Free The Chosen Ones by Lori Brighton

you’re human?”
    He laughed as if it was the most
ridiculous thing I’d said. “If I’d wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t have heard
me coming.”
    Shoving my hands into the dirt,
I managed to sit up. The world around me spun. Gritting my teeth, I refused to allow
the dizziness to overwhelm me. Damn my weak body. “So you’re saying you were
loud on purpose?”
    “Of course. I did the same only
half an hour ago when I saw you in the forest. I didn’t want to frighten you.”
    More mockery. I was sure of it.
He didn’t care in the least if I was afraid. I glared up at him. He held out
his hand. I ignored his offer and stood on my own even though I wasn’t quite
sure if my legs would hold me. “I will fight back.”
    His lips twitched. “And if I
wanted you dead, you would be already.”
    I shivered despite myself. If he
didn’t want to murder me, then why was he here? “What do you want?”
    Not that I expected the truth
from his beautiful mouth. He looked so much like a blood drinker that I felt
sick at the sight of him. Exactly like them but for the scar. It was all that
separated him from the others, but it wasn’t enough to convince me.
    “I want you to return to Will’s
camp.”
    And here I thought nothing could
surprise me anymore. What was in it for him? I had no doubt he was getting
something from this. Bemused, I moved to the fallen log where my bag and jacket
rested. I didn’t trust Thanatos in the least. “Why do you care?”
    “Because I saved your life and I
don’t want all that work to have been for nothing.”
    Honest, I’d give him that. But I
wasn’t buying his reasoning. There was more. I’d bet my life on it. I slid my
arms into my jacket, using the excuse to look away. So, he had carried me from
that castle, I hadn’t imagined that. Kelly had been right when she’d said he’d
saved me. It didn’t change my feelings—at least that’s what I told myself.
    I stared at the dark waters,
watching the way the river caught the moonlight, trying to understand this man.
In about a week and a half they’d be feeding again. Would Thanatos save someone
else? When I was sure I was going to die, he had risked his own life to help.
It should have made me feel better, it didn’t. I slid him a glance from the
corner of my eye. The blood drinker before me wouldn’t do something so
self-sacrificing for nothing. I didn’t understand why he had risked his life
for mine, but I knew there was something in it for him.
    “Saved me?” I released a harsh
laugh. “You left me in a field, in the elements, to freeze to death.”
    He propped his shoulder against
an oak which was leaning precariously over the creek. “Don’t be so dramatic. I
knew they’d find you. They were out doing patrol as they do every hour at every
camp.”
    An hour? I was only out there
for an hour? Where had I been the rest of the night and why couldn’t I
remember?
    “I left you there because I had
to return as soon as possible.” He walked so very quietly, like the cats back
at the compound when they stalked prey. It only reminded me of how powerful he
was. Truth was he was right…if he wanted me dead, I would be. “I had to return
to the castle before they realized I was missing.”
    He settled on the fallen log
where my bag rested only a few feet from me. I had the unsettling feeling he
was trying to make me feel at ease by sitting there so relaxed, instead of
looming. In fact, I had a feeling every single thing he did was on purpose. What
he didn’t realize was I would never let my guard down again, and especially not
near him. “So, you’re completely accepted by us? They welcome you with open
arms and all that?”
    “I actually have little contact
with your group, other than with Will.”
    It was dark, too dark to read
his face. I wished I knew who this man was, what his true intentions might be.
One thing was certain, I didn’t trust him and never would. “Why not?”
    “I rarely go into the