Blood Crave

by Jennifer Knight

  Lucas looked back at me again and I nodded. It was the truth, all right. It just felt like there was something missing. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter at the moment. We had what we needed.

  2

  VERDICT

  I wasn’t sure if there’d ever been a vampire at the werewolf mansion, but if there had, you certainly wouldn’t have known it from the ruckus we caused by bringing one into the living room.

  Every werewolf within a mile radius—or so it seemed—had smelled the rotting corpse mere seconds after we’d tugged him out of the silver-reinforced trunk. The silver didn’t exactly hurt vampires as much as weaken them slightly. It wasn’t as bad as it was with werewolves, who’d die if pierced through the heart with silver, but it was enough to keep him from breaking out of the trunk.

  Inside the house, the vampire was heavily chained to a chair and surrounded by the pack. Not all of them, but darn near. Rolf stood at the head of the crowd, flanked by Yvette, his human wife, and the other Council members, all of whom were currently deciding Lucas’s fate.

  Hope this doesn’t make things worse. . . .

  Lucas and I stood on either side of the vampire, waiting for Rolf to speak. He’d been disconcertingly silent upon seeing what we’d done. Usually when something he didn’t like happened, he took to screaming and throwing things. Heavy things. That the eighteenth-century vase behind him was still intact ... well, it was curious.

  After several more moments of tense silence—during which Katie, Julian, and his human fiancée, Melanie, showed up—Rolf finally murmured, “What have you done?”

  Hoping this was meant for Lucas, I remained silent, though refused to look away.

  “We found the proof we needed,” Lucas said, also calm, but firm.

  “Regarding?” Rolf asked.

  “You know what this is about. Don’t feign ignorance.”

  Rolf’s face tightened. “Fine. But I do not see how bringing a bloodsucker into my home is going to change my mind.”

  “Will you at least listen?” Lucas asked.

  He waited a beat, and then, “I will listen.”

  Lucas kicked the vampire in the leg. The guy had been silent too, probably scared that one false move would turn him into an undead bag of Puppy Chow.

  “Tell them what you told us,” Lucas commanded.

  It seemed to cost a lot of effort, but the vampire obeyed. He was likely hoping we’d hold up to our end of the bargain and set him free if he complied.

  Stupid.

  When he was done, I turned my attention to Rolf, who had not uttered a word. In the low light from the fire behind him, I could see a vein ticking in his temple—the only clue to the fury raging beneath his calm exterior. And yeah, if I stretched my power, I could feel it. He was livid. But, strangely, his voice was subdued when he spoke.

  “I thought you claimed to have proof,” he rumbled.

  I shot a glance at Lucas, who looked about as shocked as I felt.

  “What do you mean? This is proof.”

  “This is nothing but a scared little boy who will say anything to stay alive.”

  Lucas’s mouth thinned. I knew he wanted to tell them all that I’d read his emotions and confirmed what the vampire said, but that would mean my death along with the vampire’s. No way was Rolf going to let me live if he knew what I could do.

  “It’s the truth,” Lucas snarled.

  “Prove it.”

  “What more do you want, Rolf?” Lucas exploded, flapping his arms out to the side. “A vampire from the Denver brood just told you everything he knows about the uprising and you still believe it’s a lie? Are you really that damned stubborn?”

  “You hold your tongue,” Rolf said, voice like a gunshot through the room. “I am over five-hundred-years old, and there has never been a day in my life that I have sunk so low as to trust a vampire. Today will be no different. This creature knows that information—whether false or otherwise—is his only chance to be released. He will say whatever you want to hear to be set free. You should know that, Lucas.”

  I watched Lucas chew on the inside of his mouth, veins popping out of his neck. Yeah, I too wanted to blurt out that I had confirmed the vampire’s story with my power, but I didn’t want it bad enough to risk death. Still, if we didn’t convince Rolf to take action on the uprising, the gory scene in the barn would be just the beginning.

  “So you’ll just sit around and do nothing while innocent humans die?” I asked.

