I don’t even have words for it. Because how do you describe something like this? It’s not just shocking. It’simpossible.
And yet it’s standing right in front of me. Alive. Real. Breathing. Then, I take another breath and lean slightly forward.
“Say something,” I manage weakly.
The tiger blinks. Then?—
He shifts back. Archer stands there again, like nothing happened. Except everything did.
I stare at him.
“You just?—”
“I know.”
“You were?—”
“I know.”
“A tiger.”
“Yes.”
I let out a shaky laugh, pressing a hand to my forehead. “Wow. Okay. Yep. That’s… definitely… something.”
He watches me carefully, like he’s waiting for me to panic. Or run. Or shut down.
I don’t. Not completely. Because beneath the shock?—
There’s something else. Something grounding. It’s still him. That’s the part that matters.
That’s the part my brain clings to.
“You’re still you,” I say slowly.
“Yes.”
“Same personality. Same… attitude.”
A faint huff of breath that might be a laugh escapes him. “Unfortunately.”
“Good,” I say. “That’s good.”
Because if he’d changed?—
If he wasn’t still Archer?—
I don’t know how I’d process that.
I start pacing again. Because standing still feels impossible.
“Okay,” I mutter. “So. Shifters. Rogues. Territory. Rules.”
I glance at him.
“Define ‘rogue,’” I say.
“Shifters who don’t follow the rules,” he explains. “No territory. No restraint. They take what they want.”
