“You can stay in our room,” Mitchell offered quickly, refusing to meet Amelia’s hard glare. He gave Eric a shove to get him moving, making it clear that he would prefer to follow her orders than explain why Fiona had suddenly moved in.

Megan was out of the shower when Amelia returned with pajamas, and she looked exhausted. Her eyes were bloodshot and droopy, and when Amelia tried to convince her to eat, she refused, claiming she just wanted to sleep. After she got changed, they both curled up in the large bed and were asleep almost instantly.

CHAPTER 10

“Why am I such a dumbass?” Eric asked again, as he picked up a bracelet and examined it.

“Oh, Eric, please stop. This is natural. You really didn’t do anything wrong,” Mabel said.

“Then why do I feel like I’ve just ruined her life?” Because that’s what he had just done. Ruined Megan’s life. Something occurred to him; something so awful, a chill slithered down his spine. “What if we end up like Mitch and Millie? I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Would it be so horrible if you ended up like them?”

Eric huffed. “Don’t give me one of those crappy all-knowing looks. All they do is fight.” He put down the bracelet and headed out of the store. Why was it so hard to find a present? Damn, he used to be so good at it, but nothing seemed right.

Mabel walked alongside him and linked her arm through his. “Yes, but they love each other just as fiercely.”

He thought about her words, trying to find some truth in them. They stepped into a fancy candle store, and Eric set about picking up candles and giving them a sniff. “Sometimes I don’t think they actually love each other. It’s more like infatuation. He loves the idea of her. He’s connected to her, but damn, he can be so selfish. I can’t even count how many times I’ve picked her up from one of their fights.” He picked up a pink and white swirled votive and drew in a deep breath of strawberry and vanilla.

“Hmmm.”

He gave Mabel a sideways look. “It’s true. Mitch never thinks about her feelings. He just pushes and pushes, and when he doesn’t get his way, he punishes her like some spoiled kid.”

Mabel gave him one of her stern motherly looks. “He’s teaching her, Eric. Not punishing her. Mitchell is a very powerful man and with that power comes responsibility. He can’t just think about what Amelia wants all the time. He has hundreds of people and vampires in this town that are affected by his actions. The problem with Amelia is that she thinks with her heart and not always in the most logical way or with the residents’ best interests in mind. This town has come to depend on her as Mitchell’s second. If he’s hard on her, it’s only because he wants her to be a great leader. I think you could learn a lot from them.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Why hadn’t he thought about all that? In reality, he was twice Mabel’s age, but she always seemed to have some mind-blowing wisdoms. Was it possible that his father wasn’t the big bad jerk Millie thought he was? The thought was making his mind spin. “What about this?” he asked half-heartedly, and held up the strawberry-vanilla swirl candle.

He was awarded with another one of Mabel’s meaningful looks. “It depends. What do you want your gift to say?”

He put the candle back on the shelf and thought about it for a second before answering. “Sorry for being such a moron and for biting you,” he said with a grin. “And I know you probably hate me right now, but I think you’re the most amazing thing since sliced bread, and I’m super stoked to have you in my life.”

Mabel laughed. “I’m not sure if a candle says all that.”

“I should get her flowers. Millie always wanted Mitch to do that. She complains all the time that he never brings her chocolates or flowers or takes her to the movies. She thinks that he takes her for granted because of the bond. I want Megan to love me for my witty charm, not because she has to, but because she wants to.”

“That’s very smart, Eric.”

He grinned at her, pleased that she thought he was smart. They stepped out of the store and headed through the crowded mall towards the flower shop.

It took just over two hours, but when they were done scouring every flower shop and jewelry store in the mall, Eric was sure that he had found the perfect gift. He held the pendant up, letting the light shimmer off the diamond chain that weaved around two silver hearts, connecting them as one. It was perfect: the chain and the hearts. He was amazed that he had actually found something that could show the invisible link between them. And since he had bitten Megan, this was exactly how it felt; as if there was an exquisite chain connecting their hearts forever.

“It’s perfect, Eric,” Mabel said from beside him.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” he replied. He handed the pendant back to the sales person and grinned. “I’ll take it.”

Eric spent another thirty minutes picking out a chain for the pendant. He had never imagined that there could be so many different kinds, shapes, or sizes. Did he want a flat one or one that spiraled? Did it matter? He finally decided on a thin, long silver chain. There were so many intricate details in the pendant that he thought plain would be the best for the chain.

