Free Blood Lust by Charity Santiago

I hissed, all
thoughts of the transformation drowned out with the horrible possibility that
he could see my nakedness.
    “…No?”
    “You’re a terrible liar.” Scowling, I pulled my hand from
his and snatched up his shirt, holding it against me to cover up what I could.
    “You do realize you were sprawled out naked in the cell
beside me for most of the day, asleep.”
    I actually hadn’t realized that, but now that he’d pointed
it out, I was mortified. “If you’d been a gentleman, you wouldn’t have looked,”
I said lamely, wanting a hole to open up and swallow me.
    “I didn’t,” he said. “Just like I’m not looking now.”
    That did make me feel a little better, even if he was only
lying to ease my mind. “What will the wolves do with you, Jericho?”
    “They’ll kill me once they realize who I am.”
    “A vampire?”
    “That is what I am,” he agreed, and I got the sense that
he’d meant something else when he’d said “ who I am.” “What about you, Eve? Do you think this Max will help you?”
    “I think so. I’m pretty sure I know who they’re talking
about. Max Good Crow is Gram’s neighbor…I mean, my grandma’s neighbor. And a
friend. He treated my bite wounds yesterday.”
    “Would he hurt you, do you think?”
    “No. He’d help me. He definitely knows I’m not the nomad
wolf- if he’s the same Max they’re talking about, I mean. He knows I was
attacked by a wolf. But…that wouldn’t make any sense. If he knew I was attacked
by a werewolf, he should have known I would change on the night of the full
moon. Why didn’t he do something?”
    “As you said, it may not be the same Max.” Jericho was
silent for a moment. “It’s likely that if this is your Max, he didn’t realize you would change last night. Most
wolves take a month or longer after being bitten. Only an alpha changes immediately.”
    “Alpha?”
    “Yes.” He didn’t elaborate. “How certain are you that this
Max is your Max? Is it possible it could be someone else?”
    “I don’t think so,” I answered, wondering what he was
getting at. “We walked to his property, and I don’t think any other neighbors
are within walking distance. And I definitely don’t know any other neighbors
named Max. I can’t be positive, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same person.”
    He was silent for a long time, and I shifted position so
that I was leaning up against him, the bars between us, our backs together. No
sooner had I settled down than the familiar cramping began in my abdomen. I
cringed and wrapped my arms around myself.
    There was a curious absence of terror this time, now that I
knew what was going on, but I was still nervous about what would happen.
    My legs began to shift first, and my knees suddenly snapped
down, my legs stretching out in front of me as my joints began reversing,
bending much further than they’d ever intended. It felt like my bones were breaking
inside me, and I cried out, falling sideways against the straw as pain swept up
my body.
    I sensed Jericho more than felt him as he reached through
the bars to take my hand, clasping my fingers tightly. “Breathe,” he
instructed.
    I wanted to bite his head off for saying something so
ludicrous, as if I had any intention of holding my breath through this terrible
transformation. I winced as my hands began shifting, claws sprouting from my
fingertips. Jericho held on anyway, his fingers moving to my wrist. His touch
was strangely comforting, and my scream died on my lips as I realized that his
presence was somehow inexplicably soothing my agony.
    The change seemed faster this time, because Jericho was with
me or because I knew what was happening- either one could have been true. When
it was over, I lay on my side, my legs stretched out before me. Jericho still
sat there, his silver eyes luminous in the darkness, holding firmly to my paw.
    We were both silent, regarding each other with a quiet kind
of awe. I was simultaneously surprised and