Passion Found

by C Zinnia

At that moment, Mel knew that Jesse was the woman she saw at the fight obsessing over Viola.

  “The woman I pushed is Samuel’s daughter?” Mel said. She was surprised. Samuel seemed kind and level-headed. He was nothing like Jesse. “I never would have guessed.”

  Bruce was shocked. “How do you know it was Jesse?” he asked.

  Mel blushed. She hadn’t realized she had spoken out loud. “I knew because Viola’s energy shifted. I figured Jesse was Viola’s ex. Jesse seemed keen at the fight on getting Viola’s attention,” Mel said. “Jesse was going to go for Chris, but he lost to Viola so Jesse lost interest.”

  Bruce tried not to laugh.

  Eli did laugh. “You described her to the T,” he said. “All things considered, it seems pushing her was your way of exerting control. I bet it took everything in you not to throttle her.”

  Mel blushed deeper, causing all of them to laugh.

  “It’s okay, Mel,” Bruce said. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. Goodness knows when I first started dating Silvia, I almost got into fights with several men who just looked at her with interest. She got irritated too on several occasions. It’s all about learning to honor your emotions without acting on them. Also, address your insecurities. Personal insecurities tend to play a role in how secure you feel with the other person. The more I addressed my fears, the less bothered I am if others do look or flirt with Silvia because I trust her.”

  “Thanks for the advice,” Mel said. “It is an area I do need to address.”

  “Did you get anything else off of Chris? You mentioned conspiracy. Do you know when?” Bruce asked.

  Mel shook her head. “Time didn’t stand out,” she said. “It could be occurring right now or down the road. He did want to kill Alura.”

  “I’ll be sure to let Mason and Alura know what’s going on. Let me know if you get a clearer picture,” Bruce said. “Mason’s pack is one bad move away from erupting into war. I knew Chris was a bad seed, but he’s a distant relative of Mason. Mason likes to act like that doesn’t influence his leniency with Chris, but I think it plays a role, even if it is a small one.”

  Mel was surprised. “Really?” she asked. “Mason seems so nice.”

  “No one has control over their family. We all have at least one jerk in our family that is no reflection of the rest of us,” Bruce said.

  “True,” Mel agreed.

  “I better get going,” Bruce said. “Eli, can you and Mel start meeting tomorrow to work on Mel’s gifts?”

  “Absolutely, Bruce,” Eli said. “Come by after you see the hunter and I’ll let you know more about him. If you could bring me a lock of his hair, it’ll help as well.”

  “Will do,” Bruce said. He smiled at Viola and Mel. “Y’all have a great day.”

  “Wait, I need a phone,” Mel said.

  Bruce’s eyes narrowed. “Why?” he asked.

  “My cellphone was destroyed and I don’t know if my grandma or Mom have tried contacting me. Knowing Mom, she’s probably already heard about the B&B being destroyed and is panicking,” Mel said. “Daren said it was on the news.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Bruce said. “Use Viola’s phone for now and we’ll get you your own. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Mel said.

  “Why don’t you call her now, Mel?” Eli suggested. “You can use my phone.”

  Mel took the phone and called her mother, Tiffany. Her mother picked up on the first ring.

  “Mel! Are you okay? I saw there was a fire at the Countryside place you were staying at. I tried your phone and tried the business, but I couldn’t reach anyone. Where are you? Are you coming home?” Tiffany asked in rapid fire questions.

  Mel had to turn up the volume because she could barely hear her mother. She switched to her left ear and noticed it was easier to hear her. How much hearing loss do I have? she wondered anxiously.

  Mel noticed Viola’s energy shift as she heard Mel’s mother’s questions. Mel casually walked away from them knowing it was futile because of their impeccable hearing.

  “I’m okay. My car was destroyed by the fire. I’m staying with the owners’ . . . family at the moment,” Mel said.

  “You’re staying with strangers?” Tiffany squawked. “Why don’t you get a hotel room elsewhere? I’ll pay for it, though their insurance should be able to put you in a room.”

  “Mom, it’s okay. I’m okay. I’m safe,” Mel said.