  Rolf’s cold gaze locked on me, and it took everything I had not to shiver underneath it.

  “We work every night to hunt the vampires that assault our territory. We always have and always will. But I refuse to waste time preparing for a war that will never come. Do you realize that if I were to accept this war as a reality, I would be obligated to alert every single pack master in Northern America? Word would spread throughout the wolf packs that I started this. That I initiated the fight. Hundreds of thousands would be mobilized, families evacuated from their homes, curfews, weapons, even riots among the conservative packs! It would be chaos within weeks. And then what if your little theory proves to be false, hmm?”

  He peered between the two of us with eyes narrowed. “Do you think everyone will simply shrug and turn back to their lives, as though this happens every day? The werewolves’ authority has never been challenged by the vampires. The wolf packs will not forget this so easily; they will hold someone accountable for the unnecessary trauma they inflicted on their packs. And who do you think that will be?” He stepped closer to us and pointed his index finger at us as though we’d been naughty puppies who peed on the rug. “If I alert the packs and this proves false, they will be out for blood—my blood. So no, Faith. I will not allow the vampires to continue killing on my land. I never have. But as for the uprising? If I hear anyone in this pack even utter the word, I will personally declaw you every full moon for the next fifty years. Is this understood?”

  Silence echoed for a beat, but I wouldn’t be subdued so easily.

  “Well, I’m not in the pack,” I said, “so does that mean I can talk about it?”

  Lucas shook his head slowly—though I thought I saw a hidden grin on his lips—and Rolf straight-up growled at me, which I took as a definitive “no.”

  “Get out the both of you,” Rolf spat. “And take your scum with you.”

  He swept out of the room, heading for the stairs, and the rest of the pack began to disperse. Julian and Katie found us immediately.

  “This was really dumb,” Katie said.

  “If he wasn’t so stubborn, it would have worked,” I said sullenly.

  “Well, you should have known better,” Julian said to Lucas.

  “Had to try,” he mumbled and then sighed. “Help me take care of him, would you?” He gestured to the vampire, who looked on the verge of passing out. “Oh, and we got frenzy leftovers to clean up, too. Get a crew going, would you, Katie? I think I killed all the live ones before we left so just disposal.”

  Katie nodded with a jerk and jogged off.

  Julian began dragging the vampire—who was now kicking and screaming—toward the back doors. I turned to Lucas.

  “What do we do now?” I asked.

  “What is there left to do? The verdict’s gonna be read tomorrow, and even if by some miracle they don’t convict me—which is a pretty slim chance after the stunt we just pulled—Rolf’s made it clear that he won’t alert the packs no matter what we do. He has to see it for himself.”

  “But he won’t even try,” I said, halfway stamping my foot in frustration.

  “I know it sounds grim, but best we can hope for now is for the vampires to kick it up a notch. Maybe if they kill enough girls, Rolf’ll realize he can’t turn a blind eye anymore.”

  I shook my head. What a thing to hope for.

  “Lucas, you coming?” Julian asked from the backyard as he struggled with the vampire.

  “I gotta go take care of this stuff,” he said.

&nb
sp; “Okay, I’ll be—”

  “With Derek,” he finished. “I know.”

  It sucked to hear the defeat in his tone, but I felt that of all nights, I should spend tonight with Derek. He was upstairs in the bedroom next to Lucas’s, dead to the world. He’d been asleep since his infection on the night of the last full moon, and had only opened his eyes once, four days later. He’d looked around, I’d cried hysterically, and then he’d passed out again.

  Fun times.

  Now I spent pretty much all of my time with him, just in case it happened again. And with the full moon tomorrow night, I felt that tonight held the best chance of him waking up prematurely. Or waking up at all, which, admittedly, no one was entirely sure he’d do.

  I know Rolf was hoping for it.

  He wanted Derek executed, and he wanted to do it now before he woke up. I’d fought tooth and nail to keep Derek alive these past weeks, and now, hopefully, I only had hours to wait until he awoke.

