Soul Mates: Scent (The Soul Mates Series) (4 page)

“Err… okay,” I replied. I had no clue what she was talking about, but if she wanted me to talk to my mom about the family I didn’t see any harm in it. “It will have to wait till after football practice though.”

“Just promise me Max that as soon as you get home you will ask?”

I stared into Anna’s deep blue eyes, and at that moment I would have done anything she asked me to. “I will.”

I didn’t see Jenny at practice. The cheerleaders didn’t come out to the field as they normally did and I wondered if I was going to get a chance to talk to her in private before she left. Somehow I doubted it. Practice itself went all right. We worked on some basic strategy and incorporating the new plays that Coach had gone over as we scrimmaged the J-V team. Anna sat on the bleachers, her feet up on the seat, and her head thrown back as if she were basking in the sunlight. A smile of pure pleasure touched her lips. She stayed out of my head while practice was going on, except for the occasional comment on how well I looked in my uniform. Just thinking about her made me grin and turn to look up at her for a moment.

“Max! Get your head back in the game and off the hottie!”

Something about the way he said it hit me wrong. “Shut up Steve,” I growled at him. “My head is on the next play, where yours should be!” I watched him ogle Anna and it irked me even more. “Quit starin’ at Anna!” I threw the football and beamed it off of his helmet.

“Hey, what was that for?”

“Sorry, it slipped.” I shrugged as he tossed the ball to our center, Bryan.

“Both of you knock it off!” Bryan snapped at us. “We have one more play to go over before practice is finished, now set it up!”

We all fell into positions that seemed as natural as breathing by now. The play went perfectly and we scored the touchdown on the J-V team. “Great job guys!” I shouted. “Now if we can just do that in Friday’s game, we’ll win against the Huskies!”

“Hit the showers guys!”

I waved to Anna as she stretched lazily on the bleachers, arching her back and rolling her neck. Her red tee shirt molded to her body and rode up just slightly exposing her flat stomach. I think my heart stopped again. I’m not sure, maybe it just forgot how to beat for a few moments. All I know is I was standing there, on the side-lines staring at her with my jaw hanging open. Of course I wasn’t alone; more than half of the varsity team was standing there staring with me. I swallowed hard, ready to decimate every guy on my team just because they dared to do the same thing I was doing, staring at Anna.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Max, cool it. The guys are just being guys.”

I looked over my shoulder at Tony and glared. “Yeah well, how would you feel if they were ogling Teresa the way they’re ogling Anna?”

“Apples and oranges, Max. Teresa’s my sister and I’d kill her if she ever pulled a stunt like Anna just did,” Tony laughed. “Of course I would then have to kill every guy on the team too, so I kind of see your point.

But you gotta cut them some slack. Anna is… well look at her dude!” Tony gestured at Anna with a ‘don’t you feel stupid for asking?’ expression on his face.

I sighed. Tony was right; I did feel sort of foolish. “Yeah. Hey I’ll catch up to ya in a minute. I wanna talk to Anna for a sec.”

Tony laughed. “Right. Don’t take your anger out on her either, Max. She isn’t doing it on purpose. She’s just naturally sexy.”

“Wasn’t plannin’ to, Tones. Just wanted to tell her I’d meet her in the parking lot after I showered.” I laughed.

“Oh. Well... good.” Tony shook his head and ran toward the gym.

Have
I
mentioned
that
I
like
this
friend
Tony,
Max?
I turned my gaze back to Anna and smiled.
Go
on,
I
will
meet
you
after
your
shower.

“Hey, Tones wait up!” I called as I ran after Tony.

“Thought you were gonna go talk to Anna…” Tony said when I caught up to him.

“Yeah, well she already knows.” I laughed. “She likes you by the way.”

“Huh?”

“Not like that idiot.” I punched him lightly on the shoulder. “She just thinks you’re a good friend.”

“Oh. Yeah, well she’s got good taste.” Tony laughed.

