Page 34 of I Hate Myself for Loving You
“They didn’t have to. I didn’t even know I craved blood until I donated some and eyed up the vials of it like they were a rare steak.”
“Huh? If you’re immortal and the only way to sustain that immortality is blood, I’d think you’d need O negative in copious quantities.”
But he shook his head. “No, Avery. I’m not entirely a vampire.”
Okay, here’s where she should tell him his rocker was broken and he was off it, but Avery had to finish this. She looked directly at him. “Do I look befuddled to you? Because this is the face of a woman who thinks you’re a whack.”
Laughing, he pulled her close and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I’m half werewolf too, Avery.”
“Are you serious?” she yelped.
“Yep, I shift just like you. I found that out quite by accident on a night with a full moon when I was ten. The only thing I can figure is my vampire- werewolf signals are all crossed, and what I need to survive are small parts from each species that make me whole.”
The wonder in her voice rang throughout the trailer.“I don’t know what to say…”
“What can you say to a guy who wants to suck your blood and mount you from behind, all at the same time?”
She laughed. “Why couldn’t you smell that I was a werewolf, Lassiter? Why couldn’t I smell you?”
He shook his head, his eyes confused. “I’ve got to go with the theory that I don’t have all of the perks each species has. My sense of smell is keen, but I couldn’t have told that you were a werewolf just by smelling you.”
For a moment, Avery felt the sense of displacement Lassiter must have felt all of his life and it squeezed her heart. “Why did you stop writing, Lassiter? After you left, I thought we’d still be friends, but you stopped calling and writing.”
“No, Avery. I didn’t. I sent letters. I called and when I did, your mother told me you were out.”
Her mother. Never happy about the time she’d spent with Lassiter, she’d obviously decided to interfere. Running her hand down his face, she kissed his cheek.
“I’m sorry. I never got the letters and I never heard about the phone calls.”
He cupped her cheek, his gaze warm. “Are the Adams werewolves like you, Avery?”
She nodded her head, and then a thought occurred to her. “Do you see what you could have avoided if you’d just told me the truth?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Did you tell me the truth about you?”
Sighing with exasperation, she said, “No, but I don’t have a brother who has feathers either. I’d say your situation was much more desperate than mine.”
“You know what’s funny? I didn’t know there were others like me, or at least half like me. Do you know what a relief it is to know you’re Princess?”
Her face flushed. “Do you know how much it sucks to put your sock in my mouth?”
Lassiter howled with laughter, making Avery smile. This felt like what they’d once shared. It felt right. “I can’t believe you were capable of such deceit,” he teased, pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Look, I wouldn’t cast the first stone there, big boy,” she joked, nudging him. “But this could mean you’re an Adams, Lassiter. You’re half werewolf. Why else would that letter say you should come here? So next, we go to the Adams and talk to them.” She rose, taking his hand.
“No.” He remained stubbornly seated.
“Fuck that ‘no,’ Lassiter. Get up.”
His face returned to that glacial expression he wore with such finesse. “I won’t be mocked by a bunch of werewolves who won’t accept me because I’m half vampire, Avery. Not a chance in hell.”
Oh, that was rich. She threw her head back and laughed. “Um, Lassiter? Get up off of your ass, and lemme tell you a story about a family called Adams. Trust me when I say no one will mock you.” She yanked his hand hard. “Get up and move it. We have some phone calls to make.”
A reluctant, confused Lassiter tagged behind her as she dragged him out of the house and toward the Adams house.
Avery waved at Bud in his cage on the way out. “Hang tight there, Big Bird.
We’re going to figure this out once and for all.”
