Free Mark of the Dagger (The Marked Series Book 1) by Stella Rae Page B

five year old little boy. She was lucky that she had her mom to lean on when she lost her dad.  She couldn't help but reach over and take his hand into hers.
    Samuel interlaced their fingers as if it were the most natural thing to do and continued his story. "I stay here so they can finally have the life they wanted. They were great to me, they gave me everything I needed and most of what I wanted, even though I didn't deserve it; I raised a lot of trouble after my dad died. My grandpa taught me everything he could, and I learned to respect him and be grateful for him again. They deserve to be able to see the world."
    "Do you get to visit them often?"
    "When they are in the states they always come see me at least for a day or two before they head off again."
    "That's nice. Why don't you go out there and be a Hunter?"
    "Honestly? I don't know if that's what I want to do," he said shyly.
    "Why not? They say you are the best Hunter of this generation. Why wouldn't you be out there?" she asks in disbelief.
    "That's the same reaction I always get, but I don't have an answer.  There has just always been something missing and until I find out what that is, I can’t make a decision on what to do with my life past the here and now." He took a deep breath and looked at the stars again. "I've never talked to anyone about my past before."
    She didn't say anything, there was nothing to say. They sat in silence until people started walking toward them from the cafeteria.
    "Hey where have you been?" Nick asked as he walked up to them with Jan and Damien.
    "Sorry, I got sidetracked I guess," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She stood up and instantly missed the warmth of Samuel’s body next to hers.
    "Yeah, sidetracked," Samuel said angrily as he stood and stormed off in the opposite direction.
    "What the hell?" she muttered, staring after him.  Trying to fight against the cold, both from the weather and his tone, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
    "Hey, you ok?" Damien asked and wrapped his arms around her to warm her up.
    "Yeah, fine," was her whispered response.
    She couldn't figure out what happened. They had just spent the past half hour actually talking about something meaningful. She felt like they were starting to get to know each other, that maybe if anything, they could become friends. He was in a good mood and then all of sudden he stormed off angry? Why?
    Dani realized what she had said.  ‘Sidetracked’.  Surely he knew she didn’t mean it that way?  She just meant that she forgot to go get her phone and get back to the cafeteria.  But that was only because she was enjoying spending time with Samuel instead.
    She felt like she should go after him but when she took a step in his direction Damien stopped her.
    "Don't worry about him, that’s just the way he is." After the conversation she just had with him, she doubted it. She wanted so badly to follow him but didn't want to argue with her friends. Besides, she knew where she could find him later. Their tree.
     
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
    That night Dani went to the tree they met in that first time only to find it empty. She sat out there for two hours waiting in hopes that he would show up before she decided to head in to sleep. The next morning she and Jan met Nick on the track and ran five miles.
    Throughout her classes she would search for him and never saw him.  She did the same thing every day for a week.  Still, he never showed.  She couldn’t explain this incessant need to talk to him again.  She only knew that she had to make sure he understood what she had meant by ‘sidetracked’.
    Jan only ran with them twice that week, so she was alone with Nick a lot on the track though they barely talked. He kept pace with her and pushed her at the same time. She was glad that he asked to run with her because he was a great partner.
    Friday morning her and Nick were at the track finishing up their five-mile run. At their stopping point Dani