Second Nature (10 page)

IT WAS A glorious night to be a Gaia, the
glowing full moon and a hint of wild honeysuckle hanging in the
air. So why did I sit in my garden with my chin glumly on my knees?
My life was all messed up. The man I loved didn’t want to be with
me. A Librarian ran amuck, draining blood from demons. And we were
in danger—again—possibly from the man I had saved last time we
squared off. I should have let Xander kill him. It definitely would
have made my story much simpler.

The patio door slid open, but I ignored it
raising my face to the hot night wind. I hadn’t spent much time
alone in the last week. After almost being killed, my family was
smothering me. I needed some time to be on my own. If they were
going to stand guard over me, by God, I would ignore them to the
best of my ability.

I was surprised when my sister shoved
something into my hand roughly and ordered in a harsh voice,
“Explain!”

A plastic baggy with a small pill in it sat
in my palm. I remembered grabbing it and sticking it in my pocket
the night I rescued Xander. In all the excitement afterwards, I had
completely forgotten. A pea-sized blue disk with a flame stamped on
one side and a word on the other, but I couldn’t read it in the dim
light.

“I emptied the hamper and it fell out of
your ruined shorts.” She crossed her arms and gave me a reproachful
look.

I snickered, trying to decide if I should
just explain or let her make an ass out of herself jumping to
conclusions. She took a deep breath ready to tear into me, when I
held up a hand to forestall the lengthy lecture. “I grabbed it from
the room where they had Xander. There was a box of them, and I
thought we might want to examine it later. But given the events of
the night, I think it’s forgivable I forgot about it.”

Sariah stood with her mouth open, sputtering
and unsure how to proceed. I raised my brows at her in innocent
amusement, and she frowned before sighing and throwing up her
hands. With a jerk of her head toward the house, she headed in and
expected me to follow. Unfolding myself from the rock, my mouth
twisted as I trailed behind her. Just as I slid the glass door shut
behind me, my phone chirped an incoming text message. I picked it
up and smiled when I saw it was from Dylan.

“Is it safe to talk? It’s not too late for
me to come over, is it?”

“Not as long as you behave yourself.” I sent
the text, slipping the phone back into my pocket. I hadn’t gone two
steps when the doorbell rang. With a laugh, I opened the door and
let Dylan in. He had the angel aura under control, but he was still
one of the most appealing men I’d ever met. My pulse raced at the
sight of his unruly hair and stubble. I never had a chance to
consider the idea of other boys. I’d just always known I was
supposed to be with Nate. But now I wondered how wrong I’d been.
Things were different—I was different. I wondered if it would be
possible for me to move on, maybe find someone who made me happy.
The idea that my heart would bleed for a man who was too caught up
in himself made me sad. And a little voice in my head told me Dylan
would be attentive and affectionate, two things I was in desperate
need of.

Sariah tried to look busy, but it was a poor
act. Xander did a much more impressive job feigning interest in the
television. My siblings would be hanging over my shoulder, so I
ushered Dylan out back into the garden next to the pool. I sat on
my rock, and he knelt down to put his hand in the water my siblings
kept heated just enough to be perfect year round.

“How are you not in this all the time?” He
gazed at the pool with envy.

I wrinkled my nose and gazed at the clear
water chock full of chemicals, shuddering at the thought of them
soaking into my skin and hair. “I’m a Gaia, you doofus. I don’t do
chlorine.”

He smiled at me, rolling his eyes in the
international symbol for “I’m a dumbass.”

“Did you have a reason to come to my house
this late or is this a social call? I’m not complaining, just
wondering.”

“Uh, a little of both. I need to tell you
something, and I don’t know how to say it without freaking you
out.”

My brows rose, and I felt uneasy. Had I been
wrong to trust him? Or did he have information to help us with the
Librarian. Wait, he didn’t know about her, did he? All my instincts
were screaming at me to run away, and I was halfway to my feet
before he realized anything was happening.

He grabbed my shoulders. “Hey, calm down,
it’s not that kind of information. I really wish you’d trust me,
Sprout. I’d never hurt you.”

We stood close, me gazing up into his eyes
and holding my breath. I wanted to trust him, but should I? He was
an angel, and they were generally forces of good, but sometimes the
greater good didn’t always take into account what’s good for each
individual. Was it my hormones wanting to trust him or something
deeper? My mother told me to trust my instincts in all things
Otherworldly. His head lowered giving me plenty of time to stop him
if I wanted to before our lips touched. All thoughts of doubt were
gone in the electricity of our first touch. Guilt shot through me,
and it was all wrong. My brain screamed for me to pull away, but my
hands didn’t get the memo as they slid around his neck to pull him
closer.

Only one man ever kissed me before, and he
never kissed me the way Dylan did. With Nate it was all heat,
passion and urgency. But the angel was all about affection and
tenderness. It was clear he adored and cherished me in his arms,
and it was too short a time before reason reared its ugly head. I
broke away and moved back, my hand flying to my lips as guilt and
confusion washed over me.

“I’m so sorry, Amelia.” Dylan’s mouth
twisted in apology, but I put up my hand to stop him. I had no idea
what to think, or how I should feel. I definitely was attracted to
him, but I still loved Nate with every fiber of my being. “I know
it’s cliché, but it isn’t you, it’s me. Until I figure out what I’m
going to do about Nate, this isn’t fair to any of us. You don’t
need to apologize.” I smiled and glanced down shyly. “It was nice.
Really.” I glanced at him through my lashes and toed the ground.
“But I’m bonded to Nate. He’ll always be first in my mind because
that’s how the bond works.” I shrugged, knowing I was doing a lousy
job of explaining what ran through my mind. I didn’t know how to
tell him about one stupid kiss changing my life forever. And I
wasn’t ready to admit even to myself the hit my self-esteem had
taken because of what Nate did and was still doing to me.

