In the palace dining room, the girls were having breakfast with Kitty when a still-depressed Jacob finally joined them.
Allison smirked. "Are you done sulking?"
Jacob ignored her, slumping into a chair. He rested his cheek on one hand and began eating, punctuating each bite with a dramatic sigh.
Lydia smiled, sipping her tea. "I guess he's still heartbroken."
Malia, sitting beside him, nudged his shoulder. "Why are you so sad anyway? Kitty's great. I already like her."
Jacob sighed, pushing his food around his plate. "I was hoping to summon a beautiful older woman."
Lydia's smile vanished, replaced by a pout. "So, you're already tired of the three of us and want someone new?"
"No!" Jacob said quickly, looking at each of them. "I love you girls, and I will never get tired of you. But you know what I am. I'm greedy, I'm lustful, and I love women. I can't help it."
Allison fixed him with a searching, serious look. "Is your wanting more women really because you're a dragon, or is it just an excuse? Answer honestly."
Jacob met her gaze. "Honestly? At first—before I awakened my bloodline—I loved women. The idea of having more than one wife was just that: an idea, a fantasy. A daydream, like it might be for any man." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "But when I awakened my dragon bloodline… it rewired my instincts. That idea became a physical, spiritual, even magical compulsion. And it gets worse—more demanding—the stronger I become. It's not just a want anymore, Allison. It's a profound need. It's my Hoarding Instinct."
Malia tilted her head. "Hoarding Instinct?"
"It's the instinct to collect and amass treasures of great value," Jacob explained. "And part of that… is the instinct to find and safeguard more wives. It's overwhelming."
Lydia's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are we just objects to you, then?"
"You are not objects, Lydia," Jacob said firmly. "I love you girls. Each one of you is my priceless, irreplaceable treasure. And I would rather die than lose any of you."
Kitty, who had been quietly nibbling on a piece of fish, wiped her mouth with a napkin. "If he really is a dragon, then he's telling the truth. There are dragons in my world, and they will fight to the death if someone tries to take their treasure… or their princess." She took a delicate sip of milk from a tiny cup and looked at Jacob. "I've always wanted to ask a dragon a question."
Jacob managed a small smile. "What do you want to know?"
"Why does your kind like to kidnap princesses and lock them up in towers?"
Jacob blinked. "I don't know. I've never kidnapped any—"
Malia smirked. "What about me?"
"Hey! I didn't kidn..." He stopped, sighed, and conceded. "Fine. I did sort of kidnap you. But I didn't lock you up, and you're not a princess."
Lydia's smirk matched Malia's. "But Allison could be considered the princess of an old hunter family."
Jacob said. "Even if she is, I didn't kidnap her, did I?"
Cogman, who had been sitting politely at the end of the table, cleared his throat. "If I may interject, from a cross-analysis of myths and recorded narratives, dragons are portrayed as kidnapping princesses for two primary reasons." He held up a finger. "First, as treasure: just as dragons hoard gold, they may view a princess as a rare, exotic pet, or living treasure to display." A second finger joined the first. "Second, for political leverage: using a royal hostage for ransom or to deter aggression against their territory." He paused. "There is also a third, less common trope: sometimes there is no kidnapping at all. The princess flees—from an arranged marriage or a tyrannical guardian—and actively seeks the dragon's protection."
Jacob pointed at Cogman triumphantly. "You hear that? We're not always the bad guys!" He turned to Allison. "Like in your case. You escaped from your tyrannical mother to seek my protection."
Allison rolled her eyes. "Hey! I didn't escape from my parents and my mom is not tyrannical."
"If you say so," Jacob said, his grin returning. He looked at Lydia. "And you. You escaped from your parents' bitter divorce and constant fighting and came to me for love and comfort."
Lydia shrugged. "I'm not going to deny it; I was just interested in you at first—wanted some fun, a distraction from the chaos at home. And I ended up falling in love with you."
Malia smiled. "But you still kidnapped me, though."
Jacob wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I was just worried about you being alone in the woods. I'm a good dragon."
Malia leaned into him. "If you say so."
Allison checked her phone and stood up. "Alright, time for us to go to school."
Kitty perked up, her ears twitching. "Can I go too? I really want to see your world after everything you've told me about it."
"No, you can't come to school," Allison said. "But after school, Lydia and I will take you shopping. You have to promise not to talk in front of people, though. You'd freak them out."
Kitty gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine."
