• Prologue


    I guess life wasn’t just meant to be hard. And dramatic. But we can’t get a break, can we? There’s no short cuts to an easy life, but there’s always a short cut to the end.

    I should know that. The world should know that. It really wasn’t that hard to figure out. Just like with a book. To know it’s ending, all you need to do is skip to the end.

    But there’s one part of life that will always be unexplainable; even to us. And that’s shape-shifting. The only reason it can’t be explained is because it can’t be analyzed.

    We try to stay hidden from the humans. We live differently, we eat differently, we act differently, and we even look different then humans.

    One thing we haven’t tried to experiment with is if feline shape-shifters really have nine lives.

    This I know for sure: I can risk all nine of them without even realizing it.

    But I’m no house cat.

    Chapter 1: Come on, Tiger, Bite Me.


    I crouched, focusing on the ground below me. It was maybe fifteen feet down; I’ve stuck this landing before. Why was my heart pounding so fast? How did I end up in this tree, anyways? Right… I was chasing that mutt. I felt a growl rising in my throat, and I promised myself revenge against Jasper.

    “Boo!” Was the last thing I heard before the ground came rushing towards me. But, as usual, I managed to slow things down and half turn my body to land on all fours. I hissed upward at November, who was sitting on the same branch, pointing and laughing at me.

    “November! You know better than to scare me while I’m on a branch, don’t you?” I scowled, straightening up.

    “I do now,” she giggled, jumping down with feline grace I usually had. Well, that I always had, unless I was pushed.

    I sighed. “You are so lucky I’m mad at Jasper right now, or you’d be rubble,” I muttered, and November’s laughing cut short.

    “That mongrel? You haven’t ripped his head off yet? Come on Echo! Get your butt moving!” She said, then cracked her knuckles. “Or, we can go to alternatives, and I can do it for you.”

    “That won’t be necessary, November. Just give it some time and proper justification,” I said, tucking one of my strawberry curls behind my ear. November looked at me, almost disappointed, but then gave a puppy dog face. Her feline features made it look very strange.

    “Pwetty pwease, can I dwo it fow you?” She asked, and we both started laughing. Of course we didn’t really plan on ripping his head off, we just enjoyed fantasizing about it.

    It is a cat-eat-dog world, after all.

    Well, at least our world was.

    “Come on, we should get going.” November commented, and I nodded.

    “Will dere be ice cweam?” I asked, mimicking her voice from before. She just nudged my shoulder while we continued our way back to the busy streets of Seattle.

    “Do you think mom is really going to make me go to school?” November asked, and I shrugged.

    “I don’t know,” I said, biting my lip. “She did make me go…” I muttered. Anybody would have thought November and I were twins, but we were just two best friends who looked alike because of what we were and because we were adopted by the same parents. Well, all us shape-shifters were adopted by the same parents, Beth and Joseph.

    “I don’t want to go to high school! Why can’t she just keep home schooling me?” She groaned, and I put my arm around her shoulders in a comforting way.

    “Sweetie, you will be fine. High school really isn’t that bad, November. You’ll find a group of friends. And mom can’t keep home schooling you because she ahs enough on her hands. What with all the kids shape-shifting now-a-days,” I told her as we came to the edge of the forest where the high way was.

    “Yeah, yeah, I guess you’re right, Echo. Can I hang out with you and your friends?” She asked. There were times she acted as if she were my age, but other times, like now, she acted like she was ten rather than thirteen.

    “Sure thing, November. But I just hang out with my drama class and the others from the family,” I answered, and we started walking alongside the high way towards home.

    “Ooh, what musical are you guys doing this year?” She asked enthusiastically. It really was weird that we weren’t related, we were exactly like each other.

    “Mamma Mia,” I answered with a smirk.

    “Aw, Echo! That’s awesome! Are you going for the lead?”

    “Mhm, of course.”

    “I can’t wait! Of course you’ll get it!”

    “Why is that?”

    “Your voice is like silver bells, Echo!” November cooed. Now that I really thought about it, she would make a good singer, too. Her voice was like sing-song wind chimes.

    “Well, that’s quite a compliment, thanks!” I cooed. I glanced to my right as I heard a rustling. I could already smell him.

    “I do t-” November started, but I shushed her and she followed my gaze into the trees and sniffed the air. “Oh,” she mouthed, and muffled laughter.

    “The only thing nicer than a compliment, though,” I started, and I already knew Jasper stiffened. “Is the smell of dog halfway around the world,” I said, knowing it was a bad joke, and lunged into the trees.

    Jasper yelped under me as I tackled and pinned him to the moist ground. “Echo, get off of me!” he shouted, pushing my shoulders. He was strong, I would give him that, but I was stronger.

    “That’s what you get, mongrel,” I laughed, and stood up. I reached my hand down, and pulled when he took hold of it.

    “Thanks,” he muttered, and I could hear November’s guffawing just four feet away.

    “Don’t mention it,” I said with the most serious face. “I’m serious.”

    “Don’t worry,” Jasper laughed. “I won’t.” He added, and I believed him. I could just imagine it now. All of the other mutts of the family would never let it go if they found out one of the tigers tackled him. There were only two tigers, and it obviously wouldn’t have been November who tackled him.

    “Oh, wow Jazzy, you should have seen your face!” November laughed between gasps. “Kodak moment!” She joked, and struck a strange pose.