Blue flecked his blazing eyes for a quick second and he looked taken aback. His grip loosened enough for her to pull in a bit of air, though it burned all the way down to her lungs. His fangs were still down, and he looked like he was fighting the demon that wanted to kill her. She could almost see the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other coaxing him back and forth between good and evil.

All of a sudden, Amelia was airborne, flying across the room. She crashed against the fridge with a clatter and a thick thud to the ground. A loud pop sounded and an intense, immobilizing pain shot into her shoulder. She looked down to see her arm limply dangling from its socket. Her shoulder had dislocated.

Amelia didn’t focus on the pain long. The next sound was so loud and horrifying she was almost sick. The meaty crack of a fist hitting flesh and then the dry snapping of bone echoed in the otherwise silent kitchen. She watched in horror as Eric’s lifeless body crumpled to the floor at her feet. She could feel the blood rushing out of her cheeks and her body went numb.

She didn’t remember moving, but the next thing she knew, she had Eric’s head in her lap and she was stroking his hair. Tears fell freely down her cheeks in a waterfall of despair. Commotion erupted all around her, yelling, crying, more fists and the same sickening cracks, but she drowned them all out.

Eric’s perfect complexion had taken on a grayish tint and his skin was rapidly cooling, far faster than Amelia would have thought possible. She supported his floppy, crooked neck in one hand and continued caressing his hair. No. He can’t be dead. He can’t be dead. She thought over and over. Not Eric. Please no.

Someone pulled her away, wrapping her in a hug. Amelia tried to fight it. She needed to stay with Eric. He looked so uncomfortable, his head resting on the cold marble floor at an impossible angle, but she couldn’t break free. “This is going to hurt, kiddo,” Luke said in her ear, just before she heard the loud bone popping sound of her shoulder going back into place.

Amelia squealed out in pain, paralyzed for a moment. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she bit her tongue to stop from screaming out. Luke held her tightly to him, gently massaging her shoulder until the pain receded to a dull throb. It took a few minutes, but as soon as she could she said, “Let go. I need to help him.”

Luke didn’t let go. “He’s going to be fine, kiddo. You don’t need to sit there crying. He’ll be awake in a few minutes.”

“You can’t get rid of us that easily so stop crying,” Mitchell snapped. Still in Luke’s arms, Amelia glanced at Mitchell. He sounded so cold. She didn’t know if her expression told him how she felt or if he heard her thoughts but he softened. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you, it’s just…” he stumbled over the words and scrubbed at his face for a second. “You care for him. I can feel it and it hurts.”

“Sorry?” Amelia shouted and Luke, startled at her outburst, let go. She stomped over to Mitchell, fists clenched into tight balls and jaw tensed. He was sitting at the island, leaning back in the wooden chair. “You’re sorry for snapping at me? What about choking me? And correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure you’re the one who hit him hard enough to break his neck and all you can say is sorry for snapping at me.” Amelia drew her arm back, opened her fist and slapped him, with everything she had. She knew instantly it had hurt her more than him. Pain shot through her shoulder, and she realized that she probably should have used the other hand and her eyes prickled, but he just sat there, looking at her, his face not even a little pink from where she had slapped him.

“Are you done?” Mitchell asked coldly, and Amelia could almost see the ice frosting up around his heart. He kept his expression just as chilly as he glared at her and it made her want to cower away and hide in a corner. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Amelia. I’m not sorry for hitting him. He’s lucky that’s all I did.” He paused, collecting his thoughts, sorting through them and organizing them, and she tried really hard to ignore it, because hearing his thoughts was just… creepy. “He kissed you. He took advantage of you. He snuck you out of the house this morning after I gave clear instructions that you were not to leave.” Mitchell was saying it all so matter-of-factly that it made her sick, revolted by his attitude that she was just a piece of property. “Whether you like it or not, you’re mine. He knew that and he crossed the line with you. I have been trying to find you for over eight hundred years. Even after I made contact through the dreams, it took me another five years to find you. So no, I’m not sorry for what I’ve done to him and honestly, you shouldn’t be either.”

“I wish you had never found me,” Amelia said through clenched teeth. She turned on her heels, crossed the short distance to Eric and sunk down cradling his head, determined to be there until he came back.

CHAPTER 19

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Luke asked, finally dragging Mitchell away from the kitchen and shoving him into Amelia’s bedroom. “You’ve got to pull yourself together, Mitch.”