  “It’s not safe to go to the home of people you barely know. And I haven’t met them. What’s their address? Is this their phone number? What are their names?” she asked.

  “Mom, relax,” she said.

  “I will not relax. You could have died and instead of coming home, you’re staying over there!” Her voice cracked. “You’re lucky it was just your car and not you. How did your car get damaged when it was just a fire? What are you not telling me?”

  “Mom, I’m sorry you’re worried. It’s just . . . I’ve met someone during my stay here. And I’d like to stay to see where it goes,” Mel said.

  Tiffany was silent for a moment. “What’s his name and contact information so I have a way of reaching you? I don’t like this. Aren’t you rushing things? He could always come visit you here,” she said. “It’s better to take it slow.”

  “It’s not a ‘he’, Mom,” Mel said.

  Her mother was so quiet, Mel was almost convinced she had hung up.

  “Well, she can come visit you here. You should come home. You’re not safe there. I can buy you a plane ticket out of Roanoke and you can come home,” Tiffany said.

  “I’m not coming home,” Mel said matter-of-factly. “I want to stay here at least until the end of my planned vacation.”

  “Mel, you shouldn’t just move in with a stranger. You can have a relationship with her long distance while you two get to know each other,” she said. “You can always visit when you get to know each other better. She can visit you too.”

  “Mom, I’m staying. I already had this trip planned and I want to see where this relationship goes,” she said.

  Tiffany was quiet again. “Fine, but only for a few weeks at the most. Then you need to come back home. And you need to call me every day so I know you’re okay. If I don’t hear from you, I’m going to call the police and give them this phone number. And you should replace your cellphone. And file your insurance company for your car so you can get reimbursed for your car. Got it?” she said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Mel said. She decided not to argue the prospect of her moving to Ferrum. She knew she needed to give her mother time to absorb their conversation.

  “Mel.” Her mother paused. “You know I love you and I just want you to be safe, right?”

  Mel could feel her mother’s love pour through the phone and surrounded Mel. “I know, Mom. I love you too,” she said. “Bye.”

  “Bye,” she said.

  Mel ended the call.

  Chapter 6

  Viola was frowning as Mel got off the phone. “She doesn’t like me,” she said.

  “She just doesn’t know you. Mom has paranoid tendencies, so don’t take it too personally,” Mel said.

  “Hmm,” Viola said. She didn’t believe Mel, but she decided to leave it alone for the moment.

  “She’s handling it better than Cindy would. She’d already be on her way here if it was our child,” Eli said.

  “My mom would have managed to put her arm through the phone and drag me back home by my ear,” Bruce said with a laugh.

  The comments didn’t make Viola feel better.

  Mel handed Eli his phone. “Thank you for letting me use it,” she said.

  “Of course,” Eli said. He paused. “Just remember that no person nor parent is perfect, so your mom isn’t perfect. She has her own childhood scars and fears that she brings with her to every relationship she interacts in. Some of her responses and reactions have nothing to do with the present, but her emotional baggage from the past.” Though Eli said it to Mel, Mel felt like hi
s advice wasn’t just directed to her.

  “That’s true. Thank you, Eli,” Mel said.

  “I’ll make sure you have the paperwork you need to file with your insurance. And we’ll get you a cellphone as soon as possible,” Bruce said. “Your mother is right. You should have your own car and you should have your own cellphone. Our goal isn’t to limit your independence.”

  Mel was relieved by his statement. “Thank you, Bruce,” she said.

  “You’re welcome, Mel,” Bruce said. “Take care you two. Let me know what they say at the infirmary.” He left.

  “I better get going too,” Eli said. “I’ll be back tomorrow so we can get started. Let me know if anything unusual occurs. I’m going to check Sarah’s journals to see if she ever encountered a witch like you.” He was sad. “I really miss her. Sarah would have enjoyed meeting you.”

  “Who’s Sarah?” Mel asked.

  “Sarah was the healer of this pack. She trained me since I was a child to take her place once she passed away. Her journals are filled with spells and the types of supernatural creatures she has come across,” Eli answered.

