Lola nodded."I understand.I'd feel the same.I won't lie and tell you that I'd believe something that shouldn't be possible."
"Okay, so hot guys and tattoos."Maddie made a continuing motion with her hand.
Lola started from when she stood in front of the table with the five guys, their weird tattoos, and the one with the swirling, silver eyes.
Her two friends listened intently.At some point, Katy laid down and propped herself up on her side with her elbow on the floor and her head resting in her hand.
"Wait," Katy held up a hand."So, the lion tattoo you got wasn't just a weird, hasty decision?"
"Oh itwasa hasty decision," Lola said, "but it also felt right.Like that was just the one I needed."
Katy's eyes got huge as she reached over and pressed her hand to her shoulder."I got a wolf," she said softly."Why the hell did I get a wolf?"
"You're not ananimus," Lola said quickly."The beastwalkers would have known, and the Shaman."
"What in mother of shifter babies is a Shaman?"Maddie asked.
"They're kind of like the rule makers and holy people of the beastwalkers."
"You'resurethis isn't a book you read and are somehow now hallucinating?"Maddie asked.
"At this point, I wish it was."Lola looked at Katy who still hadn't moved.Her eyes had that unfocused look, as if she was thinking about something."Katy, you would have been able to see their tattoos move, and the animal features that I saw.Your tattoo is just a wolf that you wanted, that's all."She snapped her fingers in front of her face and Katy seemed to snap out of her trance.
"Of course," Katy said, dropping her hand from her shoulder."I mean, it's not like I'm sure I believe any of this, yet," she tacked that last word on with an indifferent shrug.
"Alright," Maddie said."Weird lion tattoo explained, keep going.And you," she pointed at Katy, "No more questions until she's done."
Katy made a zipping motion across her lips and then flipped Maddie off.
"Are you two done?"Lola asked.
They stared at her blinking like cartoon characters.She took that as their answer and then continued her unbelievable, but completely true, tale.Without interruptions, the dam that had kept the information inside broke and Lola's mouth almost couldn't keep up with the thoughts in her brain.
When the last word left her mouth, Lola realized her face was wet.She was crying and hadn't even known it.She'd been so entranced in what she was telling Katy and Maddie, she hadn't paid attention to how the re-telling of how Callon had acted affected her.
"Lion or not, I'm going to kill him," Katy said as she pushed up into a sitting position.
"I'm on board with that," Maddie motioned to Katy."But, before we commit homicide, let's go over some things that are vital to this whole thing being real."
Lola held her hands out."The floor is yours."
“First, you mentionedanimi, which are the women able to mate with a shifter dude, correct?”Maddie asked.
“Yes.Animiis plural,animusis singular.”
“Okay,” Maddie tapped her chin.“So, what makes a chick ananimus?”
“Somehow the magic of the Damarian’s imbues into human women,” Lola explained.“That’s what Callon told me.He never saidwhysome women becameanimiand others didn’t.”Lola’s brow rose as she looked at Katy, “Actually, if I remember correctly, you interrupted that conversation.”
“Well, I should have made good on my threat, come over here and shanked his supernatural ass.”
“Moving on,” Maddie said.“Animusare a mystery that we will need to figure out because you,” she motioned to Lola, “are supposedly one.We need to know if that means more than becoming a supernatural ass’s piece of–”
“Seriously, Maddie?”Lola glared at her friend.
“Well,” she held her hands up.“You have to admit that’s sort of what it sounds like.Heneedsyou so he can become whatever it is he’s supposed to be.”
“He never said that entailed sex,” Lola said.
