“Whoa. And we need to take care of this right now.” His fingers approached her neck, but he didn’t touch. “Do you know how you got infected?”
Amara fingered the mark; the warmth there was somehow repulsive. That clever, evil bitch. “The pollen.”
Ash snapped his fingers. “Of course. Your vampire fed from you last night?”
“Before I bathed. His fangs must have pushed some of the pollen beneath my skin.”
Ash stepped back. The feeling that she was being hunted faded away. “We need to speak to Mina about this.”
“Didn’t Mina send you?”
“No. I knew before she did.”
Huh. That was odd. “Are the three of you all right?” They’d breathed in the pollen. “As far as I know, we are. It’s possible that breathing in the pollen wasn’t enough, since blood is mixed in so deeply with this curse.”
“Or it was specifically targeted toward me.” The huge amounts of pollen the weeds had released might have been a fail-safe, ensuring Amara came in contact with it no matter what.
“Is that possible?”
“Are you feeling any effects or noticing any bruising? Is the forest reacting to you differently today?”
Ash shook his head. “No. I think we need a witch for this.” Once again his fingers danced close to her skin, but he didn’t touch. She couldn’t blame him. If this pollen infected Ash, it could destroy a fourth of the forest before the dryads could stop it.
Brian stumbled down the stairs and came to a halt at the sight of Ash in the living room. “Oh. Good afternoon, Mr. Ward.”
“Good afternoon, Brian. Please, call me Ash.” Ash shook hands with Brian. “Amara’s sick. I need to get her to Mina.”
“Brian, can you think of any witches in town who you trust one hundred percent?”
Brian frowned. “Not Kate.”
No. Not Kate. Never Kate. The bitch had been screeching at Dragos about her stupid skirt and her broken heel, completely ignoring the damage to the town hall and the plants around it. Hell, she’d barely touched on the fact that Parker had a witch after him. She was pretty sure Kate would love to have Parker and Greg shunned because she’d been embarrassed. Goddess, she hated that bitch. “What about Mel?”
Brian nodded. “She’s trustworthy. And Kate hates her.”
“Bonus! Mel it is. Do me a favor and call her. Tell her to meet us at the visitors’ center outside the park, okay?”
“No problem. If I can’t get ahold of her, I’ll call Selena.” Brian poured himself a bowl of cereal, but his attention was centered on Ash. “Do I need to wake Parker?”
“Can you wake Parker?” Amara had thought once daylight hit, Parker was down for the count.
“It’s something a Renfield can do, but only in emergencies and only if he doesn’t mind being a midday munchie, but yes, I could.”
“No. That would only do both you and Parker more harm than good. Besides, we can handle this.” Amara picked up her jacket and slid her feet into her boots. “Let Parker know where we are and tell him it looks like I picked up a problem from last night.”
Brian’s eyes widened. “You’re pregnant?”
Ash froze. He looked horror-struck.
Amara giggled. “No, silly. Aren’t vampires sterile?”
“Most, yes, but not all. And Parker’s unique. Who knows what he’s capable of?”
Amara’s face flared bright red. She’d been with Parker without a condom because vampires couldn’t impregnate her or give her any diseases. Her mind reeled at the thought of a dryad/vampire hybrid child.
Her child. She pressed her hand against her flat stomach and gulped as another bout of nausea threatened to send her worshipping at the porcelain god. “Tell me about it later, okay?” She had to deal with one problem at a time or she’d become overwhelmed, forced to commune with her tree whether she liked it or not. Hell, she was already beginning to crave her tree’s touch, but with the disease infecting her, she didn’t dare.
“Done. I’ll let Parker know if you’re not back by sunset.” Brian took hold of her arm, a worried frown creasing his forehead. “Be back by sunset, Amara.”
She would do her best, but she wasn’t making any promises. She went to help Ash load his bicycle into the back of her jeep, but it was already there. Amara didn’t want to know how Ash had gotten into her car and put the bike there without the keys. “You are one scary-ass dude.” She started the car and pulled out of the driveway.
“Thank you.”
Amara was glad he’d taken it for the compliment it was. “So. You’re positive everyone else is all right?” She had visions of zombie dryads shuffling through town, looking for… What? She pictured shambling dryads, their arms outstretched, groaning, Pooootaaatooooeeeesss…
“Everyone is fine, including the wolf pack. The forest released them this morning.” Something in the way he said it told her the forest had been less than kind in letting them go. She wondered if she’d be getting angry phone calls from the mates of bruised and battered wolves. “Are you?”
“What?”
“Pregnant?”
Amara almost swerved off the road. “No!” Not as far as she knew, anyway.
“Because that could complicate things.”
“Really? You think?” She shot him a disbelieving look.
He wasn’t smiling. “Your infection and cure could harm the child.”
The way he was staring at her freaked her out. “What?”
“It could turn the child into a vampiric weed.” Amara snarled, but Ash held his hand up, silencing her. “Think about it. A vampiric dryad child infected with the pollen of a twisted weed like Terri. What would the child become?”
She thought of all the so-called carnivorous plants in the world. “A walking Venus flytrap?”
Ash shook his head. “That’s the best-case scenario, Amara. Think about it.”
Her palm hovered over her stomach. What would she do if she was carrying Parker’s child and Terri had damaged it somehow? That volcano in her belly came damn close to erupting.
What if?
She pulled up to the visitors’ center and let herself out silently. Selena Giannone was waiting for her.
Ash stopped dead in his tracks. His breath hissed in. If Amara didn’t know better, she’d swear his knees quaked.
“Hi, Selena. Do you know Ash?”
Selena shook her head and stared at Ash, her expression wary. She appeared to be one step away from running from him, and Selena never ran, even when she should.
What the hell?
She hid her smirk. Interesting. Take that, Dragos. “This is Selena Giannone, our witchdoctor. Selena, this is Ashton Ward, one of our ruling dryads.”
When Ash took Selena’s hand, sparks flew. Literally.
“Holy crap.” Amara took a step back, brushing at a few that had lit on her clothes. “What was that?”
Selena, her mouth open, kicked Ash right in the shin. “What the fuck have you done?”
Ash bent to rub his abused leg. “Me? What the fuck did you do? You’re the witch, not me!”
“Keep your hands to yourself, or I swear to God I will turn you into a houseplant.” Selena took another step back, whether from Ash’s sudden anger or from the desire to remain untouched, Amara wasn’t sure. She was betting on the second. Selena had never backed down from Dragos at his worst. She doubted Selena even knew what she was facing this time, but she’d never back down from anything.
Just this once she should.
Ash’s expression smoothed to its usual calm appearance. Amara wasn’t fooled for a moment. “Amara needs assistance—magical assistance.” He closed his eyes and glided toward the forest. “Mina is calling.” He opened them and gestured toward the women. “Follow me.”