Crave

  Shay wasn’t tied to Gabriel while he slept. She didn’t have to be. This is where she wanted to be, her head resting on his chest.

  I need to call Olivia, she thought. It has to be after ten. She’ll be worried.

  Shay allowed herself one more moment curled up next to Gabriel, then got up and walked over to the bale of hay where she’d left her jeans. She fished out her cell and checked the time. Almost 10:20. Perfect. In a few minutes, she should be able to catch Olivia between classes.

  At 10:31, Shay hit Olivia’s speed-dial number. Olivia answered on the first ring. “What’s happened? Did Martin find you? I went by your house before school and he wasn’t home. I called over there last night and got no answer,” she said in a rush.

  “He didn’t find us,” Shay said.

  “Us. Wait. Who’s us?” Olivia demanded.

  The word had just come out. Shay had been feeling so close to Gabriel.

  “So you’re still lying to me.” Olivia’s voice was flat and angry. “Why am I even talking to you? We’re not friends. Obviously.”

  “Don’t hang up!” Shay cried. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You’ve been an amazing friend to me. Most of that stuff I said to you—about you not knowing me? That was my fault. I didn’t let you know me, not really.”

  Olivia was silent.

  “Liv?” Shay asked.

  “Last chance. What’s going on? No lying,” Olivia told her.

  No lying. That was a big order, when there was no way Olivia would ever believe the truth.

  “Start talking,” Olivia said.

  “I’m with a guy. His name is Gabriel. I’ve been with him from the beginning, from when I left town,” Shay began to explain. “I know this is going to sound completely crazy, like something out of a bad movie—but, Liv, Martin was keeping Gabriel captive. He was experimenting on him. Gabriel—”

  “Captive? Like locked-up captive.”

  “Yeah, he’d outfitted one of the rooms in his office. He kept Gabriel in chains.”

  “You’re right; this does sound like a bad movie,” Olivia said. “Are you going to tell me Martin’s a serial killer?”

  “No.” Shay bit her lip. If the captivity part was too hard to believe, there was no point in even going on.

  “Weirdly, I buy it,” Olivia said thoughtfully. “I can tell when you’re lying, and you’re not. I guess you could be crazy. You’ve been acting crazy enough lately.”

  “It is the truth.”

  Olivia chuckled, and Shay joined in. It felt good. It felt normal, in spite of the bizarre circumstances.

  “Okay. Why did Martin do that?” Olivia asked.

  But Shay couldn’t tell her the rest. She just couldn’t. “He has this genetic mutation, and Martin’s obsessed with it. He thinks it can unlock the cure to leukemia and maybe even what’s wrong with me.”

  “Martin couldn’t just throw a bunch of money at him?” Olivia asked.

  “Gabriel wasn’t interested. And Martin wouldn’t take no for an answer. He’d never seen anyone with a mutation like Gabriel’s. I guess he didn’t know if he ever would again,” Shay said.

  “Hang on, I’m heading into the bathroom. I need a place to hide out for a few,” Olivia told her. “I’m not waiting until after Calc to hear the rest, and the bell’s about to ring.”

  Shay waited, listening to the sounds of her school day through the phone. Her regular life, going on without her. Shay felt a strange sense of disconnect. She had never fit in at Black River High anyway. Would she ever go back? It seemed impossible.

  “Okay, I’m back,” Olivia said breathlessly. “So here’s my big question. How old is this Gabriel? And what does he look like?”

  Shay laughed. She realized that Olivia had always been pretty good about making her laugh—when she wasn’t in complete nanny mode. If Shay had let her in more, she might have been good at a lot of other best friend stuff. “He’s about nineteen.” Close enough, Shay thought. He looked about nineteen. “And he’s beautiful.”

  “Oh my God!” Olivia exclaimed. “Shay, you slept with him.”

  “I hope the bathroom’s empty,” Shay said.

  “It is. So, I’m right, right? You slept with him.”

  “Yes.” There was nothing else to say. Words couldn’t describe what she’d felt with Gabriel.

  “If you’re going to go crazy, I guess doing it with a beautiful guy is the way to go,” Olivia replied. “And I’m going to need details. First, back up. How’d you meet him? I mean, how’d you know about the Martin situation? You didn’t know, did you?”

  “I went to Martin’s office. I was pissed off, and I wanted to get away from the house, and I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I went there,” Shay explained.

  “You could have come to my place,” Olivia said pointedly.

  “We were kind of fighting, remember? Anyway, when I got there, I found him. He was chained up. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I unlocked him, and we took off together.” There were lots and lots of gaps in that version, but it was mostly true.

  “So that’s what you found out about Martin?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure he’d try to convince you that the only reason he was keeping Gabriel was because of me, because he wanted to save my life so badly, but that’s not why. He’s a glory hound. He wants to find a cure so everyone will think he’s the most brilliant man in the world. He wants everyone to remember him a hundred years from now. I honestly don’t think he’d care if I lived or died, once he’d proved he had a cure.”

  Olivia didn’t say anything for a moment. “So what are you going to do, you and Gabriel?”

