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I shook my head, staring at the letter. Mr. Grant hated me and my kind. I could see nothing good coming of this

I looked down at my mother, she was clearly worried for me and what this meant. "Jason, I don't know if you should do this."

I shook my head. "I don't know either, mom."

"I don't want you getting hurt!"

"I'm not worried about that; there's not much a human can do to me."

"It's a construction site! Accidents can happen!"

"I know, Mom. I won't take the job unless they force me to."

Her face went pale. "What do you mean, force?"

I sighed. "The new law says we have to have jobs. If I don't they can take all the benefits away. The medical care, a place to live, all of it."

"We could make do!"

"No. I'm not going to do that to you and dad. You know how hard it was at first."

"Jason..."

"I'll talk to David and Dr. Stevenson, okay?"

She sighed and walked over to me, looking up at my giant form. I lowered my hand and she stroked the fur on the back of it. I generally refused to pick anyone up. The idea that I could drop someone to their death never sat well with me. Then there were the flashbacks...

"Just be careful, son."

"I will, mother."

"I'll call your father and let him know."

"So long as you don't think it'll upset him." Father was visiting relatives out west. Mom refused to go with him, not wanting to leave me alone. Sometimes they treat me as if I'm not an adult, but I can understand why.

"He'll be fine. Goodnight, Jason."

"Goodnight, Mom."

I drifted off to sleep into rather confused dreams.

That morning I made my way to where Dr Stevenson kept his office. Like anything else that I dealt with in the compound it was a multi story structure with the people I worked with on the upper floors. As I approached I frowned. The light to his office was on and the windows open. Dr. Stevenson usually didn't get in until later.

I walked up and touched the large button that had been laid out for me to call people from the inside. Most people don't react well to having a giant tiger eye suddenly appearing outside their balcony.

There was a shuffle of papers, a quick straightening out of a desk, and Dr Stevenson hurried out with a cup of coffee in his hand. He tried not to look upset but there was no fooling my nose. "Good morning, Jason!"

"Good Morning, Dr Stevenson."

"Would you like some coffee?"

It was an old joke. "Sure, are you going to spend the rest of your day brewing pots and tossing them down my throat?"

He laughed and I gave him a half smile. "So what can I do for you?"

"I'm sure you've heard."

He winced and tried to school his features back into a happy expression. "Heard what, Jason?"

I sighed. "Dr. Stevenson, you know better than this. I can tell you're upset, tell that you know what's going on, and that it's bothering you."

His face fell and he looked down. "You're right," he said softly. "And I am sorry. I've worked with you long enough to know how you pick up on things."

He looked up at me. "And you're right, I am worried."

"It is the job, isn't it?"

He nodded. "I don't know what Grant is up to, but I can't see any good in it."

"Then don't allow me to go!"

He looked stricken. "Jason..."

I felt as if ice water had been poured down my back. "What?"

"I'm...I'm no longer the lead on this...project."

I hissed before I could stop myself. Dr. Stevenson was one of the only humans that could hear that noise and not freeze up. "No!"

"I'm still here, Jason, I'll still be with you, just not in a lead capacity. I got that much out of them."

"I don't want anyone else!"

"I know that, Jason, I know. Please, just go along with it for now and I'll see what I can do to fix things, alright? I still have some connections up high. David knows about it and he's looking in to what happened."

I rumbled deep in my chest, another sound that humans found to be very unnerving. "If I don't like him I won't work with him."

"Her."

"I don't care if it's male or female, I won't work with them if they treat me poorly!"

"She'll be fine, Jason; you'll be fine. You just need to be calm about this okay? You need to breath deep, think before acting, and just remain calm. I'm here for you, so are the others, and we will get you through this? Okay?"

He hadn't spoken to me like that since the first year he had been assigned to me. I looked at him sharply and then sighed. "Yes sir."

He sighed and motioned for me to put my head down. I lowered it and felt him scratch with both hands along the bridge of my nose. "Stubborn old cat."

For whatever reason, whatever caused the change in me had also allowed me to purr more akin to what a domestic cat did. I purred softly. It's not something I do often and not something I do for anyone that I don't know closely.

