Malakai

"Leah," I said as I opened the car door and placed one foot into a puddle that had accumulated from melting snow. I grabbed my black wool coat and put it on. "Didn't Jake say we shouldn't be late for that meeting tonight?"

I exited the car and stood up. I withdrew my iPhone from my pants pocket, tapped the sole black button under the screen. The clock read 4:50. "It's almost five."

Leah ignored my reminder, like I knew she would. She strode casually through the parking lot, toward the automatic glass doors of the Macy's department store. She stopped and stood in front of them.

I took my sweet time catching up with her. I didn't want to run. Granted, it was warm enough to melt snow, but it was still cold enough for the chill of the wind to make my lungs burn from a brisk walk.

Leah turned around to give me a faux-angry glare. When she saw that my expression didn't change, she smiled and stuck her tongue out at me. Then she smacked her butt and shook it at me.

She looked a little confused when I pointed behind her. A short, round-faced sales clerk had taken the liberty of enjoying Leah's little taunt. I don't blame him; I did too. Leah turned to him and gave him an embarrassed smile.

He winked at her and returned to his work.

I approached her. The remnants of yesterday's snow crunched beneath my feet.

Leah stared at me as an exasperated sigh escaped her lips. "Weren't you the one complaining about being late?"

I shrugged and an older couple passed by us and entered the store. "Yeah. But you still haven't told me why we're here."

A frigid wind blew a few strands of Leah's black hair into her face. She didn't so much as flinch. I crossed my arms on my chest to retain more warmth.

"I just wanna pick something up." Leah informed me. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Is that alright with you your highness?" She said sarcastically.

"I could get used to that name." I said with a smirk.

"Well don't." Leah shot back. "I was being sarcastic anyway." Leah smiled that million-dollar smile that I've grown so attached to seeing. Every time she does, my heart flutters; this time was no exception. Leah's ears perked up. "Damn, Kai. Does everything I do make you happy?"

Leah hit the nail on the head with that question.

I shrugged and glanced around. Another cold breeze pushed the gray clouds across the forecasted, overcast sky. I shuddered. "Um." I could feel the sheepishness forming on my face. "Yeah." I answered truthfully.

Leah didn't acknowledge my answer. She looked at me sweetly. "C'mon. It's cold out here." She took my hand and led me into the Port Angeles Macy's branch.

The inside of the store was warmer than the outside. The brown tiles on the floor looked freshly mopped and waxed. A yellow wet floor sign adorned the ground next to the entrance. Racks of clothes littered the store everywhere I looked. And classical music could be heard faintly from the speakers on the ceiling.

The store was emptier than I thought it would be. The round-faced sales clerk that admired Leah's round…um, yeah, was helping the older couple that sauntered in just before us. He looked at us and held up a finger, silently saying that he'd be with us shortly.

He finished advising the man of the couple on the correct Hawaiian, floral print shirt. Then the sales clerk walked over to us with a genuine smile on his face. His green eyes flashed with interest.

"Hey," He said to Leah. He angled his body toward her, then turned to give me some attention. "I'm Vince. What can I help you two with?"

I let Leah answer, since I myself had no idea what we would need help with.

"Nothing, we're just passing through here to get into the mall." Leah said and grabbed my hand.

"Oh, well…" Vince's disappointment was evident on his face. "Have a good day. Ma'am." He nodded his head in Leah's direction. "Sir." He shook my hand before he stalked away.

Leah started through a few racks of clothes, toward the mall entrance. I followed her.

There were so many more people in the mall, than in that Macy's. It wasn't quite as crowded as the week before Christmas, when Alice took me shopping. However, there was still an inherent difficulty navigating. On the bright side, I'm a little taller, so I can see the bathroom sign over the sea of shoppers.

"Oh my gawd!" I shouted and smiled. I hadn't seen the Ms. Fields cookie shop the last time we were here. "I want some cookies!"

"Seriously?" Leah shook her head and sighed. "Such a kid." She smiled a little. "How do you expect me to see you as an adult?"

"I don't." I glanced around and rubbed my eyes. "How do you expect to see me as an adult?" I fired.

"Shut up and get your damn cookies." Leah hated it when I asked her the same question she asked me. But, at least it was a way to avoid not having an answer for her questions. "I'm gonna go grab what I came for. Meet me at that photo booth in five." Leah swept a hand toward the photo booth near the center fountain of the mall.