  “I’ll be back late,” Lucas said and passed his hand across my cheek before placing a soft kiss on my lips.

  “Stay safe.”

  And he was gone.

  Derek didn’t wake up early, although I stayed with him until the last possible moment before Lucas’s verdict was to be read. It was dusk, just minutes until the darkness would fall. I stood outside in the snow, holding Lucas’s big warm hand and feeling the tremble of his muscles. The extreme nerves he felt were making him want to change. That, coupled with the full moon, minutes away, and being near me was a recipe for disaster. But I didn’t care. These precious minutes might be my last with Lucas as I knew him. I wasn’t going to hide in the house when I could be in his arms.

  The pack was forming a large circle in the backyard. Rolf and the other four Council members stood stoically in the center, while Lucas and I sequestered ourselves just inside the woods next to the mansion. I was so nervous my stomach was cramping, and Lucas’s vibe was a mirror of my emotions.

  He looked down at me, and I felt my heart skip around in my chest for an entirely different reason. He still did that for me. Just one look and I was mush.

  He took my face, his eyes conveying everything he was too scared or too nervous to voice. That he loved me. That he was sure everything would be okay. That after tonight, we’d be going back to CSU and things would return to some semblance of normalcy. That Derek would be better soon.

  The darkness of his deep, brown eyes became lighter, almost silvery, betraying his will to change. He bent and pressed his forehead to mine, closing his eyes as if shielding them would stop what we both knew was coming. I heard him inhale a big breath, and I followed suit, breathing with him.

  “Okay,” he said. “I guess I gotta go now.”

  I nodded too fast and he took a step back, still holding my hand, unable to let go. Letting go would mean accepting that these would be his last few moments of sanity; that the silver room would make him lose his mind and we’d never be together like this again. Slowly, our palms slid apart, leaving only the fingertips . . . then they broke.

  He gave me a brave little smirk and turned, taking that first hellish step away. Suddenly I couldn’t stand to see him take one more step.

  “Lucas!” I gasped, starting after him.

  He spun around and wrapped me up in him. The scent of his skin, his breath against my cheek, his lips on my neck, searing me; his warmth encompassed me and stole the fear from my mind. And all that was left was Lucas. All that mattered were his hands on me, his mouth over mine, crushing against my lips as though this was the last time he’d ever get to hold me.

  Suddenly I felt sorry for all the time I’d wasted. The weeks I’d had to kiss him, hold him, and instead had pushed him away to be with Derek. What if this is it? What if this is the last time I ever kiss him?

  Lucas pulled back, breathing heavily against my lips. His body jerked with tremors; I could feel the change bursting within his vibe like a solar flare. I wondered how he’d managed to keep himself in line at all. He usually never even touched me around the full moon. I guess he figured what the hell? He was heading toward his doom anyway. And if he was going to lose himself tonight, I’d rather he took me with him.

  “I gotta go,” he said hoarsely. “I love you, Faith. No matter what happens next.”

  I nodded again. “No matter what.”

  He looked up at the orange sky above us, and for a moment he looked like a wolf—his eyes shining silver and his face so strong and feral, a shadow of the beast he would become tonight. Then he looked down at me, gave me one last devastating look, and left. I watched his body fade into the depths of the trees, becoming one with the darkness.

  I stood there for a long moment as the heat of Lucas’s embrace seeped out of my body through my fingers and turned me numb. Managing, somehow, to pull myself together, I circled around to the side of the house, where I emerged from the woods near the back patio. I had just started down the slate steps, when someone grabbed my upper arm from behind in a surprisingly strong grip.

  I turned and was stunned to see Yvette, her owlish gray eyes urgent.

  “Listen to me quickly,” she hissed. “If Lucas is convicted, as I suspect he will be, you must stay with him tonight.”

  I stared at her, confused as hell. “Why?”

  “His mind will not survive. You must stay with him. You must help him.”

  I shook my head. “But how can I . . . ?”

  Her gaze pierced mine, willing me to understand something. What, though? I tried to read her vibe, but as always hers was mysteriously absent.

