Family Instinct | First Book in the "Majira Blackstripe" Book Series

Chapter 1 - No Puppies Allowed

Great, it's only Tuesday, Jasmine thinks to herself, then says it to her brother, Majira.

He sighs, but keeps a positive attitude. "Yeah, I know," he says, still kind of upbeat. "But hey, just wait until Friday, because you know what day that is, don't you?"

Jasmine looks at her older brother in confusion. "What are you talking about, bro?" She proceeds to get her jacket and backpack, and puts them both on.

"We get to see our cousin, Topaz, remember?"

"Oh, man, I...I totally forgot." Jasmine and Topaz have had so many good memories with each other. They've known each other since they could talk, and ever since then, our mother and her sister have been planning days to hang out with him.

But, there's something off about Topaz compared to me and Jasmine. As if you couldn't tell from the name, he is a very vibrant shade of blue, but we're red. Our mom has told us it was her sister's mate, though, so it's probably just that. It's really cool seeing his blue fur, though.

Walking on the sidewalk to school, my sister is confronted by one of her "friends," and it wasn't a friendly hello...

"Hey, shortie!" The girl yells to her, running up to her and socking my sister in the face, making her fall off her feet. "That's what you get for talking to my boyfriend."

I am furious. Jasmine is already mated, anyhow, why would she wanna cheat on him, I think. But, in a blink of an eye, I start growling at the girl, trying to get her to leave, but she won't budge. In fact, she's trying to kick Jasmine now, but I'm desperately trying to keep her away.

After a minute, I've had enough of her crap, so I tackle her and make her fall onto the rocky concrete. "Never touch my goddamn sister, EVER AGAIN."

"Then tell your sister to never flirt with my BOYFRIEND again," she fires back at me.

"She's already mated, what makes you think he's gonna betray him for whoever is dumb enough to date you?" My eyes start to glow red with anger as I growl even louder.

Trying to break free of my hold, she barks at me to try making me let her go, but I'm not moving. I don't even care if I miss class at this point, I will protect my sister at all costs.

"Tick tock, kitty cat," she says to me with a perky, arrogant tone. "Fifteen minutes. Better let me go before you're late for class!"

I open my claws out of hiding and scratch her wrist. My voice goes deeper, and I start yelling. "Not until you apologize to my sister. Only then, will I let you run."

She laughs, like I'm crazy. "Me? Apologize to her?" She breaks out in laughter even more. "I don't think so!"

I dig my claws into her arm even deeper, and, uh...let's just say I'm getting pretty damn angry. "Apologize! Right now! Before I make you unable to move."

She pops off with an arrogant sigh and sarcastically says "I'm soooo sorry."

Ripping one of her paw pads, I let her run, and I hear her whimper as she walks away from me. I then proceed to help my sister up, and brush her off. "Are you okay?" Her face is red, and I don't know if it's fear or the aftermath of the punch.

"Majira, I...I'm fine." She hugs me and starts crying into my jacket. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

"You didn't actually flirt with him, did you? You have Spooky, and I know you love him," I tell her.

"No, I didn't flirt with him," she looks in my eyes, and I look back in hers. She still looks upset. "I was talking to him about Spooky, as a matter of fact. I wanted to see how he was doing in basketball...I guess that bitch took it the wrong way." She breaks out in tears a bit, but I hold her again to try making her feel better. "Sarah's always hated me, and I guess now, she had an "excuse" to take her hatred out on me, but even then, I didn't do anything!"