Blood Lust (13 page)

“You
smell
like
him,” he snapped, and pushed me up against the wall, one hand on my shoulder.
It didn’t hurt, but it certainly wasn’t comfortable.

“Smell like
who?”
I
played dumb, calling his bluff. I had taken a shower this morning- and besides,
Max was in human form. As far as I knew, a werewolf’s senses were only stronger
while in wolf form.

“You smell like the vampire. Argos. When did you see him?
This morning?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I spent two days in
the cell beside him, if that’s what you mean, but I’ve showered twice since
then. I don’t know how you could possibly-“

“Don’t
lie to me!”
Max
roared, and his hand was shaking on my shoulder, his face contorted with rage.
“When did you see him? Answer me!”

Anger rose up inside me, and I used all my strength to shove
his hand off my shoulder. “That’s none of your business! How dare you question
me? You kept me locked in a basement for two days! You don’t have any right to
know what I do or who I’m with!”

“Vampires are our natural enemies, Eve.” He looked
appropriately chagrined, but he obviously wasn’t about to back down, either.
“If you’ve been seeing him, you need to tell me. This is wolf territory. He
can’t be here.”

“Says who? The alpha? You’re just a beta, Max, you can’t
make that law.”

“I didn’t have to make that law. It’s been in place longer
than either you or I have been alive,” he retorted. “Do you even know who he
is? Argos?”

“His name isn’t Argos!” I exclaimed. “It’s Jericho. You’ve
got him mixed up with someone else.”

“My God, he really does have you brainwashed.” Max took a
step back, disgust evident in his expression. “What don’t you understand about
our way of life, Eve? Werewolves can control themselves. We don’t kill humans.
Vampires aren’t the same.”

“Could have fooled me,” I replied, and lowered my voice as a
group of teenagers walked by, looking at us curiously. “I met Jericho when I
was still human, and he certainly didn’t hurt me. Werewolves, on the other
hand…”

“That was a nomad,” Max said. “You can’t condemn us all
based on the actions of one nomad.”

“So why are you condemning Jericho based on the actions of
other vampires?”

“I’m condemning him based on his own actions!” Max hissed.
“If you knew who he was, Eve, and what he’s done- that vampire is evil. Pure
evil.”

The events of the night before flashed through my head.
Jericho’s lips on mine, his hands gentle against my stomach. “You’re wrong.
He’s not evil.”

“And you’re basing this opinion on, what, being trapped in a
cell beside him for a day or two? Those bars are probably the only thing that
saved your life, Eve! I don’t know what kind of game he’s playing, but-“

“He’s not playing any game! What makes you think that he and
Argos are even the same person, Max? You’ve never met either of them! Gloria
said there hasn’t been a vampire in Rapid City for over a hundred years!”

“That’s right, because we drove the last one out.” Max
appeared visibly calmer now, and he stepped back, folding his arms across his
chest. “Argos was the oldest and most unrepentant of the vampires. Before he
arrived, there was a truce between us…between the wolves and the vampires. But
when he came to Rapid City before, he slaughtered everyone- humans and
werewolves alike. The mining camps and tourists were more than enough to
sustain him. It took years for the werewolves to drive him out, and when they
did, they swore that no vampire would ever set foot in Rapid City again.”

I shook my head. “Jericho isn’t-“

“He
is!”
Max
snapped, and held out his arm, rolling up his sleeve to show an X-shaped scar
on his arm. “Do you see this? I took a blood oath, Eve. A blood oath- do you
even know what that is? It’s an obligation that only my alpha can relieve me of.
I swore on my life, just like every Rapid City alpha has since the 19
^th
century, to kill Argos if he ever returned.”

“You’re not an alpha,” I murmured, and his eyes flashed.

“No, but I’m the closest thing to it that this pack has. I
owe it to the wolves who came before me. Argos isn’t going to make Rapid City
his personal feeding grounds a second time.”

His total conviction was difficult to argue with, and I felt
dread creeping around my heart. “Jericho isn’t Argos,” I said. “He’s not.
You’re wrong.”

