my surprise, I nodded again. Hadn’t I privately questioned Zane’s beta position?
I quickly assessed that Jazmine didn’t expect me to answer, nor did she give a damn about anything I might say. I was safe for the moment so I allowed myself the luxury of pondering Zane’s heritage.
His birthright should have secured him the alpha’s lead role in the Pacific Pack. Not that Logan was unqualified. In fact, he was quite the opposite. But there was a certain something about Zane that gave him an edge over the current alpha. Maybe it was his bloodline. Or maybe there was more to the picture than I was letting myself see.
As we sped across the Markham Bridge, following the signs north to Seattle, Jazmine decided, much to my displeasure, to continue our conversation.
“Zane always was concerned about our mutant cousins roaming in human territory without more accountability from the purebreds.
At one point, when his father was preparing to pass him the torch, so to speak, Zane refused to accept. He wanted reconciliation between us and the mutants. The Indians were having no part of it. Most of us were skeptical too. How could we integrate with a subspecies?”
Now I was even more baffled. “I don’t understand. You created the mutants, and as you said, they’re like relatives. Why all the animosity? Couldn’t you have just taught them better table manners?”
She exploded into giggles. So loud, the driver heard through the glass partition and scowled in his rearview mirror. His response led me to believe he was an unsuspecting human, but I couldn’t be certain. Jazmine’s guard, on the other hand, remained stone-faced by her side.
Staring at the mutant’s blank features, I realized that although I’d just discovered the supernatural world, I’d already formed some clear-cut opinions. First of all, after meeting Stryder, I’d accepted that not all mutants were bad. They weren’t so different from their purebred counterparts.
The most important discovery: I couldn’t tell the good guys from the bad ones based on species alone. Just as humans were prone to prejudice and intolerance, so were the supes.
I wasn’t sure why I was so shocked by this latest revelation, but I was. Knowing I could categorize the creatures I met based on their species had made certain groups seem less threatening. Now, all the so-called distinguishing characteristics were blurred. Everything was grey. Bad guys, good guys … it all depended on whose side you were on any given day. Making that vital distinction would take far more effort on my part.
As a child, I’d asked my mom why everyone couldn’t just get along regardless of any differences. By the time I hit seventh grade, I’d found my answer. People could be mean. They could be downright nasty and cruel.
Religion, race, political views, how much money you had in the bank, where you worked, lived, whatever, all had the potential to serve as dividing lines. Add a whole world of supernatural beings to the mix, and things got even more divisive. Who or what was on my side?
“Deep thoughts, dear,” Jazmine crooned. “Care to share? I’m not as bad as you might think. ”
I almost laughed. Her attempts at sounding motherly and reassuring fell way short given all I knew. Mothering murderers didn’t fit with my idea of a good guy, or girl, period. Nothing Jazmine did or said would convince me otherwise, but I couldn’t help my curiosity. Maybe she’d reveal something important if she kept talking.
I smiled and made a beeline into her thoughts, where I expected to find some diabolical plan forming.
What does Zane see in this creature? She’s dimwitted. Kind of cute, but too much butt.
Too much butt? I was sitting across from a psychotic werewolf woman and she was thinking about my fanny. As for the dimwitted comment …
“So you can talk to farm animals?” she asked out of nowhere.
I stayed silent, unsure what I wanted to tell her about my talents.
“Not answering isn’t an option. You’re my prisoner. Don’t let the surroundings fool you.”
Noting the flash of scarlet in her eyes, I decided to keep it simple. “I don’t talk, not really. I listen or see pictures and sounds.” Had she asked the same question a week ago, my answer would have been the truth. Now I could do a whole bunch of other nifty stuff that I would die before revealing.
Unfortunate for me, knowing her violent tendencies, death was a likely reality. But I planned to prolong my survival for as long as possible.