  “Oh. Did she every mention vampires?” she nervously asked.

  Eli was concerned. “No, why? Have you met one?” he said.

  “I’ve dealt with energetic parasites, but not one that drinks blood. I wanted to check because every werewolf story seems to involve vampires,” she said.

  Eli laughed. “Fair enough,” he said. “I have yet to hear of or meet a vampire. If I ever do, you’ll be the first to know. I’ve heard of energetic vampires. You’ll have to tell me what your experience was with them.”

  “Sure,” Mel said.

  “Thank you, Eli,” Viola said, wanting to end the conversation about vampires.

  “Yes, thank you for everything,” Mel said. “Would you be willing to teach me some things you know?”

  Eli smiled. “Yes,” he said. “But only after we get your gifts sorted out first. Deal?”

  “Deal,” Mel said.

  Eli left.

  Mel glanced at Viola. Her heart fluttered. They were alone in the kitchen once more.

  “Let’s go to the infirmary,” Viola said. She put the bag of peas back in the freezer. She slipped her fingers through Mel’s and walked her to the infirmary. When Viola opened the open, a loud beep rang through the building.

  The infirmary smelled clean and had a few chairs in the waiting room. There was a large circular front desk with multiple hallways and closed doors behind it.

  A beautiful, athletic woman with warm brown skin, dark eyes, a wide nose, and spiral curls walked into the lobby. “Hello Viola!” she said cheerfully. She looked at Mel. “You must be Mel. You’ve been the talk of the village. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Davis, but you can call me Myra.”

  “Wait, you’re a doctor?” Mel was flabbergasted as she shook Myra’s hand.

  “Why is that so surprising?” Myra asked, suspicious.

  “You look too young to be a doctor,” Mel said. “I’m sorry if I offended you for saying as much.”

  Myra suddenly gave Mel a hug. “Aren’t you a sweetheart!” Myra said. “I approve of your mate, Viola. Now, what brings you by today?”

  “As you probably already know, Mel’s been through a couple of altercations during her time here. Between the explosion and the shooting, she has an AC separation in her right shoulder and hearing loss as well as ringing in the ear,” Viola said. “Eli pointed out that you should check what’s causing the hearing loss to make sure she doesn’t need surgery.”

  The thought of surgery caused Mel’s gut to lurch. She prayed she didn’t need surgery.

  “I’m glad you came. Come on back,” Myra said. She led them into a patient room. “Have a seat on the table, Mel.”

  Mel sat down, barely hearing the paper on the table crunch and crinkle under her body.

  Myra picked up an otoscope and looked into each ear. “Your left ear looks good. You have a ruptured eardrum in the right ear. The perforation doesn’t look severe enough to require surgery,” she said. “It’ll take a couple of weeks to heal. You’ll have permanent hearing loss, but we won’t know the level until after it’s healed. The ringing in the ears may go away with time, but there’s not much we can do for that. I recommend dodging any loud noises. Anything above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss over time. Examples are heavy city traffic, motorcycles, mp3 players if they’re at high volume, concerts depending on how close you are to the speakers. If you deal with any of those situations, you would want to invest in earplugs to limit the damage to your ears. I wouldn’t listen to an mp3 player with headphones on your ears for a least a month to give your ears time to heal. Any questions?”

  “No. Thank you for all of your help, doc,” Mel said. She was dismayed about her predicament, but tried to bury it. She pushed aside her feelings and forced a smile. I should be grateful I’m alive, not fussy about something as menial as having a little hearing loss, she thought.

  It’s okay to be upset, another part of her said. You’re allowed to be upset over this turn of events.

  “Let’s get going. I’m sure Myra has other things to do,” Viola said. “Thanks again so much.”

  “Y’all are welcome,” Myra said. “Take care.”

  Once they were outside of the infirmary, Viola looked at Mel. “You look exhausted,” she said. “Would you like to take a nap?”

  Mel didn’t want to admit it, but she was fatigued.

  “Come on,” Viola said. She held her hand out to Mel.

