“It’s a pack thing,” Lucas said shortly. “We run in packs. It binds us. Running on our own is nice and all, but it’s nothing compared to running with your brothers beside you. He’ll never have that.”
“What is your problem tonight?” I asked, fed up with him.
“Nothing.”
“There’s something—”
“Do it again,” Lucas said to Derek, cutting me off. “I’ll time it this time.”
Derek reset back to the wonky cactus and Lucas counted down. Once more, Derek blew toward us in a whip of wind. I saw Lucas click the stopwatch and then stare at it, eyebrows raised.
“What?” I asked nervously.
“Nothing, it’s just . . .”
“Is he slow or something?”
Lucas ground his teeth. “I wanna see something.” He threw the stopwatch on the hood of the trunk. I picked it up and gawked at the time on it: 0.5 seconds. With my mouth hanging open slightly, I turned to watch Lucas walking to Derek.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Get in the car,” Lucas shouted back roughly.
I heard Derek growl at him, probably as disgruntled as I was at his tone.
“Why?” I called.
“Can’t you just do what I ask for once?” he said, stripping his T-shirt.
“Are you going to change?” I gasped.
“Get in the car, Faith!”
I threw the stopwatch onto the hood and stomped into the car, slamming the door behind me. I didn’t care what horrors Lucas had seen in his past, he was being a dick. I watched through the window as he tossed his jeans to the side. Without warning, his body tore apart, distorting and convulsing for less than a second and then he was a wolf, darker than the ink sky above us. My hands were trembling on the steering wheel. This was so unsafe.
Lucas released a short bark and ran back to the cactus with Derek loping along after him. It was then that I realized what Lucas had in mind: he wanted to race.
I waited with bated breath, staring at the empty beam of the flashlight, for the two wolves to appear.
Then a whip of dust told me they’d started. Derek arrived in half a blink and Lucas a few seconds later. My stomach dropped. Lucas had lost. Majorly. I watched from inside the car as they repeated the race twice more. Then it seemed Lucas couldn’t hold his form any longer, and he shifted back into a human.
This was not going to improve his mood.
Cautiously, I cracked the door open and emerged, not knowing if I should say anything to Lucas or not. Snatching up his clothes, he returned to the car silently and thumped down on the hood, which dented beneath his weight.
“Did you record his time?” Lucas grunted.
“Wha—oh, no I forgot.” I grabbed the pen and paper and scrawled the time Lucas had taken on the stopwatch. “How come he doesn’t change back?” I asked after a short silence.
“I guess it doesn’t work that way for him,” Lucas grumbled as he tugged on his belt with a pointed jerk. “I don’t know how long he can hold it.”
“Should we wait and see?”
“No. I wanna know what else he can do.”
“Maybe that’s enough for tonight. I’m sure he’s tired.” I was eager to be done with tonight’s experiments. It wasn’t going at all well, and I didn’t know how much longer cordiality would hold out between my men.
“I want to see how strong he is,” Lucas rumbled. “And then we can go if you want.”
“Okay,” I agreed meekly. “How are we going to test his strength?”
Lucas eyed the car with interest, bent down and pulled on the bottom of it, as if testing its weight.
“Don’t even think about it,” I said. “My mom’s already going to kill you for denting it.”
Lucas seemed unconcerned. “I’ll buy her a new one. This car’s a pile anyway.”
“Lucas,” I pleaded. “I don’t think this is smart.”
He ignored me and beckoned Derek over. Derek padded across the asphalt and sat before us, luminescent white eyes inquisitive.
“Change,” Lucas commanded.
Derek sniffed and galloped out of the beam of the flashlight, for a little privacy, I guessed. When he returned, he was sweating and paler than usual, but his face was alive with excitement.
“Going well, huh?” he asked, taking his time shrugging his shirt over his sweaty skin. “How fast was I?”
I said nothing, but handed the notebook containing his time to him.
Derek sucked his bottom lip in and made a low whistle. “Pretty fast, eh, Lucas?”
Lucas could not have looked more murderous.
