Read Online The Chosen Ones by Lori Brighton - Free Book Online

them.”
    Attract who? Will and the
others? The images of death and blood fled, and my anger surged to the
forefront. I needed that anger, clung to it in order to survive. Yeah, I hated
myself for screaming and panicking, for falling back into that helpless girl.
But mostly I hated him. I grabbed the dagger on my right thigh and swung my arm
upward. Thanatos rolled off me just at the right moment, jumping to his feet.
    I surged upright, dagger held
high.
    He was breathing harshly, the
anger apparent in his flashing pale eyes and the whiteness of that scar across
his cheek. I’d never thought to see him again, rarely thought about him, even
wondered if he’d been a dream. Having Thanatos so close was too much, as if I
relived that evening over and over… the day Sally had been murdered right
before my eyes.
    “What the hell is your problem?”
he demanded. He didn’t wear the colorful silky outfits of the other beautiful
ones, but instead wore dark and dreary clothing similar to what we wore. For
some reason the clothing annoyed me, as if he was trying to distance himself
from the beautiful ones and pretend to be one of us.
    “My problem?” I repeated through
clenched teeth. “My problem is you, you murderer!”  
    The sound of someone crashing
through the vegetation had me stiffening in surprise. Thanatos didn’t even bat
an eyelash.
    “It’s merely Will,” he muttered.
    How he knew, I wasn’t sure. But
I believed him. I doubted a beautiful one would make so much noise. No, they’d
be stealth and quiet like the tigers I’d read about in one of my books.
    “Jane?” I heard Will’s voice a
moment later. My relief was immediate, but I didn’t dare turn my back on Thanatos.
“What’s wrong?”
    “Him! He’s one of them!”
    Thanatos stepped toward us. Unable
to hold back any longer, I lunged forward with the dagger.
    He jumped back, a primitive
growl escaping his lips. “Damn it, Will, control her before I do!”
    Startled, I almost dropped my
knife. So, he and Will were on a first name basis? I flushed, feeling as if I’d
been duped. How wonderful for them. I wasn’t so easy to charm. I narrowed my
eyes, not trusting him in the least. Blood
drinker. Murderer. A variety of hateful names burst through my mind, but I
managed to keep them to myself.
    “Jane,” Will said soothingly.
“He’s not like them.”
    I almost laughed at that
ridiculous statement. Yeah, maybe he’d saved me after all, and it hadn’t been a
dream. But he was still one of them, and he’d let hundreds, probably thousands,
die.
    “Just calm down.” Will walked
hesitantly forward, placing himself between me and Thanatos as if he meant to
protect the blood drinker.
    Frustrated, I dropped my arm to
my side. “What is this?” I demanded. “Why are you protecting him after everything
his people have done?”
    Thanatos released a wry laugh.
“Protecting me?”
    I didn’t bother to glance at
him. He didn’t deserve my attention. “What’s this about, Will?”
    “Will?” Kelly cried out. He
looked almost relieved when she and Tony came panting up the hill, interrupting
us. “What’s wrong?”
    “It’s all right,” he said to
them. “She’s not hurt.”
    I wasn’t hurt, at least not
physically. As if that made all the difference. They knew as well as I did that
mentally I was a mess and it was the blood drinker’s fault. His fault that I
couldn’t sleep at night. His fault that for two weeks I’d been a shell of the
person I’d once been.
    “What happened?” Kelly asked in
that motherly voice she used on the children.
    “Him!” I pointed my dagger at
Thanatos, ignoring the flash of anger in his eyes. He reminded me of a snake,
coiled and ready to attack. Not to be trusted…ever. “He’s one of them.”
    “Yes, Jane.” Will held up his
hands as if to ward me off, as if I was the threat here. “But he’s on our
side.”
    Confused, I shook my head. “He’s
a blood drinker. He’s a beautiful one. He’s