Read Online Chosen by Fate by Virna Depaul - Free Book Online Page A

have to bring up his betrayal. For days, she and Caleb had worked together—solving puzzles and piecing out his visions in order to track down the location of the vamp antidote—when the whole time, Mahone already had that information. He’d just been testing her, and he’d used Caleb to do so. What she’d thought had been a building trust between them had turned out to be a lie. “I do,” she said. “I am. But . . .” How could she explain that while she still felt betrayed by his actions, she also understood why he’d done it. From what she knew about him, Caleb always did the hard thing, especially when it was for the good of the whole. Mahone had been right—she had been the unknown element in the group. He’d needed to test her, and Caleb had given him the means. It had pissed her off, but it hadn’t made her want him any less, no matter how hard she’d tried. “Jesus, why do you have to analyze everything?”
    He said nothing, not even to question her reference to a Christian God, the one she’d studied in L.A. and continued to study, drawn to the accounts of his selflessness and willingness to suffer for the redemption of others. Caleb simply studied her as if he was still trying to figure out something puzzling. His ability to remain cautious and curious when she was being burned alive by desire shamed her.
    Hurt and anger made her turn away from him. “Forget it,” she called over her shoulder. “I just thought you might want some R & R, too. If you don’t want it with me, I’ll go find someone who does. And this time, don’t interfere.”
    She skirted around the guests on the dance floor and was almost out of the room when his voice stopped her.
    “Wait.”
    Now it was Wraith who froze. The sound of his voice, deep and gravelly, dark in a way his cockiness and movie star good looks belied, had brought her to a halt. Slowly, she turned back to face him. Several people looked at them. Tipped their heads toward one another, most likely whispering about the handsome human male talking to the pitiful dead creature.
    She didn’t care.
    He wanted her. She could see it in his face. In his glittering eyes where desire burned like a raging fire. In the nostrils that flared as he stared at her, his features hard. Dangerous.
    Something tightened in her chest, and she felt it move to shiver along her spine as if he’d caressed it with his finger. She gasped, a sound of excitement. And fear?
    The notion made her straighten her shoulders, raise her chin, and react the way she always reacted—on the offensive. “Don’t think about it too long,” she drawled. “I’m getting bored really fast.”
    But he couldn’t not think about it. She saw it all tumbling through his mind. His doubts. His suspicions. His belief that he could just talk to her. Comfort her. And yes, maybe even experiment a little to see what caused her pain and what didn’t.
    Her mouth twisted at the dreaded word: “experiment.”
    Like she was some freak whose responses were to be judged. Analyzed. But how could she blame him? Even the idea of making out with a female without a pulse must cause him concern. She’d never been intimate with a human before. How did he know she wouldn’t hurt him? Infect him, somehow? Why had she even—
    He closed the distance between them and thumbed her chin up. That small contact caused a zing to shoot through her body—a jolt of pain, yes, but one tempered by the headiness of his touch.
    “You should be more protective of yourself.”
    “What do I need to protect myself from?” she murmured, moving her jaw so his thumb caressed it. “I know you won’t hurt me, not intentionally.”
    “And how do you know that?”
    She put her hand against his chest, relishing the accelerated beat of his heart. For a moment she weakened, wanting to drop her shields and give him a little of the truth. “Give me some credit, O’Flare. I don’t need to be psychic to sense the goodness inside you.”
    He