“Yeah she does, she chose me as a soul mate.” I joked with him as we headed for the locker room. It was strange to think that I had only just met her that morning, it felt like I’d known her forever. Like everything before her arrival had been a dream.

I rushed through my locker room routine, feeling anxious about leaving her alone. Something told me it was not safe for Anna to be alone for too long, but I don’t know why or what was telling me that. I supposed she would enlighten me at some point.

I hurried out of the building to find Anna waiting next to my vintage Corvette. I had an overwhelming desire to pull her close to me and kiss her, but I refrained. We were on school property in view of the football team and the cheerleaders who were sure to report back to Jenny. I needed to talk to her before I started anything serious with Anna. So, I smiled and took her hand instead. “Hey.”

“Bonjour,” she whispered. “Je comprends, mon amour. I must let you settle things with Jennifer before we can be together. Mais non trop long, Max, oui?”

“No, not long.” I sighed. “Should we go home now? I mean should I take you home now?”

Anna smiled. “I think you had better go home Max and talk with your mother as I asked. Remember it is très important. I have to take care of some things, but I will not be too far away, mon amour.”

I felt funny as she brushed my cheek with her hand before walking away from me. She was headed to the other side of the school building and I wondered if she had a car. It was a dangerous world out there and I found myself worried about her safety again.

I heard her silky laugh in my head,
Max,
I
will
be
fine.
I
can
take
care
of
myself,
believe
me.
It
is
you
that
is
in
more
danger
than
you
know,
mon
amour.
Now
go;
we
have
little
time.

I shook my head and slid into the red leather bucket seat behind the steering wheel of my Corvette. Flipping open the glove box I pulled out my Incubus cd and popped it into the player and took a deep breath as
Rogues
began to play. I sat for a moment listening to the lyrics and thinking about Jenny and Anna. My past and my future. I turned the key, revving the engine, slipped it into gear and took off. I debated whether or not to take the long way home, but Anna had said it was important to talk to my mom. It took no time at all and before I knew it I was pulling into our driveway.

I could see mom in the living room reading a magazine when I walked in the door. Highly unusual for her. Normally Mom was in the kitchen cooking up some delicious dessert or something. She runs a catering business and is always testing new stuff.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hi sweetie,” she said as she stood to give me a hug.

Mom and I had always been close, so this didn’t surprise me, but her next words did.

“Max sweetheart, did you have something on your mind? I have felt all off kilter today with thoughts of you worrying about something.”

I dropped my backpack on the sofa. “Um… yeah.” I didn’t know where to begin. Did I start with Anna? Did I just flat out ask about granddad and great Grammy? Anna had said to ask mom about her side of the family…

“Max? Is it about the family?”

“How do you keep doing that mom? I mean, first Anna, now you?”

“Anna?” Mom asked, a smile breaking out across her face. “Ah, I see. Hmmm, well this is more than I expected. I see.” Mom nodded a small smile still on her lips as she took my hand in hers.

“Well I am glad someone does!” I said feeling frustrated.

Mom pulled me farther into the living room and onto the sofa, displacing my backpack. “Tell me about her.”

“Well, she’s… different. Beautiful, sexy, sweet, constantly in my head and I don’t mean in my thoughts, I mean I can hear her. In My Head.”

“Yes, well it is like that with mates,” Mom said this almost sadly.

“Mate… that is what Anna keeps calling me, ‘mate’. I thought maybe I was just hearing her wrong.”

“No dear. The two of you appear to be destined to be mates. I never… well that is neither here nor there; I made my choice and stuck with it. I love your father very much and I would not change that.”

“Um… Mom? What are you talking about?”

“I suppose I had better start with the family history. I suppose you have never wondered why your great Grammy is still so young looking?”

“Well, I guess, it never really crossed my mind.”

“Great Grammy is over one hundred and fifty years old, Max,” she said gently.

I gasped and shook my head in bewilderment.

