Read Online Blood Crave 2 by Jennifer Knight - Free Book Online Page B

hooded with a scowl. “Got it.”
    There was a knock on the door and Lucas entered.
    I withdrew my hands from Derek’s arms and took a step back.
    Lucas’s eyes flipped to me and shifted silver. I think I actually saw him bite his tongue.
    “Time to go,” he said.
    I went to him and took his hand. He was like a furnace. I didn’t know if that was because I’d just been holding Derek’s icicle arms, or because Lucas was ready to change at any second. All I know is that I liked it. Blood rushing, pulse pounding ... life .
    “Are we going back to campus now?” I asked. And would Derek be coming, too?
    “Nope,” Lucas said. “Rolf called. He’s summoning us.”
    “What’s that mean?” Derek asked.
    Lucas answered for me. “Nothin’ good.”
    Panic fluttered in my chest. “But—we can’t just hand him over,” I sputtered. “Rolf will kill him.” Despite Yvette’s assurances to the contrary, I didn’t trust Rolf. At all.
    “He won’t,” Lucas said surely, already tugging me out the door. Derek followed closely with a look of immense concern on his face. Katie and Julian were trudging along ahead of us, already at the tree line.
    “How do you know that?” I asked. “He’s wanted to kill Derek since he came to the house. How can you just trust him all of a sudden?”
    “Because I do.”
    I stopped walking. I needed a better answer than that .
    Lucas rounded on me.
    “You trust me, right?” he asked.
    I nodded.
    “Then you trust Rolf.”
    “He put you in the silver room,” I hissed. “I can never trust him after that.”
    “Rolf won’t hurt Derek. He gave me his word. If he breaks it in front of the whole pack, he might as well resign.”
    “How do you figure that?” I asked.
    “A pack is based on trust, Faith. I trust Rolf, he trusts me—even though he put me in the silver room,” he said, reading my outraged expression. “If he breaks his word, it’s over for him. Rolf’s been leading this pack for over two decades. He’d never give that up just for a kid who might be a danger to us.”
    I wasn’t convinced.
    “He won’t hurt Derek, all right?” Lucas said. “But it’s one night only. We have till dawn, so unless you want to wait until tomorrow and take your chances, I suggest we get going.”
    Defeated, I cast a glance at Derek’s petrified face and set off toward the car without another word. I could only pray that Lucas and Yvette were right.

    T he five of us walked up the slate steps of the werewolf mansion in total silence. Lucas’s vibe was whirling around manically and Derek seemed paler than ever. I couldn’t even begin to think how scared he must’ve been, knowing he was about to enter a house full of werewolves who wanted him dead.
    Inside the massive recessed living room, about twenty pack members and all of the Pack Council were convened. They seemed to have been discussing something controversial—probably us—because a lot of the faces were angry. But angry or not, every single face turned to Derek when we entered the room.
    For almost ten seconds, the only sound was the crackling of the fire and blood rushing through my ears.
    A chair scratched against the wood floor as someone stood up. It was Rolf, looking poised and disconcertingly calm.
    I was instantly suspicious.
    “Lucas,” Rolf said. “Glad to see you are well.” He smiled warmly at Lucas, but I understood the subtext of that snide little statement: I’m glad you didn’t go crazy after suffering that sadistic punishment I gave you for no good reason other than to prove my place as pack master.
    Jerk.
    I glared him down with my most venomous look, but he wasn’t paying attention to me.
    “I am also glad that you have found your friend.” Rolf went on, turning his black gaze on Derek. “Won’t you please introduce us?”
    “This is Derek Turner,” Lucas said, even though Rolf already knew who Derek was. He probably knew more about him than I did, since he was rumored to have connections