Blood Lust (8 page)

“I don’t drink often,” he said. “Once every few months. As
the years have gone by, the need has become less frequent.”

I hadn’t asked how often he drank, and wondered if he was
purposely avoiding the real question. “Do you feed on humans?”

“Sometimes.”

It should have disgusted me- certainly not a good topic for
while I was eating, but my curiosity got the better of me. “Do you kill people
when you drink from them?”

“Humans? No.” He shook his head. “There’s no point. I would
be gorging if I drained them completely.”

A diet-conscious vampire. This was almost hilarious. “Let me
ask you something, Jericho.”

He didn’t respond, and when I looked at him, the expression
on his face was wry. I knew I’d asked a lot of questions already, but this one
felt different. I felt awkward voicing it, but I did want to know. “Why did you
help me on Friday night? Why did you walk me to my car?”

“What caught my eye, you mean?” he asked gently.

“Yes, that.”

He shook his head. “There is something very compelling about
you, Eve. Something that made me want to stay with you.”

Sort of like something had compelled me to listen to him
last night, to stop my pursuit of the deer and follow him here, to this cellar.
“When you took my hand, did you…” I trailed off. He hadn’t answered when I’d
asked this question in the parking garage. I’m not sure why I was hoping for
him to answer now. I was dying to know if he felt the same intensity that I
did.
 

I drank the last of my soda, not looking at him.

The room was darkening, and I realized with a start that it
was sunset. My hands trembled. “Jericho, the sun is going down. Will I…?”

There was a long pause before he answered. “Yes.”

I swallowed hard. Although I’d slept through my
transformation back into human form this morning, the change last night had
been agonizing and terrifying.
 
I wasn’t
keen to repeat the experience.

I could feel the heat welling up inside me, flushing my
cheeks and turning my skin to fire. I stood up, dumping my half-finished
sandwich on the floor, and began pulling the sweatshirt over my head. If I
ripped it to shreds during the transformation, I wouldn’t have anything to wear
tomorrow.

Jericho turned away, leaning against the bars and keeping
his back to me. As the darkness enveloped us, I folded the hoodie neatly and
crawled back to where he was sitting, with only the bars separating us.

“Will the change always hurt?” I whispered.

His hand covered mine in the darkness. “I don’t know.”

“Wait a minute- can you see in the dark?” I hissed, all
thoughts of the transformation drowned out with the horrible possibility that
he could see my nakedness.

“…No?”

“You’re a terrible liar.” Scowling, I pulled my hand from
his and snatched up his shirt, holding it against me to cover up what I could.

“You do realize you were sprawled out naked in the cell
beside me for most of the day, asleep.”

I actually hadn’t realized that, but now that he’d pointed
it out, I was mortified. “If you’d been a gentleman, you wouldn’t have looked,”
I said lamely, wanting a hole to open up and swallow me.

“I didn’t,” he said. “Just like I’m not looking now.”

That did make me feel a little better, even if he was only
lying to ease my mind. “What will the wolves do with you, Jericho?”

“They’ll kill me once they realize who I am.”

“A vampire?”

“That is what I am,” he agreed, and I got the sense that
he’d meant something else when he’d said “
who
I am.” “What about you, Eve? Do you think this Max will help you?”

“I think so. I’m pretty sure I know who they’re talking
about. Max Good Crow is Gram’s neighbor…I mean, my grandma’s neighbor. And a
friend. He treated my bite wounds yesterday.”

“Would he hurt you, do you think?”

“No. He’d help me. He definitely knows I’m not the nomad
wolf- if he’s the same Max they’re talking about, I mean. He knows I was
attacked by a wolf. But…that wouldn’t make any sense. If he knew I was attacked
by a werewolf, he should have known I would change on the night of the full
moon. Why didn’t he do something?”

“As you said, it may not be the same Max.” Jericho was
silent for a moment. “It’s likely that if this is
your
Max, he didn’t realize you would change last night. Most
wolves take a month or longer after being bitten. Only an alpha changes immediately.”

“Alpha?”

