Shadow Born: Book 1 of the Shadow-Borne Chronicles Read Online Free

teeming city of Jordan and into the horrible experience involving Clarissa Wight.   He still had nightmares some nights, well most nights, about being trapped in that house and tortured by her.   Sometimes in his dreams he was laying underneath her, with her straddling his naked body, and blood pouring from her wrists as she whispered sensually into his ear, Drink .   He shuddered and pushed the memory of the dream away.   Tonight was his first night of college and he wasn’t going to let that event ruin his experience.   He just hoped that no one recognized him or asked him questions about that night.   He didn’t like talking about it, he didn’t like the attention, and he certainly hadn’t enjoyed the attention of the press asking him questions like ‘Do you feel fortunate to have gotten out alive when seven others didn’t make it?’ or ‘What was it like being tied down and cut with a dagger so that your blood could be sacrificed to the Devil?’   Seriously, what the hell was wrong with these people?  
    Alec had just gotten home from his day job and was going to take a shower before his class started.   He had moved to Jordan and taken the first job he could find, which ended up being in a packing warehouse that shipped products all over the world.   He didn’t love it but it was a job and paid the bills so he could go to college and better himself.   He made semi-decent money and wasn’t afraid to work hard.   If the orphanage had taught him anything, it was how to work hard.   You carried your own weight or you got the business end of someone’s fists.   It was a hard rule, but it had been a hard life.  
    Alec wasn’t close to many people and didn’t have that many friends.   The only friend he’d ever really made was Jason Blaylock, or Jake as he was called, another orphaned boy whose parents died under mysterious circumstances which were never discussed.   Jake had stopped one of the playground bullies from beating on Alec and they had been best buds ever since.  
    Alec had grown up to love comics, sci-fi, fantasy novels, and Star Wars, Jake had grown up to love playing football, partying and working out.   Jake was a 6′1″ muscled jock, and Alec, well Alec was just a 5′10″ ‘doughy’ nerd.   As a matter of fact, due to Alec’s chunkiness and clumsiness, and working at the pizza parlor for several years, “Doughy” or “Dough-boy” Carson had become his second name.   He hated it!   Jake never called him that and no one ever called him that around Jake.   Jake had always looked out for him, since Jake was a year older he had treated Alec like his little brother.  
    Alec shook himself out of his melancholy thoughts sat on the bed to remove his socks then stood and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it on the bed.   He unbuttoned his jeans and let them fall to the ground and walked naked towards the bathroom, and then…stopped.   He frowned for a moment and then stepped back and looked into the bathroom mirror.  
    “What the hell…?” he said and gripped the vanity and leaned closer to see his reflection.   Alec ‘Dough-boy’ Carson wasn’t that doughy any more.   Matter of fact, he was nowhere to be seen in the mirror.
    Alec peered closely at himself and for the first time noticed that he had muscles.   Where the hell had those come from?   He scanned his dark blue eyes and dark blonde hair, cut short and with the whole ‘messed up’ look on top. His body, which before had always been a bit lumpy and very round, was now starting to slim down to something more angular and fit.   His shoulders seemed to be broader than they had been, a trick of the mirror and weight loss Alec guessed, and tapered down to his thinning waist.   He flexed and noticed that not only was he losing weight, he also had noticeable biceps and pecs.   Finally, at 23 years of age, he had some muscles.   He’d never had either and was surprised to see them on his normally