Mark of the Dagger (The Marked Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

told, in so many words, that no one wanted her here was a hard pill to swallow and that pissed her off.  Well screw them, she thought viciously.  She would just have to prove them all wrong.  With that thought, she pushed herself harder and faster around the track.  It’s not like any of them are out here busting their asses.  That’s because they don’t need to, they are already stronger than you by far.   She shook her head angrily, trying to dislodge the negative voice inside her head.  Even still, she pushed herself harder.
    Making a plan to lock herself in her room and write tonight to take her mind off the parties eased some of the anger coursing through her.  Uncle Joe wasn’t lying when he said that the schoolwork here was tedious.  She had extra homework on top of her normal studies every night and add in the fact that she was playing catch-up, she hadn’t had time to write at all this week.
    She was taking classes about witches and all the different kinds of were-animals.  Who knew there were so many different kinds; lions, wolves, bears, leopards, tigers, birds, and even those with no animalistic restrictions?  They could turn into anything they wanted!  How cool was that?  Hunters didn’t kill those types of supernatural beings unless they went rogue.  Then there were the lessons on vampires or demons as some called them, and how to kill them.  Dani was enthralled with these classes, everything being much different than what she had expected and she couldn’t wait to learn more.
    Dani realized that she had been feeling sorry for herself when she noticed the cold wet tracks on her cheeks.  When she looked around quickly to be sure no one saw her tears, she noticed Joe walking toward the track with two Styrofoam cups of coffee and discreetly wiped away the evidence of her self-pity.  Joe was the absolute last person she wanted present during her emotional melt-down.  God forbid he witness it and think she was as weak as everyone says.  Since he was the only ally Dani had here at Mt. Claussen she was determined to do anything it took to make him proud.
    ***
    Joe woke early to have his first meeting with Adele, the other person the council sent to keep an eye on the school.  Unusual happenings that pointed to demonic activity at the end of last year had students talking while home on their summer vacation.  With the schools’ history of being attacked, parents’ were uneasy and the members of council were nervous.  The fact that any type of activity was able to take place on the grounds meant that a member of staff was involved and had weakened the wards enough to allow unwelcomed visitors inside.  And once evil got past the protections in place, anything could happen.  Joe and Adele’s job was to ensure that didn’t happen and to keep the kids safe.
    There was nothing that Joe hated more than undercover work.  He knew he wasn’t the best liar there was so the fact that they asked him to take this job surprised him long enough that they took his stunned silence as agreement.  With no way to back out he sucked it up and headed out here with Adele to ensure everything was running smoothly.  It was just a bonus that Dani and two of his long-time friends were here as well.
    After their uneventful meeting where they confessed that neither of them had witnessed anything suspicious as of yet, he went back to his room planning to read for a bit while the rest of campus woke up. When he glanced at his window he saw her, as everyone else lay in their beds snug and warm, his niece was running the track.  Even from this distance he could tell that Dani was upset, no one knew his girl like Joe did.
    Of course Joe had heard the whispers going around school about her, he wasn’t obtuse.  He just wished he could have warned her but how could he have?  This is new territory for everyone because Dani was the very first mixed-blood to be marked.  There was a niggling thought in the back of his