Chapter 166

Helen’s POV

Russo studied further down the page, eyes skimming over material about my heritage. “Listen to this,” he said. “This is interesting. It says here that members of your pack can gain strength and the purity that the rest of the werewolf community considers ideal by sexually joining with pure members of their pack. If the members of your ancestral pack continue to breed with one another, or breed with mates of solid coat colors or took multiple partners, then their offspring would continue to gain additional colors in their coats.”

He huffed a sigh. “Weird. The pack you are descendent from places a higher value on more colors. It’s the complete opposite of the rest of werewolf kind.”

He pointed to the screen, and I read the paragraph too. Sure enough, according to the research that this professor at the werewolf university had done, the pack I was descendent from placed a higher value on multicolored coats. Rather than having one single wolf-mate that they were drawn to, they had a particular type. Females would mate with as many male partners as possible to gain their offspring the most colors in their coat that they possibly could.

Russo ran a hand through his hair. “From a genetic standpoint, this totally makes sense,” he said. “Rather than narrowing the gene pool by trying to get a single pure color, they broadened the genetic base by having as many fathers as possible for their pups. I would imagine that this pack had when it was more cohesive than it is now, a very communal type of society. Sadly, according to the author’s research, all that remains of the original pack are straggling members, what the other werewolves call rogues.”

This caused a knot to form in my chest. For a moment, I thought I might be able to trace my lineage back through my mother and find a pack that I belonged to, one where ridicule for my coat and color and everything else wasn’t an issue. But it seemed, once again, my desire to belong to someone, anyone, was going to be thwarted by fate.

“Don’t look so disappointed,” Russo said. “This explains so much about you.”

“It does?”

I couldn’t figure out what he was talking about. All I knew was that I was once again an outcast.

“Well, it explains why your coat went from three colors to snow white while you were mating with Justin. It also explains why you were so weak before, and now you’re so much stronger.”

He tapped a few keys on the computer. “There, I’m printing out this article. Either you or I can give it to Justin. I think if he reads it, he’ll understand better that he can go ahead and trust you to protect yourself. It’s not some fluke that you’re stronger. It’s the way your biology was meant to be. And you should be able, with proper training, to hold your own as well as any other luna or snow white.”

“I’ll give it to Justin,” I said. “It will make for a good conversation that shouldn’t piss his lycan off. Can you be there just to verify the sources?” I requested.

“Justin’s coming to your house for dinner again tonight, isn’t he?” Russo asked.

“Yes. I’m sure he’s bringing Randy with.”

“Why don’t I plan on being there as well?” Russo volunteered. “Randy and I will help make sure that the conversation goes smoothly.” His face brightened up. “I think you should invite Julianne and her mate, as well. It would be good for you and Justin to be around other mated couples. You can use them as a benchmark for interacting with one another instead of the horrible example his parents and yours gave you.”

“I like that idea,” I agreed.

Russo pulled out his phone and texted either Randy or Justin; I didn’t know which. But it didn’t matter. Everything would be arranged regardless. And when he sent off the second text, I was sure it must be going to Julianne.

“I should have gotten Julianne’s phone number,” I said.

“Here,” he sent a third text, and my phone beeped. “Now you have it, as well.” Russo stuck his phone back in his pocket and pointed at the computer screen. “This information proves one other thing.”

“You see things very differently than I do,” I said. “What is it that you see here that has you so smiling?”

“Because it explains why all of the supernatural creatures are seemingly drawn to you. You are extra tasty because of the incredible properties you’ve inherited from your ancestral pack. The ability to draw essence and power from those around you is what has made you extra tasty.”

Russo shuddered. “It’s a good thing that vampire never got around to doing what Justin told me he wanted to do, which was to take you as his lover. I have no idea whether or not you would absorb the supernatural properties of a vampire and use those to build your powers. But it would have been a horrifying combination, leaving you something akin to a lycan but not as well defined. You would have been more than just a werewolf and more than just a vampire.”

“I suppose,” Russo continued, “it’s a good thing that Justin is so fiercely monogamous and that he’s so freaking powerful. If he wasn’t able to keep funneling his essence and power into your innate but insatiable desire, you might actually stray around looking for additional men. Seeing as how you seem to surround yourself with more than just werewolves and lycans, that could end up being a strange combination.”

“But that doesn’t tell me why you’re drawn to me,” I argued.

“It does,” he said. “The same magnetism about your biology that draws lycan and werewolf males to you, ready with the willingness to maintain and donate part of their essence and power to you, also drugs in other creatures who have power to donate as well.”

I looked at him, horrified. “But that means I’ve been taking your essence or the wizards or draining the pixies.” By now, my voice was squeaking under the stress.

He laughed. “Not unless you had sex with me while I was sleeping, and I didn’t notice. Remember how the article says your ancestral pack gains that essence? Seeing as how you’re female, someone would have to ejaculate that essence into you. And last I checked, you and I were not that sort of friends.”

I slipped back in my chair, feeling relief. “Good,” I sighed. “I wouldn’t want to take anything that wasn’t being willingly offered. Not to mention, if we discussed this with Justin, and he found out that I was pulling essence from all the males around me, I can’t even imagine how he would feel or what his lycan would do.”

Russo reached over, patting me on the head like I was a small child. “Not to worry, little luna. You’re not getting anyone else’s essence without you or them knowing. And while I think most would be willing donors, you would have to openly accept their offer. This isn’t something that’s going to happen without both parties being fully aware of what’s going on.”

He rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “That being said, your predisposition does bring up a problem that I wasn’t aware that we might run into. I think Randy and I were both fully ready to advise you and Justin not to continue your sexual relationship until you repaired your emotional one, but I don’t think waiting too long would be a good idea now.”