  “We’re basically hiding out right now. Martin almost caught us, but we got away,” Shay answered. “In a while, we’re going to go to some of Gabriel’s friends. They’re off the radar. We’ll be safe there.”

  Shay heard a voice in the background. “I’m being ordered to class,” Olivia said. “And probably detention-bound. Be safe, okay? And keep calling me.”

  “I will,” Shay promised. “You’re my best friend, right?”

  “Right. And I’ve got to tell you—a lot of the time it’s a pain in my ass,” Olivia said.

  “Deal with it.” Shay hung up, laughing again.

  There were still hours before nightfall when Gabriel would awaken. Shay returned to the bed of straw and slid up against him. She didn’t care whether she fell asleep or not. This was where she wanted to be.

  Anticipation grew in Gabriel as he and Shay drove across the state line into Tennessee. Home. They were almost home. He fought to keep the Escalade under the speed limit. He’d liberated the vehicle from a Costco parking lot a short run—for him—from the barn.

  “Okay, so give me the Millie scoop,” Shay said.

  Gabriel kept telling her she didn’t have to memorize every member of his family before she met them, but she was insanely curious.

  “Millie. She loves the animals, but she really wasn’t cut out to be a scientist. She hates having to live such an isolated life. She’s always looking for fun. It drives Richard nuts, he’s so serious.”

  “I like fun,” Shay said. “Oh wait. I can’t believe we skipped Ernst. Other than my father—it still feels so weird to say that. Good weird. Other than my dad, Ernst is the one you’re closest to. It was easy to feel that when I was connected to you.”

  Shay’s anticipation about getting to the compound was in overdrive too, he could tell by her rapid speech. But she was nervous. He could smell it.

  “Ernst. How to describe him? He’s my father. The only father I’ve ever known.”

  “Do you remember your real parents—I mean your human parents—at all?” Shay asked.

  “I think I might have one memory of my mother. She was cutting bread into the shape of a duck. Maybe I liked ducks back then.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  Sweet, and Gabriel hardly ever thought about it. The memory always came with a slash of pain. “I have no memory of my father. I don’t
know if he was with us. So when I think of my father, I think of Ernst. I’ve been with him since I was five. The whole family raised me, raised all of us who were taken that day at the orphanage. But I lived with Ernst.”

  “What kind of father was he?” Shay asked.

  “Strict. There were many rules. Not just for me, for everyone in the family. Mostly rules to keep us all safe,” Gabriel answered. “But he was also an amazing teacher. Incredibly patient. And funny. He has a sense of humor that is so dry you don’t even know that he’s kidding unless you know him well.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Shay said. “Are you sure he’s going to be okay with me coming? I’m human.”

  “You’re Sam’s daughter. Sam was one of us. That makes you one of us.”

  Regardless of what had happened to Sam, Gabriel knew that the whole family had loved him. Ernst had loved him. He was as much a father to Sam as he’d been to Gabriel. Ernst would welcome Sam’s daughter. He had to. And even if Shay hadn’t been related to a family member, she had saved Gabriel’s life. As far as he knew, she was the only human who had ever chosen one of his kind over one of their own. Ernst would be amazed at Shay’s courage, her compassion.

  “How much farther?” Shay asked.

  “About a mile less than last time you asked.”

  “I didn’t expect Tennessee to be so steep,” Shay joked. They’d been driving up a mountain road for half an hour now.

  “Only the part with the caves, and the bats, and the vampires.” Gabriel let himself exceed the speed limit for the first time since they’d left the barn. Just by ten miles. Not much risk of getting stopped. They were almost home.

  Shay flipped down the vanity mirror and ran her fingers through her dark, thick hair. “Don’t be nervous,” he told her. Which was crazy. She was about to walk into a compound full of vampires, and until a few days ago she’d never even known they existed.

  “When are you going to tell them about Martin? Right away, or …” Shay let her words trail off.

  “I think I’ll open with the fact that you’re half-vampire, that you’re Sam’s daughter,” Gabriel told her. “The rest can wait until tomorrow night. We’ll all make a plan together.”

  “And my mother?” Shay’s voice shook. Some of the sparkle had disappeared from her eyes.

  “I promise you, she’ll be safe,” Gabriel said. “My family knows Sam was in love with a human woman. I think that’s all they need to know.”

  Shay nodded. She grabbed the dashboard. Gabriel put one hand over both of hers, before she could start that anxious kneading she did.

  His heart thumped hard as they turned up the private road that led to the compound. Soon he saw the lights of the lab and lodge in the distance. Shay probably couldn’t, but it wouldn’t be long. Gabriel grinned. He was really here. He’d started thinking he would never see this place again, never see his family. He’d actually begun wishing he would die in his prison. It was better that than being chained up. But he was free. And it felt like the world had been washed clean, or even reinvented with only the best parts left in.

  He even had Sam back, in a way.

  His only worry was that Martin was still out there, looking for him. Or for any vampire. He was a danger to every one of Gabriel’s kind. But not for long. The family would figure out how to handle it.

  “Is that it?” Shay leaned forward and peered through the windshield. “I think I see lights.”

  “That’s it.” He rolled down the window, so he could breathe in the familiar smells. His family would be able to catch his scent too. By now they’d know he was on his way.

