Authors: Jennifer Knight
Tags: #Social Issues, #Love & Romance, #Vampires, #College Students, #Juvenile Fiction, #Paranormal, #General, #Romance, #Werewolves, #Dating & Sex, #Fiction, #Occult & Supernatural
Blood Crave 2 (55 page)
I pictured Lucas’s shy grin as he handed me his family’s tartan, and felt my smile widen. The pain began to ebb. “He said he’d love me even after I died.”
“He won’t. He lied.”
“No. Lucas doesn’t lie. He’s my match.” I could feel his arms around me now, hear the steady beat of his heart as my ear pressed against it in an embrace. I’d miss him. . . .
I’ll miss you, Lucas. I’m sorry for what I said. . . . I hope you find happiness. Oh, and I hope you kill this bitch. What were you thinking, dating her? She’s a jerk. . . .
“He loves
me
,” Danni barked. Vaguely, I heard her come closer, felt her jerk me by my shoulders. “Stop it. Open your damn eyes.”
me
,” Danni barked. Vaguely, I heard her come closer, felt her jerk me by my shoulders. “Stop it. Open your damn eyes.”
I wish I could see your face one last time. I wish you were with me now. I need you.
Danni slapped me across the face, and my eyes flew open, the pain returning at once, but I kept my expression blank.
“That was rude,” I said evenly.
“I hope you enjoyed your little daydream,” Danni spat in my face. Her beautiful features had turned into a grotesque mask, and her eyes were alight with the change. “Because that’s the last moment of happiness you’ll ever have. I’m going to rip you apart. You’re going to beg me for death.”
But I just smiled at her and said in my sweetest, most mocking voice, “Please kill me, Danni. I beg you.”
She changed.
The force of it knocked me backward, and her claws ripped into my flesh again. My legs shredded, bones cracking. I screamed hoarsely, laying face down on the grass, unable to move. I dipped in and out of consciousness. I was so weak—there was nothing to do but wait. Wait for the blow. The bite. The end.
“Faith!” a voice in the distance. The sound of feet pounding the earth. “Faith, where are you?”
It was ... no. Impossible. How could he . . . and then it made sense. He heard me! He’d seen me go into the woods, and must have tracked me down when he heard my call.
Hurry!
I screamed.
Hurry!
I screamed.
Lucas burst into the clearing at breakneck speed, skidding to a stop when he saw the scene in front of him. Me, laying bloodied on the ground and Danni standing feet away, poised to strike.
Lucas’s eyes were on Danni, silver and wide. “You,” he whispered. “I’ll kill you.”
Danni growled viciously, and I felt a little surge of victory. I was still going to die, but at least Danni wouldn’t get Lucas—at least he knew what she was.
“Faith, can you move?” Lucas asked.
“No,” I rasped. “I think ... my legs—broken . . .”
“It’s okay,” Lucas said. “It’s all going to be okay.”
Danni’s low, throaty snarls filled the clearing again, followed by Lucas’s. “You touch her again, and I’ll rip your head off.”
She just barked, stalking closer to me.
“I don’t have time to deal with you,” Lucas spat at her, also closing in on me. “Just leave and I’ll let you live.”
Another dangerous bark.
“I mean it,” Lucas warned. I saw his long legs in my field of vision. “Go.” He bent toward me, his hand coming so close to mine I could feel the warmth on my broken skin. I heard his voice in my ear. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here.”
Danni’s vibe exploded with rage. I heard the deep, ripping sound of her snarl and felt the pounding of her paws on the ground as she rushed us. She pounced, and Lucas caught her around the throat, batting her backward. I heard a tree crack as Danni collided with it and saw Lucas run after her, changing in midstride. They clashed, biting and clawing each other. I couldn’t tell how long the fight lasted—nor could I tell what was happening. As the darkness closed in on me, I heard Lucas’s agonized yowl, heard his human voice scream,
No!
No!
