Chosen by the Vamprie, Book One

Chapter Twelve

"Don't kill me." Please. I whispered, leaving the last word lingering in my mind.

Laughter echoed from the shadows. The sound reverberated with not one growl...but three. Cries and whimpers from the other girls grew to a crescendo. But they weren't the ones who'd failed the test...they weren't the ones who couldn't make a desperate mortal guy be remotely attracted to her.

They weren't the ones who fought her own desires. I reached up and touched my lips, still feeling the brush of warmth. Memories rose in my head. Trevor's hands on my waist, the feel of his hips pressing against mine. But excited? Not even a little. Wasn't that supposed to happen?

I closed my eyes and looked down, hating how the floor seemed to be one massive hole I wanted to crawl into.

"What happened?" one of the girls whimpered. "I don't remember anything."

Another one started crying. Her blubbering was punctuated with snivels. I swallowed hard at the sound. We were all terrified.

Yes, but they completed the task, didn't they? Cassian's voice slipped through my mind.

Shudders raced along my spine. I glanced at the open door. Moonlight glittered from shattered glass shards, casting snatches of light against the ceiling.

"What are you going to do to us?" Willa called out in the dark.

"What do you deserve?" the stony voice answered next to my ear.

Cassian. I'd know his voice anywhere. I whipped my head toward the sound, finding only silhouettes of the other girls.

The fire had been smothered, leaving embers casting a faint orange glow. But it wasn't enough light to go on. I tried to get a bead on my captors, catching a blur of movement to my right. It wasn't anywhere near enough.

I sensed movement and tracked it in the dark.

The silver light of the moon seemed to grow brighter, like a spotlight in the middle of the dance floor. Arkyn stepped out of the shadows, and my breath caught in my chest. He looked like a god, all hard edges and sunken shadows. Savage. The word came to mind. I trailed my eyes along his body, unable to look away.

He cast a steely gaze around the room. "All but one of you passed the test. You have been chosen for the next trial. Go now, back to your rooms to sleep. In the morning, you'll find a reward and be given specific instructions. Tomorrow there will be a ceremony where you'll be given the gift of something pure...something powerful."

All but one.

All I heard was the words. All but one passed the test.

Me. The thready boom in my chest grew louder. He was talking about me. I was the one who didn't pass the test. Desperation wormed its way under my skin. I shook my head and stepped backwards. "I'll try harder," I pleaded.

All I could think about was retribution as I searched for that steely rage that welled in my gut. But something else pushed to the surface, something that filled me with fear.

A flicker of need licked with warm, hungry tongues.

I wanted to stay.

I wanted to be here.

My own home drifted to the surface of my mind. Empty. Lonely. Jacob standing at the front door, need echoing in his eyes. His hunger for me was a fist around my throat. I was sucked dry around him, falling into an abyss of his desperation to have me...to have all of me, my body, my soul.

He'd consume me if he could.

That kiss rose to the surface of my mind, hard and determined, his hands clawing me, pulling me hard against him. With the memory came a predatory growl.