Felix felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest when the wolf that'd scared the crap out of him shifted into a human.
A werewolf.
An actual werewolf. Right in front of him.
Those bright, shimmering purple eyes looked at him, their expression guarded.
Suddenly, darkness overtook him. When Felix finally came to, his gaze darted around the room, immediately looking to where the werewolf had been. When no one was there, Felix thought he was going crazy. Until Dray was suddenly in front of him, calming him down.
As Felix began to be able to process his surroundings again, he finally spotted the purple-eyed boy across from him, sitting in the lap of a huge man.
"You… You're…" Felix couldn't get the words out.
The boy smirked at him. "I'm…?
Felix gulped. "A werewolf…?
The boy's grin grew. "Yes, I am."
"Awesome." Felix leaned forward, his gaze locked on the boy. "Tell me everything! I want to know all about werewolf culture and traditions!"
The boy's grin grew strained. "I wish I could," he said faintly.
"Huh?" Felix looked at him in confusion.
The boy sighed heavily. "I was only five when my home was destroyed. I can't really remember anything from before then."
The man, whatever his name was, rubbed the boy's back, placing a soft kiss on his temple. He muttered something too low for Felix to hear.
"Forgive me," Felix said, "but I forgot your name."
The man turned his attention back to Felix. "I'm Griffin. This is my mate, Nathan," he said, patting Nathan's hip.
That word caught Felix's attention. "Mate? Are you a werewolf too?"
Griffin chuckled. "No, dragon."
Felix's brow furrowed. "But I thought people could only have mates of the same species," he muttered.
Dray leaned forward in his seat. "Felix, who told you that?"
Felix turned his gaze towards his friend. "The temple. Are you saying it's wrong?"
Dray sighed heavily. "Yes, Lex, the temple is wrong. Especially when it comes to other shifters. I didn't think you paid that close attention to the temple's preaching."
Felix blushed lightly at the slight admonishment. "I don't. But that's what it says in the books too."
Dray stared at him for a moment, an eyebrow raised. "And who supplies those books?"
"The temp… Oh."
"Yeah." Dray rubbed his face. Looking over at his newest friends he asked, "Griff, any chance you guys have a book or two that Lex could read about mate bonds."
Griffin sat there pondering for a moment. "I'm not sure. I don't think so."
Nathan squirmed in his lap. "Well, we do have one book."
Dray stared at him. "Can he borrow it?"
Nathan blushed. "I don't have a problem with that, but it's not an informational book. It's a… uh…"
Griffin seemed to catch onto which book Nathan was talking about. Suppressing giggles, he answered for Nathan. "It's a fictional romance. Fairly accurate about bonds though."
Dray laughed loudly, not trying to stop it as Nathan's blush deepened.
Felix watched the whole interaction, his eyes wide.