Second Nature (2 page)

In all honesty, I didn’t need my job at the
garden center. We’d always lived a comfortable life, but none of us
were prepared for what we would find in the basement of the house
we grew up in. Secured in a hidden room was a safe the size of many
suburban closets that was filled with cash from floor to ceiling.
It was enough to keep us living extravagantly for ten years. I
guess when you’ve been around for hundreds of years you kind of
accumulate things. Since we
had
lived simple lives, there
was quite a lot left over. It was only after my parent’s death that
I learned my mother was in fact over 200 years old. And she had
looked younger than most of my classmates parents.

My parents were never open with me, which
led to a lot of trouble. What I had never realized was they were
nearly as closed lipped with my siblings as they were with me. Most
of what Xander and Sariah knew, they had learned from the secret
libraries of Otherworld knowledge. After Mom’s death, my
grandmother had explained a lot about my family and Gaia in
general. While women were pregnant just a hair longer than humans,
carrying for a full year, the turnaround for their bodies was
significantly longer. I had a brother, Jonathon, but he was
murdered about sixty years before I was born. His death traumatized
my mother so badly, she turned her back on the Otherworld. When she
learned she was pregnant with me, she found a special agency and
adopted a young Djinn and a Succubus to keep me safe. We were
raised as a tight knit family and losing our parents had made us
even closer.

Xander followed behind me, flipping through
a stack of mail disinterestedly. His eyebrows rose in surprise, and
he looked at me, his eyes wide. He handed me an envelope with my
grandmother’s handwriting on it. Inside I found another envelope
addressed to our house back in Lincoln in my best friend’s
handwriting. I frowned. I hadn’t heard from Evelyn since we left
her in Springfield with a coven of witches. I glanced at my brother
who shrugged, so I tore it open. My hand shook as I extracted a
single sheet of notebook paper covered with Evelyn’s flowing
handwriting. The letter was dated at the beginning of April and the
greeting was just my name. She wasted little time on pleasantries
and got straight to the point:

I know we haven’t talked much since
everything happened, and I don’t know if this letter will even find
you. After all that happened last winter, I owe it to you to keep
you up to date. My father has been trying to contact me mentally. I
haven’t been letting him in, and I never will. Amber went to see
him to figure out what was going on and found out my mom had
somehow spelled him so he was conscious and aware, just unable to
move. She released him from the spell. It’s too soon to know what
he’ll do, Lia, but I’m scared. I’m scared for me, but even more so,
I’m scared for you. I could feel so much anger and hate when his
mind brushed mine. Be careful, Amelia. You and your family. If you
ever want to talk, you have my number and stuff.

Love and miss you much,

Evelyn

I read the letter three times unsure what to
say. Mouth agape, I handed the letter to Xander who read it and
passed it to Sariah with his angular jaw set. She glanced at me
with a frown, and I spread my hands, shaking my head. My mouth
worked, but it took me a long time to get my voice to work.

“Do you think he’ll be coming after us?” I
asked

Sariah crumpled the letter and threw it into
the trash. “Let him try. We’ll be ready.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t sure how much I
agreed.

Chapter
Two

SINCE MY BROTHER and sister had gone out, I
took advantage of the late afternoon sun. I sat cross-legged on the
flat rock in the garden meant specifically for me to sit on. I
never felt more alive or invigorated than I did when sitting in one
of my gardens. My book lay forgotten beside me as I drifted in
thought. My mind tuned to the natural world around me. I sensed
rain in the distance, but it wouldn’t make it here until later
tonight or tomorrow. The plants and animals all around me made me
smile. Sometimes I fantasized about living in a burrow in my garden
instead of in the house, but I think if I even suggested it
Sariah’s head might explode.

Perhaps it was because I was open, or maybe
it was our bond, but I felt Nate coming long before the familiar
red Pontiac G8 drove into sight. After our accidental bonding, I
didn’t blame him for being weirded out. I didn’t know what being
mated, the Gaia equivalent of marriage, really meant—honestly, we
could count the number of times we’d kissed on one hand. After
helping us get everything sorted out when my parents died, he had
hightailed it out of here as fast as he could. At first, he called
once a week, visited me regularly and I understood he needed some
time to figure things out. Then the calls slowed, and his visits
got less and less frequent. The bond worked in a way that we had to
be near each other or we would suffer the consequences. I could
always feel when it was time for him to visit because I would
become somewhat wilted, a little lethargic and not as in tune with
my abilities. This time he had waited so long, I wasn’t able to
make plants do anything they don’t naturally do, which was
something I usually excelled at.

I stayed in my garden knowing he wouldn’t
have any trouble finding me. I raised my knee and laid my cheek on
it. One thing I had to give to living in North Carolina, I wasn’t
quite as pasty as I used to be. With warm weather coming sooner and
lasting later, it seemed I spent all of my time outdoors. Though
the comparison might be a little unfair since I left Illinois
before I could really come to terms with being Gaia. The warmth
meant I spent much of the summer in tank tops and shorts, like I
always had, but now that my legs were long and my body curvy, it
seemed like a completely different outfit—one that made Xander
frown if I left the grounds in it. Fortunately, that didn’t happen
often or else there would have been some serious arguing between
the two of us.

Nate sat in his car for a long time as if he
was unsure what to do. He couldn’t miss my presence in the yard; he
might even sense my irritation. It had been over a year since he
left, and I was running out of patience. I did understand being
thrown off by our bizarre situation, but I was prepared to figure
it out
with
him. No one else I’d met even stirred an
interest in me, and even seeing him from this distance made my
heart pound.

