Crave Series, Book 1

by Tracy Wolff

  “I can explain everything,” Macy adds flippantly.

  “Oh, well, okay then.” I make an expansive go-ahead gesture, then continue. “Please feel free. Explain away.”

  “Marise did that to you.”

  “The school nurse?” I don’t know why that shocks me so much, but it really, really does. “Marise is a vampire, too?”

  “She is. And she didn’t have a choice. She had to bite you if she had any hope of repairing your arterial tear.”

  I narrow my eyes at her. “I thought it was a nick?”

  “It was a tear. And you almost died. You would have died, in fact, if Jaxon hadn’t been there and done what he did to save you.”

  “You mean running me to the nurse’s office?” The squeak is back.

  “I mean sealing your wound so you wouldn’t bleed out while he got you to the nurse’s office.” She puts her cup of tea aside and reaches for my hands. Then, as she’s squeezing tight, she continues. “Vampire venom has a lot of different properties, depending on what the vampire intends. Jaxon didn’t bite you, but he did use his venom to seal your wound. And from what I understand, he was a little too thorough, and Marise couldn’t get through it to actually suture the wound.”

  “So she bit me and got through that way?” I try not to shudder at the thought of her teeth sinking into my neck. When I believed it was Jaxon, it freaked me out but didn’t gross me out. I can’t say the same about having anyone else’s teeth in me, though.

  “She bit you and injected her own venom, using the anticoagulant properties instead of the coagulant ones. It was enough to break down what Jaxon had done and let her heal you properly.”

  “So vampires can just do that? Just…override each other’s venom?”

  “Keep in mind, I’m not a vampire, but—”

  “Right. You’re just a witch.”

  She ignores my interruption. “I don’t think they can. At least, not normally. But she’s an older, more mature vampire and she’s also a healer, which gives her extra abilities in times like that. It’s why she’s the school nurse. But from what my dad said, it still took a lot of skill and venom to undo what Jaxon had done. That boy was determined to save you.”

  Not going to lie, hearing that feels good. But I’m still mad at him, even though right now, I’m not sure why. Except… “So what you’re saying is that I have two vampires’ venom running through my blood right now?”

  Macy settles back with a laugh and an eye roll. “Trust you to focus on that.”

  “I’m sorry, but it’s pretty hard not to focus on it when every vampire movie I’ve ever seen is playing in the back of my head. I mean, I’m not going to…” I mime getting fangs.

  She cracks up. Like full-on, rolling on the floor, laughing her ass off.

  “That’s not a no!” I whine.

  She sits up, wiping tears from her eyes even as she continues to giggle. “No, Grace, you’re not about to sprout fangs and start sucking people’s blood. You’re fine. In fact, the only reason you’re alive is because a vampire was with you. And not just any vampire, but Jaxon. Most of the others would have had a really hard time stopping themselves from…”

  “Drinking me dry?” I finish the thought she very obviously didn’t want to.

  She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, that’s not how I would have put it.”

  “Doesn’t make it any less true, though, does it?”

  Macy doesn’t answer, just grabs her teacup and stands.

  I follow her, unwilling to just let her walk away right now when I still have so many questions. About vampires. And witches. And dragons, for God’s sake. How can dragons exist and the rest of the world not know about it?

  Speaking of which… “There aren’t any other creatures here that you forgot to mention, right? No zombies, no unicorns, no—”

  “Werewolves.”

  “Exactly. No werewolves.”

  “I wasn’t saying no, Grace. I was answering your question.”

  “Oh.” I swallow. “So…vampires, dragons, witches, and werewolves.”

  “Well, if you’re going to get technical, they’re wolf shifters really, more than werewolves.”

  By all means, let’s get technical at this late date. “And the difference is?”

  “Werewolves need the full moon. Wolf shifters can shift anytime. Same with the dragons.”

  “So Flint can be a dragon anytime he wants?”

