“Yes.” He rose and made his way to the bed, sitting so we were shoulder to shoulder. “So am I.”

I could feel my face heating. “Don’t be. It makes me feel weird.”

He grinned as he dipped his chin. “I don’t think you understand why we feel…honored to be alive when a descendant of the gods is present. Many of my kind are not old enough to have lived among them. Alastir was one of the only few, and well, fuck him, right?”

I grinned. “Yeah. Fuck him.”

He smiled. “But the children of the gods have always held a special place with the wolven. We exist in this form because of them. Not because of the Atlantians.”

I squeezed the pillow tightly as I wiggled down onto my side, remaining silent.

“My ancestors were wild and fierce, loyal to their packs, but the kiyou were driven only by instinct, survival, and pack mentality. Everything was a challenge—for food, mates, pack leadership. Many didn’t survive very long, and the kiyou were on the brink of extinction when Nyktos appeared before the last great pack and asked that they protect the gods’ children in this realm. In return, he offered them human form so they could communicate with the deities and have long lifespans.”

“He asked and didn’t just make the kiyou wolven?”

“He could have. He is the King of Gods, after all. But he made it clear that the agreement was not servitude but a partnership between the kiyou and the deities. There cannot be equality in power if there is no choice.”

He was right. “I wonder why Nyktos asked for this partnership. Was it because he is the only god who can create life? I imagine being given a mortal form was like creating new life. Or perhaps because he is the King of Gods?”

“Probably all those reasons, but also because he is one of the few gods that can change forms,” he said.

“What?” I didn’t know that.

He nodded. “He was able to take the shape of a wolf—a white one. You haven’t seen much of Atlantia, but when you do, you will see paintings and statues of Nyktos. He’s often depicted with a wolf either at his side or behind him. When the wolf is behind him, it symbolizes the shape he can take, and when the wolf is beside him, it represents the offer he made to the kiyou.”

I let that sink in, and of course, my mind went to one place. “And yet I can’t shift into anything.”

“You’re really hung up on that, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” I muttered. “Anyway, did some of the kiyou refuse?”

Kieran nodded. “Some did because they did not trust the god, and others simply wanted to remain as they were. The ones who took his offer were given mortal form and became wolven. We were here before an Atlantian ever was.”

It made me wonder why a wolven didn’t rule then, especially considering that they were viewed as equal to the elemental Atlantians and the deities. Were other wolven in positions of power like Jasper? Like…Alastir had been? “Has a wolven ever wanted to rule Atlantia?”