  Mel took Viola’s hand. She loved how warm Viola’s hand felt. Mel was nervous. She didn’t know if she was ready to be alone in the bedroom with Viola. She decided to stall. “What about your job?” she asked.

  “I can call in,” Viola said.

  “No, I can’t do that to you,” Mel said. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was afraid of being alone with Viola. She was terrified she’d somehow make a fool of herself and Viola wouldn’t like her anymore. Mel realized it was stupid, but she couldn’t control her fears. “I’ll go with you to work if that’s okay.”

  Viola admired Mel acting stoic, but she had a feeling Mel wasn’t telling the whole story. Viola decided to let it go for now. It was apparent Mel had opened up more than she was accustomed to. “I don’t know if you should go to work with me,” she said. “You’ve been through so much in such a short amount of time.”

  “I know,” Mel said. “But I need to do something to feel some sort of normalcy.”

  “All right,” Viola said. “Let’s get going.”

  Viola and Mel walked hand in hand out of the village to the parking lot. Residents glanced at them and whispered.

  Viola didn’t mind their gossiping. Her only concern was Mel.

  Mel felt one person glaring at her with searing hatred. She turned to find it was Jesse. Jesse was furious to see Viola and Mel holding hands. Jesse was insulted that Viola was with a human instead of her. She wanted to kill Mel.

  “Don’t mind her,” Viola whispered in Mel left ear. “She will get over her jealousy.”

  Viola’s voice faded into the background as Mel was pulled into a vision.

  Jesse was standing at a forked road. Mel could see one path led to a loving partner and a comfortable life for Jesse. The person was smiling and waving at Jesse. Love poured from the person. To Mel, it looked beautiful.

  Jesse sneered at that path and immediately walked down the other path without a second glance. The path she chose seemed grandiose. It had Viola standing there facing Jesse with a wide smile and open arms. It was a path that sang of power. Diamonds, sapphires, and rubies adorned the path. The path glittered as though the dirt was made of gold.

  Mel noticed the image of the path Jesse chose waivered.

  It’s an illusion, Mel thought. Mel brought her hand high above her head. She balled up her fist as though she was able to grab the sky. She felt heat in her hand as though she grabbed something and automatically she gripped i
t tighter as she pulled down.

  The once beautiful path disappeared. It was replaced by one filled with potholes and it glittered with broken glass. The grass surrounding the path was brown and the few shrubs around were decayed.

  Viola was replaced with the fiery corpse of Jesse. Jesse’s corpse still held her arms wide, her smile menacing. Jesse was unaware of the changes as she openly and joyfully walked to her death.

  The vision faded. Viola was staring at Mel, perplexed. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m fine,” Mel rasped out. She glanced to find Jesse still glaring at her. “Hopefully, she’ll get over it sooner rather than later.” She shook off the bad vibes and bad vision. Mel turned her attention back to Viola. There was no reason to let Jesse ruin her day.

  Viola wanted to ask more about it but was at the same time afraid of what Mel would say. Viola didn’t like the sensation. She didn’t like fearing her mate’s abilities. It made her feel weak. She was not supposed to feel that way. If anything, I’m supposed to be the strong one. My mate shouldn’t make me feel this way, Viola thought. She immediately pushed the thought down. This isn’t a big deal, Viola. Get over yourself.

  Viola opened the passenger door for Mel. Mel got in the car. Mel reached over and opened the door for Viola. Viola beamed as she got in the car.

  “Where are we going?” Mel asked. “What do you do for a living?”

  “A couple of different jobs,” Viola answered. “I train elderly clients for fall prevention. I have children with special needs that I give routines to make them more mobile. I have athletes from different sports that I help improve their specific goals and needs. For all of my clients, I help them optimize their individual potential by enhancing their performance, improving their quality of life, and preventing injuries. I normally work five to six days a week. My schedule was a little hectic this week because of the fight.

  “Every full moon we meet with other packs and there are normally fights scheduled. My fights are always set up last minute. Every fighter likes to try to take me by surprise when they challenge me to a fight, so I always have to be ready.”