Tyler gave his head a little shake and smiled at Amelia. “You had me worried.” He got into his car and turned the key. “Glad you’re okay. See you on Monday.” He shut the car door and reversed out of the driveway, grinning at her the whole time.

“How?” she breathed, once Tyler was safely out of the driveway.

“I used persuasion,” Luke answered, as if that was really an answer. He motioned for her to go in but Amelia stood her ground waiting for an explanation. “Come on, kiddo.” He smiled at her, that fatherly smile that used to make her feel warm and loved inside, but now made her quiver. “Let’s not keep Mitch waiting and make this any worse than it already is.”

“How can you stand there so calm?” Amelia shouted at him. “You’re supposed to be my friend.”

Without warning, Luke scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder and started for the door. “This is your destiny, Amelia,” he said. “You best get used to it because he’s not going away.”

Before she knew it, they were in the living room and Luke was setting her down on the couch beside Mitchell. Angelle and Eric were standing by looking as if they were caught in the middle of wanting to leave but needing to stay and Luke took up the armchair looking completely relaxed.

Amelia waited for someone to talk and the tension grew. It was as if everyone was waiting for something to happen, anything to happen, and finally when she thought she would burst from the stress, she broke the silence. “I would like to go to my room,” she murmured, and waited. She could feel the turmoil bouncing around in him: anger, hurt, love, a dangerous mixture she didn’t want to ignite.

“Not yet,” Mitchell said. He took her hand and looked at her with sad, sullen eyes. “I’m sorry, love. I know this must be hard for you but I want you to know I love you. I really do. I only want what’s best for you.” He paused for a moment, watching her, trying to gauge her feelings. She could feel him poking around in her head and could sense his hope that she would believe him.

That thought made her laugh unpleasantly, and she snatched her hand away from him, standing up abruptly. Amelia put on her best ice queen stare and fixed it on him. “What’s best for me?” she spat. “You think locking me up here and threatening to kill my friends is best for me?”

“You were attacked last night, Amelia,” Angelle said, deliberately stopping Mitchell before he could say anything. She crossed the room to her. “You were attacked by two other vampires. If we hadn’t been there, you could have been killed. Even with your mark they still went after you.” She reached out to brush some loose curls out of Amelia’s eyes. “Adam and Kandi were banished from this town fifty years ago. We don’t know why they’re back.” She sighed, a long and stormy sound. “Amelia, we’re the oldest coven around these parts. If they went after you, there’s a reason for it. No one would cross us, not here. They wouldn’t stand a chance. He really is just looking out for you, sweetie.”

Amelia turned her ice-cold eyes on Angelle. “Don’t talk to me like you care. You’re just as bad as him. I confided in you. I even told you about him and you acted as if you didn’t know anything. Was your stupid dream story even true?” Hurt flashed across Angelle’s face as she backed up. “You know, I don’t even care.” Amelia focused back on Mitchell. “I will stay here only because I don’t want my friends to get hurt but you should know that’s the only reason I’m staying. I don’t want anything to do with you or any of you.” She glared around the room, making sure to focus her chilly stare on each one of them. “Now if you’re done, I’m going to my room.” And without waiting for an answer, Amelia stormed out; keeping her shoulders straight, and went straight for the refuge of her room.

CHAPTER 17

Amelia was a bundle of nerves. She paced her room for a full hour trying to come up with a plan but she knew deep down there was nothing she could do. She cried, she yelled into a pillow, and then she paced some more.

Just after 7:00, Mabel brought in a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup. Amelia tried to talk to her. She had so many questions. Did Mabel know about them? She was sure that the older woman wasn’t a vampire. But Mable wouldn’t talk to her. She just dropped the food and left. Despite her best efforts not to, Amelia gobbled the food down. She was starving and she ate it so fast she barely even tasted it.

When the sun set, the night started to play tricks on her. Lurking shadows filled every corner of her room, reminding her of all those horror movies she had seen and what could be hiding under her bed or in her closet. Her fairy tale castle no longer felt like a fairy tale. It felt too big, and spine-chillingly creepy. And it really was filled with monsters, the fanged bloodsucking kind. Amelia got down, peered under her bed and checked her closet. She was starting to feel really stupid when a gust of wind hissed through the open window, whipping the curtains around and she jumped.

