Chosen

I did as he told me. The taste exploded on my tongue, sending sparks of heat throughout my body. 'It has blood in it!' I gasped.

'It does.' He was making a sandwich and he didn't even look up at me. 'It's how vampyres drink their wine— laced with blood.' He did glance up to meet my eyes then. 'If the taste is disagreeable to you, I'll get you something else to drink.'

'No, it's fine. I'll drink it like this.' I took another sip, forcing myself not to chug it all down in one huge swallow.

'I had a feeling you wouldn't have a problem with it.'

My eyes shot back to his. 'Why would you say that?' I could feel my strength as well as my wits returning to me as the wonderful blood settled into my body.

He kept making the sandwich and shrugged. 'You Imprinted that human boy, didn't you? That's how you were able to find and rescue him from the serial killer.'

'Yeah.'

When I didn't say anything else he glanced up at me and smiled. 'I thought so. It happens. Sometimes we accidentally Imprint.'

'Fledglings don't. We're not even supposed to be drinking human blood,' I said.

Loren's smile was warm and filled with appreciation. 'You're not a normal fledgling, so the normal rules don't apply to you.' His gaze held mine and it seemed he was talking about much more than accidentally drinking a little human blood.

He made me feel hot and cold—scared but totally grown-up and sexy—all at once.

I kept my mouth shut and went back to sipping the blood-spiked wine. (I know it sounds completely gross, but it was delicious.)

'Here, eat this.' He passed the plate to me that held the ham and cheese sandwich he'd just made me. 'Wait, you'll need some of these, too.' He rummaged around in a cabinet until he made a little 'ahha!' noise and turned around to pour a big ol' pile of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos on my plate.

I smiled. This time my mouth felt more natural doing it. 'Doritos! That's perfect.' I took a big bite as I realized I really was starving. 'You know, they don't like fledglings to eat junk food like this.'

'As I said'—Loren smiled his slow, sexy smile at me again— 'you're not like the rest of those fledgling children. And I happen to adhere to the belief that some rules were meant to be broken.' His eyes went from my eyes to the diamond earrings that nestled in my earlobes.

I felt my face getting hot, so I refocused on eating, glancing up only once in a while at him. Loren hadn't made himself a sandwich, but he had poured himself a glass of wine and was drinking it slowly while he watched me eat. I was just getting ready to tell him that he was making me nervous when he finally said something.

'Since when are you and Aphrodite friends?'

'We're not,' I said around a bite of sandwich (which actually was very good—so he's ridiculously handsome, sexy, smart, and he can cook!). 'I was driving back to school and I saw her walking.' I lifted one shoulder like I couldn't give a good poop about her. 'I figure it's part of my job as leader of the Dark Daughters to be nice, even to her. So I gave her a ride.'

'I'm a little surprised she accepted a ride from you. Aren't you two sworn enemies?'

'Whatever! Sworn enemies? I don't think much about her at all.' I wished I could tell Loren the truth about Aphrodite. Actually, I hated lying (and I'm really not very good at it, although I seemed to be getting better with practice). But even as I thought about liking to unload to Loren, I was slammed in the gut with a feeling that plainly said no way do you tell him. So I smiled and chewed my sandwich and basically just tried to focus on the fact that I was feeling less Night of the Living Dead.

Which reminded me of Professor Nolan. I put down the half-eaten sandwich and took another gulp of wine.

'Loren, who could have done something like that to Professor Nolan?'

The expression on his handsome face darkened. 'I think the quote made it pretty obvious.'

'Quote?'

'Didn't you see what was written on the paper they staked to her?'

I shook my head, feeling a little queasy again. 'I know there was something written on the paper, but I couldn't look long enough to read it.'

'It said, 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Exodus 22:18.' And repent written and underlined several times.'

Something tickled at my memory and I felt a burning begin inside of me that had nothing to do with the blood in my wine. 'The People of Faith.'

'That's what it looks like.' Loren shook his head. 'I wondered what the priestesses were thinking when they decided to buy this place and set up a House of Night here. Seemed to be asking for trouble. There are few parts of the country more narrow-minded and rabid about what they call their religious beliefs.' He shook his head and looked truly angry. 'Although I don't understand worshipping a god who denigrates women and whose 'true believers' feel it's their right to look down on anyone who doesn't think exactly as they do.'

'That's not how everyone is in Oklahoma,' I said firmly. 'There's also a strong Native American belief system, and lots of regular people who don't buy into the stupid People of Faith prejudices.'

'Regardless, it's the People of Faith who are most vocal.'

'Just because they have the biggest mouths that doesn't make them right.'

He laughed and his face relaxed. 'You're feeling better.'

'Yeah, I guess I am.' I yawned.

'Better but exhausted, I bet,' he said. 'Time to head to your dorm and your bed. You'll need to rest and regain your strength for what is to come.'

I felt an icy prick of fear in my stomach, and I wished I hadn't eaten so many chips. 'What's going to happen?'

'It's been decades since there's been an open attack by humans on vampyres. It will change things.'

The cold fear expanded in my gut. 'Change things? How?'

Loren met my gaze. 'We will not suffer insult without giving insult in return.' His expression went hard, and all of a sudden he looked more warrior than poet, more vampyre than human. He looked powerful and dangerous and exotic and more than a little scary. Okay, he was honestly the hottest thing I'd ever seen.

Then, as if realizing he'd said too much, he smiled and walked around the counter to stand close to me. 'But you don't need to worry about any of that. Within twenty-four hours the school will be flooded with our elite vampyre warriors, the Sons of Erebus. No human fanatic will be able to touch any of us.'

I frowned, worrying about the ramifications of increased security. How the hell was I supposed to sneak myself and squishy bags of blood out to Stevie Rae with a zillion testosterone-filled warriors banging their chests and being all superprotective?

'Hey, you'll be safe. I promise.' Loren took my chin in his hands and tilted my face up.

Nervous anticipation made my breath go all quick and my stomach feel all fluttery. I'd tried to put him out of my mind, tried not to think about his kisses and the way he made my blood pound when he looked at me, but the truth was that even knowing how much my being with Loren would hurt Erik, and with the stress of Stevie Rae and Aphrodite and the horror of what had happened to Professor Nolan, I could still feel the imprint of his lips on mine. I wanted him to kiss me again and again and again.

'I believe you,' I whispered. Right then I swear I would have believed anything he said to me.

'It pleases me to see you wearing my earrings.'

Before I could say anything, he bent and kissed me, long and deep. His tongue met mine and I could taste wine and a seductive hint of blood in his mouth. After what seemed like a long time he lifted his mouth from mine. His eyes were dark and he was breathing deeply.

'I need to get you back to your dorm before I'm tempted to keep you beside me forever,' he said.

I used all the brilliance of my wit and managed to breathlessly say, 'Okay.'

He took my arm again, like he had supported me on the way in. This time the touch felt hot and intimate. Our bodies brushed against each other as we walked through the gloomy morning to the girls' dorm. He led me up the front stairs and opened the door. The big dayroom was deserted. I glanced at the clock and could hardly believe it was a little after nine a.m.