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His eyes met mine, and I could see the question in them. He wanted to know why I was laughing at him.
“It looks like you have a bowl cut.”
Hannah doubled over. “Oh. It does. It totally does!”
Malik turned and hit me with his tail, and I composed myself. “I mean, you’re a very handsome honey badger.”
He walked off, and Sai took his place, rubbing his long body against my leg. I hesitated, nervous again, but he turned his head and his eyes met mine. This wasn’t just a wild cat. This was Sai. I could sense him in there.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered and slowly reached down to touch his fur. A low purr came from him as I worked my way up his body and rubbed behind his ears.
“You found his spot!” Hannah grinned as the purrs got louder.
Sai lifted his head and licked my cheek.
“Ah.” I almost fell to the side but caught myself. He was so strong and powerful. I could feel it in the way he moved. “Nice kitty.”
He looked at me and chuffed again, making me laugh.
Daniel leaned against Hannah while she rubbed under his chin, making low guttural sounds of approval. We were spoiling them.
Malik made a noise from where he’d wandered off, and Sai and Daniel both reacted at the same time, charging toward him.
I gasped, expecting them to run into him, but he took off in another direction. They had to turn to catch up.
“What are they doing?”
Hannah stepped next to me. “Just wait.”
I held my breath as Daniel pounced from several feet behind Malik and his lithe, graceful form took to the air before they tumbled on the ground like a ball of limbs. That had to hurt one of them, but Malik snuck out from under his friend and took off running. He was faster than I expected but no match for Sai who seemed to be teasing him. He zig-zagged behind Malik, so every time he glanced back, Sai was out of his line of sight. Hannah laughed and pointed at them.
“They love messing with Malik. He acts so tough, and he can be terrifying when he needs to be, but Sai is built for speed and longer distances than him. Honey badgers aren’t really supposed to run all that much.”
I needed to do some research about the guys’ animals. I wanted to know everything about them. Their strengths, weaknesses, and habits. Then I could compare them to how the guys acted. I couldn’t wait to ask questions.
“When they’re in this form, do animal instincts take over, or are they in control?” I figured Hannah would know the basics.
“They’re always in control and aware, but there are instincts that they don’t try to suppress, like Daniel smelling you and Sai rubbing on you. Neither of them would do that normally, but in these forms, it’s natural.”
I nodded, glad they wouldn’t suddenly slip into wild animals.
“They’re one with their animal forms if that makes sense. It’s still them. There isn’t a tiger’s soul living in that body too.”
That was at the root of most of my questions.
“It’s fascinating.” All the werewolf movies and books had it wrong. Well, some of them were closer to the truth. They weren’t forced to shift based on the moon or a curse. They could change at will, and they weren’t at the mercy of their animal. It was just another side of them.
For the first time since I learned who, and what, I really was, I hoped I took after my dad. Was it possible that side of me was dormant too? What kind of shifter had he been? Might I be? How could I find out without asking? I had to be discreet. Masie reinforced that with her call. I couldn’t get too comfortable, even with my friends. As much as I liked each of them, I didn’t know them well enough to trust them with my whole story. I didn’t think any of them would run off telling the rest of the school, but I couldn’t risk it. It wasn’t worth my life.
Maybe I could ask Mrs. Hedgings. I was so new to this world that maybe she would assume I was just curious. When did shifters first change? Did they display any abilities before then? Was there a way of knowing?
I could always do my own research in the library. There was probably a record of past students somewhere. Yearbooks? I could check, but with what free time? I had so many tutoring sessions on top of my normal homework and classes that I barely had time to sleep and eat. It would save time to ask, but I’d have to wait and make sure I could bring it up naturally, without raising suspicion.
The guys continued chasing and fighting, although I could tell they were going easy on each other. They warned me some shifters could get violent, but it didn’t seem like they wanted to take it to that level. Maybe they would if there was actual danger present, but there was no need right now.
After they tired themselves out, they came back to where Hannah and I were sitting on the grass and laid around us. Sai rested his head in my lap, and I grinned down at him while playing with his fur. I flatted the extra fluffy area under his jaw with the palm of my hands until it stood up like a mohawk.
“Look.” I pointed out my masterpiece to Hannah. She chuckled and tried to do the same to Daniel, but his fur was too short.
