Page 13 of Feline Good

Maya reflected on that information, too many questions rising for her to sort out. Not knowing where to even start, she pushed it all away and enjoyed breakfast in silence. Her eyes widened in disbelief when August rose from his seat to get seconds… with half a serving still left on his plate. A smile twitched her lips as he returned, but she shook her head when he sent her a questioning glare.

So totally cats.

As they finished eating, Maya’s curiosity got the best of her again. “So, brothers, yes? Tell me more about yourselves.” It peeved her that they seemed to have all this insider knowledge of her life, yet she knew nothing about them.

They shared a nervous glance, and Maya noticed Asher seemed uncomfortable talking about himself. Instead, he directed the conversation toward August and Amir. “Well, I’m the oldest here. Amir is the middle brother, and August is the baby.”

At the baby comment, August slung a fist into his bicep, but Asher shrugged it off with a grin. He was sinfully good looking; those glacier kissed eyes captured her gaze every time.

Another thing called Maya’s attention. “Your family came from Egypt, then?”

When they nodded, mouths full, she continued her interrogation. “So, August, how come your name is so different? It’s so… American.”

The guys shared a laugh before August turned to her. “I forget about that sometimes, but, and I mean this seriously, my parents ran out of favorite names when it came to me. I was born in August so… it’s kind of what they landed on.” He shrugged, pushing his empty plate away and curling his hands around a mug of coffee. “Our parents were more like The McAllisters than the Brady’s.” At her droll look, he continued. “They weren’t the… best role models, per se.”

Starting to regret owning a TV, Maya frowned at his words, dipping a piece of bacon in the gravy. “What do you mean?”

The brothers shared an empathetic look, and Maya could definitely see the resemblance between the three of them. Amir took over the story with a dark look in his eyes. “Our dad left when I was ten. Asher was fifteen, and August five. Let’s just say things took a wrong turn, and we were basically on our own, left in charge of ourselves. We banded…” He trailed off with a stern look in Asher’s direction. “... together, took care of one another, and survived. Then, fourteen years later, we were changed into cats because the previous Keepers died.”

This was new information for Maya, and her heart rate picked up. “Wait— so this is a life-bond type thing? If I die will you die?”

Am I now responsible for keeping you alive?

August’s solemn nod brought on a whole other round of questions from her. “How did you know all this stuff about Time Keepers and Guardians and all that? Did your dad leaving have anything to do with the Keeper-thing?”

August smiled patiently at her, brushing a lock of chestnut hair away. “We’re Keepers of Time. Not timekeepers. When we shifted for the first time— Bastet herself visited us in a vision, explaining a little about why. From what we understand, our dad might have known about it, but if he did, he never said anything. When we did change, we each received a vision from Bastet explaining a little bit about our role and telling us of the safety deposit key, which will lead us to more information.”

Maya nodded in approval. “Then yes, let’s go get that key as soon as possible. I’m tired of being in the dark.”

While they cleaned up from breakfast, Maya stepped into her office to call Theo, her second in command, even if she’d never admit it to the cocky bastard.

He answered with a laugh, and she heard Chris’ voice in the background. “Hey Maya, what’s up?”

She gave him some bullshit story about a family emergency and how she wouldn’t be able to open the bar. Once he heard the nervous, frazzled tone in her voice— which was one hundred percent real, he jumped at the chance to step in for her.

“Theo, you’re the best, you know that?” Maya was being dead serious as thankfulness filled her heart. She could hug him if he were in front of her.

“Oh, I know. I’ll be sure to remind you of that when it comes time to give me a raise.”

Maya rolled her eyes. Theo made the most of any employee in the bar— besides her, and she was the owner. They chatted for a few minutes before they decided the bar could open one hour later than normal.

Her odd family heirloom taken care of, she set off with the guys to find the nearest First Bank.

* * *

Maya sighed as Asher returned to the car. Like they had requested, she’d driven them to First Bank, where they apparently were opening a safety deposit box. The guys had explained to her that for each set of Keepers, a house was set up by servants that hailed from the bloodlines of ancient egyptians, just like they did. Just like she did. Inside the box was none other than a house key to the residence. Asher told them so when he flashed the shiny metal at them. Once there, they could access the libraries kept there. On the way over, they’d informed her that some trios went their entire lives without shifting into human form and therefore never needed the house. Like the last set of cats— that her dad had apparently hidden from her. Maya couldn’t imagine being sentenced to that life.

The library books were exactly what they were after. Maya was hell-bent on discovering more about her own role. A Guardian. The word filtered through her mind, and when paired with a glance at the three muscled men around her, she wondered why they would even need her.

They look pretty damned capable of guarding themselves.

As Asher buckled his seat belt, she continued pondering all the information she’d learned so far. Her dad had been the Guardian before her. Maya was a little insulted by the fact he hadn’t left any letters, notes, or information about his role that would be passed down to her. Now, she had to lean on three strangers, trust three strangers, with her life, her bar, and her secrets.

Maya had been ecstatic when she inherited the bar— it had given her the kick in the pants she needed to leave Alex, to finally see what a controlling asshole he was. This… duty she was now expected to accept and carry on with? All while bad guys pursued her and her life got turned upside down? Maya had no control, and control was the one thing she needed in life.

It was silent in the car while she was lost to her thoughts. Cats, always so content to sit in peace.

Maya had never shared with anyone her ability to see the past and future. She had never wanted to risk being thrown in the loony bin, but in her darkest hours, she once questioned if she would one day end up in such a place. No. In her heart, she knew she wasn’t crazy; instead, because of her ability, she believed every aspect of their story with her entire being. It all made too much sense. I mean, something has to explain their shift from cat to human, right?