The Soul's Mark: CHANGED (17 page)

Mitchell Lang, I swear I will drag you back to the house if I need to.  What the hell do you think you are doing? 
Amelia didn’t try to hide her annoyance as she sent the thought through their newly formed bond, and she made sure to let him feel every ounce of the breathtaking fear that was winding tight knots in her stomach.

Mitchell didn’t look at her.  He kept his hard gaze on the crowd and straightened his shoulders further, making himself look bigger and his muscles firmer.  He had the same presence he’d always had.  It commanded attention, and made even the strongest, most poised, quake a little.  He emanated confidence, and the way he held himself was as if he was daring someone to undermine his authority. 
We can’t hide forever,
he replied firmly.

Amelia gawked at him for a long moment, and in that moment she decided that it was official: her soulmate was insane. 
Yes, we can!
  She shouted it so loudly that Mitchell actually winced.  A sliver of pain shot through him, she felt it through the bond, and she saw every muscle in his body spasm.

Love, stop.
  The thought was tight, laced with strain.  His jawline twitched and the muscles in his neck corded with tension. 
You’re going to show them the truth.

Amelia couldn’t breathe.  The pain in him was increasing, burning through his veins.  She tried to change her mind, tried to force herself to agree that he was right, but it was useless.  No matter how she thought about it, there was nothing right about this.  Nothing.  Mitchell was being reckless.  He was going to get himself killed.  And Amelia was certain that she wouldn’t survive that.

“Millie,” Lola called, drawing her attention.  She leaned in closely, her lips pressed against Amelia’s ears, and she whispered so softly that Amelia could hardly hear her even with them so close.  “Luke once told me that we don’t always have to agree with other people’s choices, but even though we don’t think they are right, they still have the right to feel the way they do.”

Amelia almost snapped at her.  This really wasn’t the time for words of wisdom.  Mitchell was paling and his breath was strained.  Amelia was sure he wouldn’t be able to hold his
in control
front for much longer.  She went to grab hold of his hand, ready to drag him back to the house, but then Lola’s words started to sink in.  She looked at Mitchell’s paling skin, and his twitching muscles as the pain of the bond took hold of him and she realized what Lola was saying. 
I don’t have to agree.  I just have to give him the right to make the choice. 
And just like that, the uncomfortable feeling of Mitchell’s pain lessened and thinned, until it was entirely gone.

Uneasy whispers clouded in Amelia’s ears.  She pulled her eyes away from Mitchell, watching as the vamps slowly moved back, giving them more space.  A few of them were eyeing Mitchell, but most kept their gazes glued to the charred ground.

“I asked a question,” Mitchell said.  He took Amelia’s hand again, squeezing it within his own.  He pulled on her magic then, letting it flare up, and coated them with a mix of white and red light.  “And I expect an answer.”

“It was me.”
Jake stepped forward.  The last of his blisters had already healed, leaving his skin slightly flushed.  He glared at Mitchell with blood red eyes and held his chin level.  “And I’d do it again.  It’s none of her damn business what I do with my soulmate.  And I don’t appreciate you sending your spawn into my house to threaten me either.”

Mitchell laughed.  It was cold and heartless and cruel.  “You’d do it again.”  He shook his head, as if he was sure he hadn’t heard it right.  “Luke, did he just say that?”

Luke chuckled, the same cold and heartless sound as Mitchell’s.  He moved with lazy steps towards Jake, Eric following his lead.  They both let their fangs slide down maddeningly slow, their lips curving into devilish grins.

The hushed whispers of the crowd silenced and some of the vamps even scuttled back a few steps as Eric and Luke circled Jake with a predatory grace, eyeing him up and down.  They were toying with him, letting him sweat.  And to Amelia’s disbelief, it was working.  Jake stiffened; Amelia was certain he was holding his breath, too.  Luke didn’t miss his discomfort.  His smile grew, reaching his eyes.  It was full of excitement, as if he was dying to rip into Jake, and he said, “Yes, he did.”

