I was sort of mad about it. I’d survived countless supernatural attacks, a car crash, a vampire-werewolf battle, and the monarch vampire’s bite, and now I was going to be mauled to death by some random psychopath werewolf? It just didn’t seem fair.
I backed up against the spruce, supporting myself with the solid bark of the tree, and said, “What do you want?”
The wolf’s ears flagged at my voice, and it stopped its slow advance, body tensed.
“Why are you following me around?” I demanded. “Change. At least tell me why.”
The wolf’s iron muzzle wrinkled over its snout as it snarled. A fresh hit of adrenaline swept through me, making my hands shake.
“Just tell me why,” I said, less brazen now.
A deep growl was all the answer I got. It lowered itself, shuffling its shoulders as it poised itself to lunge.
I pressed myself harder against the spruce, cringing. Why did I come out here? Why wasn’t I spending my last night with Lucas in his arms instead of acting like a spoiled brat out in the woods? Alone.
Damn it, I didn’t want this to happen. I wanted to live. Frantically, I tried to ignite the connection again, but the wall shoved me back out. The wolf jerked forward, barking as if saying, stop that!
“Then tell me why!” I screamed, beating my fist against the tree.
That’s when it pounced. I heard myself scream, felt my body curl into itself as I covered my head in my hands and crumpled to the ground. Claws dug into my ankle, yanking me into the air and whipping me around like a chew toy. A bone in my leg cracked when I hit the ground. I cried out, digging my fingernails into the earth, trying futilely to escape.
The wolf released me and I began to drag myself away using my arms, but then I felt the weight of its paws on my back, felt its claws tear open my flesh. I screamed again, overcome with agony. All I could think was don’t bite me, please, don’t bite me. . . . Claws on my arm this time, digging in and breaking my bones. It flung me across the clearing, and I landed hard on the ground, my body flush with the fallen log.
Sight faded in and out—I might have lost consciousness if it weren’t for the pain. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe for a moment. And then I used my good arm to push myself into a sitting position against the log, still trying stupidly to get away. It was hopeless, of course, but I couldn’t stop myself from fighting as long as I was able.
The wolf stood before me, hate and vindication emanating from its vibe like poison.
“Screw you,” I croaked, wincing as my broken shin twanged. The bone was jutting out of my flesh. Nausea surged and I looked away, forcing myself to focus on the wolf instead. “Whoever you are—Lucas is going to . . . murder you . . . for this.” Panting, I clasped my hand over my arm to try and staunch the blood flow.
Then I could swear I saw a leer cross the wolf’s features.
It lunged at me, but instead of attacking, it shifted in midair and came to stand before me as a girl—a naked girl with auburn hair and emerald green eyes that pierced me right down to my soul. She wore her customary smirk.
“Danni?” I gasped. “I—I don’t understand.”
“What’s not to get? I’m a werewolf. You’re a bitch. And I’m going to kill you.” She smiled snidely and walked around to the other side of the log. I didn’t turn to watch her because it hurt too much, but when she reentered my field of vision she was clothed. She must have stashed a wardrobe change for this—meaning she’d planned it. I wondered if she would have come and gotten me if I hadn’t been dumb enough to enter the woods tonight.
“Kill me?” I grunted through the stabbing pains. “Why? I thought we were friends.”
“Ha!” Danni barked a laugh. “Seriously? You really believed everything? I’m better at this than I thought. I should join the CIA. Honestly, I can’t believe you didn’t guess immediately. I just assumed you didn’t know about me.” She came closer, leaning her hip on the log and looking down at me. I focused on the trees, praying someone would come out of them and save me from this.
“Doesn’t my name mean anything to you?” she asked.
“Danni? No. Why?”
“Not Danni, idiot. Danielle.”
Somewhere in the fuzzy mess of torment burning in my brain, the name shot off an alarm bell. Danielle. Danielle the werewolf. . . . Lucas and Danielle.
I felt my mouth part on its own. “You’re his ex-girlfriend,” I said. His crazy ex-girlfriend. The stalker. God, why didn’t I put this together? Why didn’t Lucas? “But he said you’d left,” I protested.
“No way. I couldn’t go when there was still a chance he might change his mind.”
“You’re insane,” I said. “He doesn’t love you anymore.”