“So,” I said loudly, catching Derek’s attention. “You, ah . . . didn’t feel like you had to change back at all?”
Derek shook his head, still smiling with that superior glint in his now turquoise eyes. “Should I have?” he questioned Lucas. His voice carried a deviously innocent note in it. “Werewolves can change any time they want,” Lucas said stiffly, “But if it’s not the full moon, the time we have while we’re changed is limited.”
Derek looked genuinely interested now.
“Why?” he asked.
“Just the way it is. If there’s a human in danger, we can keep the form longer, but without a reason to change, we can’t hold form for much longer than five minutes.”
“How long can you hold it if there’s a vampire around?” Derek asked.
“Till it’s dead, usually. But I don’t need to be a wolf to kill a vampire.” The menacing timbre of his voice made me truly believe that last statement.
“So I don’t count, then?”
Lucas regarded him curiously. “Guess not. Either that or you don’t pose a threat.” His tone had a bite to it at the end that made me sure he’d meant that as an insult.
I gulped as they glowered at each other.
“Well,” I mumbled weakly, “should we . . . ?”
“Yes,” Lucas said harshly. “We’re gonna test your strength now,” he told Derek. “With the car.”
Derek bent and tested the weight of the car, much as Lucas had.
“What are we doing to it?” he asked.
“Lifting it,” Lucas said.
Derek bent obligingly and I shouted, “Wait!”
They both stared at me.
“We have to get the camera off the roof.”
Lucas snatched it up and set it down again about ten feet away, making sure that it was aimed directly at my mother’s poor car. She was going to kill me for this. Lucas had better get her something nice.
“You go stand by the camera,” Lucas barked at me.
“And you can shove the camera up your—”
“Ready?” he called out, ignoring my grumblings.
“As I’ll ever be,” I said. “Try not to total the car. We still need it to get home.”
Derek grinned wickedly, his ghostly face shining in the darkness. I held the flashlight’s beam steady on them, watching Lucas bend and pick up the car with apparent ease. He held it cradled in his arms for a few seconds and then set it back down again as gently as if it were a child.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Good job, babe!” I called out, trying not to sound too asinine.
Both men gave me death glares. All right. I give up tonight.
Now Derek moved toward the car and bent at the knees, pulling up under his arms and all the way over his head. He showed a bit more strain than Lucas had, and he didn’t set the car down nearly as gently.
But Lucas was not satisfied. He wanted to beat Derek, not just match him, and he wouldn’t be happy until he did.
“Throw it,” he said.
“What?” Derek asked, glancing at me.
“Throw the car,” Lucas repeated.
“What? Lucas—no,” I said, stepping forward. “Can’t you at least try to save the car?”
He rounded on me. “Shut up for ten seconds, would you?”
I stopped short. I didn’t c
are how hurt his pride was, that was not okay. I was about to yell back, when Derek cut in.
“Don’t talk to her that way!” He snarled.
Lucas spun around. “Don’t tell me what to do, runt.”
Derek stared Lucas down, face more unearthly pale than I’d ever seen it. “Careful, Fido, your fangs are showing.”
Lucas’s eyes turned to slits. “You wanna see my fangs? Cuz I’ll be more than happy to show ’em to you.” He started forward and I could tell Derek wasn’t about to back down. Their feral energies radiated through the night, so strong I almost saw them. This was not going to end well.
I came up behind Derek, intending to get between the two of them. But I only got as far as Derek’s flank. Appearing out of nowhere like that must have triggered a reflex or something, because the next thing I knew, Derek had swatted me back—his open palm hitting me square in the chest—and I skidded across the sand, landing in a pile.
That was it. Final straw.
Lucas charged, pummeling Derek to the ground. They both began fighting, and it wasn’t more than three seconds before Derek’s unstable emotions made him change.
I got up and started back toward them. “Stop!” I screamed uselessly. As if they would listen. “Derek, stop! Lucas, I mean it!”
Neither of them paid me any attention.