  “Stay with him,” she said again. With that, she released my arm and swept across the lawn to join the rest of the pack.

  I remained in place for a moment, attempting to decipher what she’d been trying to tell me. Why would being with Lucas help him stay sane? What could I possibly—

  “Faith!”

  I turned and saw Katie waving at me from the crowd of werewolves congregated in the center of the yard. I jogged toward her and she smiled worriedly while bouncing on her heels. Her pupils were already elongated, irises like yellow marbles. She was just itching for the moon to rise. As I looked around, I realized that all of the eyes were bright and wild. The energy emanating from the crowd was a tangle of anticipation and ferocity and, suddenly, I felt like maybe I shouldn’t be there.

  But I didn’t have much time to fret over it because at that moment, Rolf began to speak. He stood with the Council in the center of the circle, and Lucas stood before him, straight and tall. His eyes were like starlight as the sunset glanced across his emotionless face.

  Rolf’s face was equally as grave, as though he didn’t enjoy doing this, but he knew it was necessary. I didn’t care how necessary he thought this was. I hated that big furry jerk.

  Rolf cleared his throat and said, “We have convened on this, the night of the January full moon, to read the verdict regarding the trial of Lucas Whelan. After one week of deliberation, it is this court’s decision to convict Lucas Whelan of pack misconduct.”

  My stomach fell to the ground right along with my mouth. Katie shot me a tense glance as tremors rippled down her back.

  But Lucas’s face showed no emotion. He stood just as tall as ever, calmly accepting his fate.

  “The punishment,” Rolf said, “is one night spent in the silver room. The sentence shall be executed tonight.” He paused as something flowed across his features. Pity? His energy was regretful, but determined. He said something to Lucas, something I couldn’t hear, and then he said, loudly again, “Release him at dawn.” Rolf disappeared into the crowd.

  Two big human guys attempted to grab Lucas’s arms, but he shrugged them off and spun around on his heel. The two men escorted him through the crowd, which parted to let him through.

  I watched them take him into the big house, Nora and Julian in tow. I debated a second over whether or not I should follow, but Yvette’s words rang in my head: stay with him.

  So I raced after th
em, shaking off Katie’s hand. The werewolves behind us erupted into conversation, some of them taking off into the woods to await the night. It was getting close. Derek might be waking up soon. And Lucas was going into the silver room.

  I didn’t know what to do, who to be with. Derek, my best friend, the one I’d been waiting for, for three weeks now, or Lucas—my boyfriend. The boy who had saved my life many times over, the boy I loved without boundaries or any sense of self-control. It was a hard choice to make, but I still had minutes until nighttime, when Derek might awaken.

  So, I followed Lucas.

  I needed to be there for him, to spend those final moments with my boyfriend, to look into his eyes one last time before they turned loose with madness.

  They took Lucas down to the basement and into the ballroom, which was now empty and lightless. There was an invisible door on the back wall, and one of the big guys pushed it in. Nora, Julian, and I followed Lucas through it.

  He was silent as we walked down a stark cement hallway toward a room at the end with thick bars on the door, like a prison. The bars glinted in the setting sun, which shone through a small barred window on the back wall of the cell. They were silver bars. Silver-plated walls, ceiling, even the floor.

  Suddenly a shrill scream sounded from upstairs, and everyone whirled around at once. Lucas and I made eye contact for a split second, and then he blew past us to fly through the ballroom and up the stairs. Julian, Nora, and the two men followed him, yelling for him to stop. I ran as fast as I could, but by the time I was in the living room, they were already upstairs.

  I dashed up the stairs three at a time and ran to Derek’s room, hearing a scuffle behind the walls. I rounded the doorway and gasped at the sight before me.

  Derek was awake.

  And he was pissed.

  3

  SANITY

  Lucas had Derek pinned down on the bed while he thrashed, blistering the air with curses. There was a girl in the corner—one of the nurses attending to Derek—bleeding from a scratch on her arm. She must have been the screamer. She ran out of the room, still screaming.