"I didn't think we were supposed to leave the campgrounds."
His focus shifted from the trail to her. "It's only a few feet off the property. Hey, it's up to you." He came to a complete stop. "You seemed interested the other day on the hike. I just thought..."
Kylie swal owed hard and glanced from side to side.
His nostrils suddenly flared as if trying to catch a scent. "You're afraid of me again? Damn, I thought you got over that."
"I have," she stammered, and wondered when he noticed her lack of fear. "I just ... I'm remembering the snake the other day," she lied. The suspicion in his gaze faded, and he almost looked relieved. "Don't worry, I can smel those things a mile away, and I'm faster than any water moccasin." He started walking again.
She fol owed.
They walked without talking for a few minutes. The woods seemed to swal ow their footsteps. His pace was fast, but not so fast she couldn't keep up.
"Have you figured out what you are yet?" he asked.
"No. But there's more than a good chance I'm just human."
He stopped abruptly and looked back at her.
Kylie held her hand up in front of her forehead. "Don't do it. And don't say it. I know I don't read like a human. But frankly, I'm tired of everyone checking out my head. It's as bad as guys staring at my boobs."
The moment the last sentence spil ed from her mouth, she wished she could suck it back in, especial y when she remembered him checking out her boobs the night she'd passed out.
"Sorry. I guess I can understand how that might get to you. Having us ... stare at your pattern al the time." He grinned. And damn if it wasn't the kind of smile that made a girl melt. They stood there studying each other and then it became downright awkward. He final y shook his head and started walking again.
They had walked another forth of a mile when she noticed a Band-Aid on his arm. "Did you ... give blood?" She pointed to his arm.
"Oh, yeah." He looked at the Band-Aid as if he'd forgotten it was there, ripped it off, and tucked it inside his jeans pocket. "I helped Chris with his drive."
"Chris, the vampire?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said as if it was no big deal. And she recal ed Derek acting the same way.
"You don't find it ... strange?"
He arched a brow. "Strange?" He studied her as if he didn't get her question.
Kylie realized the stupidity of her question. Lucas turned into a wolf. Compared to that, drinking blood probably seemed like nothing. Then he answered, "People donate blood al the time, Kylie."
"That's to save someone's life," she said, just to prevent the awkward silence.
"And vampires die if they don't drink blood."
Kylie wasn't sure if she'd known that, but hearing him say it had her head swimming. "Can't they survive on...?"
"Animal blood?" he finished her question. "They can and do drink animal blood, but to maintain proper nourishment, they need some human blood in their diet. It's the same as donating to the Red Cross."
Without meaning to, she let her next thought slip out of her mouth. "Sick people don't drink it. It's injected into their veins."
"Does it real y matter how it gets into their system? Personal y, I don't see the difference."
She gave his analogy some thought and felt smal and inconsiderate.
"Aren't you rooming with a vampire?" he asked.
"Yeah." But somehow in her mind she'd separated Del a the friend from Del a the vampire.
"And she hasn't asked you to donate yet?"
"No." And Kylie knew why, too. Del a knew how Kylie and even Miranda felt about the whole blood issue. For some reason Del a's angry retort from this morning rang in her head. You still think we're freaks.
"Al the vampires are supposed to get someone to donate. If they fail, they don't participate in the rituals."
Kylie remembered Del a hadn't gone to her regular early morning meeting today-then there was the argument Del a had with another vampire. The memory of Del a standing up to Fredericka flashed in Kylie head, then came the flash of how she'd protected Kylie from her cousin, Chan. Del a had been wil ing to go the limit for Kylie, but Del a hadn't even felt comfortable enough to ask Kylie for blood. You still think we're freaks.
Del a's accusation rang again in Kylie's mind.
Kylie didn't consider Del a a freak, but in truth, she hadn't accepted her for who she real y was, either. Sum it up and it meant Kylie hadn't been much of a friend.
The realization hurt like a punch to her stomach.
"Is it safe?" Kylie asked.
"What?" Lucas asked.
"Donating blood to the vampires. Is it safe?"
"Of course it is. Holiday wouldn't al ow it if it wasn't."
Opening herself up to accepting Del a took Kylie down other mental paths. "What's it like?"
He shrugged. "It's just like they do it at a doctor's office."
"Not that. I mean, changing into a wolf. I heard some others say it was..." She tried to think how to put it.
"Scary?" he asked, and arched a brow.
"And painful," she answered, deciding not to try to sugarcoat it.
"I think it looks worse than it is." He didn't talk for a few minutes and then started again. "It's sort of like a real y sore muscle being massaged. It both hurts and feels good at the same time."
"So it's not like Perry when he changes?"
"No, it's not like that. A shape-shifter's body changes on a whole different cel ular level and speed. When we change, you can see the process as the body takes on the new form."
"It doesn't sound fun."
"But it is. It's exhilarating." His eyes lit up and Kylie didn't doubt he was tel ing the truth.
"And what's it like afterward? When you're changed, do you ... are you stil you?"
"Am I stil me?" he asked, not understanding.
"Do you think like a human, or do you think like a wolf?"
"I'm not human, Kylie," he answered. "I'm a werewolf."
She felt her face flush. "I just meant-"
"I know," he said, and let go of a deep breath. "When I turn, I have very heightened senses and instincts. To hunt. To mate. To protect what's mine. They could be cal ed very humanlike instincts. However, in werewolf form the instincts are harder to deny."
So maybe his kil ing her cat hadn't been out of meanness, but more from his instinct to hunt. Until that thought hit, she hadn't realized she'd been trying to find a way to forgive him.