That was the way this felt. It was as if, over the past few weeks leading up to arriving here, his life had been portrayed as some form of a story. A darker sort of fairytale where everyone dies and the hero is run off to a faraway land to escape the villain never to return.
He made no offers that he did not intend to fulfill and while he did have a knack for bending the truth when it was in his favor he’d uncovered nothing about Gabriel worth pouncing on for profit or any sort of gain. Not yet, anyway. They were still in the discovery phase and that would wear away soon.
Eden nodded at the question.
“My family began as wealthy settlers,” he explained. Eden shifted a touch, perhaps uncomfortably, and then moved on with the tale. “As most wealthy families can say, our line was expansive and deep. We sought only the best for mates and lovers to ensure that our heritage stayed rich. From what I understand of my ancestors, one of them violated an unspoken rule...you see, the shifters in my family are very powerful...”
His smile faultered a little. “We were curse into this because of a very nasty situation involving a witch. When we changed we became wild. We wanted nothing but to consume, humans included, but it only happened at night when the moon came out.”
Growing serious Eden cast a glance down at the table. “Since then the children are put into rigerous training designed to teach us how to control ourselves. Society says you can’t attack and eat people. Those of us that are stricken by the curse are forced to learn to control it. If we can’t, by a certain age, they put us down.” His eyes lifted, flickering to Gabriel.
“We have to be careful.”
Eden finally offered a smile that was a bit happier. “I was a cute cub, sure. Very playful, sometimes a little rough. My brother was always very serious. He didn’t like to play.”