His smile was gentle. “A fox. I shift into a fox.”
The air rushed out of my lungs in a shaky exhale. “What are you exactly?”
His brows rose, and he flicked his finger at Godric and Finn. “Don’t you mean, what arewe?”
My jaw went slack in fear, and my voice was shrill. “All three of you turn into a fox?”
“No.” Cassander smirked. “I’m the only fox in this room.”
My brows furrowed as my gaze flicked back and forth between Finn and Godric. “What do you two turn into?”
Finn’s eyes didn’t leave mine. “I’m a white tiger.”
I pushed myself back against my seat.
“Lion,” Godric murmured absently.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and a horrible shiver plagued my frame. My teeth started chattering. When Godric had finally decided to speak, he destroyed my sanity.
I shook my fist at him. “I’m living in a different reality right now, and you are being an asshole. I need some goddamn comfort. It’s not everyday nightmares become real, and humans become animals.”
Godric sat back in his chair and turned his attention to me. His golden eyes pinned my shaking form in place. “We aren’t human, Poppy.”
I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders and eyed him even more warily. “Are you an alien?”
“No, we’re called shifters. We don’t just turn into an animal. The animal is part of who we are, so we’re able to shift at will.”
I hissed, “I fucked a lion?”
His eyes narrowed. “You fucked me.”
“You just said the animal is part of who you are.”
“I meant, in this form, we have certain traits that our animal counterpart has. Most shifters hear better than you can imagine. We can see better than any human in the dark. Our sense of smell is off the charts. And our personalities tend to shadow how our animal would act in the wild—but that’s not always the case.”
“You said ‘most’ shifters.” I eyed him hard. “How many shifters are there?”
“A lot.”
“How much is a lot?”
“Roughly thirty percent of the world’s male population.”
I could only stare.
He snorted, peering down his nose. “You humans killed each other off. That wasn’t our doing. It’s the shifters now who are trying to keep your race from complete annihilation.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip.
Something was off there.
“Why would shifters care if humans exist? Wouldn’t it be easier if we didn’t?”
His jaw clenched. He peered back out the window.
Finn’s lips curved. “You’re very intelligent, Poppy.”
Godric grunted, his eyes staying on the scenery.
