The Sight (bxb)

Chapter 97 - Show Me Your Fur - Part 2

Despite Josh's eagerness to see Ryan's fur and even pet it, he still didn't do anything about it. He was probably aware that there was still a human hiding underneath, and maybe that was weird to him. Evan honestly had no idea what could be going through the minds of humans who saw a werewolf in front of them and weren't used to it.

"Come here, love," he addressed Ryan when even after a moment none of them reached out to him. Their eyes, however, followed every step he took in Evan's direction.

The big black wolf quickly found a way to squeeze into Evan's lap and rubbed his head against his chin in a tender gesture. Evan's hands immediately went into his fur and began to gently scratch his back, and Ryan leaned fully against him.

It wasn't until Evan pressed a soft kiss to the top of his head that one of his friends finally spoke up. "That's so cute. He almost looks like a big dog, snuggled up to you like that." Rory smiled at them and moved closer so he could pet Ryan as well.

"Now you've put a terribly inappropriate question in my head," Josh stated, and Evan raised an eyebrow at him, awaiting an explanation. But Josh just shook his head and instead of saying anything else, just like Rory, he shifted closer.

"Is he okay with this?" Kieran asked, moving closer as well despite his cautious question. "He's still human after all."

"He'd let you know if he minded, don't worry," Evan replied since Ryan couldn't right now. Apparently, that was enough for Kieran and Josh to reach out and put a hand on his fur.

"I don't know why I'm waiting for him to start purring," Josh chuckled.

"I can assure you that Ryan is the only wolf who won't be offended by that sentence," Michael spoke up, the only one not involved in the petting action.

"Oh, right!" Josh suddenly seemed to remember something important. "I was gonna ask you." He looked at Evan and added, "Do you hate cats because you're a wolf?"

That question obviously got Ryan's attention too, as he pulled away from his mate slightly and looked at him intensely. With a sigh, Evan raked a hand through his hair and decided to answer as best he could. "Mallow is still an exception," he told Ryan first, intentionally using the nickname he often used for the ball of fur. "I honestly have no idea if it has anything to do with me being a wolf but my wolf definitely agrees."

"Your wolf," Kieran repeated after him. "You talk about him like you're two different beings."

"Because they are," Michael replied before Evan could find the right words.

"What do you mean?" Kieran asked, and Rory and Josh shifted their attention as well. Michael frowned at first, obviously not keen on a long explanation, especially since he was breaking supernatural laws by doing so, and Evan was beginning to think he was going to have to take over, but eventually, he spoke again.

"Werewolves are humans and wolves at the same time. A wolf and a human share the same body shell. Some would say we're half human and half animal, but it's more accurate to say we're both humans and wolves that simply exist together. Our wolf still has its animalistic side and instincts. And just as in human form, we take control, in animal form our wolves take control. It doesn't mean you can't control your body at all when you're in wolf form, but you share that control with your wolf. Our wolves still have some of our human intelligence, which makes them more evolved beings than normal animals, but they're still essentially animals," he explained, and it was obvious that the human participants were hanging on his every word.

"So we're actually petting a wild animal now?" Josh asked, shifting his gaze briefly to his hand that was still resting in Ryan's fur.

"Basically," Michael replied. However, the black-haired boy could clearly see that his words weren't fully understood so he sighed and added, "The easiest way to explain it is with an example. When a human gets lost in the forest for a long time, they die. If a werewolf gets lost, they will simply shift and leave control to their wolf. The longer the wolf has control, the more he becomes an animal and less of a man. Let's suppose that if you found a werewolf after a year of living away from civilization and not transforming back into his human form at all, convincing them that they were also human would be very difficult."