Mia's Path

SAM

After all this time looking for her and imagining the worst, it did not prepare me to see Mia completely unharmed and... Happy? I didn’t want to see her hurt or tortured, of course not, but this encounter was the opposite of everything we were expecting. He had her captive for a month and yet she seemed fine. How could that be? My brother was right, something was off. Waaaaaay off.

She hugged me and that only threw me off even more. Mia was not the touchy type of person, so she hugging everyone was not a common thing. I guess my face showed my confusion, because she took a good look at my face and whispered on my ear “It’s okay, Sam. Seth is not a bad guy. I’m fine.” She even giggled! SHE GIGGLED!

Before she could get away, I held her by her shoulders and searched her eyes. She wasn’t lying and she really did look happy. So why was it breaking my heart to see her like that? Was I a bad friend? I should be relieved that Mia was okay, and we had found her. Yet, I was not. My gut was telling me that this whole situation should have been different. What? I had no idea.

“Took you guys long enough, I was starting to think you wouldn’t come to us.” Seth teased.

Now I was pissed. Who the hell did he think he was to talk to us like that? I felt Maya getting pumped up as well, she wanted to sink her teeth on his neck and squeeze until she could hear the satisfying snap. I liked that image; it was appropriate for everything this Seth guy made us go through. He ruined our girls’ night out, kidnapped our friend and made us feel like failures for not being able to protect her. Now he was going to pay.

My claws were already out when Mia surprised me again. She skipped – FUCKING SKIPPED – towards the vampire while giggling to herself. He opened up his arms to her and she didn’t hesitate to jump right in and embrace him. Getting up on her tip toes and kissing his lips softly. SHE KISSED THE FUCKING KIDNAPPER! Hell no.

I didn’t notice I was advancing until Lilly’s hand grabbed my arm and tugged back. I lowered my eyes to her hand and a low growl left my lips. I wanted to protect my friend and get her away from that creep that must have done something to her brain. I knew vampires could have some special gifts, but I never really met one or talked with them long enough to know what they could do and how it worked.

Lilly didn’t budge, instead she glared at me and her hand around my arm got tighter. She might be a nurse, but she was brave enough to be a warrior if she so desired.

“So, should we get going now or are you guys hungry?” Mia asked us sweetly. Gross.

RAINA

“They look fine to me, little one. Besides, we better get going. No time to waste. Right?” the douche said smiling at us like we would just go with whatever lunatic plan he had.

“Actually, I’m starving. Aren’t you guys?” I asked and looked over the rest of us. They all caught up fast and agreed with me vehemently.

I took charge and started walking to the cafe again. I had no idea what his plan was, but I would find out and I would rescue my friend. Walking close to them I smiled sweetly at the dumb fuck and then grabbed Mia’s arm. “Oh, I have so many updates on the brothers to tell you. Let’s find a good table and chat over lunch.” I said towards Mia. She smiled back at me and enthusiastically took my arm and walked with me. I knew a little bit about some gifts vampires had, but nothing like that. And I was scared, because if I was right, the thing was more complicated than that and getting rid of Seth would be impossible for a while.

Tom and the girls passed Seth and came after us, giving him the stinky eye. The bastard only laughed at our actions and walked in behind us. I didn’t like it one bit.

“So, what have they done now?” Mia asked amusedly. The vampire might have his claws on my girl, but she couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face when talking about them. I could see the sparkle on her eyes again.

“Well, Drake got a mating proposal.” I said and wiggled my eyebrows at her. That should get a reaction. And it did, her smile faltered for a second and I saw something else on her eyes, but at the same time Seth made his way to the table and squeezed a chair between Mia and Lilly. By the looks of it, Lilly was fantasizing about ripping his head off. The instant Seth sat by Mia’s side her smile came back and she leaned on him.

“Oh?” Was all she said and planted her hand over his thigh, they looked like a married couple, and it was driving me nuts. I knew she didn’t belong to him, I sensed that Seth had found his other half a long time ago. What he did with them I had no idea and couldn’t care less.

“Yeah, Zoe is an amazing girl, so beautiful and kindhearted.” Melinda said, the woman was smart and already knew what I was trying to do.

Again, Mia’s expression faltered, and she looked pissed for a second. She tried to cover it up, but I saw it. I’m pretty sure that Mel must have seen it too, because she continued talking about Zoe Ward and how wonderful she was. Seth looked bored, like he couldn’t take girls gossiping anymore and stood, whispering something on Mia’s ear and walking to the register. Mia met my eyes and for a second there I thought I saw her normal self gaze at me. But I could have imagined, it was gone just as fast as it came. The important thing was that the real Mia was still there somewhere and no matter how hard it would be, we would get her back.

“So, when’s the ceremony?” Mia rudely interrupted Mel, a fake smile playing at her lips. Interesting.

“Ceremony?” I asked feigning innocence.

Mia huffed and moved in her seat, sitting straighter. “The mating ceremony.” She clarified and now I was sure to see some jealousy in her green dull orbs.

“Oh, there’s no ceremony. He refused the proposal.” I said and saw relief wash over her face. She took a deep breath and it seemed to help her clear her mind. “Instead, he sent Kyle over there.” I mused, and that caught her attention again. I knew she had a soft spot for Kyle as well.

“So, Kyle is the one to be mated to that... Zoe person?” She asked and looked at her hands, suddenly finding them so very interesting.