"I'm too depressed to go to school today," Jacob announced, pushing his chair back. "So, Kitty, you can hang out with me."
Kitty brightened immediately. She jumped onto the table and walked quickly to Jacob. "Can we ride a car? Can I drive? And I want a phone like the girls have! Can I go steal one?"
Jacob reached out and gently scratched behind her ears. "We can do all of that. But no stealing. If you want something, you tell us, and we'll buy it for you. Okay?"
Kitty purred loudly as he scratched. "Okay. No stealing. Now, can we go to the outside world?"
"Sure," Jacob said.
Allison shook her head, a hint of exasperation in her voice. "Jay, you're skipping school too much."
"Don't worry about it," Jacob said with a dismissive wave. "I donated $300,000 to the school. My good friend, the principal, told me I can skip whenever I want. I only have to show up for tests." He grinned. "You girls can skip, too, if you want."
Malia's face lit up. "Oh, good! I don't want to go to school. It's so boring."
Allison and Lydia immediately flanked her, each taking an arm. "You have to go to school to learn," Lydia said firmly, steering her toward the hallway. "You've been in the woods for seven years."
"You need to learn how to socialize and talk to people," Allison added, reinforcing the point as they guided her away.
Jacob scooped Kitty into his arms. "Alright, let's go." He teleported them back to the mansion in Beacon Hills.
He placed her on the living room couch, turned on the massive TV, and showed her how to use the remote. "I'll be right back." He went upstairs to change.
When he returned, he found Kitty utterly engrossed, her nose almost touching the screen, watching a nature documentary about deep-sea fish. He smiled. "Kitty, let's go. Take the belt and boots off. And remember, when we're around people, act like a normal cat and don't talk."
Kitty looked away from the shimmering fish with obvious reluctance, but she obediently slipped out of her tiny belt and boots, and jumped onto Jacob's shoulder with ease.
Jacob got into his black Camaro, and Kitty immediately hopped onto the dashboard, her wide eyes taking in everything as he drove toward town.
She was clearly enjoying the ride, her tail swishing happily. Then, suddenly, her ears drooped. She jumped down from the dashboard and settled into the passenger seat, looking troubled.
Jacob noticed the change. "What's wrong? Do you miss your world?"
"No," Kitty said softly, looking out the window. "I don't miss that place at all."
"Then what is it? You can talk to me."
She turned to him, her green eyes serious. "I had owners before. They were nice… but one day, they took my claws. I still don't know why they did it. It broke my heart, so I ran away."
Jacob kept his eyes on the road, his voice gentle. "I don't want to sound rude, Kitty, but in our world, that's not a big deal. Almost every cat owner here cuts their cat's claws. It's mostly for the cat's safety. Overgrown claws can curve and and painfully grow back into the paw pads."
Kitty's eyes widened in shock. "What? Is that why they did it?"
"Probably," Jacob nodded. "And besides, even if they're cut, claws grow back."
"Mine never did. That's why I'm known as Kitty Softpaws."
'That's weird,' Jacob thought, but he didn't voice it. "Anyway, why did you tell me about your past?"
She looked down at her paws. "I want to know if you're going to hurt me, too. Or abandon me."
Jacob smiled softly. He reached over, carefully scooped her into his lap, and stroked her back. "First of all, you're not just my pet."
Kitty looked up at him, her green eyes searching. "Then what am I to you?"
"To me, and to the girls, you're a member of our family. We will never abandon you. We will never hurt you. And we will make sure you live a happy life for the rest of your life. I promise."
Kitty stared at him for a long moment. Then, with a soft, choked sound, she wrapped her front paws around his neck and buried her face in his collar. "Thank you, I always wanted a family." She whispered.
Jacob felt the dampness of tears against his neck, but he said nothing. He just continued to stroke her back, letting her release the old, buried pain.
After a while, when her quiet sniffles had subsided, Jacob broke the silence. "So… do you want to drive the car?"
Kitty immediately let go, turning around on his lap with renewed excitement. She stood on his thighs, placed her paws firmly on the steering wheel, and stared intently at the road ahead, a determined grin on her feline face.
Jacob just smiled, gave her an affectionate pat on the head, and kept one hand lightly on the wheel to guide it.
'My life is getting crazier each day,' he thought with a mixture of amusement and acceptance. 'I have a talking cat. Too bad she isn't a woman… but maybe one day I'll get a system reward that can turn her into a cat-girl. Now that would be nice.'
