Blood Lust (9 page)

“Well, I’m special. That doesn’t explain why I’ve been stuck
in this cell for the last two days.”

“I understand you weren’t alone,” he said, and looked past
me to the empty window in Jericho’s old cell.

“Yes, well, I guess the vampire didn’t feel like sticking
around after your witch told him you’d be killing him come morning,” I snapped.
I couldn’t help it. I was tired, grouchy and filthy. All I wanted was a hot
shower and some food. The half a sandwich I’d gulped down the day before wasn’t
doing much for me now.

Max’s dark eyes met mine. “Do you know who he is?”

There was a warning in his voice, and something lurking
behind his blank expression. He was looking to find out what I knew. Something
was telling me not to betray Jericho, that the better idea was to play dumb. “I
met him in the woods the first night I changed,” I said, keeping my eyes
downcast. My bare feet were dirty after two days in the cell. “He seemed to
take an interest in me, but he kept to himself while he was here- until the
witch came and threatened him. I don’t suppose you’d care to enlighten me on
what
that
was all about?”

Max nodded slowly. “It’s probably best if you don’t know
anything more, at least not yet. Just- just know that he’s bad news, all right?
Stay away from him.”

I don’t take kindly to being ordered around, and Max
obviously didn’t know that. I braced my hands on my hips, and the motion pulled
Jericho’s shirt uncomfortably high against my thighs, but I ignored my own pang
of modesty and glared at the dark-haired man. “I don’t have to take orders from
anyone, least of all you. Tell me what’s going on right this second, or I’m
marching out of this basement and calling the police. I doubt they’ll believe
you when you tell them you kept me locked up for two days because I turn furry
three nights a month.”

His responding smile was one of grudging respect. “You are
an alpha,” he said. “I should have realized it before. I’m sorry- truly sorry-
that you were kept here for so long, Eve. It never would have happened if I’d
been here. I don’t leave town very often, and I was out of cell range. Amy
didn’t know what to do, so she thought it’d be best to wait till I returned.
Can I offer you a shower and some fresh clothes- maybe some food? You must be
hungry.”

My stomach felt like it was about to eat itself, but I
wasn’t going to admit that to Max. “I could use a shower,” I conceded. “And
some pants, if you have anything that’ll fit me.”

He led me up the stairs, and when he opened the door, I was
surprised to see that the kitchen was empty. I’d expected there to be other
people here.

“Do all the wolves live here?” I asked, following him as he
exited the kitchen into the hallway.

“No. Just Amy and Kaiser. And Gloria- that witch you keep
referring to. Everyone else lives in town. Believe it or not, Eve,” he said,
tossing me a smile as he pulled a towel from the linen closet, “werewolves do
live fairly normal lives.”

“When they’re not being kidnapped by other werewolves,” I
responded sweetly, and his smile faded.

“They didn’t know you weren’t the nomad,” he said, as though
that were some kind of excuse.

“Did it occur to you to maybe tell them I’d been attacked,
just on the off chance that I might have been an alpha?” I replied. I wasn’t
quite ready to let him off the hook just yet. “I mean, I know it’s a one in a
thousand chance, but it was still a possibility.”

“Who told you it was one in a thousand?” he asked. We were
in another bedroom now. I assumed it was a girl’s room from the frilly canopy
surrounding the bed. Max walked right up to the dresser and began pawing
through its contents. I wondered if this was something he did often.

“Kaiser.”

Max nodded thoughtfully, and threw a pair of sweats and a
tank top at me. “It’s more like one in one hundred thousand. Alphas are
exceedingly rare. The rest of us- betas and omegas- are much more common.”

“What’s the difference between a beta and an omega?”
Or an alpha, for that matter?
I thought,
but did not say.

“Omegas are just your average, run-of-the-mill werewolf. If
you meet a werewolf, chances are they’re an omega. A beta is intended to be an
alpha’s mate. When an alpha assumes leadership of a pack, he or she must
immediately select a beta to partner with, or the leadership is void.” He
opened the door to an attached bathroom and motioned for me to step inside.
“When you assume leadership of a pack someday, it will be with your chosen beta
by your side.”