Then Lucas changed too, and the fighting grew more vicious. I heard yelps and teeth gnashing. I didn’t want to get too close, but I had to stop them somehow. Lucas was three hundred years stronger than Derek. If I let this go on, Lucas would kill him. But what could I do? I could try to hit them with the car, but that might seriously injure one or both of them. Or make them turn on me.
“Stop, damn it!” I yelled, actually stamping my foot in frustration.
Lucas got Derek’s throat in a choke hold. Blood gushed beneath his teeth. I gasped, screaming, “STOP!”
Lucas’s metallic eyes met mine, his jaws still clamped to Derek. But that was all I needed. I couldn’t let Lucas kill Derek. I forged the connection, summoning the electric power that hid somewhere in my chest. Stop, I spoke to Lucas. Stop it now, before you kill him.
I felt his resistance. A resounding no filled my head, but I brushed it aside. Yes, Lucas. Let him go.
Lucas’s jaw slackened, and Derek darted away.
Now change, I spoke to Lucas. This is too dangerous.
He obeyed, and I released the connection. Lucas crouched on the ground, panting. His eyes tore holes in my heart when he looked up at me. Total betrayal.
He opened his mouth to speak, when Derek came at him out of nowhere. His claws dug deep into Lucas’s smooth flesh and I heard him cry out. A sharp crack made my pulse sputter.
Lucas let loose a string of hot curses as he clutched his broken arm. He kicked Derek off of him and stood, grimacing.
But Derek wasn’t through. He charged Lucas again, his slim white body like a spirit in the darkness. I made contact with his eyes, trying to forge the connection, but there was nothing to latch onto. Derek’s mind had a wall built inside it, something I couldn’t cross.
“Stop!” I screamed as Derek tore into Lucas again. His pained cries rang in my ears, too horrible to accept. “Please!” I shouted. “Derek, don’t!”
Lucas changed again and fought back, rolling away from Derek’s jaws just in time to avoid a neck wound. Derek came to a stop in front of me, facing Lucas. His lips were churned into a snarl, his body coiled as if he was protecting me from ... what? Lucas?
The two animals stared each other down, hackles raised and vibes clashing. Then, with a low, furious snarl, Lucas turned and ran through the night, limping on his front leg.
I panted as I watched him go, falling to my knees in relief. Though I was upset that he’d left, it was for the best. His arm would heal quickly, and he needed time to calm down. This whole experimentation thing had pushed Lucas past his limits as far as Derek went. Deep down, I knew he hadn’t meant any of the jerky things he’d said to me and that he was just irritated at being beaten by a runt—even if that runt wasn’t the same species as him. He’d be back once he’d calmed down, and we would work everything out.
But Derek—what the hell was his problem?
I stood on shaky knees and rounded on him just in time to see him change back into a human. I averted my eyes from his nakedness and heard him go to the trunk of the car where we kept a duffel bag filled with spare clothes for moments like these. He pulled it open and began rifling around for something that fit him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I said, watching him step into some jeans.
He cast an indifferent glance at me. “What are you talking about? That guy is a jerk. He needed to be taught a lesson.”
I scoffed loudly. “He’s over three hundred years old, Derek. He would have killed you.”
“Then how come I just kicked his ass?”
I stopped short, debating on whether or not to tell Derek what I had done—that I had, in effect, saved his life by using my power. But Lucas had been adamant that I not tell anyone about my power. I’d already gone against that and told Yvette. That was enough. So I said, “He knows how much you mean to me. He does have some self-control when it’s not the full moon.”
“Yeah, right,” he grumbled. “And that’s why he was treating you like shit? Because of all his wonderful self-control?”
“He was just angry because you’re faster than him. He’s not a good loser, I guess.”
Derek seemed to like that. A leer appeared on his face. “Nah, he’s a loser all right.”
“You’d better not do what you just did again, Derek. Next time he might not be so nice.” Or maybe I wouldn’t.
Derek looked skeptical as he began packing up the camera equipment. “Yeah, yeah . . . whatever. Can we just go now? I’m sick of this.”
