WONDER ( Twisted Forbidden Tales ) Book Three

Will and Resistance

ALISSA

Currently, an epic stare-down ensued between Happy and me. Yes, the green-eyed striped furred cat sat across from me at the two-seat table albeit on the table and not the chair, his eyes sharp and unwavering with a bowl of steaming porridge in front of him.

The night before couldn’t have been a dream. The many images, emotions, and obvious residual ache in a certain place were more than enough proof that something amazing happened between a green-eyed, purple suspender-wearing, well-built, and well-equipped kinky man named Hank.

Everything about him felt so familiar yet also foreign. Some images flashed through my mind as we enjoyed a passionate night that I knew had to be memories. This unnerved me because no matter how strongly I tried to hold on to those images they slipped through my grasp and disappeared like they were never there and then my head started to hurt.

It felt like my mind was in an uphill battle fighting against an unknown force, on one side something was willing me to forget while my instincts resisted and held on knowing that these images were important to me in some way.

The only sound between Happy and I was the sound of my spoon dipping into the bowl and my mechanical motions of eating as we eyed one another. A woman and a unique cat expression should make one for a comedy at the moment. Happy’s tail wagged back and forth leisurely as he stared, then unexpectedly as if deciding something with a huffy cat purr, that sounded strangely like a mocking laugh to me, his cute little cat face dipped into the bowl to lap at the porridge.

My body stiffened in reaction to that, there was no way I could be wrong about the other night. Each time Happy’s tongue darted out to lap up the porridge, it brought back very vivid images and feelings of all the things Hank and I had done. Looking at Happy’s midnight black colored fur with those purple stripes running across it reminded me of a specific moment when that man Hank subdued with a pair of purple suspenders, teaching me a lesson I could never forget.

That Haze Fog was an experience I thought letting out a sigh and then smiling. Real or not, it would be a secret worth keeping, in truth I wouldn’t mind experiencing it again, but this Haze fog was uncharted territory as well. I didn’t know its chemical makeup or what damage it would cause a person if under the fog for too long.

It had caused me to hallucinate from one dream and into another. But the second dream……”Ah!” I yelled out loud and stood up in complete frustration. I almost doubled over as I wince from the soreness in my nether regions. I was no fool, that feeling could not be faked. Biting my lip, I collected my bowl and waited for Happy to finish the last of the porridge in his bowl before taking his.

Those glowing green eyes that took my breath away last night, with his deep and husky voice in my ear saying many dirty things as I reached octave heights left me baffled. Turning around I went to the small kitchenette to clean up after our late breakfast.

We were no longer in the basement lab, but on the first floor of the hidden cabin now. After waking up satisfied and aching beautifully all over to find Happy the ever-loving cat of mine at the foot of my bed with a smug look in his eyes caused me to freak out for a bit and back upstairs we went.

I tried to keep calm as I limped a bit walking around and did not notice the love marks on my body as I took a shower or the soreness as I made breakfast while Happy seemed to watch my every move quietly and cheekily.

“It can't be… but if it is. Hey! Happy! You aren't Hank are you? I mean are you an annoying man trapped in a cat body!” I yelled a barrel of questions at Happy still lying on the table leisurely as I pointed a soapy finger at him.

“Meow!” Happy responded, his eyes never leaving me. Even the Meow he just did in response sounded sultry in a way. What did that even mean? Was I going crazy? After being the Mad Bandit for so long I was finally going mad it seemed. Had I imagined Happy turning into a sexy man named Hank because of the Haze Fog who then banged me into a heaven oblivion so good that I was contemplating being the Haze Fog’s prey again?

This was not one of my smarter moments in decision-making. It had been a while for me like talking years, but that was not a reason to even fantasize that my little Happy cat was Hank the the dirty talking mouth of a man that made my blood boil but also brought me pleasure and emotions I hadn't felt since a long time ago.

My thoughts began to wander as I got lost in them. Those feelings I felt were identical to that night back in Manhattan New York I couldn’t forget just like this one. Why would I think of him now after all these years? He had long been a part of the past to shield him and me from my Family’s onslaught. I was ashamed to say after everything that happened I didn’t even know his identity. He had saved me from a night that could have been horrendous if the Millard Family’s plan had gone through without a hitch.

He also gave me the greatest gift I could ever ask for and that was our daughter, but he had disappeared, no matter how hard I looked in trying to find out who he was from the little clues I had stumbled upon snooping around my Aunt and Uncle. Though we were blood relatives we were far from family. They coveted everything that belonged to me, but because of my late mother’s will kept me protected from them. That was what I naively thought.

Most of my time back then had been spent in the lab, but that wasn’t enough to keep them from targeting me. My daughter had become fair game, after they poked and prodded me about her birth father, even with the truth they hadn't believed me. Leading to events where my daughter went missing and I wound up in this world. How did they get a hold of magic? Let alone know about the different realms. Were the stories my late mother Alice Rabia Millard told me as a child all true? It seemed so, but knowing this only left me even more confused.

Did it mean I was lured here on purpose? There was something definitely behind everything that happened to me both in New York and here in Wonder Kingdom when I first arrived. But my mind had always been on finding my daughter, now knowing that many things were connected more than I thought. The man in my dreams also resurfaced bringing me back to what happened the other night. I couldn’t rule out if he was real nor could I rule out if he wasn’t.

Happy’s knowing eyes as he watched me rant and rave about made me shiver not in unease but delight. It would make so much sense if he was that man trapped in a cat's body. Happy had always seemed like an extraordinary cat to me. He had been a great companion so far since the day I found him drinking from the river stream. I wasn’t going to drive myself crazy over this though.

The blinking of the Mad clock posted above the hedging of the cottage's front door was signaling a warning. Haku had met with trouble. So he would not meet me back here but at our next meeting point in Hatter Fields. The powder substance I had broken down was also a good lead as one of the components could only be grown there at Hatter Blossom’s. Plus the bonus was seeing an old friend while I was at it. My mentor and friend, the original Mad Hatter Bandit.

My mother had mentioned him in her stories when I was young, now that I remember. Everything about this world she described had been true except for a few changes in the spell cast by the woman named Christine mentioned in the mysterious letters in my possession. He must have known who I was back then, but why hadn't he said anything? I had my suspicions but I wouldn’t know until I asked him, but I had to mentally prepare myself for he had a habit of being cryptic. What game would he have me play before giving me answers? He never did anything without a purpose behind it, that was something I learned while training as his apprentice. What was his reason for me becoming the Mad Bandit? let alone who was the creator of this powder not just anyone could obtain the Hatter Blossoms.