Crave the Night Read Online Free PDF Page A

the males she’d held captive. His indifference
chafed. “Then how do I catch wolves? Something squirmy from the pet
shop, or will a raw flank steak do the trick?”
    He gave her a look that made her regret her
words. Attitude wasn’t going to get her very far with this
specimen. He finished with the boots and stood up, dusting his
hands on his jeans. “You don’t know a thing about us, do you?”
    Not much
.
Then again, the wolves probably thought
she
was the villain. Secrecy had its down
side.
You think you’ve got problems,
wolfman. Try some of mine
.
    She folded her arms. “So then tell me.”
    He paced, quick, restless steps. “What?”
    “ Anything. Do all your people live in
Wolf Creek?”
    “ We’re ranchers. Where else would we
be?”
    She shrugged. “Just asking. You don’t seem
the type to spend your days chasing cows.”
    “ We’re not like the urban Packs. The
Devries wolves don’t do appletinis and book clubs.”
    “ Yoga?”
    “ Not so much.” His words were clipped
with impatience. “Now it’s my turn to ask something. What did you
do with Wyatt and Tom?”
    “ I sent them home with your vampire
friend.”
    “ To die of broken hearts,” he snarled.
“
La Belle Dame sans
Merci
.”
    The name meant beautiful, pitiless woman.
Bloody hell, she hated that poem. “No, of course not. I took the
spell off. They’ll bounce back.”
    “ How very generous of you.”
    “ I’m not a monster.” His look said
otherwise, and she felt herself flush.
    He raised an eyebrow. “Why did you take them
in the first place?”
    “ To prove a point. To scare you. I
have power. I can glamor the wolves whenever I please.”
    “ Not all of us.”  He stalked back
and forth, looking more like a caged tiger. “That’s why you put the
others to sleep. Those are our leaders. Those with Alpha blood.
Your charm is powerful, but not enough to control a very strong
will. Easier to knock them out.”
    He was right and by the look on his
face, he enjoyed finding a weakness. She wasn’t going to add to his
satisfaction by telling him that the others had come far closer to
surrender than he. His will was forged of an iron she could not
break.
So far, anyway. I’m not out of
the game yet.
    She kept her own voice ice-cold. “They might
be stubborn, but not smart. They were easy enough to lure
here.”
    He matched her chilly look with one of his
own. “But once your victims arrived, you couldn’t get them to sign
over their land. Not even to save their friends.”
    When she didn’t answer, he went on. “Once
they knew what you were after, you couldn’t let them warn the rest
of Wolf Creek. So you put your victims to sleep, turning them into
hostages until you’re ready to make your move. Since the individual
approach didn’t work, you’re going to force the whole town to give
in. Our land for our Alphas. And you want me to be your mouthpiece
in this hellish blackmail.”
    Lila folded her arms. He’d figured it
out.
Smart wolf
. “When the
time comes, your people will awaken with no ill
effects.”
    “ They’re bargaining chips.”
    “ More or less.”
    “ What a wonderful Alpha bitch you
would make.”
    “ I assume you mean that
literally.”
    “ You’ve already got there
metaphorically.”
    “ I’m a quick study.” She gave him a
thin smile. “And I’m not going to spend all night trading insults.
I have better things to do with my time. Let’s get down to
business.”
    “ Fine.” He whirled mid-pace,
frustration contorting his features. “What can I do to end
this?”
    “ When I get Wolf Creek, you get your
people back. Your daddy gets his heir back. Like you said, you’re
my mouthpiece.”
    The muscles in his jaw twitched with anger.
“That’s not going to happen. I won’t do it.”
    Lila kept her cool. As long as he was
emotional and she wasn’t, she had the upper hand. “I’ve been
patient, but the clock is ticking.”
    “ What’s the rush?”
    She shrugged. It wasn’t