  “Flint is a dragon, all the time. He can shift between his dragon and human form whenever he wants.”

  “I have so many questions.” And most of them start and end with how is this possible?

  “I know.” She leans over and gives me another hug.

  “Marc and Quinn?” I think about the guys who tried to throw me out in the snow the first night. “Wolf shifters?”

  “Yeah. Who apparently do get a little extra wild around the full moon.” She shakes her head, obviously still annoyed. “The jerks.”

  “No argument here. They really were douches.” I pause as something occurs to me, then say, “But they listened to Jaxon, even though he’s a vampire.”

  Macy snorts. “I’m sorry, but haven’t you noticed? Everyone listens to Jaxon.”

  “Yeah.” Like in my Brit Lit class yesterday, when no one would come in. “Why is that exactly?”

  “It’s a really long, really messed-up story, which I’m happy to tell you. But I’m seriously starving. Can I answer the rest of it over breakfast in the dining hall?”

  “Yeah, of course. But I thought you told Mekhi we weren’t going to leave the room until Jaxon gets here.”

  “I told him we weren’t going to class. And if the bite on your neck is what’s got their panties all wadded up, then it’s no problem. We know where the bite came from, and we know that it’s harmless. So we’ll just go grab a quick breakfast and be back in the room before Jaxon even gets here.”

  She’s right. I know she’s right. Plus, it’s not like I’m going to ask how high every time Jaxon expects me to jump. Everyone else at this school might listen to him, but I’m not some supernatural creature. I’m human, and now’s as good a time as any for Jaxon to figure out I don’t play by the same weird, convoluted, terrifying rules everyone else around this place does.

  “Sounds good,” I tell her. “Turns out, I’m suddenly really hungry, too.”

  “I bet. Massive blood loss will do that to a girl,” Macy says as she disappears into the bathroom, a pair of school sweats and PE T-shirt in her hands.

  She comes out two minutes later, and not only is she dressed, but her hair is slicked back in an adorable style, and her face looks like she spent half an hour putting on makeup in front of the mirror.

  “What happened to you?” I demand.

  “Oh, just a little glamour.” She wiggles her fingers in front of her face. “And can I say how glad I am that you know now? My life is going to get so much easier.”

  “Apparently.” Suddenly self-conscious, I grab my purse off my desk and pull out the peach lip gloss I always keep in the inside pocket. I swipe it over my lips as we head out the door. “So how exactly do you do that glamour thing?”

  “Oh, it’s just a little trick all witches know.”

  “Yeah, well, flying’s still cooler,” I tease.

  “Maybe.” She closes the door behind me. “But there’s a lot I can do that you don’t know about yet.”

  “Like what?” I ask, totally fascinated.

  “Pretty sure that’s for me to know and you to find out…”

  41

  Vampires, Dragons,

  and Werewolves,

  Oh My!

  The halls are crowded as we make our way to the dining hall—it’s thirty-five minutes before first period starts, and apparently everyone in the school tries to eat during the same half an hour period.
Which makes sense. I mean, if I’m not worrying about bizarre fang marks or trying to fit in at a new school, I don’t want to get up one second sooner than I have to, either.

  Still, now that I know, everything feels even weirder than normal. People move by us, jostling Macy, bumping into me, or even skirting us entirely the same as they did yesterday. But today, all I can do is look at them and wonder. Vampire? Shifter? Witch? Dragon? It’s so strange, like falling into the pages of a fantasy novel…or a horror movie, depending on how this all goes.

  As we walk, I kind of assign monsters to people based on characteristics they exhibit, but I have no idea if I’m right or not. For example, the really athletic ones who bound down the hall with all the energy, I figure must be wolves. But Jaxon moves hella fast when he wants to, so I could be completely wrong.

  I want to ask Macy, just to see if any of my guesses are right. But it seems rude to whisper about people’s …species? Identity? Whatever I’m Supposed to Call It? in the middle of the hall where anyone can hear. Or, for that matter, to whisper about it at all.

