VAMP RISING (By Moonlight Book 1) by Evie Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

about the circumstances that had landed them here. Had they fallen down Tucker’s Ravine? Had they been on the brink of death, as well? Or dead, for that matter? Dead . She couldn’t accept it. And yet the fact that she had cheated death twice was incredible. Had she?
                  Her train of thought was interrupted when she noticed an owl. It flapped its wings, lowering clumsily onto a tree branch that was serving as the uneven parallel bars. How did that get in here? She looked around the room, investigating the ceiling, eyeing the doors. The room was sealed. Below the tree branch that the owl was now sitting on stood one of the Trainers, but he wasn’t taking steps to get the bird out of here. In fact, he seemed to be talking to it.
                  She suddenly felt eyes on her and realized it was the students. They were staring. They didn’t bother darting their eyes away when she returned their gazes. Soon it felt less like curious staring on their part and more like they were glaring at her, though they continued with their exercises when necessary.
                  Gwen watched a young man sprint down a dirt runway towards a boulder that she'd decided was meant to be a vault. Six feet shy of the boulder, the man sprung into the air, arms stretched out, palms opened wide, as though he was about to use his hands to spring off the boulder and flip around. But before he did, his body contorted in the blink of an eye and Gwen discovered that she was watching a wolf. It flew over the boulder and landed in a slide, stirring up dust from the dirt where it landed. Then, just as quickly, it twisted back into a human. He locked eyes with her after coming to a standstill and laughed, glaringly.
                  Before she knew what she was doing, Gwen found herself pushing through the exit doors then walking briskly down a corridor. She glanced over her shoulder briefly to put her mind at ease she wasn’t being followed when she suddenly slammed into someone.
                  “Excuse me,” she apologized even before looking up to see who she’d run into.
                  “It’s Ok,” a deep voice told her, a man’s voice. His hands gripped her arms, helping her regain her footing.
                  She took a step back and met eyes with him. His steel blue eyes gave her instant recall. He was the one who had been looking at her through the small windows when she had been in the infirmary. This was the same guy, same thick dark hair, same scruff of stubble. His hands, large, warm, and holding her firmly, remained on her upper arms.
                  “How are you feeling?” He asked, the timbre in his tone was strangely soothing, but Gwen reclaimed her arms by crossing them. Soon the man’s hands were by his sides.
                  “What is that place?” She asked, ignoring his question since she couldn’t tell whether it was coming from a place of genuine concern or amused intrusiveness, though she figured the latter. People here seemed to be eyeing her like a lab rat. Why would this guy be any different?
                  “It’s our Training Center,” he offered.
                  “Training for what?”
                  He narrowed his gaze then lowered it, traveling over her facial features. Then his eyes snapped back up to meet hers, sending her into a state of self-consciousness even worse than she’d felt in the gym.
                  “Well?” She prodded after he’d given her no information.
                  “You met with Joseph,” he stated, but without a follow-up, Gwen had to assume it was a question.
                  “Yeah,” she confirmed.
                  “He didn’t tell you what we do here?”
                  “No, he didn’t. And I just saw a guy turn into a wolf in there and honest to