“He’s with Mother Nature,” Luke said tightly, as he continued to rub her arm gently.

“Mother Nature?” Amelia heard the high-pitched spike in her voice as her panic gripped at her throat.

Luke sighed. “Yes, kiddo, your mother is Mother Nature.”

CHAPTER 29

“I can’t,” Mitchell said again, emerging from the closet with another armload of clothes. He dropped them on the bed and began shoving them in a suitcase. He couldn’t see her, not like this. Since Amelia had arrived, she had been subjected to death, and he was not going to keep putting her through it. If leaving would keep her safe, then he’d do it.

The last twelve hours had been a blur. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around why McLean would shoot Amelia. Not that he’d ever know the truth. As soon as McLean had shot her, Luke had taken him down.

Mrs. Caldwell had lifted all the spells that surrounded the houses and town with a flick of a finger when Amelia began to fall. Mitchell figured that was a good thing, because he hadn’t stopped to think before he had scooped her up into his arms and raced from the house with her limp body.

In the hospital, Mitchell had sat with her as the doctors patched her up. The bullet had passed through the fleshy area on her right side. The doctor had said that she was lucky that he had been standing in front of her, blocking most of her body and stopping the shooter from gaining a good aim. But all Mitchell heard was, it’s your fault she was a target.

Once Amelia was stable, Mitchell had brought her home, against his better judgment. It had been Mrs. Caldwell’s forceful encouragement that made him take her from the hospital, and it had also been her that had placed Amelia under Luke’s care, claiming that they had some things to discuss.

By the time they had gotten back, Angelle had gotten rid of all the humans that had been dozing in the media room. With the help of a little persuasion, she had handed them all checks and thanked them for putting on a wonderful fair, and they had left. Unfortunately, the hunters hadn’t been that easy to get rid of. They were still milling about the house, on edge, and waiting for Amelia to wake up.

“Yes, you can,” Mrs. Caldwell, or Mother Nature, said. That was another thing that Mitchell just couldn’t wrap his head around. Mother Nature—the first witch—was Amelia’s actual mother. She was air and water and fire and earth all mixed together. She was the creator and the destructor, and Amelia, his sweet, innocent Amelia, was her child.

“No, I can’t,” he said with more determination than he felt, as he continued to shove things in his suitcase. “Look at what her life has become. How many more times will she almost die?” Biting tears flooded his eyes, and he scrubbed at them. “I can’t do this to her anymore.”

Mrs. Caldwell climbed the steps on the landing and perched on the edge of his bed, crossing her legs at the knees. She had Amelia’s smile, Mitchell noticed. The soft upwards curve that was always a bit higher on the right than the left. “There’s another option,” she said.

“There’s no other option. She’d be better off without me.” Saying it out loud twisted at his heart, and the emptiness grew within him. But he knew it was true.

Creases littered her face as she frowned. “Do you really think that’s what she wants?”

Probably not. That’s what he wanted to say. He huffed, biting back the truth. “It doesn’t matter. I’m no good for her.” He hated to think it, but maybe Josh was better for her—safer.

“Mitchell, you are just as stubborn as she is.” She laughed, a soft musical sound. “Don’t you see? You are the reason this started. You are what she has been missing. You are what she needs.”

“Not like this.” He let his fangs slide down, and his eyes flared red to emphasis his point. “I won’t hurt her anymore. I don’t deserve her.” He turned abruptly, and padded back to the closet looking for the other suitcase.

“You don’t have to stay like this,” she lilted when he emerged, and set the bag on the bed.

“What?” he snapped, annoyed that the woman wouldn’t leave it alone, and he fixed the coldest glare he could muster up on her. Couldn’t she see how hard this was? Didn’t she know how much he wanted to stay? He was leaving for Amelia. Not for himself, but for her. She deserved better than this, better than he did.

There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye, and she placed a hand on his forearm, not at all scared of the flecks of crimson that he was certain were in his eyes. “Mitchell, I’m the first witch.”

He dropped down on the bed, sitting on the edge beside her, and he was sure all the hope that was igniting inside him was clear on his face. He tried to douse it, but it burst inside him, and steamy warmth leaped through his body. “What are you saying?”

She smiled a little. “I can make you human.”

“What?” He shook his head and picked at his ears, certain he didn’t hear her right.

She laughed. “I can make you human again, if that’s what you want.”

