Year of the Tiger (Changeling Sisters)

by Heather Heffner

  “What the fuck are you trying to say, man?”

  “Okay, enough!” I pounded on the table with my empty soju glass. “Seriously? You guys are comparing jobs a high schooler could do. And Miguel, you only got your position because Mami gave it to you. It’s not like either of you have much to brag about.”

  “Delivering in a ten minute deadline or else the boss will have your ass is way more complicated than any high schooler could handle,” Rafael protested. “Have you tried driving in Seoul?”

  Miguel shook his head. “Listen, Citlalli. I know I ain’t got nothing to brag about. Never have. All I’m trying to say is that you deserve the best. You deserve someone who’s got a job even some grad school kid couldn’t do. And don’t settle for anything less.”

  “Miguel, I’m touched.” I hugged him. The soju flush was deepening in my cheeks. “I know you’re just trying to look out for me. But seriously, this is my birthday, not some match-making dinner. So you two are going to stop fighting like you’re two bickering old ajummas and pretend to have fun!”

  “In all honesty, Miguel.” Rafael stared hard at his full shot glass. “I wish I’d looked out for my family the way you look out for yours. If I’d just done that, then…hell, I wouldn’t be here bothering either of you.”

  Miguel pursed his lips, and then nodded. “Here. Let’s toast, man.”

  “Kunbae!” We finished our first bottle in no time. I decided it was safe enough to take a bathroom break, to give the boys some bonding time. Seriously, the pair should be best friends. Both liked partying, drinking, and women. But the whole lost finger mess put a damper on things.

  “Welcome back, Citlalli,” Rafael said when I returned, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Miguel just ordered his first dish in Korean.”

  “Nice, Miguel! What’d you get?” I squatted beside him on the cushion.

  “Well, Rafael recommended this one.” Miguel’s finger scooted down the menu. “Let’s see how adventurous Korean food can be.”

  I looked at the entry and clapped a hand over my mouth. “RAFAEL!”

  “Sorry. I am late.” Una rushed into the room, sweeping her shiny black hair behind her neck. Miguel almost stopped scowling. “What are we eating?”

  The scowl returned again.

  Moments later, (for live dishes didn’t take that long to prepare) a platter of gooey, squirming octopus tentacles was placed before us. The octopus might have been dead, but its nerve-sensitive legs still wormed around within their mushy membranes.

  “Sannakji.” Miguel looked at some point in the air above the wriggling mass of legs. “A traditional birthday dish, huh?”

  “Just wanted to see how much you knew about Korea, dude.” Rafael’s chopsticks probed the tentacles and threw them into a wild frenzy. Several squirmed beneath each other to escape. “And your sister. She loves adventurous stuff.”

  Miguel folded his arms. “I’m not eating it.”

  “Come on, Miguel. It’s not that big of a deal.” Although, if I hadn’t drank so much soju, I might not have been so brave. “Here, try one— OOPS!”

  Squeezing them between your chopsticks was only half of the battle. As I lifted the squirming tentacle toward my brother’s plate, it wriggled free and crawled across the table toward safety. Una laughed, not unkindly.

  “Jesus Christ!” Miguel jumped.

  My next attempt was a success. Although when I placed the tentacle in my mouth, it still wormed around. I gnashed it up rapidly.

  “Dab them in a bit of chili pepper sauce. That’ll take the fight out of them.” Rafael swathed his on both sides and then popped it in his mouth. “Mmmm. This is a real juicy one. Una? Which one are you going for?”

  “The biggest.” Una deftly grabbed one of the more disgusting globby ones, rolled it around the garlic sauce with leisurely slowness, and chewed as if savoring every bite. “What is your choice? Miguel?”

  “Oh, fuck me.” Miguel’s chopsticks hovered over the live buffet.

  “You can do it, Miguel,” Una encouraged.

  “Your friends back home will think you’re hardcore,” Rafael said. “This isn’t for pussies, dude.”

  “Yeah, dude, I know.” Miguel’s hands shook. “You think I don’t know that?”

  There were far too many “dudes” being thrown around for my liking. Miguel glanced at Una again, and then squeezed his chopsticks until his knuckles turned bright red. The octopus tentacles and I watched in quivering anticipation as Miguel slowly dabbed a big fat one in garlic sauce, and then put it in his mouth.

