Crave (Harlequin Teen)

be furious. Instead, a hint of a smile tightened one corner of his mouth. “You make such a thing sound like the end of the world.”
    I shrugged, too tired and defeated to think of anything polite to say. If I had to live with him, it would be the end of the world. Then again, it already felt like my life was pretty much over. I was officially one of the monsters now, complete with cravings for blood.
    “Unfortunately, such things are not up to me to decide,” he added. “Which is why we must leave soon. But first, look at me.” He waited until I looked up at him in confusion. “Savannah, you will drink that now.” He pointed at the glass of blood in front of me, all the while staring me down.
    “Uh, no, thanks.”
    “Savannah, you will drink it this instant.” His tone was weird, like he was trying to compel me to obey him.
    “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to drink that.” He’d have to pinch my nose and force it down my throat first. I didn’t care how much trouble I was in, I wasn’t going to drink a whole glass of blood. I wasn’t that far gone. Yet.
    We stared at each other for a long, tense moment. Then suddenly he smiled. “That’s my girl.”
    “Huh?” Were all vampires this moody and strange, or just him?
    Still smiling, he picked up the glass and drained it. I actually had to look away in order to calm my gag reflex. Just because it smelled good didn’t mean it was anything anyone in their right mind should be guzzling.
    When he finished, he said, “You passed the test. Now we may leave.”
    Test? Like a pop quiz? I had to jump to my feet and practically run to keep up with him as he led the way out of the restaurant to the parking lot. “Hey, wait a minute! What test?”
    He stopped by his car. “To see what vampire abilities you have now.”
    “Like?”
    “So far, you are still immune to the elder vampires’ ability to control fledgling vampires’ wills.”
    Some vampire might be able to control me someday? I shuddered. To distract myself from that idea, I asked, “What else did you test me on back there?”
    “You have a vampire’s hearing, or you would not have been able to hear me at all. According to what the watchers learned from your friend Anne’s mind, you have the ability to mesmerize human males with your gaze. Your physical abilities were nearly as advanced as a newly turned vampire when I saw you dance last spring. So you should be fully equal to a vampire in strength, speed and agility soon, possibly after your first feeding.”
    Feeding? I nearly threw up in my mouth.
    “And though you may have experienced a bit of the bloodlust last night, you have not lost control over it as a newly turned vampire would. Most would not be able to control themselves so well, even around a normal human with injuries.”
    “I will never drink blood.” Never mind last night. That was just a few drops. They didn’t count.
    All human expression left his face, showing the true alienness that I had come from. “If the bloodlust continues to strengthen within you, you may not have a choice eventually.”
    We’d see about that. “So what happens now? The council just keeps watching me?”
    “I wish it were that simple. But you present a true danger to them now, even more so than before. The council insists on meeting you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because of the bloodlust. You cannot be allowed to endanger our society’s secrecy if you prove incapable of controlling it. The council must meet with you and decide what action to take.”
    “When?”
    “Right now. I am to take you directly to the nearest airport, and from there, to their headquarters in Paris.” He opened his car’s driver-side door then stared at me.
    “And if I don’t want to go?”
    He became so still he could pass for a statue. “That would…not be good.”
    Or what, the council would send someone to hurt Nanna and Mom?
    Because I wanted to scream, I took a deep breath, held it for five seconds then let it out in a huff and yanked open the passenger-side door. “Fine, let’s go. Seeing as how I obviously have no choice.”
    “Thank you.”
     
    On the way to the airport, I had to borrow Dad’s phone because I’d left mine with all the rest of my things at school. I had to do a Google search for the dance-team director’s home number before I could call her. “Mrs. Daniels, this is Savannah Colbert. I’m sorry, but I have a family emergency and have to go out of town for a few