“Yes!” he said without thought. “Yes, do it.”

She laughed again, and her smile grew. “Don’t you want to think about it? You’ll be giving up this life and …”

“There’s nothing to think about,” he said, cutting her off. All the possibilities flooded his mind. They could have children, grow old together. They could have a life. A real life. Together. And he knew that he would give up anything and everything he had, for another chance to be with her.

CHAPTER 30

Amelia thought her head was going to explode. So many things were trying to click into place all at once. The familiar voice. The memory of her past. The magic. The threat to strip her magic. She had known it all along and yet, she hadn’t. My mother is Mother Nature. And she was with Mitchell now. Right now. Downstairs. In her house. It was just too much. It should have been comforting to know her mother was here and not dead, but it wasn’t. It made Amelia’s hands sweat and her legs shake.

Break a branch, the words clouded Amelia’s brain. Taunting her. Dangling in front of her just out of reach. It hit her then, and swift clarity washed away her clattered thoughts. She sat up, and the pain in her side stole her breath, but she didn’t let it stop her as she franticly ripped at the blankets, trying to get out of bed. “Where’s Josh?” she shrieked.

“He’s downstairs with the rest of the hunters,” Lola said. She rushed around the bed and began untangling the blankets that were wrapped tightly around Amelia’s legs. “Millie, you can’t go down there. Lay back down.”

Amelia ignored her, swung her legs off the bed, and tried to stand. She pushed up, rolling to her feet and looked at Luke. “You need to change me.” The words came out in a slurred rush, but she couldn’t slow down.

His inquisitive hazel eyes bore into her, and a smile twitched at his lips. It was infuriating. Amelia knew that look, it was the one he gave her and Mitchell when he thought they were being rash and impulsive and acting like children. He folded his arms over his chest and let out a long sigh. “Amelia, get back in bed. No one is changing you.”

“Change me,” she demanded, taking a shaky step towards him. “It’s the only way to stop all of this. I need to pick a side.”

Luke chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I can’t do that, kiddo.” He over enunciated every syllable and punched out the words clearly, as if he thought she wouldn’t understand so he needed to spell it out.

“Luke, you have to.” Her voice pitched, and she forced herself to take a breath. “It’s the only way to make all of this stop.”

“It’s over, Amelia,” Lola said. “The bond is back in place. It’s over.”

“No, it’s not,” Amelia said. Her legs wobbled, and Lola took hold of her arm, steadying her. “Josh will keep hunting you guys. He doesn’t have a choice. It’s in his blood. And until I pick a side, he’ll keep going.”

Any bit of humor that was in Luke’s eyes faded fast. He flushed, and the vein at his temple throbbed. “Amelia, I’m not changing you,” he said slowly, and firmly. “Mitchell would never forgive me.”

Why won’t he listen? a voice in her head shouted. Obviously keeping calm wasn’t working. “You have to!” she yelled. “You don’t understand.”

“I can’t, kiddo.” He turned away from her and started for the door. “I’ll go find him. I’m sure he’d want to know that you’re awake.”

Amelia watched him walk towards the door and racked her brain searching for something, anything that would make him take her seriously. Why wasn’t he listening to her? She watched the door open, and then close, and suddenly she wanted to scream.

“You sure about this?” Lola whispered in her ear as soon as Luke was gone.

“Lola, please. It’s the only way to stop this. Please!”

Lola held her index finger to her lips and glanced at the door. “There’s no going back,” she whispered, although to Amelia, it sounded like a hiss.

“Yes, Lola, please just do it,” she begged.

Lola narrowed her eyes. “And if you change, you think it will stop the hunters?”

“I know it will,” Amelia said with certainty.

Lola smirked and then gave her a dirty look. “I swear if you get all worshipy sidekick on me, I’ll stake you,” she hissed, but her eyes danced in amusement. She slid one of her manicured nails across her wrist and instantly, blood seeped from the small slice. Amelia looked at her, confused. “We need to drink from each other at the same time,” she whispered.

Amelia’s stomach rolled in a bunch of back flips. She hadn’t really considered what changing might entail, and right now, the thought of drinking blood made her want to spew. Lola must have noticed because she said, “Get used to it. In a few minutes it’s the only thing you’ll want.” And then she grabbed a handful of Amelia’s hair, shoved her wrists to Amelia’s lips, and sank her fangs into Amelia’s neck.