Dylan smiled sadly and nodded. He thrust his
hands in his pockets and stepped back. As he started to turn away,
I darted forward and grabbed his arm. “Please don’t go. I don’t
know if I could stand this ruining the only friendship I have.”
Tears danced in my eyes as I gazed up at him.

He sighed and ran a hand down his face.
“You’re a walking contradiction, Amelia Sterling.” He half-smiled,
but his eyes were drooped a little in sadness. “I don’t think I’m
going anywhere until I have you figured out. And
nothing
will jeopardize our friendship. But I think I need to say goodnight
for now.”

I smiled at him, but an evil little voice in
my head called me every name in the book. Did I want to move on or
hold on to Nate? And did I have real feelings for Dylan buried
under the ones from the bond, or was it just a case of he was the
only other guy in the world interested in me? I had a lot of
thinking to do.

I walked Dylan to the door, where he hugged
me and pressed a kiss into my hair. I had just enough time realize
there was no car in the driveway before a light seemed to shine
down from the heavens, and he was gone.

“Show off.” I smiled as I closed the door. I
turned around to find my siblings—creepily close and far too intent
to not have been eavesdropping the entire time. With a superior
smile, I looked them each in the eye a brief moment before turning
and walking up the stairs without saying a word. Sariah pouted and
Xander sputtered, but I let my laughter drift down the stairs as I
closed my door. I wouldn’t be surprised to find them waiting
outside it in the morning, insisting on details. For now, I wanted
to be alone with my thoughts. I sat on the window seat and gazed
out into the night.

What
did
I plan to do?

I AWOKE WITH a stiff neck and fuzzy
thoughts. The disconnected feeling reminded me of when I was
unnaturally forced into the change. I swayed on my feet as I
dressed for work and stumbled downstairs hoping food would make me
feel better. Sariah and Xander were already gone, so I rummaged
around the kitchen for something quick and easy—I needed to sit
down before I fell down. I ate a banana while resting my heavy head
against the cool surface of the table, but when I sat back up the
whole room started spinning and my vision became wavy. There was no
way I was going to work.

I called Mr. Peterson to let him know I
wouldn’t make it in. He blathered on about something or another,
but I couldn’t focus on his words through the pounding in my scull.
When his talking stopped, I assumed he was finished and hung up. I
got a wet washcloth and lay on the couch with it covering my eyes,
but the throbbing in my head was relentless. In desperation, I
tried some pills Sariah kept in the medicine cabinet, but I should
have known better. Ten minutes of retching in the bathroom taught
me my headache was most definitely not screaming for Excedrin. The
pain escalated to the point I couldn’t handle the light in the
house. Why did I think this many windows was a good idea?

Running out of ideas, I stumbled out the
patio door, not bothering to shut it. I collapsed on the ground and
thrust my hands into the earth, lying on my stomach with my face
pressed into the dirt. The ache receded to the point I was able to
function and think.

This pain couldn’t be natural, but I had no
idea what was causing it. The only time I’d felt anything like it
was just before my change. As I remembered the terrifying night and
all came after it, the bond came to mind. Was Nate in pain? Was
this mine or his? I pulled out my phone to call him, but another
wave of pain made me drop it from suddenly numb fingers. I buried
my face in the earth and prayed it would stop.

I didn’t realize anyone else was there until
someone rolled me over. I winced in the bright sunlight
silhouetting Sariah’s beautiful face. She sighed in relief when she
saw me squinting, but worry quickly replaced it as she sussed out
something was wrong.

“What is it?” she asked, her melodic voice
surprisingly not causing any further pain.

“Headache. Bad. Not natural.” The stilted
responses took all my strength, and I laid my cheek against the
dirt again. Sariah disappeared and then came back, helping me sit
up before pressing something into my hand. I realized it was a cup
of tea, and I made a face.

“Caffeine should help,” she said. I grimaced
as I sipped the strong brew, grateful for the generous dollop of
honey in it. Sariah wandered off to my English garden and knelt by
one of the plants. While I love plants and have an affinity for
growing them, I know nothing about them as far as what they were
called or if they had any uses. I suppose the plants didn’t know
what they were called, so how could I? I just knew what felt right
growing where. Often, Sariah would point a plant out and tell me of
some medicinal use, but it went in one ear and out the other. After
today’s horrible experience with the aspirin, I made a mental note
to learn a little more. She came back with a couple of daisy
looking flowers. She pulled the leaves off in some bizarre
he-loves-me-not ritual before tossing the flowers aside and
kneeling beside me. I opened my mouth to ask what she thought she
was doing, and she shoved one of the leaves in. Unprepared, I
sputtered and coughed, somehow managing not to choke. It was very
bitter, and I wanted to spit it out, but I had a feeling she would
just shove another one in its place. I swallowed it, feeling a
strange numbness in my mouth and tongue as she gave me another
leaf. I chewed and swallowed it like before. I almost protested
when she gave me a third but my headache was fading.

With the pain gone, I became aware of an
unnatural hum in the earth, a sensation I’d never felt before. The
world seemed to be taking a deep breath, bracing itself for
something. I looked at my sister with wide eyes. There were no
words to explain to her what I sensed, but whatever caused the
disturbance was distant. Something unnatural was happening out in
the hot summer afternoon, and it wasn’t good.

Sariah looked at me in concern, and I smiled
and tried to reassure her. The energy building in the air was a
distraction, and I had no idea what it meant. The air should be
humming with electricity with this much of a charge building. I
glanced at my arm, expecting the hairs to be standing on end, but
it seemed to be normal.