  He promptly began choking. “Ah! Son-of-a-BITCH!”

  “Miguel?” I rose, knocking some of the tentacles into my seaweed soup. They promptly began swimming around.

  “My MOUTH! The suckers are stuck to the roof of my MOUTH!” Miguel stood up, coughing into his hands.

  “Now, hang on. Don’t panic. Try unclamping them with your tongue.” Rafael was enjoying this greatly; a spare tentacle wound itself in little circles around his chopstick.

  “AH! This is—!” Miguel popped it off and began chewing with a vengeance.

  “Make sure you chew it thoroughly,” Rafael advised. “Some poor old harabeoji ended up choking to death when the suckers attached to his throat on the way down.”

  Miguel shot Rafael a furious look that sent the tentacles cowering. He swallowed it down, and then drank an excessive amount of beer.

  “You’re paying for this one.”

  “Literally or figuratively?”

  “Miguel, they’re not so bad. Come to think of it, I’ve never had a meal that’s made me work so hard for it—” I dropped yet another tentacle into my soju glass. “MOTHER FUCKER!”

  “Let’s make a bet.” Rafael said, taking his time with a sticky membrane one. “How many of these do you think Citlalli will actually eat?”

  Una chuckled. “With her ‘accident’ drops, maybe… eight?”

  “I’d say six.”

  “Two,” Miguel grumbled.

  “Come on, you guys!” I protested. “By the time you’ve finished chit-chatting, they’ll all have climbed off the plate!”

  Miguel jabbed his chopsticks at Rafael. Horribly impolite, but I don’t think he cared at the moment. “It’s a bet. Winner chooses the next course.”

  Rafael grinned. “Deal.”

  Cursing, I fought for every last one of those slippery little suckers. It was my birthday dinner, after all, and I did not plan on dining on raw sea cucumber if Rafael won. By the time I hoisted the tenth limp tentacle to my mouth, all of the fight had gone out of it. Una and I cheered.

  “So no one won.” Rafael looked extremely disappointed.

  “Then I choose!” I sang out. “Grab your coats, lady, gentlemen. I feel like some good old, spicy spam-and-ramyeon: budaejjigae.”

  “That’s the army stew stuff, isn’t it?” Miguel asked as we left.

  “It is. One of the only good things to come out of that time period. I don’t care if they load it up with MSG. Best blend of kimchi, noodles, and rice cake ever.” Rafael squeezed my arm. “Good choice.”

  I looked up at him and saw that all of the coldness had evaporated from him. Sure, it might have been the spirits, but the way his eyes glowed made me feel warm and comfortable, as if the night were just beginning.

  And I noticed my brother lagging behind with Una.

  “How many did you eat?” It was the most polite tone I’d heard him take all evening.

  She shrugged. “I lost count.”

  “Well, you certainly have some guts.”

  “Guts?” She looked toward her stomach.

  “I mean, you most definitely have some balls!”

  “Balls? I don’t think I do…”

  He reddened. “Uh, never mind. It’s a weird English saying. You are brave. That’s all.”

  “Ah. Bravery.” She smiled. “Tangshin-eun yonggam hae.”

  “Tangshin-what-ee?”

  It was the first time I’d heard Miguel seriously
attempt to speak Korean. I grinned, grabbed Rafael’s arm, and tugged him further ahead.

  “Let’s go. This could take a while.”

  So off we went into the frosty night, laughing as we skidded over ice patches, the tentacles in our bellies finally giving up the fight.

  Chapter 15: The Draw

  Rafael gave me a lift on his scooter to the next pack meeting. I clung tightly to the stiff folds of his black leather jacket as the winds whipped us raw. Frozen and teetering like an icicle, I lurched sideways off the bike and hobbled toward the unassuming doors of Building 324.

  “Did you guys make it home okay last night?” Rafael asked innocently.

  “Yeah. Miguel didn’t sleep too well. Thrashing around in the sheets and begging, ‘Get them off me!’ That is the last time I eat out with you, Rafael Dominguez. First bibim naengmyeon, and now, live octopus. Every time, Rafael. Every freakin’ time.”

