Lycan Blood (Alex Vane: Demon Stalker #1)

Movie Night

“So let me get this straight-why are we wasting our time hanging out at Jacey’s again?” Scott handed me another book off the shelf, apparently ignorant of the fact that the five I was already carrying were pretty heavy. He was far less choosy than I would have been, picking up any book which had ‘demon’ or ‘mythical creatures’ in its title. I set them down on the floor with a sigh, stopping him before he could pick up anymore.

“Don’t you think we should check out these ones before you take down the whole shelf?” He smiled sheepishly, promptly picking up half the books and carrying them over to the table. I took the other half, hoping the other visitors to the library wouldn’t think we were odd. Then again, it had to look better than me rooting through hundreds of mythology books alone, “And I told you, Jacey is super-persuasive. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Besides, I didn’t want to leave her alone with Jenna.”

“So you still think it’s her?” He opened up the first book, flicking through at a ridiculous pace. I began to go through mine more slowly, giving him a pointed look.

“I’m not sure. Don’t you? I thought you said she was your main suspect.”

“I did think that. I don’t know though. You were my main suspect and look how well that turned out. We need some way to be sure and short of catching her crouched over a dead body, I don’t see how that’s going to happen.”

“I did have a sort of plan. Since you’ve been so friendly with the cheerleaders lately-”

“I wouldn’t really say-”

“-I figured there’s no harm in you sticking close to them. Everyone would think it was weird if I started trying to be pally with them but you can get away with it.”

“Okay, so I keep hanging out with them. Then what? I chase away anyone who tries to get them alone? I might as well just lock up the entire football team for starters.”

“Look, I never said it was a great plan. Have you got anything better?” I demanded.

“No,” he admitted reluctantly, “Although all joking aside, it could actually be one of the football team. What about Luke? I know he’s not new but it doesn’t have to be a new person.”

“Luke?” I hesitated, shuddering as I remembered the way he had shoved me against the lockers. He’d been strong but not inhumanely so, “No, I don’t think it’s him.”

“Really? How can you be so sure?” I didn’t want to tell him about the lockers thing so instead I just sort of shrugged.

“He’s not smart enough. Plus when we were going to be alone together at Gabby’s party, he didn’t really seem all that interested in eating me.”

“You don’t know that for certain though. Maybe he was just waiting until-”

 “Hang on a second,” I held up my hand to stop him, leaning in to get a better look at the book I was scanning, “This has something about werewolf dens.”

“Let me see.” He shifted round his chair to get a better look, leaning over my shoulder. I tried to ignore how my skin tingled at how close he was. There were more important things to be focusing on. Did he have to be so damn distracting?

“’Unlike their portrayal in many myths’,” I read, “’Werewolves are not social creatures. On the contrary, they are very territorial and often fight to the death over the right to hunt in a particular town or village. As they spend most of their lives in human form, they have no need to create homes like other, more animalistic demons. Therefore hunting for werewolf dens will prove fruitless’.”