Lola made a noise.  It came from the back of her throat, wheezing out of her mouth.  Amelia cut her a look, seeing the humor dancing across her eyes as Lola fought against her bubbling laughter.

Amelia almost groaned.  She didn’t understand how this was working, or why any of them would risk it, but she forced herself to play along.  “That’s enough, guys,” she said, forging her voice to sound bored.  “Stop playing with him.  I doubt he’s really that stupid, but if you really need to make a point, then get it over with.  I have things to do.”

The silence broke.  Amelia heard a few gasps, and it was an effort not to cringe.  She was, and had always been, the one who wanted to keep the peace, and from the few glances she got from the crowd, she knew they were stunned at her response.

“The town has cut off the blood supply,” someone said, although Amelia didn’t know who it was.  “Would you prefer it if we took it from our soulmates or should we just kill for our food?  Last I remember you were going to execute anyone who hunted.”

“As far as I’m concerned, draining your soulmate is the same thing as hunting,” Mitchell said.  “Don’t you agree, love?”

“Uh, yep,” Amelia said, through her teeth.  She hadn’t known that the town had cut them off, and she should have.  Eric had mentioned that they were pushing back, but she’d never imagined that it was this bad.

Amelia opened her mouth, ready to demand to know when it had happened, when Megan’s bewildered voice shot through her mind,
Millie, Eric!  We’ve got a little issue here.

The first time he’d seen Angelle, Tyler had thought she was a self-absorbed airhead.  They’d been at a party, and back then, he’d been interested in Amelia.  That was before Tyler knew about vampires and before Amelia knew Mitchell was real.

They’d both been drunk, and at some point in the night he’d gotten pretty close with Amelia.  Eric had freaked out and that was when he’d first seen Angelle.  She’d batted her long eyelashes at Eric, and used her pouty lips and perfect figure to get him to chill out.  And Tyler remembered thinking that she was hot and she knew it all too well.

As it turned out, Angelle’s looks had nothing to do with the control she had over Eric, and she was far from an airhead.  She was older and stronger than Eric was, and Tyler knew from experience that when her tone sweetened, like it had that night, that was the time to back down and walk away.  She may look like an angel, but the girl was deadly.

Tyler rolled down the window, lettin
g in the fresh, crisp air, and readjusted himself behind the wheel.  He’d been driving for hours now.  His legs were stiff, his butt, sore, and he really wanted to pull over, but the last sign he saw said Lakeridge was only fifteen miles away.  He didn’t really have a clue where to start, but he figured the next big town over from a town run by vampires was probably as good a place as any.

So far, his plan was to grab a motel room somewhere and wait.  That was it.  From what he’d learned about the mark and the bond,
the vampire
—Tyler couldn’t bring himself to think of her as anything other than
the vampire
—would find him.  She’d feel him, feel her soul in him, and she’d start searching.  Tyler figured his best bet was to stay put, and be ready.  She’d be new, young, inexperienced, and he was hoping that that would give him an edge.

His phone began to ring again, and he glanced at
it, reading the flashing call display. 
Angelle.
  She’d been calling almost every hour since he’d left, and Tyler itched to answer the phone, to hear her voice, but he didn’t.  He couldn’t.  If he did, if he heard her silky voice, and heard the pain in it, he was pretty sure he’d end up turning around and driving right back to her.  And turning around wasn’t an option.  He waited for the voicemail to pick up, snagged the phone from the seat, and switched the sound off before tossing it in the glove compartment.

The whole thing made him feel sick, but he couldn’t think about a life without Angelle.  He just couldn’t.  He’d never expected to feel this way about her, as if he’d die without her.  And really, until recently, he hadn’t.  They’d been … comfortable with each other, and he loved her, but he’d never really thought she could be his forever.  It wasn’t until the stupid mark showed up, and with it, the knowledge that he was losing her that made him realize that he didn’t want—couldn’t handle—a life without her in it.