"Alright, Jason. I need to get the rest of my desk packed and moved down to my new office. I'm sure Ann will be in shortly and want to meet you."

I sighed again. "Yes sir."

"Go on and get your breakfast if you haven't, then come back over here. I was supposed to call you over in about an hour so you have some time."

I nodded and carefully stood to my full height and went over to what I thought of as the kitchen.

One of the largest, no pun intended, problems they found with me and I assume the others, was keeping us fed. Fortunately, I'm what they call an opportunistic carnivore. I'm able to process plant matter and things other than meat.

Most of my meals consist of a porridge of sorts. I'm not wholly certain as to what's in it, nor am I sure that I really want to know. It's boiled up in huge containers and reheated when I am ready to eat it. Jake the cook was already prepping my morning meal as I came up.

He looked up at me and put his hand on his chest in mock surprise. "Don't sneak up on me like that you overgrown housecat!"

I snorted. "As if you cannot see me coming from a mile away."

He laughed. "I'll have this batch ready for you in just a moment. I was able to get a few hundred pounds of venison for you, just don't ask where it came from."

I sighed. It was roadkill, I knew, but I suppose it really doesn't matter how the animal met it's end

"That's fine," I said.

"Want it raw?"

Another thing I adjusted to rapidly. Raw meat tastes good to me and it saves all the time and effort to cook things up. "That's fine."

After awhile he opened the lid to the huge boiler and threw back the cover on the meat. "Bon apatite, or something like that!"

I flicked and ear at him and ate my breakfast, trying not to think about what was about to happen.

Breakfast finished, I went back to the Dr's tower and waited to meet this Ann person. I purposely, perhaps a little maliciously, left some blood smears around my jaws. I'm usually quite meticulous in my grooming but this was a special occasion.

I also didn't use the button.

There was a loud shriek as I eyed the office and the woman named Ann fell back out of her chair in utter terror at the appearance of a giant tiger who had obviously just finished eating something that had once been living.

I should be ashamed. I'm not, but I should be.

"Jason," Dr. Stevenson's voice sighed in my ear. I did my best not to laugh.

"I am here to see Ann," I rumbled, not making any effort to keep the bass out of my voice.

She pulled herself up off the floor, gripping at her desk, looking at me with wide eyes. "I...I am Ann."

I drew back a short ways and she staggered a few steps, then walked out to the balcony, her eyes on me the entire time. She recovered quickly, I'll give her that.

"I'd say you must be Jason, but that's all to obvious," she said, smiling at me. There was something behind that smile that I didn't trust.

"I am," I rumbled.

"I'm Ann Pearce. I'm the new lead researcher on this project and now in charge of you."

Just the way she said that made my hackles raise slightly. I relaxed as best I could. "I am pleased to meet you."

"Good, good," she said. "I'm just going over the notes that Dr. Stevenson left. There will be a few changes here and there, minor ones, but it's all for your benefit I'm sure you'll agree."

A wise person once told me that if anyone says they're doing something for your benefit, run like hell from them. Unfortunately, that was not an option. "What sort of changes?" I rumbled.

"Oh, nothing too large. Our examinations of your will change, we have a few tests for you to take, and a few other small things. You'll be fine with it," she said in what was probably to her a soothing voice but was nothing more than a threat to compliance to me.

"Just go with it, Jason," Dr. Stevenson's voice sounded it my ear.

"Alright, Ann," I said to her, nodding slightly.

A frown briefly marred her face. "I would prefer to be called Ms. Pearce."

"Not doctor?" I asked innocently.

A flashed me a look of irritation. "No, I'm still working on my thesis. Now, if you will excuse me Jason I need to get things settled and you have an appointment with Mr. Grant at 3pm today."

Again, ice water washed down my spine. I tried to keep my features straight. "As you say."

"Yes, as I say," she muttered, thinking that I could not hear her. "I will speak with you after the meeting," she said in a louder voice.

I nodded and walked back towards my home, wondering what the hell this all meant.

"I'll meet you there, Jason," Dr Stevenson's voice said in my ear.