The Soul's Mark: CHANGED by Ashley Stoyanoff

progress just a few days ago.  What the hell was the rush now?
    “You’re all looking at this all wrong,” Amelia said through her teeth.  “You don’t need to numb the pain.”  Her magic flared again, in a burst of scorching fire.  “What you need to do is deflect it back to him.”  Blazing heat seared her skin and she vaulted up with a snarl.  “I can’t do this.”
    “Millie …” Eric started to stand, but Amelia waved him off.  She didn’t trust herself enough, not even with Eric, and she wasn’t about to risk him or any of them.
    “No,” she hissed.  “I’ve got to go.”  It hurt to breathe.  Amelia felt the air searing her throat with every intake.  She couldn’t stay there.  Not with her magic so out of control.  She could kill them all in a blink, and with each passing second, it seemed more and more likely that it would happen.  She turned from her family, and walked stiffly out of the kitchen and through the house, forcing one foot in front of the other.
     
    ****
     
    Mitchell watched the sway of Amelia’s hips as she turned her back on him, and walked out of the room.  Her eyes had been so cold, colder than he’d ever seen them before, and his chest squeezed tight.  Staying away from her was harder than he’d thought it would be, but he knew that if she wasn’t going to take the bond, she’d have to find a way to control the magic without him.  He wasn’t always going to be there to sooth e it.
    He still had no idea why his touch calmed her power.  Mitchell figured it probably had something to do with her soul trapped within him, but whatever it was, it worked and every part of him wanted to rush after her and calm the fire that was burning within her.
    “You can’t do this to her,” Eric said under his breath, when they heard the thud of her bedroom door.  “It’s not right.  You can’t let her suffer like this.”
    “I have to,” Mitchell said with a sigh.  “I’m not always going to be there to touch her.  She can’t rely on that.  If she doesn’t want the bond, she needs to figure out how to deal with the magic on her own.”
    He looked up at Eric, who was still standing as if he was going to go after her.  His leafy-green hair was disheveled, and his matching eyes, tortured.  But that hand … the one clasped to Megan’s shoulder tighter than needed; that was the thing that Mitchell really noticed.  Something was shifting in Eric.  He’d seen it when Eric had first admitted to killing the vampires and he saw it now.  It was cold and possessive and verging on emotionless and that was exactly why they needed to figure out how to change the bond.
    But right then all Mitchell could think about was Amelia.  He needed to know what the spirit wanted, but he was terrified to find out.  What if …
    “Mitch?” Megan said, drawing his attention.  “What does she mean by deflecting it back?”  Her forehead was littered with fine lines, like cracks in paint, as she scrunched her nose in thought.
    Mitchell raked a hand through his hair, trying to concentrate.  His skin was tender and damp from fever, and he felt as if his mind was slipping.  He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t been one-hundred percent focused, and now it made him feel weak and more than a little useless.  Amelia had said she was looking into changing the bond, but honestly, he hadn’t really believed her.  She’d barely talked to him about it, and when she had, she’d been so evasive with her progress that he’d figured she’d been avoiding dealing with the problem.
    Lola laughed.  It was a startled kind of laugh, and she slapped her hand on the countertop.  “We can’t feel the pain,” she said.  “Remember when you first bit her?  She asked if you could feel it and you said it was uncomfortable, but it didn’t hurt.”
    “She’s a genius,” Luke blurted, startled, as if he had never really believed that Amelia was all that smart.
    Mitchell