Page 61 of Quiet Burn

“This is sofucking weird,” Kit breathes as his fingers reach out to touch my big head. I tilt for him, hoping he’ll get how much I like ear scritches in this form. Amazingly, he immediately gives me what I want and I make a satisfied sound. “Okay, go Oriel. No reason to keep me in suspense.”

A squawk echoes in the room as Oriel seamlessly shifts to a crow the size of a large eagle. His feathers shine in the low light, and he slowly approaches KK from the other side until his free handscan touch the feathers. “I can be smaller, but this is easier to… you know.”

“You can?” The new guy shakes his head, his hands touching both of us gently and I listen for the sound of his heartbeat to check his panic level.

Oddly, he’s cool as a cucumber right now—that’s a fucking great sign.

“Is it normal for shifters to be, like, bigger than the normal version of that animal?”

I nod, settling back on my haunches so he can look at me. My paws rest over my lap because having him pet my ears sent the bear into a bit of a frenzy inside. I don’t want to scare him, but I’m white knuckling control. Since this has never happened to me before, I don’t know how long I can maintain it. “Yep. Slash is like an enormous megalodon in the water. Truly terrifying.”

My roommate unwinds his limbs, scooting to the edge of his seat to get a closer look. First, he reaches out to stroke his fingers over Oriel’s wings, earning him a not-very-subtle cooing sound that makes me glare at the avian shifter. His shit is much less obvious if it’s turning him on and I want to knock him on his feathered ass. “Soft. And it smells… familiar. Like… your scent is good, somehow. It makes my nose tingle, but in a good way.”

Ignoring Oriel’s preening, I wait until he turns to me. Kit scoots further forward, leaning in to scratch both my ears as he inhales. I grit my teeth, my eyes closing as he explores the animal form carefully. The bird may be pretty, but I’m cuddly as fuck and I know it. “You’re handling this really well, KK.”

“I… Well, I like animals in general. Zoos and shows… but I haven’t gotten to be this close to many outside of occasional dogs or Dottie. So it’s kind of cool.”

If only we could show him what’s really cool without?—

“Well, well. Just what in the Wastelands is going on in here?”

Kit whips his head to the doorway to look at Jasper. “I…”

“Calm down, man. We thought Kit should see our forms before the damn Games,” Oriel says, his sentence ending with an indignant squawk that belies his irritation.

“Sound logic, but why the secrecy?”

I look at Slash, shifting back to half-bear quickly. “Not secret. We thought of it while KK was changing, and asked him when he came out. He said we could show him animals tonight. So we did.”

“Uh-huh,” the Prince says as he barges in with a scowl on his face. “That seems like a decision we should have all been a part of, Salem.”

Kit sits back, crossing his arms over his chest as he narrows his eyes at the dragon. “I think who I want to see shift or change or whatever and when ismydecision, Jasper. You’re the Prince of Hell, not of me.”

“Technically—” Zavida starts, but quickly stops when the evil glare is turned on him. “Never mind. I’m going to deal with the pizza.”

“Good choice,” X says as he comes fluttering in with his books. “It’s true that he’s the caliphate leader, but I don’t know what thegray area is for not having emerged yet. You’re not fully a demon yet, so it’s like there’s a lot of toss-up situations.”

“Stop helping him,” Jasper says as he flings himself into his chair. The motion makes the floor shake a bit, and I give my best impression of a laugh in panda form.

He’s definitely going to be picked last and he knows it.

“Guys, it’s not a… ‘favorites’ thing. It was totally coincidental.” Kit glances at Anton and X, then Slash, and finally, Zav and the Prince. “I have to see everyone’s… everything… eventually, right?”

“Everything?” X arches a brow and the entire group laughs except for Kit, whose face pales. “That’s going to be quite interesting, Kit Kat.”

The embarrassment is clear on the guy’s face and his eyes cut to his room, and suddenly, I get it. I know exactly what happened earlier and why he looks like he’s seen a ghost now. Luckily, I’m in animal form, so my face doesn’t give it away. Fondness floods me at his reaction, so I scootch my big furry butt closer and rest my chin on the chair. His fingers dig into the scruff of my neck and I make a happy sound.

“For fuck’s sake,” Jasper mutters. “If you let him do that, he’ll be asleep before he does homework and eats. Salem, Oriel…shift.”

Just like that, I’m human again and Kit’s hands are in my hair. Oriel is kneeling on the other side, naked as me, but for the ink covering our skin. Kit gasps, pulling his hand back with a surprised expression. He points a finger at us, making a strangled sound then gives Jasper the angriest look I’ve seen on his face yet. “Youmotherfucker.”

Uh-oh.

When I look up at the guy, there’s a ring of fire in his eyes that entrances me. I haven’t seen this yet, but the Prince looks smug as hell. He must have known this would happen and purposely poked at Kit. “I believe that’sPrinceMotherfucker to you, mmm?”

“Not smart,” Slash mutters as he trudges to the kitchen to help Zav.

“You could have warned me. I mean, I…” The guy goes from furious to calculating in an instant and I almost hold my breath as I wait to see what he’s going to say. “Fine. You wanted it; you got it. Stand up and get dressed, you two.”

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