Danni grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking my face up to hers. I gasped, stars blooming in my vision. “He doesn’t love you, bitch. You’re a disgusting, weak human. If he feels anything for you it’s just his protective nature—werewolf instincts. He was always a sucker for the pretty chicks. Saving the damsels, falling for them, and then realizing they’re nothing but tools, and ditching them. You’re no different.”
She released my hair with a jerk and I ignored the fact that she was right about Lucas leaving (even if it was for my safety), saying instead, “What about you, then? You’re a werewolf and he left you. What’s your excuse?”
“He had to leave,” Danni said dismissively. “He was being followed by some crazy vampire. Now that’s over with. And this hiccup with you will be taken care of momentarily. Then we can finally be together again.”
God, she’s really, really crazy.
“So, killing me is going to make him realize he loves you?” I asked incredulously. “Yeah, that’ll work.”
“Well, obviously, this is plan B.”
“What was plan A? Throw sand in his eye and slice his tires?”
“Shut up,” Danni snarled. “I’m not a moron. I know he’ll never want me if I kill you. Which is why I tried to get the leeches to do it.”
I blinked. “What? No. They wanted me as repayment for killing their friends. And because of my power. They told me so.”
“No, babe,” Danni said, crouching down beside me. “They wanted you because I made a deal with them. I told them I’d get them Derek’s blood if they turned you for me.”
I struggled to understand amidst the agony ripping through my body. I was also losing blood fast and feeling seriously faint. If Danni didn’t hurry up and kill me, I’d already be dead. That’d really piss her off.
“But you don’t have Derek’s blood,” I protested.
Danni grinned darkly. “Yes, I do. I stole it from the CSU lab where that idiot werewolf girl with the yellow eyes left it.”
In my head, I heard Derek tell me that the vial had gone missing—that Katie had to take another sample. Danni had stolen the original. I remembered Derek’s weird conversation with Katie as he told her to throw something away; he must have been talking about the other sample. To keep it secret.
“So why didn’t you give it to them?” I asked. “They did what you told them to do. They took me and Lucas, and Arabella bit me.”
“Yet, here you are. Still human.” Danni’s green eyes glittered.
“So you still have the blood?” Was there a chance Lucas could get it back from her? Even if I died here—and it looked like I was going to—he still might be able to stop the uprising. But if Danni gave the sample to the vampires or if one of them stole it from her, it was all over.
“Of course I still have it,” Danni said. “You think I’m dumb enough to give it away for a half-ass job? I was supposed to be there to watch it happen. Melissa didn’t call me like she was supposed to. She was ticked because I messed her up so bad that night outside your dorm room. Little bitch.”
Now that strange exchange in the vampire lair made sense. Arabella had been talking to Melissa about their part of the bargain, waiting for someone to show up. They’d been waiting for Danni. “Lucas would have seen you,
though,” I protested.
Danni rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t just stand there in the open, obviously. I’d watch where nobody could see me. It would have been epic.”
But something still didn’t make sense. If Danni had been the heather-gray wolf the whole time, why had she saved me? “That night outside my room ... you saved me from Melissa. Why didn’t you just let her take me?”
Danni made an annoyed noise in her throat. “I was going to. Why do you think I didn’t kidnap you when we were alone at that barn? Why do you think I drove so slowly to keep you out past dark? Melissa was supposed to catch you and take you to the lair that night. Then I was going to go fetch Lucas, and bring him, as well. But then you had to go and bleed and screw everything up. She was going to drain you. And that wasn’t the plan.”
I let out a bitter puff of laughter, which hurt me more than I thought it would. “So what is the plan, Danni? Because I’m a little confused. Do you want to turn me? Kill me? What? How is any of this going to make Lucas realize he loves you?” I said this last part with heavy sarcasm, since I knew Lucas didn’t love her, but Danni didn’t catch it.
“I wanted Lucas to watch you be turned,” she hissed. “That was the original idea. To make his lover into the thing he hates more than anything on earth. To watch him be forced to hunt you down and kill you. And I’d be there to comfort him all the while.” She smiled wistfully and then sighed. “But that’s not going to happen. Derek messed it all up with his obnoxious venom.”
“Too bad,” I said flatly.
“It’s all right,” Danni said, rising to her feet. “Because I would have hated missing the drama. You won’t be turned, but you’ll be out of the picture and that’s the goal. Lucas won’t be here to watch you die, either, but it’s better that way. I have to pretty much eat you to hide your body from him and I don’t think he’d be able to get over me eating his girlfriend, do you?”
