Free Blood Lust by Charity Santiago Page B

gate,
obviously trying to gauge its strength. But I knew there’d be no way for him to
yank his own gate off the hinges, free me and pull the bars from the window
without someone hearing.
    I whined again and shook my head at him. I nodded at the
window. He needed to go. The wolves intended to kill him. I didn’t know what
would happen to me, but it wouldn’t do either of us any good if Jericho stayed.
    He sank to one knee, leaning his forehead against the bars.
“I’m not leaving you, Eve.”
    My first- and utterly repulsive- instinct was to lick his
face, but thankfully I managed to refrain. Instead I lifted one paw and placed
it over his hand, trying with all my might to communicate to him how important
it was for him to go. They’ll kill you if
you don’t.
    He looked up at me then, and smiled faintly. “Imagine
finding you here,” he murmured, and his hand turned so that my paw was resting
against his palm.
    He seemed to make up his mind then, and stood. “If they
don’t release you tomorrow, I’ll be back for you,” he said.
    If Max was the beta they had spoken of, then I had nothing
to worry about, but I couldn’t convey that to Jericho, so I just nodded.
    He locked his hands around the bars in the window and yanked,
pulling the first two bars out in one motion. He similarly broke the third bar
away from its concrete bed, tossing it to the floor with a clang.
    Jericho looked back at me for one endless moment.
    “We’ll meet again,” he promised.
    I nodded.
    In a split second, he had pulled himself up and out through
the window, crawling onto the grass outside.
    I made my way to the corner and lay down, pretending to be
asleep as footsteps clattered down the stairs. I smelled her humanity the
moment she entered the basement. When I opened my eyes, the witch was there,
staring open-mouthed at the window.
    She turned her gaze on me. “You let him escape,” she said.
    I ignored her and closed my eyes again. I didn’t know what
kind of story I’d tell when I was human again, but I had some idea that even if
I’d raised the alarm, there would have been little they could have done to stop
Jericho.

Chapter Five
    I opened my eyes to the same concrete ceiling I’d woken to
the day before.
    As I sat up, I realized that there was a blanket covering
me. I also realized that Max Good Crow was sitting on an overturned bucket just
outside my cell door.
    I snatched the blanket up to cover my chest, scowling at
him. “Is this how you treat all the granddaughters of your friends, Dr. Good
Crow?” I reached for Jericho’s hoodie and pulled it over my head, maneuvering
under the blanket as I waited for his answer.
    He didn’t respond immediately, so I stood, discarding the
blanket on the floor, and walked to the open gate. “You’re gonna be quiet now,
seriously? I think you owe me an explanation.”
    “I had no idea any of this was going on,” he said, standing
and hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans, which rode low on
his hips. “You do know what’s happened to you, right?”
    “I’m a werewolf,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And apparently
your friends decided to keep me here until you could get back and decide what
to do with me.”
    He nodded. “It was bad timing on my part. I had to leave
town for a few days. I didn’t think you’d experience the change for a month, at
least. Most wolves can take a month or even two to start shifting.”
    “Well, I’m special. That doesn’t explain why I’ve been stuck
in this cell for the last two days.”
    “I understand you weren’t alone,” he said, and looked past
me to the empty window in Jericho’s old cell.
    “Yes, well, I guess the vampire didn’t feel like sticking
around after your witch told him you’d be killing him come morning,” I snapped.
I couldn’t help it. I was tired, grouchy and filthy. All I wanted was a hot
shower and some food. The half a sandwich I’d gulped down the day before wasn’t
doing much for me