Sharp pain in my stomach—burning pain. My eyes flew open. I gasped.
She bit me.
Danni bit me.
Heat spread from the wound like a chemical fire. I writhed around into a ball to see Danni above me, green eyes greedy and eager as she lunged for another bite. Then a blur of black fur. Lucas’s lupine body colliding into hers. The squelch of body parts separating.
My blood boiled beneath skin that felt like it was melting off of my bones. It was inescapable, irreversible, and all-consuming. Even my hearing was blocked out by the too-fast beat of my heart. Fear, anger—total hatred of everyone and everything—consumed my every sense, rocking my brain into insanity.
With what little vision I retained, I saw Danni fall to the dirt beside me. Dead. Then Lucas’s body shaking, transforming back to human.
I heard the distant sound of screaming—my screams. Something welled in my gut—something terrible and powerful that rippled through my muscles and clawed at the inside of my skin, demanding to be released. Lucas’s face appeared, his arms locking me tight in a prison of comfort I didn’t want. I tried to struggle away; I couldn’t lie still, couldn’t see anything anymore—it was all red. Inside, my organs were exploding, brain turning inside out with terror.
He released me, letting me shake—letting me tremor.
The
something
in my gut swelled again, this time with a greater intensity, squeezing itself into all of my muscles, my bones, my mind. Then my body began to lose its shape—my bones popped out of their sockets, my muscles tore in two and reformed into new, impossible shapes. Nothing was left untouched; my skin prickled in a million different places, fingernails burned and elongated, teeth grew, sharpened, my spine curved and lengthened.
something
in my gut swelled again, this time with a greater intensity, squeezing itself into all of my muscles, my bones, my mind. Then my body began to lose its shape—my bones popped out of their sockets, my muscles tore in two and reformed into new, impossible shapes. Nothing was left untouched; my skin prickled in a million different places, fingernails burned and elongated, teeth grew, sharpened, my spine curved and lengthened.
In a blast of white, my vision returned—my body stopped shaking, stopped burning, stopped hurting. But it wasn’t my body anymore. It was a new body—a new world.
I was changed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
When you do something like write a book, you don’t do it alone. So to all of those people who helped me along the way, here’s what I have to say to you:
First, I’ve got to thank my amazing agent, Tamar Rydzinski, for her unfailing support and awesome advice. It was you who said yes, and I’ll never forget that.
While we’re talking about amazing women, I have to mention my editor, Lisa Cheng. You always bring a smile to my face during those moments when I want to give up (usually this is right in the middle of a massive editing session, where I can see more red marks than black ones). The occasional “LOL!” in the margins is what helps me keep going. Thank you for your continued support. This book wouldn’t be what it is without you!
To my amazing parents and sister, I give you ALL the thanks in the world. You deserve much more than my measly “thank you” for putting up with me throughout the writing of another book, but words are all I have. I hope you know how much you all mean to me. I especially want to thank my mom, because you slogged through that first draft like a champ and gave me so much love and support, even though we both knew it was garbage! Thanks for loving my garbage, Mom!
Husband of mine, thank you for listening to me as I plotted aloud, and rambled on about scenes you hadn’t even read yet. Having someone to bounce ideas off of has been invaluable. You rock!
Children, once again I thank you for giving up your mommy for days at a time so that I could write this book. I hope that one day you’ll read what I wrote and be proud of me. I love you both like crazy.
Everyone at Running Press, you’re all amazing, and I can’t thank you enough for all the hard work you did to make Blood Crave the best book it could be.
Lastly, I want to say thank you to YOU. If you’ve made it this far, gentle reader, you should know that you’re awesome. And you completely rock for choosing to read my books. I’m insanely happy that you picked them up, and I sincerely hope that you continue to do so! I couldn’t do this without you!
Copyright © 2012 by Jennifer Knight
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eISBN : 978-0-762-44699-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2012931677
Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing
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An Imprint of Running Press Book Publishers
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
2300 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103–4371
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