---
Meanwhile, at Beacon Hills High
Cogman pulled the Rolls-Royce to a smooth stop. As the girls got out, Stiles came running over, looking frantic.
"Where's Jacob?" he asked.
"He won't be coming to school today," Allison said. "Do you need him for something?"
Stiles pulled out his phone. "My dad wants him and Cogman to help with a case. Something is killing people in town. Again."
He showed them the photos and explained the details—the victims with terminal cancer, the horrific wounds that were both burned and frozen.
Malia's eyes lit up with interest. "Stiles, Cogman and I can help with the case."
Lydia shook her head. "Malia, you shouldn't skip school. Just tell Jay about it. He's just playing around today."
"No," Malia said firmly. "Jay is busy showing Kitty around. Let him be. I'll help Stiles." She opened the car door and practically shoved Stiles back inside, climbing in after him. "Cogman, drive."
Stiles blinked, bewildered. "Wait, who's Kitty?"
"You'll meet her soon," Malia said cryptically.
Cogman bowed slightly to Lydia and Allison. "I shall see you after school, my ladies." He then got into the driver's seat and pulled away, leaving Allison and Lydia shaking their heads as they walked into the school.
---
Cogman, Stiles, and Malia arrived at the crime scene. Sheriff Stilinski was still there, looking exhausted. He let them inside.
Malia immediately began sniffing the air. "There's a scent here… some kind of dog. But it's faint." She walked to a wall, her nose wrinkling. "And it disappears right here."
Stiles frowned. "What do you mean, disappears? Like… teleportation?"
"I don't know," Malia admitted. "The scent just stops. Like it vanished into the wall."
Cogman, who had been standing perfectly still with his eyes closed, opened them. "I know why the scent disappeared."
Noah turned to him, hope sparking in his tired eyes. "Did you find something?"
"Yes, I found a hidden surveillance camera in the house directly behind this one." Cogman said, "I have identified what we're dealing with. However, the news is not good."
"Is it something dangerous?" Stiles asked.
"For you and your father, extremely. Conventional weapons would be useless. For Lady Malia, it would be a simple matter to kill it. The problem is locating it." He gestured to Stiles's phone. "I have sent you the footage."
Stiles pulled out his phone. Malia and Noah leaned in to watch.
The video showed a large, shaggy black dog with glowing red eyes padding silently down the street at night. It walked directly through the victim's backyard fence as if it weren't there, approached the wall of the house, and phased straight through the solid brick. A few minutes later, a wisp of dark smoke seeped back out through the wall and dissipated into the night air.
Stiles stared, his blood running cold. "What… what was that thing?"
Cogman clasped his hands behind his back. "I believe that was a Black Shuck. A shapeshifter like the hellhound. But unlike hellhounds, which often serve as guardians of the supernatural world, the Black Shuck is a malevolent creature. It derives pleasure from terrorizing and killing those who are already sick and dying. Depending on its whim, it may kill its target quickly or haunt them for up to a year before delivering the final blow."
Noah let out a heavy sigh, the pieces clicking into place. "That explains why both victims had terminal cancer. I need to find this thing, fast."
"You should not confront it alone, Sheriff," Cogman advised. "As you saw, it can assume a mist-like form. Physical attacks will pass through it harmlessly. To kill it in that form, one must strike it with elemental fire or lightning."
Noah ran a hand over his face. "Can you find it?"
"I will try when I go back home. However, tracking a being that can become incorporeal mist will be difficult. Lady Malia cannot follow its scent for the same reason."
"Alright," Noah said, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Thank you. I hope you can find it and deal with it soon."
"I will do my best to find it," Cogman replied. Then he turned to Malia. "My lady, shall I return you to school?"
Malia shook her head. "No. I don't want to go back to school. Take me home. I want to sleep some more."
"As you wish, my lady."
---
After school, Cogman drove Allison and Lydia back to the mansion. They found Jacob sprawled on a large recliner in the living room. Malia was curled against one side of him, and Kitty was nestled against the other. All three were watching an animal documentary about lions on the massive TV.
Allison and Lydia walked over, each giving Jacob a soft kiss.
"Did Cogman tell you about the Black Shuck?" Allison asked, settling on the arm of the chair.
Jacob nodded, his eyes still on the screen where a lioness was hunting. "Yeah. We'll deal with it when Cogman finds it."