Legacy of Blood - By J. L. McCoy Page 0,62

anger as I jabbed my finger in his direction. “I’m the exact same person now as I was when you met me.”

“Ironic, isn’t it? Those are the same words I said to you when you found out what I was.”

“Yes, it is,” I sighed as I crossed my arms over my chest. “But the question is: are you going to make the same mistake I did and turn your back on me now? I can’t change what happened. This is who I am now. Take me or leave me, Dean, but I hope you take me. I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”

Dean raked his hands through his hair and looked down at his feet. I was having a hard time gauging his emotions because they were wild at best. He was silent a long time and I thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer me. Finally, he lifted his head and looked me in the eyes. I noted the pain behind his now.

“My species does not freely associate with yours, Skye,” he whispered, looking defeated and upset. “It’s been this way since the dawning of time. We are each other’s natural enemies.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I shook my head, softly pleading with him. “Just because that’s the way it’s been done in the past doesn’t mean we can’t change it for the future. I want you in my life, Dean. You’re my friend and I know I’m yours… I know you care about me. Don’t throw that away over something like this. I deeply regretted when I walked away from you after I found out you were a werewolf. If you walk away from me today, I know you will too.”

“It’s not that simple,” he frowned.

“Yes, it is,” I argued stubbornly.

“No, it’s not,” he argued back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yes. It. IS,” I stomped my foot childishly. “Don’t make me come down there and hug you, Dean Ian Cruz, because I will.”

Dean stared at me a moment and then burst out laughing. “You’re still adorable when you’re angry… even as a blood sucker. And, you’d give my mother a run for her money using my full name to drive your point. God, I hate it when she does that.”

“You’ve met MY mother, right?” I laughed along with him. He nodded his head and I smiled down at him and waited patiently for his answer. I hoped he could look past the species barrier and continue to see the person I was deep down.

“Fuck me, toots,” he sighed, running his hand through his hair again. “This isn’t going to go over well with my pack.”

“Well I’m a big girl, honey. I can handle a little anger thrown my way. Who knows, maybe they’ll come around.”

Dean chuckled humorlessly and shook his head. “Not likely.”

“Well then that’s my problem, isn’t it? Don’t make it yours, babe. I can handle it.”

He sighed and shook his head. “You just don’t take no for an answer, do you?”

“Nope,” I smiled, biting my bottom lip. “Friends?”

He studied me a few long moments and then shook his head again. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?” he smiled, his deep dimples on full display.

“You don’t know the half of it, honey,” I smiled back. “When I have my mind set on something, no one is going to change it. So… friends?”

He sighed again as he smiled and shook his head. “We’ll give it a try, but I can’t promise anything.”

“I knew you couldn’t hate me,” I teased with a bright smile.

“You make it damn near impossible, toots,” he chuckled and held his arms out. “Come here and give me a hug.”

I moved to step down and Emrick stopped me. “No touching.”

“What are you, my prison warden?” I scoffed and shook his arm off. “Step off, Em. You know Dean would never hurt me.”

“Things change, Skye,” he whispered in my ear. “The rules of the game are different now. Wolves and vampires are enemies, no matter what you two may say. You can’t change centuries of history.”

I stood back from him and raised my eyebrows in surprise. I think that had been the longest I’d ever heard him speak. Emrick was famously a man of few words. “I don’t care, Em. I am going to be the change I want to see. How else can we expect a different outcome? Step aside. I’m doing this whether you like it or not. It’s my choice, not yours. And take a good look around. We