“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate. “How certain are you that this
Max is your Max? Is it possible it could be someone else?”

“I don’t think so,” I answered, wondering what he was
getting at. “We walked to his property, and I don’t think any other neighbors
are within walking distance. And I definitely don’t know any other neighbors
named Max. I can’t be positive, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same person.”

He was silent for a long time, and I shifted position so
that I was leaning up against him, the bars between us, our backs together. No
sooner had I settled down than the familiar cramping began in my abdomen. I
cringed and wrapped my arms around myself.

There was a curious absence of terror this time, now that I
knew what was going on, but I was still nervous about what would happen.

My legs began to shift first, and my knees suddenly snapped
down, my legs stretching out in front of me as my joints began reversing,
bending much further than they’d ever intended. It felt like my bones were breaking
inside me, and I cried out, falling sideways against the straw as pain swept up
my body.

I sensed Jericho more than felt him as he reached through
the bars to take my hand, clasping my fingers tightly. “Breathe,” he
instructed.

I wanted to bite his head off for saying something so
ludicrous, as if I had any intention of holding my breath through this terrible
transformation. I winced as my hands began shifting, claws sprouting from my
fingertips. Jericho held on anyway, his fingers moving to my wrist. His touch
was strangely comforting, and my scream died on my lips as I realized that his
presence was somehow inexplicably soothing my agony.

The change seemed faster this time, because Jericho was with
me or because I knew what was happening- either one could have been true. When
it was over, I lay on my side, my legs stretched out before me. Jericho still
sat there, his silver eyes luminous in the darkness, holding firmly to my paw.

We were both silent, regarding each other with a quiet kind
of awe. I was simultaneously surprised and grateful that he’d stayed at my side
through the entire transformation, and that he wasn’t repulsed by what he’d
seen. His scent was stronger, the faint hint of cinnamon clinging to his skin.

I could smell something else, too- something human.
Upstairs. My mouth watered.

At length, Jericho shifted so that he was lying on his side,
facing me. He reached out a hand and stroked the soft fur behind my ear, and I
wondered what he was thinking. If only I’d woke earlier so that we’d had more
time to talk before sunset. There were still so many questions I wanted to ask
him.

His presence made it easier to ignore the thirst, and I
forced myself to keep my eyes on his face, focusing only on him so I wouldn’t
be distracted by the tempting smell from upstairs.

“I didn’t come to Rapid City looking to find you,” he said
softly, and his hand traced down my face, curving under my muzzle. It should
have been strange, but it felt wonderful. I lay very still, hoping he would
continue.

A door slammed, followed by footsteps on the stairs. Jericho
and I pulled apart, and I sat up in the straw, staring at the dividing wall and
waiting to see who would emerge. If Max had returned now, there would no way
for me to explain what had happened. The smell of humanity grew stronger until
I was trembling with the effort of remaining still.

It was the witch who had emerged, and if possible, she
looked even more stunning than the night before. She wore a long, flowing skirt
that swirled around her ankles as she moved, and a thin, low-cut blouse. Her
long, dark hair was loose, falling around her face in luxurious waves. I felt
an unexpected pang of jealousy. Even at my best, I could never be half as
glamorous as this woman.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” she demanded of
Jericho, completely ignoring my presence.

I stiffened at the challenge in her voice, and stood. I
wasn’t in any mood to hear her yelling, and especially not at Jericho.

Jericho met her glare evenly. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

“Ha! You say that now. I’m sure you’ll be singing a
different tune when our beta returns tonight. He swore a blood oath to kill you
if you ever returned to our lands.”

“I don’t know your beta, and I certainly have no quarrel
with him,” Jericho retorted. “You’ve clearly mistaken me for someone else.”

“There is no mistake,
Argos,
”
she spat, and turned on her heel, stalking back up the stairs without a
backward glance. I relaxed as the distance between us increased.

My gaze went to Jericho, who was shaking his head. “Wolves,”
he muttered, exasperated as he ran a hand through his hair. He stood for a
moment, staring at the floor, before he looked up at me. “She’s wrong,” he
said. “You know my name.”

