Acting as if I were crying, I said, “No! No!” and we both laughed.
I poured the steaming water over the leaves and allowed it to steep.
Noticeably trying to contain her excitement, she said, “I received a phone call this morning.”
“Yeah? Who was it?”
“I got a job!”
“Well, congratulations! That’s great!” I hugged her. “What exactly will you be doing?”
“It’s a government funded project,” she began with a look that it was a big deal. “I will be designing segments of DNA to be added to the human genome.”
“Oh, wow! That sounds exciting.”
I finished preparing my tea, so we sat at the dining room table together. Noticing a black skull pendant that she wore on a leather necklace, I pointed to it. “Where did you get that?”
She reached up and rubbed the pendant between her thumb and forefinger. “Ambros gave me this. It serves as a link to his world in case I decide to go,” she answered, reading the emotion in my face.
My lips twisted in a failed attempt to hide my sorrow, and I took a deep breath. “Perhaps we can vacation there after you settle into your new job,” I suggested to cover my fear of her leaving me to return to her people.
“That would be the perfect vacation spot,” she responded. “In the meantime, I’d like to get some equipment to use here where I could study DNA.”
“Human DNA?”
“Werewolf,” she reluctantly clarified.
“Werewolf!” I repeated, remembering when I was trapped inside Kieran’s underground sanctuary with his bloodthirsty sister mere inches away from devouring me alive.
“I’m curious if there are any clues within my genetic code to how we originated, and what makes us immortal.”
“How do you plan on getting a blood sample?” I asked before realizing what she had just said. “Wait! Your genetic code?”
She took a swallow of tea, noticeably hesitant to answer my question. “Well, do you remember when I went into hiding after being attacked by werewolves?”
I covered my mouth in shock at what she was implying, and she nodded her head, answering the question that I could not ask.
“So, what’s it like?” I finally asked.
A slow laugh began churning up from within her. “Well, I’m no longer a vegetarian.”
My eyes widened, and, for a moment, I didn’t know whether to laugh or run.
She took my hand to comfort me. “Don’t be afraid.”
THE END
OR ONLY THE BEGINNING?
Immortal Genesis Page 20
