Blood Born by Jamie Manning

answer. Judging by Chance’s sudden nervousness— and the spike in the sweet scent of his blood— this time would be no different.
    “Just trust me, Ava.” Chance looked everywhere but at me. “Please try to believe that all I want is to keep you safe.” I knew he meant every word, even if he wasn’t telling me everything. He did want to keep me safe, I believed that completely. ‘Why’ was the question he refused to answer.
    “I believe you, Chance. And I appreciate that, honestly. But I can’t depend on you all the time. I have to be able to take care of myself.” I struggled to force my nose to ignore his alluring scent. “And besides,” I went on, “I’m stronger than you, so I win.” I smiled awkwardly at him, and thankfully he smiled back, though I could tell it was a bit forced.
    “Think that if you want to,” he said with laughter. “And you might be,” he crossed the room and stood close to me, the electric pull between us undeniable. “But no way in hell am I letting you be alone with him .” Though he was standing next to me, his eyes were focused on Aldric, a trembling rage swirling behind them. “I’d die first.” Chance’s breathing grew deeper and more rapid, causing his blood to boil in his veins and drive my mind crazy. Something awful was going on beneath the surface—something these two were fighting desperately to keep from me.
    “I know,” I said, searching both his and Aldric’s eyes for the truth. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

8

. NORMALCY
    Chance and I didn’t say much to each other the rest of the day. We left Aldric to take care of my mess in the woods, picked up Chance’s truck from school and went back to his house—even though he told me to, I didn’t feel comfortable calling it home—with nothing more than a “you okay?” and “yeah” between us. I didn’t really know why, but after the things that were said in the cabin, I kind of felt awkward around him.
    We ate dinner with his mom in near total silence, except for a couple of questions she threw at me about my first day at a new school. I lied and said it was fine. Then I felt like total crap for lying to a woman who had allowed a complete stranger to live in her house. The first of thousands of lies to come, I was sure. Chance refused to let me help with the dishes, so while he and his mom cleaned up, I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I was under the covers and very near sleep when he finally came in.
    “If you want your bed back I can take the couch,” I offered, sort of hoping he would say no. As tired as I was, I couldn’t fathom having to move an inch. My body felt like it was tied to the mattress. Maybe it was sort of like jet-lag that you get when flying—another random, useless thing my memory bank decided to give me. Dead-lag . Chance quietly took off his shirt and tossed it into the hamper on the floor. The clean, fresh smell of soap mixed with the sweet scent of his blood and wafted into my nostrils. The fact that I wasn’t trying to kill him confused me. All I had wanted back in the woods was that girl’s blood. But I didn’t feel the same about Chance. It was really weird.
    “No way,” he said, pulling a blanket from the top shelf of his closet. “You need your beauty sleep.” I couldn’t clearly see his face because of the darkness in the room, but I knew he was smiling.
    “If anyone needs a good night of beauty sleep, it’s you,” I said— lie number two. If he were any more beautifully perfect, I would have to move away.
    “Oh trust me, you are definitely the one who’s going to need a full night of uninterrupted sleep.” Even though his words were light and jovial, I could hear a hint of seriousness behind his kind-hearted tone.
    “And why is that?”
    “Because tomorrow is gonna be hell.” He shoved his bedroom door against the wall, the crashing sound it made when making contact wreaking havoc on my super-sensitive hearing. I had to get Aldric to