  But at the same time, don’t I kind of need to know? Like, if I cut my finger in front of a dragon, I figure it won’t matter at all. But what happens if I do it in front of a vampire? Do I need to run, or is everything going to be okay?

  And why are vampires even in the dining hall if they drink blood? I mean, I saw Jaxon eat that strawberry at the welcome party, but he didn’t touch any of the food at breakfast yesterday. And now that I think about it, neither did any of the other guys.

  And if Jaxon does drink blood regularly, where does he get it? Where do any of the vampires get it? I mean, short of kidnapping a fully stocked bloodmobile every day—which seems an impossible feat anywhere, let alone in the middle of freaking Alaska—where do they get the blood?

  More importantly, do I really want to know the answer to that question?

  Also, I’ve seen Jaxon and Lia outside during the day. I mean, it wasn’t super sunny, but it was definitely not pitch-black, either. So does that mean the whole vampires can’t be in the sun thing is a myth? If so, there are a lot of stories throughout history that got it wrong.

  It’s so confusing. Like, supremely confusing, especially since there’s a part of me that still thinks Macy and Mekhi are just messing with me. I mean, yeah, I saw what she did with that teacup, but still… Witches? Dragons? Vampires?

  Can I just say that I’m really beginning to miss my alien theory?

  Especially when we step in the cafeteria and—surprise, surprise—everyone is looking at me. Per usual. I thought it was because I was the new girl. Now I can’t help but think it’s because I’m the human girl. Which then leads to thoughts about whether or not any of them are thinking about eating me.

  Do wolf shifters eat humans? Or is it just vampires? What about dragons? What do they eat?

  I really hope human isn’t on their delicacy list. Then again, wishing hasn’t gotten me much in the last month. I can’t expect it to get me this, either.

  “You know what?” I tell Macy as we make our way to the buffet table at the front of the dining hall. “Maybe I should go back to the room.”

  “What’s wrong?” She searches my face with a concerned frown. “Are you feeling dizzy? Or weak?”

  “I’m feeling…out of place.”

  “Oh.” Understanding dawns. “They’re the same people you went to class with yesterday. The same people you had a snowball fight with the day before that.”

  “The same people who have been watching me since I got here. I thought they’d be over it by now, that they’d get used to me. But they’re never going to get used to having a human here.”

  “I hate to be the one to break it to you, Grace, but the stares you’re getting these days have way more to do with Jaxon than they do with you.”

  I don’t bother to hide my confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, he’s a big deal here. Obviously. And he’s shown an interest in you. Which makes you a big deal. It also makes you the person eighty percent of the female population wants to murder.”

  “Because they’re jealous, right? Not because—”

  “Yes, Grace.” She rolls her eyes. “Because they’re jealous. They want to be where you are.”

  “Bandaged up and sore, with a weak ankle and a vampire bite in my neck?” I joke.

  “Exactly,” she deadpans back. “Now, can we please get in line? It’s chocolate croissant day, and they go fast.”

  “Of course.” I gesture for her to precede me. “Who am I to get between a girl and her chocolate croissant?”

  “A question every guy in the place asks himself at least once on Wednesdays,” a familiar voice says from right behind me.

  “Hi, Flint.” I turn to him with a little bit of a forced smile. Not because his being a dragon makes me like him less, but because his being a dragon FREAKS ME OUT.

  “Hey, New Girl.” He looks me over. “Gotta say, I’m not a huge fan of your new look.”

  I touch the bandages self-consciously. “Yeah, me neither.”

  “I bet.” He reaches out, rubs a reassuring hand up and down my non-damaged arm. “You don’t look so good. Why don’t you go sit down and let me bring you a plate?”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know I don’t have to. But I still feel guilty about the whole falling out of the tree thing. This will help me make up for it.” He gives me a beseeching look.