I pretended I was a soldier and snapped to attention. Then, I raised my hand in a salute. "Sir. Yes sir!"

"I'm not a sir."

"You coulda fooled me." I said in a hushed voice. But with Leah's hearing, I knew she caught my joke.

Leah raised her hand in an almost fist. The only finger not curled, was her extended middle finger. Then she wheeled around and stormed off in the opposite direction of me.

I stepped up to the counter of the Ms. Fields and leaned against it. I didn't need to take a look at the menu. I already knew exactly what I wanted: six white chocolate and macadamian nut nibblers. Yeah, those small cookies that you can eat in one bite.

The short-haired woman behind the counter smiled at me warmly, and said: "Welcome to Ms. Fields. What can I do for you?"

"Hi." I said and scratched the side of my face with an index finger. "I'll have the white -- "

"—Chocolate and macademia nut cookie?" The cookie lady finished for me. "To match that hair?"

I laughed to myself at that last bit. "Sure, I guess you could say that."

"How many do you want?"

"Six." Then, I stopped to think about my increased appetite. That, and the fact that I wasn't going home alone tonight, or back to the Cullen's; where the didn't eat cookies. So, I should probably order more than what was usually enough for me. "Err, fifty I mean."

"That's quite a jump." The woman slipped on some transparent gloves to gather my requested cookies. She reached behind her with pale hands, to grab two buckets to place my order in.

She set the two pails on the counter adjacent to my relaxed elbows. In about four handfuls, she carefully put my cookies in the pails. I could tell this woman knew what she was doing, not one of my cookies were squished or misshapen.

I heard the chimes of my iPhone and felt it vibrating in my pocket. I took it out and checked the caller I.D.. I was so sure it was Leah, but to my surprise, it wasn't. My phone said that it was Catherine calling.

I slid the green bar at the bottom of the screen to answer the phone. I put it to my ear.

"Hello." I said, my tone was fairly lax, considering I wanted to eat the girl on the other end of the line, earlier today.

"Kai!" Catherine's voice crackled through my handset. The background noise made it sound like she was still in a car. Then it hit me.

"Cath," I really didn't hope my assumption was right. "don't tell me your dad just came to pick you up."

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

The lady at the cookie counter waved her hand to get my attention. I guess she was done packing my order. She punched a few digits on the cash register and it made a ringing noise.

I took out my wallet and pulled out my credit card and handed it to the woman. "Doesn't matter." I said into my phone. "It's like, three hours later. Leah could have given you a ride home."

"Kai." I could hear Catherine huff an exasperated sigh. "It's okay, I walked to a friend's house. My dad picked me up from there."

"Oh, okay."

"I.D. please." The lady behind the counter extended her hand.

"Ah, I'm sorry." I pulled the forged, white plastic from my wallet and dropped it into her hand.

"No problem." The woman smiled sweetly. She took a quick glance at the picture on my identification card and at me. Then, she checked to make sure the names matched up. She put them onto the counter and slid me my American Express on top of my I.D.

"Why are you apologizing?" Catherine asked.

"I was buying cookies. I forgot to give this nice lady my I.D." I winked at the woman as my receipt finished printing.

"Get some for me." Catherine asked.

"No." I said calmly. At first I thought she was asking a question. Then I caught that it was more of a friendly command.

The cookie lady took off her gloves and brushed her hands on her red apron. She handed me my freshly printed receipt and my two buckets of cookies.

"Thanks." I grinned at her. I took my credit card and ID and returned them to my wallet.

When I turned to walk away, I felt the coolness of my loose hair brushing against my neck. I ran a hand through it to straighten it so it didn't look completely "fucked up," as Leah would say.

I sauntered over to the photo booth near the fountain; the where Leah wanted to meet. I took a seat on the cool, blue and pink tiles of the fountain. I was careful to pick a spot that wasn't wet. The mist the fountain's rushing water generated, felt good on my arms.

I went to get a cookie from the first bucket but I realized I was still holding my phone up to my ear. Thus, I realized Catherine was pretty quiet on the other end.

"So, what was it that you needed?" I asked. The longing for a cookie became more difficult to resist.

"Oh yeah!" She said. I could practically hear her smile through her voice. "I wanted to know if I could come over to your house so we can do our project."