Luke slammed the door behind them and crossed his arms over his chest, guarding the door as if he was determined not to let anyone in or out.

Mitchell put his hands up in surrender and backed away from the door. Not that Luke could actually stop him if he wanted out, but the last thing Mitchell wanted was to hurt someone else. “What I need to do is leave. Put as much distance between us as possible.”

Luke arched a brow and hardened his stare. “It’s not that simple anymore. And even if you do leave, you know you won’t be able to stay away.”

Luke was right, Mitchell knew that, but he didn’t like it. The bond wouldn’t let them be apart, not any longer, and it was his fault. He crossed the room, sat down on Amelia’s bed and slouched wearily, resting his head in his hands.

Luke placed a hand on his shoulder and the bed dipped with the extra weight as he sat. “Look, I know it’s hard. I’ve been there… at the beginning it was a constant battle with Lola, especially after she changed. She was a loose cannon but we made it through.”

Mitchell shook his head. “But look at what I just did. It’s not just affecting her. All of you are suffering because I can’t keep it together. You’d think I’d have more self-control after this long. And if the rest of them figure it out, all hell will break loose. I should never have brought her here. I knew she was different and still…”

“How is she different?”

Mitchell chuckled in disbelief. “Come on, Luke. I know you felt it.”

Luke stood up and started pacing the rich hardwood floor. It didn’t take long for the truth to hit him. He suddenly froze and looked at Mitchell, the color slowly draining from his face. “You’re kidding! She can’t be. It’s… it’s not possible.” Creases indented his brow and he locked his fear-filled eyes with Mitchell’s and whispered, “The curse…”

Mitchell’s lips curved into a small and distant smile. “I doubt our souls stopped and said wait vampires and witches shouldn’t be together. We’re soulmates. Destiny’s idea of a joke.” A hollow chuckle erupted from his throat.

Luke broke eye contact, shuffling from right to left. “You know you can’t blame Eric for all this. He told me about coming to you for help. You knew he was struggling with her here.”

Mitchell rubbed at his face, guilt and shame rushing around him, making him feel sick. “I know. Dammit! It’s like everything is spiraling out of control and I can’t think straight.” He took a few calming breaths. “She hates me you know and I don’t blame her. I don’t know how to fix this. Maybe she’d be better off if I didn’t exist.”

“Don’t,” Luke snarled, not missing the hidden message behind Mitchell’s words.

“I have to do something. Neither of us can continue like this. What if I can’t stop myself next time?” Mitchell raised his eyebrows in question. “What happens then? She doesn’t even know what she’s doing. She doesn’t realize that every time she gets mad she’s throwing her power at me. When she throws it at me, I lose control. It’s too strong. It hurts too much. The bond, the feelings, everything. It’s just too much.” Mitchell lifted his shirt to reveal reddened skin covered in welts and blisters.

Luke gasped. “She did that? Shit, it looks like burns.”

Mitchell tugged his shirt back down and shrugged, “It’s not too bad. It’ll heal but one of us is going to kill the other if we keep this up. I have to go.”

Luke sat back down beside Mitchell. “You wouldn’t just be leaving her,” he whispered in a shock-filled voice. “What about Eric? He’s your kid. Are you going to just walk out on him, too?”

“After what just happened, he’ll be glad to get rid of me.”

Luke shook his head in disagreement. “You’re his idol. You know damn well he won’t let you go.” Luke’s eyes drifted down to Mitchell’s chest and then back up, filled with a new intensity. “We’ll help her control it. We can teach her. You need to tell her what she is. She needs to know.”

Mitchell thought about that, wondering if it would make any difference. Amelia hated him. He was sure of it. He could feel sparks of love from her but most of the feelings were blinding hatred. She even hated how sometimes she loved him. He knew he was griping at straws, but maybe if she knew, they could fix it all together. With that thought, he smiled. “I will. Tomorrow, when everyone calms down, I’ll tell her everything.”

CHAPTER 20

It took fourteen minutes and nine seconds for Eric to come back, or wake up. Amelia thought that sounded better, less disturbing, that was for sure. She sat on the cold, hard floor with his head in her lap, her eyes constantly checking the big grandfather clock as it ticked away the seconds.

After the first five minutes, Luke had managed to calm Mitchell down enough to get him out of the room but for some reason, his absence didn’t help. Amelia could still feel him and the distance was unbearable. She had to intensely focus on not running out of the room after him. Why did she have to feel this way? She wished she could understand it, but she just couldn’t. How could two people be tied together like this?