I wanted to question him further, but I wanted a shower
more, so I nodded and eased past him into the bathroom. I locked the door
behind me.

I’d never felt so grimy in my life- or been so relieved to
wash the filth off myself. I watched the dirty water pool at my feet before
making its way down the drain, and wondered briefly if Jericho was all right.
He’d obviously escaped, or I’d have heard about his re-capture from Max.

Max.

I was angry at him, and I wasn’t exactly sure if the emotion
was rational. He’d been out of town, after all, and I certainly wouldn’t have
been locked up if he’d been there on Saturday night instead of those other
wolves. But I still felt it was justifiable to lay the lion’s share of the
blame at his feet. He’d seen the wounds that wolf had inflicted on me. He’d
known what would happen to me. And he’d gambled on the chance that I would be
an omega or a beta instead of an alpha.

At the very least, he could have told Amy and Kaiser about
me on the slim chance that I
did
turn
out to be an alpha. At least then I wouldn’t have been stuck in a grungy cell
for almost two days.

The shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the shower were
all freesia-scented, reaffirming my assumption that this was a girl’s bathroom.
Either Amy’s or Gloria’s, and I hoped it was Amy. She, at least, had shown some
compassion and fed me yesterday. Gloria did not seem like an ally in the
making.

After I was finished, I dried off with the fluffy towel Max
had given me and went about making myself somewhat presentable using the
toiletries in the medicine cabinet. Fortunately there was a brand-new
toothbrush still in its package, which I elected to use, figuring they wouldn’t
miss it much. There was no way I was going another minute with morning breath.

As I was brushing the tangles from my wet hair, I realized,
rather abruptly, that today was my eighteenth birthday.

Oh, Gram was
definitely
freaking out by now. If she’d called my parents- and I couldn’t imagine
that she hadn’t, at this point- then my mom was probably chalking my
disappearance up to teenage rebellion. I could just picture her reaction now.
“You never should have let her move to South Dakota!” she’d snipe at my dad,
looking for any excuse to dwell on his faults. “Maybe if you’d set a better
example of how families should
stay
together,
she’d still be here at home.”

The sweats and tank top were too tight. Amy’s, I was
guessing. I still managed to get them on, and they covered everything they
needed to. I tied Jericho’s sweatshirt around my waist by the sleeves. It was
still dirty, but I didn’t want to let it out of my sight.

I was surprised to see Max sitting on the canopy bed when I
emerged from the bathroom, and he looked so ridiculously out of place that I
had to laugh. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize this was your room.”

“I like frills,” he replied with a sheepish smile, knowing I
was joking. “Are you feeling better?”

“I am, thanks. But I’m a little worried about Gram.”

Max nodded. “I’ll call her and let her know you’re here.”

“How are you going to explain my two-day absence? She knows
I wouldn’t just run off.” After some hesitation, I sat down on the bed across
from him, and took a moment to revel in its softness.

He sighed and scratched his temple. “I guess I’ll say I
found you in the woods by my house when I got back this morning. You had a
fever on Saturday. We could say you wandered out of your home in a daze,
delirious, and passed out near my house.”

“And just slept in the woods?”

“Do you have a better idea?”

“No.” I frowned, twisting the sleeves of Jericho’s hoodie in
my lap. “She must be worried sick.”

“Before I call her, Eve, we need to talk.”

I grimaced. “I don’t really feel like answering questions
right now, Max.”

“I was thinking more like you could listen to what I have to
say. You need to know a little more about wolves before I turn you loose on Rapid
City.”

“I thought you said that werewolves can live normal lives.”

“They can,” he reassured me quickly. “I just…well, with you
being an alpha, that complicates things.”

“Why? It’s not like I’m all gung-ho to take over your pack.”

He almost smiled at my words. “You may not be gung-ho for
it, but wolf law dictates that there can be only one alpha per region. If
another alpha shows up and claims leadership of our pack, he or she may order
you to leave. Being a solitary alpha isn’t a very appealing way to live.”

“I’ve been a werewolf for less than two days. I’m not
feeling ready to lead anything just yet.” The idea, though, didn’t intimidate
me as much as I would have thought. “What does assuming leadership entail?”

