Page 205 of Halfblood Deceived

“How can you turn into a wolf? That’s not usual among vampires. I’ve done some research.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, but she couldn’t help it. “How come you are wearing clothes? Shouldn’t they rip into pieces when you shift? Does shifting hurt? For how long can you stay in your wolf form? Are you stronger in your wolf or vampire form? Do the others know?”

Zeydan laughed softly. “Oh, you have definitely been keeping those bottled up.”

“Can you blame me?”

“Not at all. I have plenty of questions too,” he admitted, smiling at the surprise on Aella’s face. “But I shall answer yours first.” He helped her across a fallen tree. “I can turn into a wolf because my mother is a wolf shifter.”

“She’s a werewolf?” Aella asked. “Will Gabby and Lex’s baby be like you, then?”

Zeydan shook his head. “Halfbloods are an unknown quantity, so we have no way of knowing if Gabby and Lex’s baby will have both of his parents’ natures or lean more toward one. And no, my mother is not a werewolf. She’s part of a clan whose bloodline comes from the descendants of the gods Fenrir and Celene.”

Aella blinked. “They had children together?”

“According to our lore, yes. A whole litter.”

“But aren’t they from different mythologies?”

Zeydan grinned. “They are. But why should they let a little detail like that stop them from having a passionate romance?”

Aella returned his grin. “So, Fenrir wasn’t evil?”

“He can be a right arsehole, but so are most gods, which is why I don’t much like them in general.”

“Wait. You are speaking in the present tense. Does that mean Fenrir is still alive? Do all gods exist?”

Zeydan shrugged. “Some say he died, others say he’s still alive. Not all gods exist anymore. The most powerful of them all went mad a few millennia ago and killed many, many weaker gods to crown himself king.”

Aella gulped. “The one who went mad is…”

“The god the major religions in the world worship, yes,” Zeydan confirmed. “Some gods and goddesses managed to escape his clutches and exist in another plane of existence. Artemis, Hecate, Celene, and Morrigan are among those.”

Aella’s mind spun. “That’s, um, a bit different from what I believed to be true.”

“I remember being just as confused when I learned what most humans believe in,” Zeydan said with a kind smile.

She shook her head. “I think we’ll never emerge from the rabbit hole of mythological and religious beliefs if we fall into it. So, back to you. Are you a demigod, then?”

“No. The first children of Fenrir and Celene were minor gods, but they mingled with humans, creating demigods. My mother’s people are their great, great, great, great—who knows how many, really—great-grandchildren.”

Aella blinked. “Wow. That’s still pretty impressive.”

Zeydan lifted his chin. “Stop it, or you’ll make my ego grow to Sebastian-like heights.”

Aella laughed.

He smiled, green eyes bright, but then grew serious, focusing too hard on the still-dark forest around them. “Vampire royals have always had the habit of inbreeding to hold on to their political power and keep the bloodlines pure.” He made a disgusted sound from the back of his throat. “It got worse almost two millennia ago when gargoyles started to kill us en masse. Vampire royals became even more selective, and as a consequence, our bloodlines began to crumble. Some males and females were born infertile or weaker. So the royals mixed their oh-so-pure bloodlines with humans, half-fey, werewolves, and others.” He took a deep breath. “Ju-long, my father, approached my mother’s clan and promised them the world in exchange for my mother as a wife. They accepted, and so I was born.”

Aella chewed the inside of her lip, resisting asking Zeydan more about his father and mother. It was obviously hard for him to speak of it, and she wouldn’t push. She’d grant him the same patience he gave her so easily.

“So, why are you still wearing your clothes?” Aella blurted.

Zeydan’s eyebrows shot up, even as he let out a short bark of laughter. “I didn’t know you wanted me to give you a striptease, Aella. But I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

Her mind’s eye happily supplied her with some enticing images. She flushed up to her ears. “Shut up. You know what I mean.”

Grinning, he gave her a mischievous look, obviously considering teasing her more. “Yes, I do. And the answer is magic, I guess.”

“You guess?” Aella asked.

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