I’d never seen Derek like this before. He’d been more than ready to start a fight with Lucas, eager for it, even. And when Lucas had stopped, he’d kept coming after him, intent on killing him, or so it had seemed. Derek wasn’t like that. Sure, he’d defend someone if it came down to it, but he never started fights if they could be avoided. The supernatural magic had changed him, after all. He now had the ruthlessness of a vampire packed in with the impulsiveness of a werewolf. Question was: Could he make the two sides work together, or would they tear him apart?
Derek hopped into the driver’s seat and beckoned me over. I obeyed on numb legs and went to the front seat. “Where to?” he asked, with a tentative smile.
But I was still mad at him and I turned away, jaw set.
Derek sighed. “Fine. I’m sorry, all right? But I don’t like to hear him treating you like that. You deserve better.”
I rounded on him. “Lucas and my relationship is none of your business, Derek. He treats me just fine.” Not totally true given tonight’s events, but that wasn’t the point. I’d deal with Lucas later.
“Whatever,” Derek said.
“And you need to apologize to Lucas, too. You practically tore his arm off.” I hoped he was okay.
Derek looked as if I’d just told him to lick the car tires.
“Derek,” I warned.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “Now will you get over this?”
I smiled victoriously. “Yes.”
“Excellent.” Derek started the car. “Beach?”
“Perfect.”
10
VIRAN
Derek drove us to Del Mar beach and parked a little ways from the public parking lot. It was closed at this time of night, so we had to kind of sneak in and walk through the nettles and tall grass toward the ocean. Derek leaped down over the ledge overhanging the sand and held his arms out for me. I let him help me down, mostly because he wanted to. I could certainly get down by myself.
We kicked off our shoes and began shuffling through the grainy sand to the surf. The night was crisp and clear, no clouds to mar the perfection of the sky. It was almost chilly, but when you’re used to withstanding w
eather in the teens, fifties feels like a sauna. There was nobody around at this late hour, only us and the waves crashing around our ankles. I glanced up at the navy sky and saw the waning half moon looking back at me.
“I’ve been thinking,” Derek said, bending to pick up a shell. “I need a name.”
“You have a name,” I said. “Derek Wendell Turner.”
He gave me a look. He hated his middle name; he thought it was girly. I thought it was adorable.
I kicked sand at his ankles and he said, “Hybrid sounds lame. And I’m sick of the werewolves calling me a mutant. I’ve been playing around with mixing vampire and lycan together. You know, because lycans are werewolves?”
“Uh-huh,” I said, humoring him. This was such a boy thing to do—needing a badass name. “So what’d you come up with?”
“Viran.”
“Viran,” I repeated. “Wouldn’t a cross between vampire and lycan be vican?”
Derek tossed the shell into the ocean and said, “Yeah, but I like viran better. Sounds more threatening.”
I smiled. “I like it, too. From now on I’ll be sure to call you by your proper name. I’ll spread it around.”
Derek looked like he was going to ask something, but stopped himself.
“Spit it out,” I said. “I hate when you hold stuff back, it makes me nervous.”
Derek tossed another shell into the surf and said, “I was just wondering.... Can Lucas only change into a wolf? Like, is that his only form?”
“I guess so. He can change into the regular-looking wolf when it’s not the full moon. Then he changes into the giant half-man, half-wolf thing on the full moon. Why do you ask?”
“Curiosity.”
“I’m curious about something, too.”
“Hmm?” He still looked like he was thinking about something else.
“Do you have any triggers?” My worry was that the rash violence I’d witnessed earlier would manifest in view of the humans, and if so, how he would manage to keep that in check at CSU.
Derek shook his head, seeming to come out of whatever he was pondering. “Not really. I don’t think my, ah . . . trigger is as sensitive as a regular werewolf’s. I really only feel overwhelmed when I get a sudden rush, you know? It makes it difficult when I get angry or sad, because it also . . .” He broke off and cleared his throat. “It also makes me crave blood.”
Blood Crave 2 Page 10