“No I am not joking. She was born in 1858. The story of our family doesn’t really start there, but since she is the oldest relative that you know, I thought I would mention it. The story goes back, oh goodness, to the beginning of the human race when the gods and goddesses lived on Mt. Olympus.”

“Oh come on mom, you don’t believe that, do you? Gods and goddesses? Mt. Olympus? Those are myths!”

“I am only relating to you the story as I was told it Max. Now are you going to listen or not?”

“All right. I’m listening.”

“Well, what grandmother Selina, great Grammy, told me is this; There was a group of humans, a town actually that was built near the base of Mt. Olympus. Several of the men were out hunting food for their families. They never took more than what was needed to survive. They had an affinity for the animals and never made unnecessary kills. One day the men caught the attention of the goddess Diana, you may have heard of her by a different name, Artemis? The goddess of the hunt? Anyway, she was pleased with the men and decided to bless the town. She blessed the entire town with special abilities. Abilities that allowed the town people to live very long lives, much longer than their now human counterparts. There were several families in that town, each family received a different gift… and soon last names were changed to go along with their new… abilities.” She paused there and I wondered if she was going to tell me we are werewolves. I wasn’t far off.

“You see, we believe that Diana, for that is what we have always known her as, has an affinity for cats. Large cats. That is why we believe she chose them. Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Panthers, Jaguars, Cheetahs, Lynx, and Cougars. There were eight different families in that town. One for each subfamily of Felidae.”

“Felidae?” I whispered, my eyes growing wide.

“Yes, but I am getting ahead of myself. You see, Felidae is the name the elders in the town took. Their sons kept the name Felidae. Their daughters took on variations of each kind of cat, depending on the kind they could shape shift into. If the daughter could shift into a Lion, well that family became the Lyons. You see?”

“Great Grammy’s last name is Jaguara. Does that mean that Great Grammy can shift into a Jaguar? Is that what you are telling me?”

I watched mom nod her head in affirmation. Stunned I looked around the room. It seemed to be spinning as I tried to focus on the simple little touches mom had decorated with. The painting of the rainforest with the cat-like eyes peeking out through the leaves, the pillows with the gold and black animal print, yesterday I would have said leopard print, today I knew better.

“Mom… can you?” I asked. I knew my eyes were as big as saucers.

“No. I can’t. I could have, but…well, things happened and I was not able to once I realized who we were.”

“What do you mean?” I asked narrowing my gaze.

“Let me fast forward the story to your great great grandfather, Alexander Jaguara. Great Grammy’s father. Alexander married Simone Felidae. They lived in Texas. Alexander liked the dry heat, as did Simone. They had four children. It was 1866 and not too many other families lived nearby. One day Alexander did not come home. He had shifted and gone hunting. Selina was only eight years old. So I only know the story from her point of view. News had spread that their neighbor had spotted a large cat preying on his herd of sheep and that he had killed it. Selina swears that her father would never have gone after their neighbor’s livestock.

Her mother was devastated and moved the entire family back to Canada. Her family was there, the Felidae family. Selina swore she would never marry into the Felidae family, which was numerous by now. When she turned eighteen she married James Sampson. A human man, a good man, but not a shape shifter. She didn’t realize at the time that she would out live him by several hundred years or more. Pure shape shifters like Great Grammy can live to be about four hundred years old.”

“What about granddad? And you? How long…”

“Ah that is the unknown part, Max. You see… Well, my dad was born in 1908. How old does he look to you?”

“1908? He’s over 100? No way! He only looks about 35!” I was freaking out. Mom had to be joking around. There was no way this was possible.

“He looks, feels and is about 35 in human years. Once we complete puberty Max, about the age of 17 or 18 our biological clock changes and we don’t age as human’s do.”

“Wait, what about your Aunt Sarah? She doesn’t look young; in fact she looks like grandpa should. Why isn’t she aging slow?”

I watched mom’s face fall. She looked sad again. “Well, it seems that the shape shifter gift is passed from Father to daughter and Mother to son. Since your great grandfather was human, Aunt Sarah and her sister were not gifted.”