  “What do you have to feel guilty about? You saved me from getting hurt worse.” For the first time, I wonder if the reason he didn’t get hurt at all is because he’s a dragon. If so, then I’m glad he isn’t human, glad that he wasn’t in jeopardy because of me.

  I look up at him with his incredibly handsome face, his glowing amber eyes, his charming grin, and wonder if I’m seeing the dragon or the human. Or maybe I’m seeing both. Who knows?

  And then he raises his brows at me, and I wonder why it even matters when Flint—whatever and whoever he is—is my friend.

  “Thank you again for that, by the way. I really appreciate it.”

  “Stop it, Grace. You wouldn’t even have been up that tree if it weren’t for me.”

  “I think we’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this,” I tell him.

  “Fine. We’ll agree to disagree…as soon as you let me bring you breakfast.” He gives me his most charming grin, the one that would probably knock my socks off if I hadn’t seen Jaxon first.

  But I did see Jaxon, and now he’s pretty much all I can see, vampire or not.

  I start to argue with Flint some more—I’m sick of people treating me like an invalid—but we’re holding up the line. And since the last thing I want to do is make an even bigger spectacle of myself, I just give in.

  “Fine. I’ll take a chocolate croissant if you can get one.”

  “Oh, I’ll get one,” he assures me.

  “I have no doubt. And some fruit, if there is any.”

  “Sure. And what do you want to drink?”

  I grin. “Surprise me.”

  His eyes darken, and for a second, something flashes in them. But before I can figure it out, it’s gone, and the lightness is back. And so is the teasing as he says, “Believe me, I intend to.”

  Then he grabs both my shoulders and turns me around. “I’m sitting over there.” He points toward the end of the center table. “There’re a few extra seats. Why don’t you head that way, and I’ll be over as soon as I get our plates?”

  “Sounds good.” I do as he says, stopping just long enough to let Macy know where we’ll be sitting.

  Flint watches me the whole time, but I figure that’s because he doesn’t trust me to actually sit down. What he doesn’t realize is that when the alternative is standing around awkwardly waiting for him while everyone looks on, it takes all my self-contro
l not to run to a seat. Preferably in the back corner of the room.

  Especially when I see Mekhi and Luca heading my way, dark frowns on their usually relaxed faces. I think about waiting for them, but I don’t really want to hear what they have to say. And I don’t want to explain to them why Macy and I decided it would be okay to come to the dining hall—at least not in front of most of the student body.

  So instead of waiting for them to catch up, I do what any girl who doesn’t want to deal with a boy would do—I take off toward another boy’s territory. In this case, the table where Flint and his friends are sitting.

  It may not be the bravest or brightest move, but it’s definitely the path of least resistance. I’m not ashamed to admit that I could do with a little less resistance and a little more easy in my life. Especially today.

  I’m pretty sure it would have worked, too—the Order and Flint dislike each other that much—except for the terrible wrenching sound that splits the air directly above me just as I get close to Flint’s part of the table.

  42

  Good Thing

  Pancakes Aren’t on

  Today’s Menu

  It’s a horrific noise, and I glance up, trying to figure out what could possibly be making it, just in time to see the biggest crystal chandelier in the place pull free of the plate holding it to the ceiling. I have about half a second to think, Oh shit, and then someone is there, slamming their body into mine.

  The hit knocks the breath out of me—or maybe it’s the subsequent slam, face-first, into the nearest wall that does it. Either way, it’s a struggle to get my breath back, especially since there’s a long, lean male body pressed against my back, his arms caging me in on either side.

  I realize that at the same time there’s a gigantic crash. For a second, all I can hear is the tinkle of glass as it shatters and flies, hitting everything in its path. The boy behind me grunts and wraps himself more tightly around me, and that’s when I know. I may not be able to draw a full breath yet, but there’s enough oxygen in my body for my brain to function again. And my newly functioning brain registers one thing above all else—that the guy currently wrapped around me is Jaxon.