Up ahead, Tyler noticed that the tangled forest that he’d been driving along side was thinning and he could just make out what looked like roof tops in the distance.  He stepped on the gas a little harder, anxious to get out of the car.

Lakeridge wasn’t much bigger than Willowberg, not huge, but not really small either.  The streets were well kept, and
all the stores on the main strip had a homey feel to them.  After a quick tour of the town, Tyler pulled up to a strip-motel just outside the downtown district that had a bright flashing Vacancy sign in the window.  It was a tan colored building, with vinyl siding, which looked to be only half full, with cars parked in front of four of the eight rooms.  On the other side of the street was what looked to be a pub-style restaurant.

Tyler parked his car in front of the office.  Through the window, he saw the check-in clerk, a boy about his age, absorbed in some video game.  He popped open the car door, and jumped out, stretching his stiff muscles, before he reached back in the car and snagged the stake he’d had on the front seat.  He stuck it in his back pocket, and was just about to pull his T-shirt over it, when he heard the silky voice from behind him.  “It’s not smart to be walking around with a weapon like that in this area.  Someone may think you’re looking for trouble.”

Tyler stiffened, and then in slow motion, he turned around, pushing away the shock and sudden panic that flitted through his chest.  A wave of cold washed over his skin and his heart pummeled against his ribs.  The girl looked to be sixteen at the most; sweet and innocent, with big blue eyes and white blond hair hanging around her slim shoulders.  She smiled then, a white smile with sharp teeth, and he said, “Maybe I am.”

Fear was an odd emotion.  If it ran deep enough, it could play with a person’s mind, clouding their judgment and distorting reality.  It was fear that had let Mitchell hide the truth of what he had become, and it was that same fear that had turned a crowd of vicious vampires into a cluster of cowards; Amelia was sure of it.

It hadn’t taken long to instill that fear in them either.  Really, Amelia figured she had freaked them out pretty good before Mitchell, Luke, and Lola had shown up, but it was their belief that Mitchell was really going to have Jake killed, and that Amelia was actually going to let him, that solidified the fear.  They didn’t, of course.  Instead, Mitchell issued a few unprintable threats, backed by even worse threats from Luke and Eric, and the vampire community had fled to the safety of their homes.  And as soon as they were gone, Eric bolted to the house
in search for Megan.

It was an effort to walk beside Mitchell.  Amelia had to force herself to move with him at a sluggish human pace even though every part of her wanted to run and make sure everyone was okay.  She even tried to convince him to
tap into her vampiric speed through the bond like she had with him before, but he wouldn’t, claiming that the walk would do him good.

Mitchell looked pretty good, although it was obvious that he was tired, and he really needed a shower.  Amelia could smell a slight trace of dried sweat, most likely from the fever, and he was still in the same clothes from yesterday when he’d passed out.  Amelia figured he was right, that the fresh air and exercise would be good for him, but the whole situation was seriously irking her.  She tried to get more information from her cousin on what was going on, but all Megan would say was that Amelia needed to hurry up and see for herself.  And even with the bond, Amelia couldn’t wrap her head around why Mitchell had thought it was a good idea to rush out, and immerse himself into the angry crowd.

“You’re mad,” Mitchell observed.  It wasn’t a question; she could feel him confirming his statement through the bond.  He nudged her shoulder, just a soft bump, as he tried to gauge how pissed off she really was.

“You think?” she said and groaned, rolling her eyes.  He nudged her again, and she nudged him back.  Luke chuckled, and she shot him a dirty look over her shoulder.  He walked a few paces behind them, his arm wrapped around Lola’s waist, and he winked at her.  Amelia groaned again, long and loud before looking back to Mitchell and asking, “What the hell possessed you to walk into a crowd of vampires?  Ones that may have even wanted you dead if they found out you were human.”

“You were in trouble,” he answered simply, as if that was actually an answer.  There was something … different about the way he said it.  The statement wasn’t firm.  It felt as if he was looking for her approval.  And he was nervous.  She could feel it, but she couldn’t figure out why.