I just stared at the ground, feeling angry, frustrated tears stinging the back of my throat. I held them in, not wanting her to see me cry.
“So go ahead,” I ground out. “What are you waiting for?”
“I’m gathering my strength,” Danni said, walking lazily around the clearing as if enjoying a sunny day.
I snorted a laugh, but stopped quickly because it was agony. “Right, like you need to gather strength to kill me. I’m nothing to you.”
“True,” Danni said. “Physically, you’re hardly a threat. But you’re not entirely human are you, Faith? You’re something else.” She watched me from off to my right. “Aren’t you curious about why you can’t read my emotions? About how I know how to block you?”
“Yes,” I admitted reluctantly.
“The vampires captured a dude like you once,” she said. “I forget his name—Kenny or something—”
Kevin, I thought immediately.
“They made him divulge everything about his power,” Danni continued. “The sense, the connection, everything. But most importantly, he showed them how to keep their emotions—what scant ones they have left anyway—a secret. When I went to them and asked them to turn you, they agreed. But only on the condition that I do all the dirty work and get you to their lair. They told me you had a power and that you’d be able to tell I was a werewolf the moment you saw me. Obviously, this made getting you to their lair a lot more difficult.”
“Why?” I grunted. “You could have just blocked me out and yanked me away.”
“Well, first off, you’re really well protected. There was hardly a moment when you were alone, even in class. You didn’t know it but your little boyfriend is an overprotective freak. He had pack members guarding you pretty much twenty-four/seven. But on the odd occasion that I did catch you off guard, I ran into trouble with the whole blocking thing. I can’t do it for too long because it takes a hell of a lot of concentration to pull off. So using force wasn’t really going to work.
“So I thought that if I managed to befriend you, get you to trust me, then I could lure you into the lair more easily. But in order to do that, you had to think I was human. So I worked at it for a while with Kurt or whatever, and eventually managed to make my energy chill out. At least enough so that you wouldn’t immediately realize I was a werewolf.
“But making you trust me was a serious chore. I went the wrong route and tried making friends with that chick you like, Heather. I sold her vampire blood, hoping you’d want some, too. But you freaked out about it and then I had a lot of backtracking to do. It was slow-going. And dull. Humans are so depressing when they’re high. So when I finally caught you alone here in these woods a couple months ago, I tried to just ambush you as a wolf and drag you off, hoping you’d be too shocked to use your power. But you used your connection or whatever, and I hadn’t figured out how to block you out when I was changed yet. When I met you again in the courtyard at CSU, I managed to block your controlling powers, but wasn’t quick enough.
“By then the vampires were getting impatient. They wanted Derek’s blood and apparently, he wasn’t giving it up to them. I told them if they wanted to speed things up they could get off their asses and help me. So they sent Melissa. She lost her cool. I had to step in. You know the rest. They got you and Lucas two nights later, and Melissa didn’t call me because she’s a slut.” She threw me a breezy smile. “Luckily, it all worked out. You and Lucas had a fight and you went all drama queen and ran into the forest, saving me the trouble of going out to get you. Kind of a bummer, actually. I had a dress picked out and everything. And killer shoes.”
I shook my head, amazed at the hilarity of it all. It was so not funny, but the fact that it was happening—the fact that this was how I was going to die—well, it just brought a smile to my face. Or maybe I was giddy from the loss of blood. Part of me wished I’d die while Danni prattled on—just to annoy her.
“Well, now it makes sense,” I said. “You made your vibe normal. Ish. And blocked me when I tried to stop you from attacking. You had the vampires track me down and try to turn me in exchange for Derek’s blood. And now, since that plan went up in smoke, you’re just going to kill me here. And eat me, apparently.” I swallowed, tasting blood in my mouth. “Just so you know, I’ve been told I taste amazing. I hope you like peaches.”
Danni’s vibe, now unmasked to me, was a mash of fury and indignation at my flippant tone. She wanted me to suffer—to feel the pain she felt at losing Lucas. She wanted me to cry. To beg. To scream.
But I wouldn’t do any of those things.
Instead, I closed my eyes and smiled. “He said he’d love me forever,” I murmured.
A low snarl came from where Danni stood. “Shut up.”
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.”
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, “Ple
ase 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.
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!
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