complain.'

- 'I didn't answer your question because it doesn't concern you at all. Whereas in your case, it's completely different, and you know it!'

- 'No, I don't know that! And I don't see how my connection with Feline is any of your business,' I shouted angrily to him. 'You're right, let's get out of this forest quickly and leave it at that.'

It hurt my heart, but I was so angry, I didn't care about it for the time being. So we walked back through the woods towards the farm at a slow pace, without meeting anyone and without saying a word. Feline followed me and left me to my gloomy thoughts. They must have been too human for her to understand. Nevertheless, when we arrived in sight of the farm, I began to worry about what would become of her. I couldn't possibly take her back with me to the apartment. She was a little too big to be mistaken for a cat. My concern escalated when I realized, as I looked through her thoughts, that she didn't really know where to go either.

The professor's men had stolen her from the zoo where she was born. She knew nothing else and did not intend to go back now that she had tasted freedom. I decided to swallow my pride and ask Jude for help. Even if I had to admit, it was costing me.

- 'Jude, do you think Charles would accept that Feline lives in the woods around his estate?' I asked gently.

- 'Since she helped you save his granddaughter, it would be petty to refuse,' he replied coldly.

- 'Yes, but even if I don't know him very well, I wouldn't be surprised at all.'

- 'I will arrange it if it's possible,' he continued in the same voice.

- 'No, that's sweet, but I'll take care of it myself. I was just asking for your opinion, not to do things for me.'

- 'I'm not going to have a choice anyway, since... you're not coming back with us,' he said in a softer voice as he turned towards me and I understood from his gaze that it wasn't his doing.

- 'Excuse me?' I said in a calm voice that surprised me.

- 'Charles thanks you for saving his granddaughter and Adam...'

- 'But now that I've fulfilled my role, he doesn't want me around anymore, does he?'

I laughed bitterly. The truth is, I didn't even know if I wanted to laugh, scream or cry. The worst part of it was that I wasn't even surprised. I think I was expecting it deep down inside.

- 'All right! Give me your phone,' I suddenly ordered him in a loud voice.

I knew he had nothing to do with it, but he probably didn't do much to plead on my behalf. And then he was there, and Charles wasn't... It wasn't fair but it was like that! He said nothing and simply threw the device at me, which I grabbed with my right hand. I looked up Charles' number and called.

- 'Jude! I hope you're not calling me to beg for mercy? Although it could be fun,' Charles said in an icy voice full of painful promises.

Its wording and tone caught my attention, but I decided to leave that aside for the time being. I wanted to use my anger wisely while it was still with me.

- 'No, this is "genetic error" speaking! I am very happy to have been useful to you and not at all surprised to be thrown away like an old sock. On the other hand, I have a favor to ask you and you cannot refuse, because if that were to be the case, I would do something you would bitterly regret!' I whispered in my meanest and most threatening voice.

- 'Ahahah... You are in no position to bargain, let alone threaten me. You have nothing. You're nothing and you'll be even less than that if I decide to take care of your case!'

He was so angry that he couldn't keep his cold mask anymore. That alone was a great victory.

- 'Yes, I am,' I whispered with a confident voice. 'I saved the lives of your granddaughter and Adam, and all your "subjects" are well aware of this... or will soon be. But I also saved someone else in that misfortune lab. A panther, and I only ask you to allow her to live in the woods around your house, not to chase her away, nor to hurt her. I don't think that's too much to ask, and if you don't do it or anything happens to her because of you, I'll make you bitterly regret it, and believe me, I have the means to do it. Thank you and goodbye.'

And on those words, I hung up on him. I gave his phone back to Jude, who looked at me with a surprised look, but he took the device back without saying anything.

- 'Now you are going to explain to me what is going on between you and Charles, and why you should beg for his mercy according to him?' I asked, my eyes stared into his.

Suddenly he became pale and, what worried me even more, Adam also looked at him like a dead man on probation. Suddenly, the discussion we had in the shelter when Charles left us came back to me." To say that he won't like that I disobeyed him is the understatement of the century, and it would be better if you weren't there when he got his hands on me." It was my turn to turn pale.

- 'Tell me what's going on, please?' I begged him gently, my anger suddenly replaced by worry.

- 'From the look on your face, you figured it out for yourself, but don't worry. I don't plan to stay long enough for him to get his hands on me,' he said with a reassuring grin that didn't reach his eyes. 'I'll just drop Adam and Feline off before sneaking away.'

- 'Don't worry, I'll look after your friend, if she'll let me,' Adam told me.

Feline confirmed to me mentally that it suited her, as long as I came to see her regularly. I smiled at Adam and thanked him for his proposal.

Having no choice but to take his word for it, we continued on to the farm where the inspector was waiting for us in the back of an ambulance, with Cassie at his side. When we arrived, nurses rushed towards us with blankets. My first reflex was to want to give Jude his jacket back, but when I turned around and handed it to him, I realized that I was alone. They hadn't followed me. I started to burst into uncontrollable tears when I realized that I hadn't even said goodbye to them.