Bite Club Page 0,24

controller had flaked out on me. The buttons stuck. It wasn't my fault that I lost; it was the tool's. I wasn't going to lose, not to Michael. Not anymore. Yeah, losing my temper was stupid--I mean, it was my favorite game controller I'd busted--but thinking that it wasn't fair, that he'd cheated, that he'd used those vampire reflexes to win and didn't deserve it...It burned me, okay? Burned me bad.

And I wanted to kick his ass.

Maybe it was just that something had gotten loose in the gym, something I usually kept locked down inside some dark cave. I mean, it wasMichael.But just now, staring him down, I was reminded that he wasn't actually my friend. Not the one I'd grown up with, the one who'd had my back, anyway. This was Michael's body, but he wasn't the same person inside of that shell. Not at all.

The girls were upset. Claire was trying to talk to me, but I wasn't hearing her, not until she smacked me in the shoulder. It felt like a sharp, stabbing blow, although I knew it wasn't; it was just that all my nerves

were on fire because I was so hyped, and I probably had a bruise there on top of everything. I said something to her, something that probably wasn't very nice, and I felt a particularly nasty impulse race red from my brain to my hand.

My fingers clenched into a solid ball of muscle, bone, and power.

Claire looked up at me, worry and anger on her face, and for the first time, I saw myself reflected in her eyes. I saw what I was doing.

I knew that look. That face. I'd seen it throughout my childhood, when Dad came stumbling home from the bar. I'd seen it heavy-duty industrial strength after Alyssa died, twenty-four/seven.

Oh, God. God.

It was like some curtain got snapped back, flooding my insides with light, and I didn't like what I was seeing in myself, not at all. Fighting was one thing. But this...this was something else. It was me becoming what I never wanted to be.

...But deep down...way deep down, I realized why my dad had been the way he was. It was easy to let go of all those demons, let them roar.

And it felt good.

That was more frightening than anything else I'd ever known.

Claire actually saw something happen inside him, some kind of snap. Shane blinked, and then he was totallyShane --warm, real, and contrite. "Oh, God, I'm sorry," he said, and put his arms around her. "I didn't mean that. I'm so sorry." She felt his body language shift, and guessed he was looking at Michael, even while he was holding her. "Sorry, bro."

"Yeah," Michael said. He didn't sound convinced. "Okay. Just don't take it so seriously next time. It's just a game, man."

"I'll pick up a new controller tomorrow," Shane said. "Really. Sorry." Claire could tell from his tone that he meant it; he wasn't just saying it. And she guessed Michael could tell that, too. "I guess I just got too much adrenaline going."

Eve, who'd been lying on the floor, staring up at them, finally got to her feet. "Men," she said, and shook her head. "I am not picking up plastic shards. Collins, that's your job. Enjoy. I'm bouncing."

"Yeah, but are youleaving ?" Shane asked. It was a weak effort at insult from him, but at least he'd tried. She gave him a quick smile and flipped him off--first time that evening--and headed upstairs. Claire caught herself yawning and checked her watch. Wow, itwas late. And she had an early start in the morning.

She kissed Shane's cheek, and he turned his head and it turned into a much longer, sweeter kiss. Which she broke, regretfully, and said, "I have to get to bed, too."

He made a low, questioning sound in his throat. She blushed, because Michael wasright there . Michael

pretended to be doing something else, which didn't mean anything. Vampire senses. He could probably feel how fast her heart was racing. "No," she whispered, in Shane's ear. "I've got to rest."

"Okay," he whispered back, and kissed her neck, just where it made her shiver. He knew it was her favorite spot, and it made her weak in the knees. "I'll be good. Oh, wait, I'm always good...."

"Stop it." Her voice didn't sound so sure now. "I need torest ."

He let go of her and stepped back, hands up. "Cool," he said. "Go."

She did, reluctantly--and when she looked back, Shane was picking up shards