She let out a nervous little laugh and went to the window, pulling it shut. She was about to turn away, and start the restless, helpless pacing again when a movement caught her eye. She peered out into the cloud-covered night. Standing outside her window, on her terrace was Kandi, smoldering scarlet eyes staring in at her. Amelia recoiled and blinked and when she opened her eyes, Kandi was gone.

Keep it together, Amelia, she scolded herself silently. It’s just the night playing tricks on you.

Deciding she needed to relax, Amelia went into the adjoining bathroom and turned on the taps filling the tub with warm, steaming water. She added a dollop of strawberry-scented bubble bath to the water, and lit some vanilla spice candles. Instantly, the room filled with their soft scent and she stripped off her clothes, tossing them wherever they landed. She took a deep calming breath, letting the aroma soothe her.

Amelia was just about to climb into the tub when she heard a little knock at the door, so soft that she almost missed it. And if she hadn’t still been so jumpy she probably would have missed it, but she was so wired with jitters that every little bump was making her jump out of her skin. She snagged her silk housecoat from the hook, and went to the door, unlocking and swinging it open.

It was Eric. He had that mischievous twinkle in his eyes and he raised his finger to his lips in a shhhh gesture. He glanced surreptitiously over his shoulders and then without a word snuck past her into her room, moving with all the stealth of a cat burglar.

Amelia was speechless. She hadn’t expected any of them to bother her, not tonight. She watched as he shut the door behind him and once that door was shut and he was standing in her room, and they were alone, she became hotly aware that she was in a thin little housecoat, completely naked underneath. She flushed.

“Did I wake you?” he whispered, still glancing at the door as if he thought at any moment someone would burst through and catch him.

“Um, no. I was just about to have a bath. What do you want?” Bath, crap! She had left the water running and rushed to go turn it off. When she got back into her room, Eric was lounging on her bed. “Eric, I think you should leave.”

He looked surprised at her reaction. “What’s up with you?”

“Really? You’re really going to ask me that?” Amelia rolled her eyes. What was it about him that made her not want to stay mad? She should hate him. Throw him out. But there was something so… fun about him. Folding her arms and trying to keep an annoyed tone, she said, “Like I said, I was just about to have a bath so if you don’t need anything, go away.”

“Oh okay, sure. Here.” He slid off the bed and shoved a book at her, looking wounded. “Thought you might want to check it out.”

“Thanks, I think.” Amelia took the old leather-bound book in her hands and examined the cover. There was no title, just the soul mark carved into the worn and weathered book. “It’s the book. The one you told me about the first night.”

Eric winked at her and smiled. “Sure is. Thought you might have some questions and since you don’t seem to be about to ask them you should read this.” He gave her another secretive look. “But don’t tell anyone I gave it to you.” He cupped her chin in his hands lightly and tilted her face up to meet his eyes. His gaze was intense and serious, and really, really, wrong. Eric shouldn’t look serious. He was supposed to be fun and carefree. “Hey Millie?” he asked, hesitating for a moment.

“Yeah,” she breathed, lost in his eyes.

“I’m really sorry for kissing you and I’m sorry for leaving after. I hope you understand why now. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s just…” he fumbled over the words. “You don’t belong to me and even though you’re fighting it right now…” He huffed and gave her a torn and sad smile. “You love him. You won’t be able to fight it forever and he really does love you.” The carefree smile sprang back over his face and he headed towards the door. “Besides, I’m a slacker. You deserve better than me,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at her and then he was gone, door clicking shut behind him.

Amelia stared at the door for a moment, shocked and befuddled. Her heart wasn’t racing like it normally did when Eric was around. Was that because of Mitchell? Even thinking his name made her heart skip a beat, answering her silent question. Yes, yes, yes, it was all because of Mitchell. She was made for him, body and soul, and Eric just wasn’t… right. After that flabbergasting revelation, Amelia looked back at the book in her hands, whose brittle, old pages exuded a faint scent of mold.

She opened up the book, gingerly flipping through the pages looking for an author, but she found none. She went back to the start. There was no table of contents or copyrights and the first page was entitled: WARNING TO ALL HUMANS WITH A SOUL’S MARK.

Amelia closed the book, wondering if she should actually read it. Would it have answers? Maybe it could tell her how to break the bond between them. Did she want to break it? She had so many questions and really wasn’t sure if she even wanted the answers.