Emmett snorted, waving a hand at his big body. “Hungry werewolf.” Then he gestured at Jonah. “Puny human. I eat more than you.”
Spluttering, Jonah couldn’t help but laugh. “You did not just call me puny! You jerk!”
The rest of the group laughed with him, some of them teasing Emmett for eating way more than the rest of them while Emmett just grinned.
Compared to the mound of food Emmett had gotten, Jonah’s meal looked kind of sad. He’d gotten a burger and fries, since he wasn’t feeling up to anything adventurous while he was so freaked out, with a small salad on the side and his soda. Meanwhile, Emmett had gotten a burger, fries, pizza, pasta, some kind of meat dish over a scoop of rice, chicken wings, and what looked like curry. Everything had meat in it, plus the protein drink. The wolf man seriously liked his meat.
A thought flashed through his head, and he leaned closer to ask quietly, “Is it werewolf or wolf man? I’ve read stuff that had the latter, so I thought that was what you were called.”
Emmett shook his head, taking a slurp of his drink before replying, “That’s a human term. Werewolf is our actual species.”
Another werewolf from a few seats down leaned forward to add, “I think most people wouldn’t care, but you get nuances with gender with the human term. Some of us would get offended being called a wolf man. Werewolf is gender neutral.”
She didn’t sound mad having to explain it to him, and the rest of them all nodded without looking annoyed. Jonah felt hisshoulders come down a little. Maybe Emmett was right and they weren’t that bad.
“I’m a shapeshifter,” Taron said proudly from beside him. “Just in case you thought I was human.”
Jonah shot him a quick glance, then shook his head. “I don’t think anyone would confuse you for human.”
Taron blinked, surprised. “Really? Why?”
“Might have something to do with the ears,” Emmett pointed out.
“Or the eyes,” the female werewolf added. “Human eyes aren’t that big.”
Taron pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I’d honestly forgotten I’d done that,” he said with a shrug, then closed his eyes for a moment. A ripple cascaded through his body, which was fascinating to watch, and when he opened his eyes again, they were normal sized and his ears were shaped like human ears and not the pointed ones from before. “There. Fully human.”
Jonah gaped at him for a long moment, making Taron grin and preen a little. “I know. I’m awesome. Watch this.”
He closed his eyes again, and after the ripple was gone, Jonah found him staring at a mirror image of himself. He let out a squawk of surprise, leaning back to look the man over. The only difference between them was their clothes.
“Humans are easy to reproduce,” Taron said, his voice an exact match to Jonah’s in a way that really freaked Jonah out. He could be anyone with an ability like that.
“Not quite,” Emmett interrupted, shaking his head. Jonah whipped around to look at him.
“You can tell the difference?”
Emmett nodded, tapping his snout. “The one thing shapeshifters can’t reproduce is scent. He smells like lightning and cologne. Your mates, I’m assuming?”
Taron-Jonah grinned. “Yep.” He closed his eyes and the original Taron reappeared, big eyes and pointy ears and all. “I’ve been shifting into Zephyr’s thunderbird a few days a week to practice. I can’t replicate his magic, but he’s teaching me how to fly. It’s… harder than I expected.”
Peri reached over, patting his arm. “You’ll get it eventually.”
Jonah had to ask, “Thunderbird?”
He’d never heard of that before.
Kian explained for him from where he was seated next to Peri. “Think giant eagle with lightning powers. Never get too close to a shifted thunderbird unless you’re mated to one either. As a human, you’ll definitely get hurt.”
Emmett snorted. “Most species would get hurt. Werewolves aren’t immune either.”
Jonah listened with fascination as they talked about what species magic they were immune against. The conversation was so interesting, he forgot entirely about being in the cafeteria and surrounded by supes he was unfamiliar with until it was time to leave and head back upstairs. He stood automatically when Kian and the rest did, taking his tray to return it to the collection area.
He was still listening to the conversation and wasn’t really paying attention when Emmett stopped suddenly to avoid knocking into a giant golem stomping past. Jonah, who had been behind him, crashed into him for the third time in a day. It was a good thing he’d finished everything on his plate or it would’ve ended up on his shirt.
Before he could steady himself, he inhaled sharply, dragging in the scent of the werewolf in front of him. He smelled like pine, fresh soil, and clean air, and the combination left Jonah a little dizzy. He recognized the scent, it was just like the cabin his parents took him and his siblings to every summer for vacation. What did it mean that the werewolf who was basicallyhis personal savior smelled a lot like Jonah’s favorite place in the world?
CHAPTER SEVEN