For a split second, I almost said yes. But I remembered Jacob's meeting at his house. "Um, tonight isn't really good for me. I have some business to handle."

"You sound like you're into something shady when you put it like that, Kai." Catherine said wryly.

"Well, I don't know how else to put it. Sorry." I didn't know how else to put it. I think that telling her I wasn't completely human would piss off Jacob and the others. It wouldn't sound any better telling her I had to impress some tribal leaders and talk about the reason I'm able to transform into a giant cat.

I looked past the bunches of people minding their own business. I could see Leah making her way toward me.

"Tomorrow we have to do it." Catherine said.

"Okay Catherine, I'll text you directions tomorrow."

"Call me Cathy." She said.

"Bye Cathy." With that, I pressed to section of my phone screen to end the phone call as Leah approached. I allowed for my phone screen to time out. Then, I set it on my thigh as I bit into a cookie.

"Who was that?" Leah asked. She sat down next to me. She placed the little black bag from the store, onto the ground. It was stuffed with decorational tissue paper, so I could not get a good look at the bag's contents.

"Catherine. The girl from school." I answered, nibbling into my cookie. Crumbs fell onto my shirt collar. I'll get them later. "So what's in the bag?"

Leah bristled at my question. "Don't worry about it." She reached over my lap, clearly attempting to ninja a cookie from one of my buckets.

"Nope." I smacked her hand. "Don't worry about my cookies."

Leah sighed. She looked at me and pouted. Her wide-eyed gaze melted my resolve. She was did it on purpose, and she knew she could. Despite my best efforts, I cracked and handed her a bucket of cookies.

"Thank you." She cooed. She pulled a cookie from the bucket and popped it into her mouth. Leah glanced around until her eyes rested on the black and silver photo booth next to us. "Kai, lets take some pictures."

I reached for my phone to check the time. But before I could press the button to illuminate the screen Leah snatched the handset from my hands.

"We have enough time Kai." Leah grasped my wrist and led me into the photo booth. The cookie crumbs from my collar fell onto the floor as I rose.

Inside, it was fairly simple. There was a bench, a color television screen, buttons on the wall to make selections and of course, a slot to accept payment.

Leah sat down first. She reached into her front pocket and removed a five dollar bill. She fed it into the bill slot on the wall of the machine. Then, Leah tugged on my wrist again, and pulled me into her lap.

I turned my head to meet Leah's eyes. I had no doubt that my face had grown red with embarrassment. "I can sit on my own, you know."

"Yeah," Leah pressed a few buttons, and then I heard the beeping to let us know that it was about to be shutter time. "But then you wouldn't have that nervous smile for the picture."

I said nothing. Leah really did know how to play this little lycanthrope leopard.

She set her hand just a little too far up my thigh, but I remained quiet. I had to fight the urge to squeal. I also had to fight the urge for a certain part of my anatomy to swell with excitement. Luckily, I won.

I heard the clicking of the shutter go off before I could compose myself for the picture. Then, the beeping began again.

Before I could grasp what was happening, Leah pressed her lips against my cheek. My blush reddened and the shutter clicked again.

I whipped my head round to face her. "Leah! I wasn't ready for any of tho-"

Leah cut me off midsentence with a kiss to my lips. It wasn't anything too severe, compared to the night before. Still, it did catch me off guard. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to revel in it before the third and final shutter clicked and Leah pulled away.

"I… Uh…" I had forgotten what it was that I was going to say.

Leah smirked at me slyly. She kissed my forehead and nudged me to my feet. She began to stand. "C'mon Kai, we don't wanna be late."

Leah and I wound our way up Jacob and Billy's muddy driveway. I'm glad I left my backpack in the car. If I dropped it, I would never be able to get it clean again. It was another stoic, quiet evening. The sky was the same shade of gray as it was in Port Angeles. The huge pine trees created a forest too dense to see into, on both sides of us.

"Leah," I asked I took my first step on the weathered, wooden porch. Leah didn't return my phone yet. She even turned off the clock on the HUD of the car. She said something about me complaining too much about time.

"If you ask me about the time," Leah turned to face me and continued walking. Backward. "I swear to God Kai."

"Never mind…" I said. I watched Leah open the old backdoor to Jacob's house and step inside. "Although, God Kai has a nice ring to it." I sauntered in behind Leah. We were in what looked to be a kitchen. A very, very cramped kitchen.