I heard the car door and watched him
approach. He stopped when he got to the edge of the garden, and I
could feel his wonder and awe as he tried to take it all in. I
smiled, proud of this giant butterfly garden. It was my favorite
haven because of the animal life it attracted. Nate stepped closer
until he stood about three feet away. I stomped down on the urge to
fling myself into his arms and just looked at him, the pain from
his abandonment coming to the surface. Maybe it was a dirty trick
to let him see the hurt he caused, but it wasn’t my fault that was
what I felt.

“Don’t do that, Amelia,” he said with a
sigh, shoving a hand through his shaggy hair. It wasn’t fair for
him to look so adorable when I was hurt and irritated. His eyes had
always mesmerized me, rich brown with green rings around the
pupils. He hadn’t shaved in a couple of days and the stubble was
kind of hot on him. All I wanted to do was smother him with kisses,
maybe explore a little lower. Perhaps it was time to learn what
being married was all about. I shook my head, trying to shake off
the feeling, not sure how much of it was my own. One definite
downside with the bond was when we both felt the same thing it
escalated. I bet our fights would be epic. Other things too.

“Can we at least go inside and sit down?” he
asked.

I caught my lip between my teeth as I
watched him for a long moment before unfolding myself from the
rock. Knowing he would still sense them a little if he really
wanted to, I walled my emotions off. He made no attempt to do the
same; in fact, his appreciation of my backside as he followed me
almost seemed exaggerated.

I walked in the front door, leaving it open
but not actually inviting him in. He whistled as he entered, and I
realized he hadn’t seen the house before. We moved in just after
the last time he’d breezed through town. The memory of my two
siblings and I stumbling over each other trying to make a
one-bedroom apartment work as they built this house made me smile.
We probably should have gotten something bigger, but after the
string of no-tell motels and efficiency apartments we’d lived in
across the map, we’d gotten used to being on top of each other.
When we first moved into the giant house, we spent many nights
sleeping wherever we were since none of us was used to having a
bedroom.

I led the way into the kitchen and poured us
each a glass of fresh pressed cider. I set them on the counter and
turned toward him when his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled
me close. His lips pressed firmly to mine causing all my thoughts
to sputter out. My lips parted and the kissed deepened, his tongue
dancing with mine. He tore his lips from mine and brushed kisses on
my face, forehead, and eyelids. Then he tucked my head under his
chin and hugged me as if he would never let go. I clung to him, my
knees too weak to support me and eyes damp with unshed tears. The
hardest part was knowing when he held me he would soon disappear
again. I wanted it to last forever. I wanted
us
to last
forever.

It was a sobering thought.

With a grimace, I extricated myself, unable
to speak as I grabbed my glass and put the island between us. So
much needed to be said, and neither of us knew where to begin.
Instead of trying to form the words, I stared at him and sipped
cider. I was about to turn and walk away when he finally spoke.

“I know you’re losing patience with me,
Amelia, but I am trying.” Nate is the only person in the world who
could use my full name and not make me feel like I’m in trouble.
When he said Amelia, it sounded sexy and made me feel wanted and
loved. It was unfair for him to use it now. “When I’m with you,
it’s like you’re the only girl in the world, and
that
scares
the hell out of me. We’re so young! How can we be married?”

“I think your problem,
Nathanial
, is
you’re still thinking with your human mind. We’re not human, so the
traditional ideals we grew up with on television don’t exactly hold
true. Love and marriage are different for everyone else in the
world. We are so far south of normal we should have penguins as our
neighbors!”

“So many times I wanted to forget everything
else and just come running to you. A few times I even got in the
car and started driving. But the doubt and the fear always kicks
in. The longer I stay away, the harder it is to come back. I have
no idea what to say.”

“Wait,” I said, holding up a hand. “Let me
get this straight. You stayed away for a
year
because you
didn’t know what to say?”

Nate looked at his hands miserably and
shuffled his feet. I refused to feel sorry for him and glared with
all the disbelief and pain showing on my face. He shrugged and
shoved a hand through his hair again. Finally, he sighed and
started to turn away from me. My heart swelled with so much pain
and hurt until it was in danger of bursting.

“You know what Nathanial? Screw the fact it
might
literally
kill me. Get the hell out!”

He hesitated, looking at me with eyes wide
in shock.

“Now!” I almost screamed. “I don’t want to
see you again unless you’re ready to stop jerking me around. Either
you’re my mate and my husband, or you aren’t.”

“You know that will kill us both,” he said,
his eyes begging me.

“I don’t care. You’re already killing me!” A
tear slide down my cheek, and I dashed it away furiously. Nate
tried to put his arms around me and I side stepped. I stalked to
the door and opened it. “Out!” I snapped, pointing for
emphasis.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he
thought better of it. He shoved his hands through his hair yet
again and gave me a pathetic look. I hardened my heart and
impatiently tapped my foot. I was through playing the games, and I
wanted it to be clear to him. I’d rather die of one deep stab wound
than ten billion paper cuts.

Nate’s shoulders slumped, and he muttered
something I didn’t even try to hear. He turned on the threshold,
his mouth opened to say something and I slammed the door in his
face. I slid down to the floor, the internal wall crumbling.
Hugging my legs to my chest, I buried my face in my knees and
wept.