“Damn it, Eve, you’re not stupid,” Max muttered, and braced
a fist against the brick wall beside my head. “You’re smarter than this. You
work in that bookstore, for crying out loud. You’ll find Argos in any one of those
books your grandma sells to the conspiracy theorists around here. See for
yourself. I’m not lying.”

“Evie?”

Max and I both jumped, and turned towards the voice that had
said my name. My dad stood at the edge of the brick building, looking confused.
Concern was evident in his blue eyes.

What terrible timing.

There was no way to hide the fact that Max and I had been
arguing, but maybe I could gloss over it.

“Dad,” I said, and laughed nervously, tucking my hair behind
my ears. “Um…this is Max Good Crow, Grandma Sam’s neighbor and the doctor who
treated me after the wolf attack.” I placed a hand on Max’s arm, trying to look
as casual as possible. “Max, this is my dad, Emrick Samuels. And his
girlfriend, Anna.” The last part was said as an afterthought, when I saw Anna
peeking out from behind my dad’s shoulder.

“Nice to meet you, Max,” my dad said, holding out his hand.

I looked up at Max, and could see the muscles in his jaw
working. It wasn’t as easy for him to hide his feelings as it was for me. But
he took my dad’s hand. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Mr. Samuels. I’ve heard a
lot about you from Grandma Sam.” His nostrils flared for a moment, and I could
see that something was wrong, but he said nothing else.

“None of it’s true,” my dad replied with an easy smile. He
happened to glimpse the J on my wrist, and raised an eyebrow. “New tattoo,
Evie?”

It was a joke, because he knew I’d never get a tattoo
without talking to him first. “Just doodling,” I said, and reached out to hug
him. My dad knew I was right-handed, and that there was no way I could have
drawn that J myself, but fortunately he said nothing.

“I’ve gotta get to the clinic,” Max said. “I’ll see you
later, Eve.” His eyes conveyed that I wasn’t off the hook just yet. Anna and I
both watched him walk away, and I tried to imagine how she must see him- tall,
handsome and exotic, especially since he’d left his hair loose today so that it
flowed down his back. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, his off-duty uniform,
and I knew he wasn’t headed to the clinic.

My dad didn’t try to convince him to stay for lunch, and for
that I was grateful. When Max had disappeared around the corner, Dad turned to
look at me. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Max is very passionate about Rapid
City history. He thinks the revenue from tourism was responsible for Rapid City
surviving the Great Depression. I think it was the mining that did it. I mean,
the war was happening and people were, um, moving here…but I don’t want to
ramble. Sorry.” I’d pretty much exhausted my knowledge of Rapid City history by
that point, and I knew if I went on any longer, Dad would figure out that I was
lying. “Anna, it’s good to see you. Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” she said brightly, clearly relieved to change
the subject. “I hear this place has a great tuna salad.”

“Let’s give it a shot,” I said, and linked my arm through
hers. She and I look so much alike that people often mistake us for sisters.
Same blonde hair and blue eyes, same delicate nose and gently pointed chin.
Since my dad and I also look a lot alike, I would be worried that people would
mistake Anna for his daughter- but my dad has aged so well, most people just
think he’s my older brother. He definitely doesn’t look old enough to be my
dad, which can be awkward sometimes.

As we entered the restaurant, I made a conscious effort to
look carefree and happy, but my mind was churning, my thoughts in utter
turmoil.

Up until now, I hadn’t really tried to understand the
instant connection I’d felt with Jericho. I hadn’t questioned it or considered
that there might be something less than noble about his affection for me. And
last night…

Last night was
incredible.

If he’d wanted me dead, he’d had more than enough
opportunities to make it happen. No, Jericho wanted something else. I thought
he’d fallen for me just as fiercely as I’d fallen for him- but even I had to
admit that it had happened awfully fast. Was it possible he could be lying?
That he could be…manipulating me for some darker purpose?

But maybe Max really was wrong. Maybe Jericho wasn’t Argos.
Of course, the fact that both names were those of ancient cities didn’t help
the argument. I knew that it was entirely possible Jericho changed his name
every now and then- how else would a vampire reinvent himself for a new lifetime?

I didn’t want to believe it. I had to prove Max wrong.