Jacob stood in the doorway to the next room, where I could hear the rumble of casual conversation. There were three. No four. Five voices? I may be a new creature, but these heightened senses are going to take some getting used to.

"Leah, where the hell were you guys? You're thirty minutes late." Jacob growled. He exuded a pissed off vibe, and I wasn't too excited to try and walk past him at this very moment.

"Sorry dude I —" I'm not sure what possessed me to speak in lieu of Leah. Perhaps it was because Jacob seemed like an imposing threat to her safety. Look at Malakai, beginning to care.

"Kai." Jacob crossed his too-well developed forearms in front of him. "This is between me and my beta. Go into the living room."

Just don't eat me. I wanted to say as I maneuvered around him. I thought better of it though. This was a half wolf man. He probably would want to eat me if I thought to pose a threat to his chain of command.

I took my time walking into the living room. In side were some older looking Quileute. Sue was seated in a beige chair near the front door. One of the aged men looked like Jacob, so I assumed that he was Jacob's father, Billy. He sat on the old, beige couch with one other man.

One of them had his gray hair pulled back into a low ponytail. He resembled the Quil I had met a few days earlier. He was wiry, in a delicate way. He looked as though if I sneezed, I could possibly break him. Blue beads adorned his frail neck. A gray pendant with some unintelligible markings…

The same markings Leah and Jacob have tattooed on their right shoulders.

I stole another glance at Sue who was wearing a similar necklace; blue beads, strange pendant. Billy had one on as well. The other elderly tribesman did too.

I came to a stop in front of them. Every one of them wore a straight face. Any remnant of the conversation they were holding was long gone. They were quite intimidating actually. Even Sue, who had been one of the friendliest people on Christmas, had a different edge about her.

I bit the urge to take a step backward. I steeled my nerves and managed a smile that didn't feel forced. "Hello." I extended my hand to the old-looking Quil.

He didn't move at all.

I withdrew my hand and bowed my head slightly.

"Mr. Cullen." Jacob's elderly incarnate said. "I am Billy." He pointed to himself. "This is Sue." He pointed to Sue with his other hand. "Quil."

"We are the tribal council," Sue said. "or, the only ones that would agree to meet with you." She corrected.

"Cullen." The elderly Quil said my new name with disdain heavily lacing his voice. "He shouldn't even be allowed on the reservation. Then he makes us wait." His brow furrowed. "Preposterous."

"Apologies." I inclined my head respectfully, in spite of the fact that Old Quil was pissing me off.

"Quil, stop." For that second, Sue's stone face softened. "I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose."

I refocused my eyes to the back of the room. Leah and Jacob had finished their conversation, by the looks of it. Jacob's arms were still crossed over his chest. Leah's had adopted that position as well.

"Let's start this off slow." Billy said. He placed his hand over his mouth as he yawned. "Where are you from?"

"San Diego." I answered.

"You shape-shift?" Asked Sue.

"Yes." I answered. "Into…" I trailed off.

I've only phased twice. Three times if you count what happened in the forest last night. Two of the three times I phased, it was into my four-legged leopard. The other time was into the cat-lycan combo? I don't know.

"Into?" Sue pressed, clearing some of her hair from her face.

"I don't know." I broke into cold sweat. "The last time I phased, it was immensely painful, and it was into something I've never seen before." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I've been afraid to phase after that."

"A pack member that's not a wolf?" Old Quil said mockingly.

I could hear Leah grind her teeth in the back of the room. Jacob muttered something into her ear that seemingly calmed her.

"This…" Old Quil stopped. He looked to be choosing his words carefully. "Half-breed deserves no place in our way of life. He is afraid of the power that is not meant for him to wield anyway." Old Quil raised his voice. "He shuns the right granted to so few of us now."

I cringed at the term half-breed. Was that what I really was; the bat in the war between the birds and the beasts?

"What race was your mother?" Billy completely disregarded Old Quil's harsh assessment of me.

"Native American." I said. I struggled to keep calm even in the face of Old Quil's insults.

"Tribe?" Billy continued interviewing me.

"Incan."

"Father?" Billy squinted his eyes. I couldn't see it, but I had a good feeling that gears were working full speed ahead, behind his eyelids.

"He was part German, part African." I said. "And that lovely mixture is how you got this beautiful Malakai." I smiled and laughed at my own joke.

