Free Dahlia (Blood Crave Series) by Christina Channelle Page B

that night when he watched from afar during their evening stroll. When Dahlia noticed Greyson off in the distance, he quickly disappeared from sight. It seemed her abilities were getting stronger unknowingly, able to locate his presence.
    Greyson thought of the boy who kept Dahlia company. He really hoped he wouldn’t be a problem. Because that would just be a complication that he didn’t want or need, not being particularly in the mood for anymore deaths.
    He’d had enough to last him a lifetime.
    Turning his face back to Maddox as the car sped off, Greyson continued. “You know we have less than two weeks until our powers are the strongest—until her power is the strongest—in order to perform the ritual. Day by day, she will be realizing her abilities, which finally are activating. It would be pointless to take her. For now, we track her and make sure she doesn’t end up killed.”
    Two weeks time would mark the anniversary of their existence as lapsus. The one day out of the year when their powers were most potent. Dahlia was becoming more aware of her gifts everyday due to the proximity of other lapsus nearby and it was necessary in order for the plan to take effect. She had been too young before but now, according to Merrick, was the perfect time.
    Everything had to be according to plan.
    “Okay, so the ritual’s like, two weeks away. Why don’t I just speed up the process? Or we could have fun with her until then, couldn’t we?” His childish attitude suddenly disappeared as Greyson saw the dangerous spark that came across Maddox’s dark brown eyes at the thought, almost matching the gleam in his earrings.
    “Enough,” Greyson demanded as the smirk immediately left Maddox’s face. “We do things according to plan, alright? You speeding up the process will just interrupt the timeline. Don’t think I didn’t know what you did back there with Dahlia.”
    Maddox possessed the ability to alter time, speeding it up or slowing it down when necessary. An hour or two probably wasn’t such a big deal, but fast forwarding two weeks into the future could potentially mess up things for Merrick.
    Greyson wasn’t particularly in the mood for a pissed off Merrick.
    “I just wanted to play with her a little bit,” explained Maddox as he gave the side of his head a scratch. “I’m bored shitless in this town. I can’t wait to be done with this and go back into the city.”
    “Just stop with the theatrics and do what you’re supposed to be doing—keeping watch. Nothing more, nothing less. Got it?” He gave Maddox a hard stare, showing that he was dead serious.
    “Yeah, sure,” answered Maddox quickly, his eyes quickly narrowing as he echoed Greyson’s words. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
    Greyson nodded his head in agreement as they walked away from the house then disappeared without a sound. His mind briefly flashed back to the image of Dahlia and their interaction in the large backyard as he tried to make sense of what he was feeling. He had read her thoughts, knew that although frightened, she was attracted to him. His mind, too, seemed to reciprocate some of those foreign emotions. When he heard her thoughts say she wanted to taste his blood? He was alarmed at first but had to admit to himself that the idea seemed almost…intriguing.
    He frowned as his chest started to beat quickly. Then he shook his head, rejecting what he was feeling as he looked over at Maddox who thankfully didn’t notice his change in demeanor. Now if only Greyson could follow his own advice and stick to the plan.
    Nothing more, nothing less.

Chapter 8
    Dahlia sat alone on top of the bleachers, gazing  off into the distance, a finger gently tapping the side of her right thigh. Staring at nothing in particular, her thoughts were filled by one person, along with everything else that seemed to be going on in her life.
    After that strange encounter behind Meg’s house with Green Eyes (it wasn’t like she had gotten his name