Gabriel didn\u2019t speak right away. His eyes moved over me like he was memorizing every line, every shift of fur, every curve of claw. It wasn\u2019t fear \u2014 not even close. If anything, the way he looked at me was closer to reverence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been hiding this for how long?\u201d he asked finally, voice low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince long before I could drive,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stepped closer, close enough that the heat from him brushed my fur. His gaze kept drifting to my hands, the curve of each claw catching the desk lamp\u2019s light. \u201cI thought your reflexes were freakish before,\u201d he said, almost to himself. \u201cNow I get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou only think you do,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His attention dropped lower, following the shape of my legs. Then he crouched, tilting his head. \u201cAnd the feet?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I gave him a slow, amused grin. \u201cCurious?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExtremely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I shifted my weight and stepped forward, planting one foot flat on the floorboards where the light could hit it. Claws long, dark, and sharp hooked forward from each toe, catching just enough glint to make them look dangerous. The pads beneath muted every sound when I moved, even as the claws clicked faintly when I flexed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHoly hell\u2026\u201d he murmured, reaching out \u2014 but he stopped just short, like he was checking for permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I gave a small nod, and his hand closed gently around my ankle. His thumb brushed the thick fur along the top, fingertips trailing over the pads before skimming along the side of a claw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey\u2019re heavier than I thought,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I smirked. \u201cGood for digging in. Or out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His laugh was quick and quiet, but there was a little awe in it still. \u201cNo wonder people get out of your way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey don\u2019t know why,\u201d I said. \u201cThey just\u2026 do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked up at me from his crouch, head tilted. \u201cYou\u2019ve been hiding all of this because of what happened back then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBecause people see a monster before they see me,\u201d I corrected. \u201cBecause I learned what happens when you give them a reason to be afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel rose slowly, still holding my gaze. \u201cWell\u2026 I\u2019m not afraid. And you can\u2019t exactly un-show me now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGuess you\u2019re stuck with it,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His mouth curved into a grin. \u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We stood there for another long moment, both of us grinning now, the air still buzzing with that shared secret \u2014 something that belonged to us alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gabriel didn\u2019t speak right away. His eyes moved over me like he was memorizing every line, every shift of fur, every curve of claw. It wasn\u2019t fear \u2014 not even close. If anything, the way he looked at me was closer to reverence. \u201cYou\u2019ve been hiding this for how long?\u201d he asked finally, voice low. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-high-school-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/firstsemester\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}