I nodded, even though I really only knew the name he had
told me. I had no reason to distrust him.

He strode to the window and gripped one of the iron bars. He
didn’t appear to exert any effort, but suddenly a puff of dust shot up from the
concrete, the bar jumping slightly in his hands. Jericho nodded and released the
bar before turning back to me.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” he said. “I don’t know how
many wolves they have, but if they have a witch and a beta in addition to the
four omegas we saw last night, I can’t fight them all off and protect you,
too.” He grasped one of the bars separating our cells and yanked, but it didn’t
budge. He tried again, to no avail.

A whine rose in my throat as I pinned my ears to my head.
When he glanced at me, I jerked my muzzle towards the window, indicating that
he should leave without me.

Jericho shook his head. “I’m not leaving you.”

The warmth that blossomed within me at his words was
indescribable. I stood up on my hind legs, bracing my paws against the flat
bar, and pushed as Jericho pulled from the other side.

Nothing happened.

Jericho swore. “I can’t get you out.” He looked at the gate,
obviously trying to gauge its strength. But I knew there’d be no way for him to
yank his own gate off the hinges, free me and pull the bars from the window
without someone hearing.

I whined again and shook my head at him. I nodded at the
window. He needed to go. The wolves intended to kill him. I didn’t know what
would happen to me, but it wouldn’t do either of us any good if Jericho stayed.

He sank to one knee, leaning his forehead against the bars.
“I’m not leaving you, Eve.”

My first- and utterly repulsive- instinct was to lick his
face, but thankfully I managed to refrain. Instead I lifted one paw and placed
it over his hand, trying with all my might to communicate to him how important
it was for him to go.
They’ll kill you if
you don’t.

He looked up at me then, and smiled faintly. “Imagine
finding you here,” he murmured, and his hand turned so that my paw was resting
against his palm.

He seemed to make up his mind then, and stood. “If they
don’t release you tomorrow, I’ll be back for you,” he said.

If Max was the beta they had spoken of, then I had nothing
to worry about, but I couldn’t convey that to Jericho, so I just nodded.

He locked his hands around the bars in the window and yanked,
pulling the first two bars out in one motion. He similarly broke the third bar
away from its concrete bed, tossing it to the floor with a clang.

Jericho looked back at me for one endless moment.

“We’ll meet again,” he promised.

I nodded.

In a split second, he had pulled himself up and out through
the window, crawling onto the grass outside.

I made my way to the corner and lay down, pretending to be
asleep as footsteps clattered down the stairs. I smelled her humanity the
moment she entered the basement. When I opened my eyes, the witch was there,
staring open-mouthed at the window.

She turned her gaze on me. “You let him escape,” she said.

I ignored her and closed my eyes again. I didn’t know what
kind of story I’d tell when I was human again, but I had some idea that even if
I’d raised the alarm, there would have been little they could have done to stop
Jericho.

Chapter Five

I opened my eyes to the same concrete ceiling I’d woken to
the day before.

As I sat up, I realized that there was a blanket covering
me. I also realized that Max Good Crow was sitting on an overturned bucket just
outside my cell door.

I snatched the blanket up to cover my chest, scowling at
him. “Is this how you treat all the granddaughters of your friends, Dr. Good
Crow?” I reached for Jericho’s hoodie and pulled it over my head, maneuvering
under the blanket as I waited for his answer.

He didn’t respond immediately, so I stood, discarding the
blanket on the floor, and walked to the open gate. “You’re gonna be quiet now,
seriously? I think you owe me an explanation.”

“I had no idea any of this was going on,” he said, standing
and hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans, which rode low on
his hips. “You do know what’s happened to you, right?”

“I’m a werewolf,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And apparently
your friends decided to keep me here until you could get back and decide what
to do with me.”

He nodded. “It was bad timing on my part. I had to leave
town for a few days. I didn’t think you’d experience the change for a month, at
least. Most wolves can take a month or even two to start shifting.”