“The beta handles most things, but the alpha is responsible
for dictating punishments, settling conflict between pack members, and deciding
how to deal with trespassers.”

“Trespassers.” I rolled the word around in my mouth. It
tasted bitter. “You mean like that vampire.”

“Yes, like him.” Max’s expression darkened when I mentioned
Jericho, and I remembered what Gloria had said- that the beta had sworn a blood
oath to kill Argos if he ever returned to Rapid City. Even though they’d
obviously misidentified Jericho, it was scary to think about.

“Are you a beta?” I found myself asking, and Max nodded.

“Because alphas are so rare, betas often lead packs in their
stead. I actually left this weekend to go see an alpha- to see if she’d be
willing to come here and take over the pack. That’s why I was out of town.”

“I guess she didn’t come?”

“No.”

“Well, looks like you didn’t need her, anyway,” I joked
lamely, but he didn’t crack a smile, and I knew it was because we both knew I
wasn’t ready.

“So…” I cleared my throat. “Are you the only beta here in
the Rapid City pack?”

“Yes. But don’t let that scare you,” he added. “When you’re
ready, I’ll introduce you to some other betas. We can find someone that you’ll
feel comfortable claiming as your mate.”

“My
mate?
” I
laughed nervously. “How old-fashioned is that? I can barely decide what color
socks to put on every morning, and now I have to choose a mate?”

“You’ll know when you find the right one,” he said,
unexpectedly. “There’s a feeling…a jolt…almost like lightning. All alphas soul
bond to their mates. It’s unavoidable.”

Jericho flashed through my mind, and I tried to stay calm.
“So you and I…we didn’t…I mean, I didn’t feel…”

“We’re not soul bonded,” Max said. “Don’t worry.”

“So I have to look around until I find the right beta to
soul bond with?” This sounded more intimidating than law school. I was
beginning to wish I’d just called Animal Control instead of going into the barn
alone.

“You don’t have to soul bond to choose your beta, but you
should at least try.”

He was saying that I didn’t have to select him as my beta,
and even reassuring me that we hadn’t soul bonded, but somehow I couldn’t shake
the impression that Max was hoping I’d choose him, anyway. It made me
feel…well, confused. I felt powerful and a little taken aback at the same time.
Our age difference hadn’t stopped me from checking him out before, but
daydreaming and facing the reality of choosing someone as your mate were two
very different things.

Not to mention, I’d only just turned eighteen. Mating for
life was just about the last thing on my mind right now.

“Do I have to…mate…with another wolf? What if I fall in love
with someone else?”

Max shook his head. “In the past, alphas have soul bonded
with humans, and it never works. The intensity of your emotions- the bloodlust-
it makes things difficult for everyone.”

It sounded awful. “How long have you been turned?” I asked,
keeping my eyes on the frilly comforter.

“Eleven years.”

I couldn’t hide my shock, and my eyes flew up to meet his.
“You went through medical school as a werewolf?”

He nodded. “I told you, Eve. I know this seems like a lot to
take in, but werewolves can lead happy, fulfilling lives. We’re not much
different from humans, in that respect.”

“Except we live longer,” I mumbled, feeling gloomy.

Fortunately, he didn’t ask where I’d heard that. “We do, but
it’s not as difficult as you might expect. There is a wolf in town- Gabriel-
who is over two hundred years old. He changes packs when he changes identities.
Obviously I haven’t done it yet, but from what Gabe says, it’s a fairly simple
process. And while you’re getting used to this- to the transition- you can just
stay over here three nights a month. We’ll say you’re having a sleepover with
Amy. A
Vampire Diaries
marathon or
something.”

We both laughed at that. “I can’t believe that this- the
werewolf community- even exists,” I commented. “How do you manage? People out
there must know you exist, and yet you go about your everyday lives like
there’s nothing different.”

“That’s
how
we
manage,” Max said. “There are people who know every detail of our way of life.
There are entire books written on the subject. But they can’t prove anything,
because to everyone who’s not a conspiracy theorist, we look like average
people living average lives. We give them no reason to doubt us.”