  He laughed; I punched him lightly in the shoulder.

  Several girls from the goshawk flock were hanging around the doorway. They whispered amongst themselves, and I didn’t like the way their eyes narrowed on us. Us. It was definitely me walking side-by-side with Rafael that had them gossiping.

  One followed us down the stairs, and then slipped away to Yu Li upon entering the conference room. Yu Li did seem to be surrounded by an alarming number of women from the other packs; Moon was sharing drinks with her, as were some clouded leopards and a pair of Naga women.

  One tall, broad-shouldered woman from the werebears elbowed roughly past as I entered.

  “You—steal your pack sister’s man?” she muttered in my ear. “Disgraceful.”

  I could only utter a shaky nod, because she was five times my size. The more I looked around the room, the more I realized just how many eyes were darting my way. The men seemed extremely uncomfortable. But a lot of the women looked like they would have no problem setting an upstart eighteen-year-old in her place. My cheeks burned scarlet. What exactly had Yu Li been telling them?

  I imagined my Declaration of Innocence speech: “I, did not have, sexual relations with this man… I only wanted to.”

  And was that such a crime? I mean, jezus, look at him. I bet half of the women in this room were guilty of daydreaming about falling into bed with him… But if that were true, then why did I still feel so guilty?

  Because on the night of their break-up, when I was cradling a crying Young Soo, I’d felt the smallest inkling of…joy. As if I’d thought this would change things. How could it? There was no proof that Rafael looked at me as anything other than a promising protégé. There was the age difference. And there was Yu Li, my “pack” sister. I’d never truly considered myself part of Jaehoon’s pack, but the way the werebear said the word made it synonymous with “family.” I’d be betraying the bitchy older sister I’d never asked for.

  I thought of that snowy day in the park, when our brief wrestling match had turned into something liberating and carnal. When Rafael had finally pinned me in the snow…I’d thought he was going to kiss me. I could still see his fingers reaching to brush the stray strands of hair from my face. But that touch never came.

  “Hey, Happy Birthday, kiddo!” Kaelan, thankfully, broke the hostile front. He offered me some dried squid, which I hastily declined. “Heard it was something of a…private affair.”

  My head whipped about. “Wait, what did you hear?”

  “You and Rafael had a private celebration.” Kaelan mistook the look on my whitening face. “Hey, if you two want my blessing, you’ve got it. Rafael broke up with Yu Li good and proper before going after you—”

  “Who said that?” I hissed. “My brother was there, too! And my mother would have come—”

  Kaelan looked at me calmly. “So an outing with just…Rafael and your family? You’ve gotta see how that’s gonna look to them, Citlalli.”

  “I wasn’t trying to introduce them, not like that!” I protested. “It’s just…they’ve been giving Rafael a lot of crap for the lost finger, and I wanted to patch things up. I want him to be able to come around my apartment and not be in danger of getting his hand chopped off.”

  He backed off, raising his hands. “Hey, it’s not me you’ve got to convince. Although I do demand an invitation to your mandatory make-up birthday party.”

  “Thanks, Kae. You’ve got it. Now.” I folded my arms. “Who said it was a private celebration?”

  “Someone who’s not so fond of you.” Kaelan casually nodded toward Yu Li. “And you can rule out vampyres, although she is as cold as one.”

  I don’t like it when people talk shit about me. Okay, maybe I’d let the Korean girls at Yongsan International School get away with “Poodle Girl” because my English attempts to straighten them out just slid right off their backs. But I would make Yu Li understand.

  “Ahn Yu Li,” I said through gritted teeth, storming through the circle of admirers, “don’t you find it a tad trivial to be spreading false rumors about me while a freakin’ war is going on?”

  The other women whispered amongst themselves. I caught: “Does not address older pack sister with proper respect.” Yeah, I was still working on that.

  Yu Li deftly deflected the question: “I saved your life. You repay me by going out with my ex-boyfriend.”

  “Do you usually take your older brother along on dates?” I demanded. “It was friends hanging out, nothing more!”

  “Then why wouldn’t Rafael give you up?” she burst venomously. “The juin-nim ordered him to stand down as your teacher, and Rafael refused. Why not stand down? Do you realize how weak that makes us look as a pack?”