“Thanks for helping me, Mabel,” Eric said as they left the mall and stepped into the cool spring air. “Are you coming back to the house? I would love for you to meet her.”

Mabel’s lips curved upwards. “I’ll be there soon. I just need to sort out the fair rides for Amelia.”

“Okay, but hurry,” he said, and gave her a big hug before turning towards his car. As he walked, he noticed an extra spring in his step, and he grinned widely with anticipation at seeing Megan.

CHAPTER 11

“Megan, are you okay?” Amelia asked, as she cracked another egg into the sizzling frying pan. Megan had barely said more than two words in a row this morning, and she looked as if she was ready to make a run for it at any second.

Megan glanced up, plastered an unconvincing smile on her lips, and shrugged. “I guess.” She focused back on her steaming coffee cup and let out a long breath. “Man, I wish he’d come home though. I feel, I don’t know…empty. And it’s a struggle not to run out and find him. How do you deal with it?”

Amelia grinned. “It’ll get easier,” she said, as she pushed the lever down on the toaster and then pulled out some plates from the cupboard. She glanced at Megan, and her smile widened. Amelia hadn’t been expecting her to be so open to the whole vampire soulmate thing. She had sort of expected Megan to resent Eric the way she had Mitchell. He had just taken away her independence. But the look on Megan’s face…she was glowing and had that far off girl in love kind of look in her eyes.

“At least he’s a complete hottie.” Megan shot Amelia a sheepish grin from across the kitchen. She popped up from the island, padded over to the fridge and grabbed the butter, setting it down beside the toaster.

Amelia good-naturedly elbowed her in the ribs. “Glad you think so, because if you keep drooling over my man...”

“I don’t think you’ve ever called me that before, love,” Mitchell said, cutting Amelia off midsentence. “I like the sound of it.” He leaned up against the counter top with a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

Amelia groaned. “You weren’t supposed to hear it,” she said, waving the spatula in his direction and then taking a minute to admire him. His hair was damp and the soft, spicy scent of his shampoo wafted about the room. He had on a pair of light khaki pants and a grassy-green golf shirt that hugged his muscles. Amelia licked her lips as she let her eyes absorb every inch of his drool worthy frame. Megan cleared her throat loudly, and Amelia reluctantly pulled her eyes away from a chuckling Mitchell. “Where’s Eric?” Amelia asked, trying to hide her burning blush as she focused on flipping the eggs.

The toaster popped and Megan began buttering the crispy bread. Amelia thought she looked like she was trying to stay busy and not show how much she wanted to know the answer, but it wasn’t working. There was a slight tilt to her body, as if she was leaning in so she wouldn’t miss a single note of Mitchell’s response.

“He’s with Mabel. Said something about wanting to do something special for Megan since he you know...”

Mitchell was cut short by a loud smash. They both glanced over to see Megan on the floor surrounded by slivers of porcelain from a shattered plate. “What the hell,” Megan said with a groan. “Crap, sorry about the plate.”

“No worries,” Amelia said, taking a few cautious steps over to her and reaching out her hand to help Megan get up. She started to reach for Amelia’s outstretched hand, but never accepted it. Her eyes widened, and Amelia was pretty sure she had completely stopped breathing. It was almost as if Megan no longer saw her, instead, she looked past Amelia with awe and wonder lighting up her face.

“Hi, Megan,” Eric said, walking towards her. He picked her up off the ground and set her on her feet away from the mess. Once she was standing, he grinned and stuck out his hand. “We didn’t get a chance to properly meet last night. I’m your dumbass soulmate, Eric Carter.”

Mitchell chuckled, and Amelia glanced at him quickly. His face was alight with pride as he watched Eric, his son, find his way through this awkward mess. Megan’s jaw dropped even further and her eyes widened, but she didn’t reach for his outstretched hand. Eric awkwardly let his hand drop and a look of devastation settled onto his perfect face. Amelia began to take a step towards Megan, but Mitchell stopped her, taking her hand and pulling her back. He cleared his throat and was about to say something when Megan blurted, “You’re not a dumbass.” Just as quickly as the words came out, she slapped her hands up to her mouth and backed up a few steps.

Mitchell squeezed Amelia’s hand tightly, urging her to stay out of it, and then said, “I know you are probably feeling a lot of different things right now, Megan, and it’s probably scary and overwhelming, but it’s all normal.”