Page 42 of The Turning of the Tables

“So no dairy?”

“No dairy, no pork, no beef.”

“No human?”

I looked up, startled, and found Hart grinning at me. I met his expression squarely. “Only if I don’t swallow,” I replied with a deadpan expression.

I could see him trying to figure out if I was fucking with him.

Taavi started laughing from where he and Noah were preparing the lamb chops with a dry rub that they would let sit for a little while.

I tried to look innocent. It was actually true—alpha-gal is an allergy to a particular galactose protein in mammals, and since humans are mammals… If I swallowed, I’d actually go into anaphylaxis. So. Yeah. That’s an awkward conversation, let me tell you.Sorry, honey, but if I swallow, I’ll die.

“You’re a dick, Mays,” Hart announced, shaking hishead.

I shrugged. “Takes one to know one?”

I got a barked laugh at that. “Touché.”

Fifteen people—tenof whom were shifters—was way too many people to stuff in Noah’s apartment. We did it anyway, people sitting on the floor as well as the furniture. Hart got into an argument with one of Lulu’s friends about using frozen puff pastry for the tarts, which Hart ended bymakingpuff pastry. After he made the muffins (that were way better than the store-bought ones). And a decadent carrot spice cake with plant-based cream cheese frosting just for me.

Turns out Hart is some sort of master baker. That was easily the best carrot cake I’ve ever had, and the puff pastry was so much better than store-bought, and I’d been skeptical that there really would be that much of a difference, especially since all we had was vegan butter.

At least we’d made enough food for the small army we were hosting—feeding that many shifters and one elf takes quite a few calories, let me tell you.

Everybody left after dinner—we pretty much all had to go to work the next day—although Taavi and Hart had stayed to help do the enormous pile of dishes, since Noah’s apartment wasn’t quite fancy enough for a dishwasher, and Taavi is an extremely nice person.

I sat sprawled on the smaller loveseat, while Noah and Lulu were snuggled up on the couch and Noah flicked through a streaming service, looking for something that could be deemed ‘Easter-appropriate.’ I didn’t know if there were Easter movies, until I remembered Elliot’s text.

“We could watch a zombie movie,” I suggested.

“Oh my God, yes!” Lulu clapped their hands enthusiastically. “Perfect.”

I was a little annoyed that Lulu had agreed with me, then told myself to stop being an ass. Lulu was behaving perfectly normally, had been helpful and charming all day, and clearly adored Noah. I was just… overprotective and a little jealous. Noah wasmytwin.

It didn’t help that Noah had somebody special in his life and I didn’t—and I wanted to. This wasn’t a vague sense of loneliness. It was the idea that I had someone I wanted, but he didn’t want me back.

Goddamn Rule Two.

12

SETH MAYS

Surprise trivia!

Which blood types are most likely to host Arcanavirus?

ELLIOT CRANE

I’m O+.

Is that the right answer?

I bet you’re popular with the Red Cross.

But no. B-types. Both + and -.

My dad was also O+.