  I blinked, startled. Then Rafael’s shadow fell over us both.

  “Yu Li,” he said, “you can’t do this.”

  “You promised me you would not fall for her!” she snarled. “I asked you, long time ago, not to fall for her. You promised!”

  “Yu Li-a, when we broke up, it wasn’t over Citlalli and you know it,” Rafael maintained firmly. “What’s this really about?”

  She put her hands on her hips. “If this isn’t over Citlalli, then how come you won’t admit you don’t care for her?”

  Tense silence. Most people stared awkwardly into their coffee cups; others didn’t attempt to hide their interest. I stared numbly at the pack leaders’ door, praying it would open so Jaehoon could interrupt this mounting wall of expectation. I did not want to hear his answer.

  Rafael tried, “Of course I care for her. She’s my protégé—”

  “But do you care for her more? Beyond that?”

  Another infinity of silence. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Well, I mean, she’s only eighteen—”

  The door slammed open, and Xiang, followed by Jaehoon and the other pack leaders, filed in. I stared ahead, not really seeing anything. So. I was only eighteen. The truth at last. That was it, then. Yu Li wore a wolfish grin from ear to ear.

  “The pack leader vote on whether or not to mount an attack on Seorak San shall now take place,” I heard the translator say. “Due to the…unusual show of evidence for Maya’s body to be hidden there, we shall allow one final argument from both sides.”

  I didn’t look at Rafael as I stepped forward. I didn’t care what they thought of me, if they thought I was too young. This was my mission proposal. I would see it through.

  “Dream-walking is real,” I said, nodding toward the tiger clan. “Spirit walkers have used it for ages to communicate with family in the North. My friend, Won Una, granddaughter of the famed professor Won Sujin-nim, can attest to that. We have much more to lose from not planning an attack around Maya’s invitation. When Lunar New Year falls, she will kill all the girls. Kill them, or turn them into soulless brides. And she will have successfully appeased the Dark Spirits, who everyone here seems too frightened to speak of.”

  “But by your own information, Maya cannot die while Khyber lives,” Yu Li spoke up, stalking back and forth on the far side of the room.

  “Khyber wants t
o die,” I said softly. “He will see this as his only chance.”

  “If he has brothers’ souls,” a cloud leopard spoke up. “You fight hard for youngest prince soul. Will you really give it to enemy?”

  Raina trusts Khyber to some extent. So must I. “Yes.”

  Some murmurs from the onlookers. Posture was stiff with anticipation, but I sensed excitement stirring. The animalistic instinct for the hunt was taking over.

  Yu Li fought back angrily. “This is the child who went against her juin-nim’s wishes! Who can’t control her own Were! Have you ever seen such a monstrosity? It’s a feral beast that can take over her mind at will!”

  I ducked my head in shame. My relationship with Wolf was private.

  “Yu Li,” Jaehoon reprimanded sternly, “as we are all beasts of the forest, you shall not judge another’s Were. They are reflections of our souls.”

  “Then hers is twisted and ugly. Why won’t you show them?” Yu Li challenged me. “Go on. It’s nearly sun-down.”

  Oh, she was testing me. I placed my feet firmly apart and looked her dead in the eye. “Ahn Yu Li. Remember: I am not the Omega anymore.”

  “It’s a simple request, pack sister,” she goaded. “Come. All of us have shifted before each other. Why won’t you?”

  “Ahn Yu Li. This is your last chance. Back off. Or I will do it!” I let the threat hover in the air like a darkening storm cloud. My other pack members looked confused. Well, I hadn’t expected her to explain to them why she’d stopped hounding me when I was a newborn—I’d threatened to tell her son what she was: a werewolf. All of the children remained ignorant, for their safety. And hell, I’d threatened to turn into my dangerously unpredictable Were in front of her son. She’d believed me, then.

  Yu Li’s eyes burned the sapphire-blue of her inner Were. She deliberately stepped up to my face. “You whine and mewl like a newborn pup, but you will not do it. I know you. Now, stand down.”

  I snapped. Before anyone could move, I bolted down the stairs, toward the nursery where Young Soo and the other pack children would be playing.