By her laughter, I assumed that Sue enjoyed my humor as well. Leah stifled a chuckle in the back of the room too. Jacob placed his upturned palm over his face and shook his head.

"Do you not understand that we have business to attend to?" Old Quil barked from his seat. "Don't keep us waiting a day, then expect to handle this on your own time."

I'd had it.

"Well then." I closed my eyes and said with a cool tone. "How about you do something other than complain about your disdain for me."

Okay, I agree. Mouthing off to a member of the tribal council wasn't exactly the brightest thing for someone in my situation to do. Emotions really are quite great; they always know how to bypass my logic.

I cursed myself and prepared myself for Old Quil's retaliation.

Instead, Sam emerged from the hall behind Leah and Jacob. I saw his mouth move, but didn't hear what it was he said as he passed the two. His jaw was set and his eyes were cold.

"Respect him, Kai." Sam stopped a foot in front of me. His more than respectable height and muscle mass imposed itself in my personal space.

I saw Leah stiffen in my peripheral vision. She started forward; no doubt to come her imprintee's rescue. My rescue – Not that I needed one.

Jacob grabbed her forearm so she couldn't move any further. I heard him whisper not to interrupt, and that it was an order.

She stopped again. She looked conflicted, and I could understand why. She was compelled to come save me – again, not that I needed it – from the looming threat of her ex-boyfriend whom she still cared for. However, she was ordered by her Alpha and best friend, to remain where she was.

Prickly situation indeed.

I weighed my options. I could have taken a swing at Sam, but why start a fight I wasn't sure I could win. I could have backed away, but that wouldn't do much for my ego.

"He should respect me, then." I rotated my neck. I had to strech just in case Sam wasn't thinking with his best head.

"You are here for evaluation." Sam cracked his knuckles.

"So true." I took a step to the left, hopefully to avoid confrontation.

Sam sidestepped as well, interposing himself between the elders and myself. "Apologize." Sam ordered.

"No." I said cooly. I cocked my head to the side. A few strands of my white hair obscured my face. I could feel my anger rushing up to my cheeks. they were tingling now.

I don't know what it was, but something I said caused Sam to clench hs fists at his sides. Maybe he's not used to being defied. I mean, he is an alpha.

I mirrored his movements.

"Finally, a real pack man has graced us with his presence." Old Quil spat, his voice colored with spite. "This weakling doesn't know where he is."

Weakling.

That was it. All I did was lose my cool for a split-second. The next, I stood in a crouched position. My claws dug into the wooden planks on which I stood. I'd phased into the half-cat half-lycan monstrosity from the night before. I guess my suspicions were right; I will be shifting into this thing when I phase.

I was in control of my emotions now. Luckily for Old Quil, I managed to reign them in before my godlike speed would allow me to rip his throat from his neck.

Sam phased after I did. He stood on all fours like every other shifter on this reservation. His black fur stood on end. His tail was straight up in the air. A low growl escaped from his bared teeth.

I lowered myself to the floor and layed down. I tapped the wood with the claw on my index finger. I brought my other hand to my face and purred a yawn.

The room was quiet. Billy, Sue and Old Quil sat in awe. Obviously, they haven't seen anything like me before.

"Let him pass, Sam." Billy said in a shaky voice.

Sam did as he was told and I walked to meet Billy on the couch. I licked my fangs with my feline tongue. They were sharper than I last remembered. Of course, I hadn't been completely coherent the last time I was in this form.

"He's a monstrocity." Old Quil said. His voice was much less brash, and a lot more respectful. "This is what we want to ally ourselves with?"

I turned my head toward him. I gave Old Quil a very, very toothy grin; fangs and all. I even gave him a mock meow. He should be grateful I didn't rip out his throat.

"And you can hear him in your pack's mindlink, Jacob?" Billy asked. His old eyes still seeming to reason with logic.

"Yes." Jacob said.

"Well, we should keep him around." Billy said. "We still need to figure him out." Billy turned around and shot a glance at Leah. "That, and the fact that Leah imprinted on him."

Leah smiled, shrugged and looked away.

"Don't make me regret this Malakai Cullen." Billy looked me square in the eyes. He seemed unfaltered by my grotesque physique.

I nodded slowly, as not to upset Sam. I'd really hate to have to kill him. Oh my gosh, look at me, boasting like I'm so sure I could do it.

Old Quil grunted.

"Meeting adjourned." Billy said.