Dahlia (Blood Crave Series) by Christina Channelle Read Free Book Online Page B

was to be expected when a child emerged from the forest caked in dry blood and wild stories about a wolf healed by her own blood. No injuries found on Dahlia’s body and no evidence of the mysterious wolf existing.
    No one believed a word she said. She eventually stopped talking about it and put any memory of wolves, blood, and miraculously healing wounds tucked away in the deep corner of her mind, almost as if it never happened.
    But these stupid dreams kept badgering her.
    Like the one where she appeared seven or eight and she saw a butterfly whose wings were mangled up. Instinctively, she bit the fleshy part of her fingertip hard, drawing blood. She ignored the sting of her finger as she cradled its delicate wings. Squeezing the blood out of her finger, she saw as it slowly trickled over the butterfly—drip, drip, drip. Then she stood, watching, as the butterfly lay still in her palm.
    Thinking that it had drowned in her own blood, she frowned, saddened that the beautiful creature was dead because of her. Then all of a sudden, the wings moved, tickling the center of her palm. Surprised, she fell back on her behind as the butterfly’s wings fluttered strongly out of her hand, watching it fly away in a whirlwind of colors.
    Then there was the dream with the old, dried up plant. Large, hazel eyes were held captive by the deep, red color of blood as it pooled at the edge of Dahlia’s fingertip. Then the bead of blood dropped lovingly onto the dirt as she watched it slowly absorb the fluid. She only had to wait a moment before the plant started to bloom, as if treated by all the water and sun in the world.
    I am not going crazy.
    No. These were just vivid dreams, not memories of some sort of past. Her blood did not hold any supernatural powers of any kind.
    But to be on the safe side, Dahlia made it a point to be cautious at all times, preventing any injuries from occurring in her young life. She was lucky, not being very accident-prone—not even a scratch. She didn’t want to face the potential outcome, because this was truly nothing more than an overactive imagination of a girl who wanted to escape from her reality.
    Wasn’t it?
    Dahlia shook her head away from these persistent thoughts as she focused on the fact that she was at present standing in front of the cafetorium doors with this nuisance still beside her.
    This girl irritated her—a lot. It also didn’t help that Dahlia was ravenous, her stomach protesting from the lack of food and her mood affected as a result. She was prone to get snappy whenever hungry.
    Pushing through the doors, Dahlia looked straight ahead, not looking at the girl currently stalking her. “What is it that you want?”
    “Oh, just making polite conversation.” Side by side, they made their way over to the food line. Dahlia reached for a red food tray while grabbing an apple, bottle of orange juice and a tuna sandwich. She tried to ignore the presence beside her, but couldn’t help but stare at the amount of food the raven-haired girl was packing on her own tray. A burger with fries, two cans of pop, bag of chips, a brownie, and a slice of pizza. She suddenly glanced over at Dahlia, catching her gawking in dismay. A chocolate bar dangled from her hand as she shrugged at Dahlia’s expression. “What? I like to eat.”
    Dahlia understood the urge to eat but this girl took it to the extreme. “You can say that again,” she grumbled under her breath as she paid the lunch lady, but the girl still managed to hear.
    “What can I say? I have a high metabolism.”
    Thinking this was the end of their conversation, Dahlia moved on to find a seat in the corner, away from the rest of the crowd. She looked around, miserable that she couldn’t find Sam or any of his friends to sit with. They probably ditched her to eat out. Grumpily setting her tray on the empty table, she took a seat then picked up her sandwich. She was just about to take a bite when—
    “So what were you dreaming