Destined for Dreams: Book One by Ginna Moran Read Free Book Online Page A

out.
     
     
    HUNTER
     
    I’m disappointed as I watch Nadia and her friend Alyssa walk away. I knew Jacqueline would ruin it for me. She hasn’t even been here a few hours and Nadia already doesn’t like her as far as I can tell. How can I keep reminding Nadia that I’m stuck inside Jacqueline’s head if she doesn’t want to be around Jacqueline?
    I want to mock Jacqueline, but I’m still concerned that she’ll lash out at me in the crowded dining hall full of supers.
    I’m surprised by how normal this place seems. I expected the world’s worst supers to be holed up here, waiting and planning an attack on the HPA, but these are people just making a home. They’re not even scary like the pictures my mom keeps in a photo album on the coffee table to remind my brother Mason and I about how awful the world supposedly is.
    My mom fed me lies about the supernatural world all my life, and I never questioned it because she was so convincing. Maybe they are her truths. I’ll never know if I don’t get back to my body. Even if it wasn’t Jacqueline’s plan, my imprisonment opened my eyes to a new reality.
    Jacqueline stands and doesn’t make eye contact with the few supers staring at us. She walks straight to the door and heads out into the cool night in the direction of the guest unit.
    It’s going to be a really long night together.
    Why couldn’t I be trapped in someone else’s head? Why did it have to be Jacqueline? I’m really starting to hate her.
     
     
    NADIA
     
    Dinner was so, so awkward. I couldn’t wait to get back to my room. Jacqueline is more closed off than I am and she danced around every question thrown at her. She’s also filled with a disconcerting hatred toward humans. Her abhorrence toward them cuts deep into me and I want to see Hunter even more. He could be a victim of her prejudice.
    Someone knocks on my door, but before I can get up, it swings open and Alyssa struts in. Her hair is wrapped in a dark blue towel and she’s in cotton pajamas decorated in light green stars.
    She plops on the bed next to me and tucks her bare feet under her. “I’m exhausted.” She leans her back against the wall. “Up until dinner was a lot of fun. I’ve missed hanging out with you, Nadia.”
    I rest my chin on my knees. I feel guilty for the last two weeks and how I pushed Alyssa away until I needed her. It was selfish of me and I want to apologize, but I don’t. Instead, I smile. “I wish it wasn’t cut short. I liked being away from here. This place is suffocating me.”
    She leans back on my pillow. “You’re one of the reasons why I stay. Besides you being my best friend, I don’t see a future without you. I owe your dad for saving me.”
    I frown. “You don’t owe anyone anything. If you feel like you need to leave, then you should go.”
    “No, that’s not what I meant. What I was trying to say was that I’d leave if you weren’t here. I believe in good karma and your friendship means the world to me. You’re like a sister.”
    I smile. Alyssa’s right about being like family. We owe it to each other to look out for one another. I wonder what it would be like to live outside the compound without the laws of the council hanging over our heads. I wonder if we’d get to experience real relationships, make more friends, and actually live life.
    An image of Hunter crosses my mind.
    I was only with the mysterious dream boy for a few minutes, but he left such an impression on me that I’m being haunted by him. My desire to see him again scares me. I know nothing about him, but I want to. That’s my problem. My curiosity is overwhelming. It’s making me careless.
    The hairs on my arms rise and I glance at Alyssa on my bed with her eyelids half closed. She’ll fall asleep any second and then I won’t be able to resist her dream. I promised myself I wouldn’t do it to her again, not after how off she seemed this morning. I just can’t.
    I jump up and leave her on my bed.
    As a