Ha, yeah right. I was always awkward.
Always.
Sigh.
Our food arrived, and I helped Dain set it up on his table before we both sat down. He’d ordered from a shifter-owned restaurant, so the portions were big enough for us. I appreciated that since some people I’d dated in the past didn’t realize just how big an appetite I had. Shifting took energy, so I needed to fuel that, but also, I was just a big guy in both forms.
I figured Dain was in the same boat, being a werewolf.
A werewolf was different than a shifter. Shifters had full control of themselves and could transform into their animal counterpart at any time, day or night.
Werewolves were infected with the were curse, usually from a werewolf bite. Every werewolf I’d ever met had a tragic and scary tale about being bitten, and then their fight for control of themselves was even more difficult.
A werewolf’s shift was controlled by the moon, so they only shifted for a few nights before and after the full moon. But somewere able to call on different aspects of their shift at any time, like their teeth, claws, or eyes.
Many weres had so little control that they had to be put down… or at the very least, they were tied up and caged during their shifts.
I really hoped Dain wasn’t one that needed to be chained up. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt him, and being chained or caged sounded… horrifying. But I knew it took time for weres to be able to control themselves during a shift, so Dain had likely been chained or caged at some point, even if he wasn’t now.
Thinking about that made me frown because it meant that Dain had a difficult introduction into the supernatural world. Tragic. And probably terrifying.
Hopefully one day, he’d tell me the story, but I didn’t think it was a question I should ask the first time we were spending time together.
We were quiet while we fixed our plates, but it wasn’t exactly an easy quiet. I felt awkward and unsure, and I had no idea whatsoever what to say.
Luckily, Dain didn’t seem to have the same anxieties as me. “So… how long have you lived in Sedoba?”
“My whole life. I grew up here and never wanted to leave.”
“And how long is that?”
“Are you asking my age?” I surprised myself by sounding playful, maybe even a little flirty—yay, me!
He smirked. “Sure am.”
I bit my lip for a moment. I’d tell him the truth, obviously—I’d never lie to him—but he was a lot younger than me, so hopefully this wouldn’t turn into a… thing. It had in the past with other dates. Although, those dates hadn’t been my viramore.
I cleared my throat before answering, “Um, somewhere around three hundred years.”
His eyes widened. “What? Really?”
I nodded.
“Holy shit, I never would’ve guessed. I thought you were closer to my age.”
“And how old is that? Thirty-something?”
He sighed. “How’d you guess?”
He did look younger than that, but most supes looked young, even when they were hundreds or thousands of years old. “It’s something I sensed, I guess. I’m not sure how to explain it, but I can usually gauge how old someone is.”
“Even Anton?”
That made me grin. “Yep.”
“Hm. Pretty cool. I’m thirty-five, if you’re wondering the exact number.”
I nodded, unsurprised, and offered a smile. “If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you…” I trailed off, cringing as my mind caught up with my mouth.