“For now, he’s there just to help the pack.” Lilly said softly and put a hand over Mia’s. They looked at each other and that made Mia smile again. Lilly was good. We were getting to her true self little by little. We just needed more time away from that bastard, so whatever gift he had wouldn’t affect her anymore.

But I spoke too soon, he came back with two coffees in hand and a confident smirk on his face. For some reason he looked at me when he sat back down and passed the coffee to Mia. Weirdo. I took a good look at him, for someone that have been on the run he looked fine and composed. His clothes were perfectly clean and wrinkle free. His hair styled neatly. That’s when a single red point caught my eye. His white button up shirt had a single red spot on the handle. I narrowed my eyes and saw that his wrist was still healing from a cut. I looked at Mia and saw her coffee cup had an even smaller red spot on it and the lid of the cup was ripped, like someone had removed it in a hurry.

FUCKTARD!

I was too slow to notice all of this before and by the time I connected the dots Mia was already drinking her coffee. I could see the change immediately; her eyes dilate and the fiery sparkle I saw before was gone. Her posture changed and she leaned back at him, she didn’t even notice that she took his hand and massaged his healing wrist. The psycho is drugging her. Vampire blood was a very addictive substance and could make people more docile and act like they were drunk. I was hoping I was wrong when I first saw Mia, but now I was sure of it.

SETH

I noticed the wheels turning in the witch’s head. She wasn’t as stupid as the others, so she understood now why I was so relaxed with this situation. There was no way they would steal my precious redheaded from me. She was mine, forever. Being a smart witch would come in handy in the near future, she might help me with my little problem. Of course, I knew she wouldn’t help me right away, but she would realize soon enough that I wanted the best for my baby and that I had took great care of her. Also, the real enemy was still to make herself known. By that time neither one of them would refuse to help us.

“So now that we caught up to each other, how about we put this show on the road?” I said and wrapped my arm around Mia’s shoulder. She leaned closer to me, and I inhaled deeply her divine scent of roses and champagne.

She was perfect and she was all mine.

“We’re gonna put this show on the road right now.” The big burly guy seethed. He was trembling with anger, and I knew he wanted nothing more than just break my bones one by one. Tough luck, buddy. That ain’t happening.

“Tom, can I talk to you for a second?” The witch cleared her throat and asked him while analyzing me. Mia had a smart friend; I’ll give her that. Now let’s see how smart and loyal the others were.

The big guy didn’t like one bit but he stood and left the cafe, followed by the blonde cute witch. That left my little one and I with two more cute girls. They looked at me like they wanted to kill me. Get in line, sweethearts. If they only knew how many people wanted my head off my shoulders. But maybe they shouldn’t know it, better not to get them ideas to unite forces.

“How have you been, Mia?” The woman with soft brown curls sitting by my love asked her. From the bunch she looked like she was the softest of them all. She just had that kind of warm hazel eyes that told you she was not a violent person. I liked her because she was talking to Mia in a way that showed she really cared for her and that was good. We would need as much allies as we could get, even the soft looking ones.

“I’ve been good, Lil. Seth and I have been traveling and sightseeing a lot. It’s really fun. I didn’t have much contact with my world before, and I quite like it.” I was happy to know that my baby had enjoyed herself in our little trip. We might be on a run, but she didn’t need to worry about that all the time. She didn’t need to concern her head with things that I could take care of. She smiled at me after answering Lil - I guessed - and kissed me on the lips softly. She was always more affectionate after a little dose of my blood, even if she denied it. So, I smiled back at her and winked, making her giggle. I loved the sound of her giggle; it was like the best song the world could create.

“Right, sightseeing. Is that what this psycho told you? And what the fuck is wrong with you, Mia? Why are you acting like that?” Shorty got angry and stood up, looking at us like we were crazy. She was the one making a scene, not us.

“I’m sorry, Sam, what is wrong with me? What is wrong with you? Why are you being so rude to Seth? If you think I haven’t noticed you staring at him all this time, you’re wrong. He did nothing wrong for you to be behaving like that.” Mia stood also and was now glaring at the shorty blonde, green eyed devil. Sam didn’t like what she heard, and she glared at me. I, on the other hand, did what anyone at my place would do: I smirked. That only pissed her off more.

“Are you serious, Mia? HE KIDNAPPED YOU!” She screeched and now all the other costumers’ eyes were on us. I just shrugged my shoulder at the glances and pointed my finger to my temple, turning it in a circular motion while mouthing ‘CRAZY’ at the stares. That seemed to help and most of the humans looked away.

“What? He saved me, Sam! Our car crashed and you left me there to bleed out. He was the one to save me!” Mia raised her voice and banged her fist on the table, pulling my eyes to her wrist. And sure, as always they had a strange glow to them. Every time she got angry her wrist would have a faint glow, like a old tattoo was showing or something. I didn’t know what kind of spell that was, but I was sure that it was why I couldn’t turn her. That’s why I needed the witch’s help.

“SAVED YOU?” Sam screamed in anger and was now shaking badly. Well, me saving her was my version of the story. But my baby knew it all. I could see the shorty blonde woman nails elongate and turn into claws. If she didn’t chill the fuck out right now, things would get ugly. And we would be exposed.

“Hey, are you guys ready to leave?” A bubbly sounding witch asked us all, while putting her hand on her short friend’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.