  He was right. When he pulled to a stop in front of the research center, his family was already rushing out. Gabriel had barely opened the door when Ernst pulled him out and into a rib-crushing hug. Gabriel felt his father’s tears on his neck.

  “I’m back,” he said into Ernst’s ear. “I’m back and I’m fine.”

  “What happened? Where were you?” Ernst asked, not letting him go.

  “I’ll explain everything,” Gabriel told him, gently pulling away. “First, I want you to meet someone.” He went around to the passenger side of the Escalade and opened Shay’s door. He held out his hand and helped her out. “This is Shay.”

  Millie’s eyes went wide. Richard moved closer, muscles tensed in preparation to attack.

  “You brought a human here?” Luis demanded.

  Gabriel tightened his grip on Shay’s hand. “Listen to me.” He looked around at his family, meeting their eyes. “I know you’re all going to find it hard to believe. But she’s a member of this family. She’s part of our family by blood.”

  “You turned a human?” Horror coated Richard’s voice. Gabriel understood. It was taboo to transform an adult human. Only children raised with the family were allowed to become one of them.

  “No,” Gabriel said quickly. “She’s Sam’s daughter.”

  “His daughter with the human?” Ernst asked, his voice shaking with emotion.

  “Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but this is Sam’s daughter.” Gabriel smiled at Shay, trying to reassure her. It would take a little while for Ernst to get used to the idea of her. Right now, his family was in shock. But soon enough, they’d see how incredible Shay was. They’d realize they had a tiny piece of Sam back in their lives. They’d come to feel as attached to her as he did.

  Well, maybe not quite as attached.

  Gabriel turned back to Ernst, putting the thought of Shay’s body—of her lips on his—out of his mind.

  Ernst stared at him, aghast. “She’s human. That’s all I need to know.”

  “Only half,” Gabriel said, gazing around at the furious, terrified faces. His eyes came back to Ernst, and his father’s face had become that of a stranger. Gabriel’s breath caught. He should have expected the feelings rushing through Ernst. He should have seen the signs, smelled them. But he’d been so focused on Shay.

  “You have risked all our lives by bringing her here!” Ernst bellowed. Fast as a snake strike, he grabbed Shay’s wrist and yanked her away from Gabriel. “Take her to the cellar,” he ordered Richard and Luis. “And lock her there. Make sure there’s no possibility she can escape.”

  “No!” Gabriel shouted as his friends—his brothers—obeyed, each taking one of Shay’s arms. He lunged for her. Ernst blocked him.

  “Ernst, she saved me!” Gabriel cried. “Twice, she saved my life. I know how you feel about humans, but she’s Sam’s daughter—”

  Shay was struggling, yelling his name as they dragged her inside. Gabriel shoved Ernst to the side, running for Shay. Ernst leaped in his path with one graceful bound. Millie followed, locking her hand on to Gabriel’s arm.

  “Gabriel!” Shay’s voice cut off as the heavy doors closed between them. Anger flooded through Gabriel. He’d been so stupid. He’d been deluding himself that Shay being half-vampire—half-Sam—would be enough for the family. She was still half-human. And humans were deeply despised and feared.

  Gabriel forced himself to speak calmly. This wasn’t time for a confrontation. “She’s not like the rest of them. Ernst—” he locked eyes with his father, “—she saved my life. I’d still be chained up in a—”

  “Who did it to you?” Ernst asked.

  “We’re talking about Shay,” Gabriel said, his voice rising despite his efforts to keep his emotions in check. “She went against everything she knew and loved to rescue me. And even after I took her hostage, she saved my life a second time.”

  “What do you mean?” Ernst asked. “Why would you take the human?”

  “I thought we would use her as bait. I didn’t know she was Sam’s,” Gabriel said. “That changed everything—”

  “Bait?” Millie cut in. “Bait for what?”

  “Her stepfather was the one who captured me,” Gabriel admitted. “I thought if I took her, he would come for her.”

  Ernst nodded. “It is a good plan. We’ll keep her until he comes. We’ll make him watch her
die—he deserves that. Then we’ll kill him. You will be avenged, Gabriel.”

  “I promised her safety,” Gabriel cried.

  “Have you forgotten seeing your family die? Have you forgotten their death screams?” Ernst demanded, eyes blazing with fury.

  “No. But Shay’s different. I swear it to you.” Gabriel’s throat felt like it was made of sandpaper. His heart felt as if it was about to explode.

  Ernst turned his head and spit on the ground. “She is an abomination.”

  “Then I’ll take her away. I’ll make sure she never comes back,” Gabriel said desperately. Never seeing Shay again would tear his heart in half. But he’d do it. He’d do anything it took.

  “She’s unnatural. She should have died the day she was born.” Ernst turned to Millie. “I promise you the abomination will be slaughtered as soon as she draws our enemies to us.”

  Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut. In the distance he heard Shay screaming his name. What had he done?

  The answer slammed into his mind. He had fallen in love with her. It had clouded his judgment.

  He loved her, heart, soul, and body. And he had sentenced her to death.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Part One: Dreams

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Part Two: Reality

  Chapter Seveen

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Back Cover