I made a mental note to pick up one of those books that Max
had mentioned. I needed to know more about Argos if I was going to disprove
Max’s theory.

In the meantime, I had to at least try to pretend everything
was normal around my dad and Anna.

“So,” Anna said when we had been seated at a table, “Max
is…nice.”

“Max is too old for her,” my dad said absently, looking over
the menu.

“There’s less of an age difference between me and Max than
there is between you and Anna,” I felt compelled to point out. “And he’s a
doctor. I would think you’d be happy for me.” I could have kicked myself for
implying that Max and I were together, but my dad’s hypocritical attitude
rubbed me the wrong way.

“That’s very true,” Anna said, interrupting my dad’s planned
retort. “How old is he, anyway? I didn’t think he was much older than you, but
if he’s a doctor…”

“He’s twenty-nine.” And would likely remain that physical
age for several years, I thought darkly.

“That’s not too old for Eve,” Anna opined, looking at my
dad. “She’s very mature for her age.”

“Thank you, Anna.” I watched my dad to see his reaction,
more out of curiosity than anything.

He looked up from his menu to see us both staring at him,
and promptly held up his hands, dropping the menu on the table. “I’m not going
to argue. I can tell when I’m outnumbered, and you’re legally an adult now. But
Eve, just be careful. Older men can be…”

“Old?” I suggested, and Anna snickered.

“I was
going
to
say they can be pushy, especially when you’re as young as you are.”

I snorted. “That’s rich, coming from you. Hypocrisy
abounds.”

“I happen to think it’s okay if the man is older,” Anna cut
in, sensing an impending argument. “Women mature faster than men. It’s a fact.
As long as you’re being safe, Eve, I see no issue with it.”

“It’s a good thing you’re not her mom,” my dad grouched.

“No, but she’s my friend,” I said, realizing it for the
first time at that moment. I may not have agreed with my dad’s decision to date
someone so much younger, but at least he picked someone that I could get along
with.

I did feel bad for letting him believe that I might be
seeing Max, especially when I had no romantic interest whatsoever in the man.
But I didn’t really know how to remedy the situation, so instead we talked
about other things over lunch. I picked at my cobb salad while Anna raved about
her Asian pan-seared tuna salad, which did look delicious. My dad ate a burger
and tried out several of the pale ales.

Everything seemed all right- normal, even, but all I could
think about was Jericho.

I had to work the afternoon shift at the bookstore, so we
parted ways after lunch. They planned to check into their hotel, walk around
downtown for a bit, stop in the store to see me, and then meet up again for
dinner after I closed the store. Anna had never been to Rapid City, so she was
excited about seeing everything. I even heard her mention Mount Rushmore to my
dad, and smiled to myself. He’d seen all the landmarks before- several times,
in fact. I was just glad I didn’t have to go with them to see it all again.

Olivia left after I showed up at the store, and I sat on a
stool behind the counter. It was beyond strange to be sitting at work like
nothing was wrong, when less than two days before, I’d been trapped in a cell
in Max’s basement, surrounded by werewolves and one very sexy, incredibly
mysterious and possibly villainous vampire.

My eyes fell on the basket marked “custom orders,” and I
noticed the book that Mara had ordered sitting on top. That had gotten here
awfully fast. I pulled out my phone.

Ur book is here,
I
texted her.
Shop is open till 6.

Crap, can’t pick it up
today,
she responded immediately.
I’ll
get it tomorrow tho. Thx!

I pulled the book out of the basket and looked at the cover.
The cover art showed a juxtaposition of a man’s face on the left and a wolf’s
face right on the right, with a lightning bolt down the center.

Wolves of the Black
Hills: Something like Human.

Four days ago, I would have rolled my eyes and tossed the
book back into the bin. But everything had changed now. I no longer thought of
Gram’s customers as wacky conspiracy theorists or loony old geezers looking for
buried treasure.

The wolves of the Black Hills
were
something like human, and I was one of them.

I flipped open the book and scanned the table of contents.

My eyes fell on chapter seven, which was titled
A vendetta worthy of Shakespeare: the wolves
and the blood-drinkers.

What? Was there some kind of copyright on the word
“vampire?”