Primals (Reverse Harem 1)

I don’t answer him, my gaze on Sebastian.

“Fine

.” I shrug. “You helped me but you also locked me up, remember? Like some wild animal?”

“What?” Theo’s eyes grow wide.

“Wait.” Kyle stands beside me. The poor man is a mass of confusion. I might not be able to read his mind, but right now I don’t need to. It’s coming off him in waves. “You know these...people?”

I touch my forehead. “Unfortunately.”

Theo’s face falls.

Shit.

“Who are you?” Sebastian asks as though noticing him for the first time.

Kyle ignores him, turning to me. “Are they why you wanted to leave Anchorage so soon?”

“Yes,” I confess, then turn to Theo. “I’m sorry, Theo. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just...I saw what you turned into, what you both turned into.” I glance at Sebastian. “And I just had to stay away.”

“I understand,” Theo says, head bowed. Then he looks at Sebastian, his eyes dark, positively glowering. “This is all your fault.”

“Mine?” Sebastian points to himself.

“You morphed first,” he points out.

“You attacked first,” Sebastian growls.

“Attacked? Morphed?” Kyle asks. “Clarissa, who are they?” His voice is rising higher the more questions he asks that don’t get answered. I take pity on him and sit on the edge of the bed, running my hands through my hair.

“Fine. Let’s start with introductions.” I point to Sebastian. “This is Sebastian. I saw him turn into a wolf.”

“What?” Kyle’s jaw drops.

Sebastian frowns.

Are you sure you can trust this man?

I glare at him. More than I can trust you. And stay out of my head.

“And this is Theo.” I gesture to Theo. “He turned into a bear, which isn’t surprising, I guess, since he seems to like bears a lot.”

Theo gives a sheepish grin. “That obvious, huh?”

“And this is Kyle.” I grab Kyle’s arm. “He’s a colleague from work, and my best friend.”

Sebastian’s forehead creases. Best friend? I can hear the snark from here. I give him a look. I’m not warning him again.

Kyle rubs his chin. “So, one of you is a werewolf and the other is a werebear?”

I glance at him, in awe of his calm demeanor. And to think I ran for miles when I first found out who...what these two really were. Then again, Kyle’s never been prone to hysterics, and seeing is more shocking than just hearing.

“We’re primals,” Sebastian explains, stepping forward. “As you guessed, I’m from the Wolf race and Theo here is from the Bear race.”

Now it’s my turn to be confused. “Primals?”

“Animals evolved into humans but able to divert back into animal form,” Theo says. “We have been around for millions of years, since the Cenozoic Era.”