The Soul's Mark: Broken by Ashley Stoyanoff Read Free Book Online

upright, and slid
into it.  “He’s not really your soulmate.  This is all a spell, an illusion. 
But even if he was, would it matter?  You loathe him.  I can see it in your
eyes.”
    Amelia let the words hang in the air for a
minute.  An illusion.  Not really your soulmate.  You loathe him.   Eight
months ago, she would have agreed with every word.  But did she still believe
it?  Dammit!  Don’t let him get into your head! A voice in the back of
her mind scolded.  Even if Mitchell is dead, he’s your soulmate!  You love
him, and he loved you.
    Amelia opened her mouth to spit out her
thoughts when she was interrupted by a knock at the door.  “Am I interrupting?”
Tristan asked, pushing the door wide open.  He looked between Amelia and Josh
with a smirk and then stepped into the room, and patted Josh’s shoulder. 
“Don’t take it personally.  Amelia just likes to fight, but I’m sure you can
break her in.”  Josh mumbled something incoherent as Tristan scanned Amelia
over from head to toe.  “Did you show her yet?” Tristan asked.
    “I’ve been busy trying to put her back
together,” Josh snapped with barely controlled hostility.
    Tristan’s eyes flashed red, but he never
took them off Amelia.  “Show me what?” she asked, hating the quiver that she
heard in her voice.  She had never felt so vulnerable before.  Not when her
parents died.  Not when she met Mitchell.  Never.
    Tristan took a deep breath, most likely
smelling her fear, which only made her shake more.  His fangs popped down, and
he darted towards her neck.
    Amelia screamed.  She couldn’t help it; it
just came out.  She glued her eyes shut, expecting the pain, but it didn’t come.
    “You almost killed her last time,” Josh
growled.  Amelia pried one eye open to find Josh pinning Tristan against the
wall by the neck.  “I won’t let you feed from her again.”
    “You’re walking on a very thin line,”
Tristan snarled.  Amelia opened her other eye.  Tristan wasn’t fighting at all,
and that made her stomach twist in knots.  He had never seemed to be the
passive kind, and watching him stand there, as if he was actually submitting to
Josh, well, it freaked her out—just a little—and she started squirming, trying
to loosen the restraints.
    “You can play your little mind tricks on
Cole, but I know what you are, a filthy bloodsucker,” Josh hissed. “Cole will
see it, too.  She’ll get into his head, and she’ll break your hold.”
    Squirming was useless, and well, it hurt
like hell.  The magical chains bit into Amelia’s wrists and ankles, and she
could have sworn that with each movement she made, they tightened.  And on top
of that, Amelia had never in her life been as confused as she was at that very
moment.  Listening to them right now was like listening to someone reciting
riddles.  Except, these riddles didn’t make sense.  She knew they were
referring to her, but the rest of it … well, she might as well been listening
to someone speak in German.  Her brain just couldn’t, or maybe it was that it
wouldn’t, comprehend any of it.
    Tristan laughed.  It was a twisted kind of
sound, full of mirth and cynicism, and it slithered over Amelia, turning her
stomach and chilling her bones.  “You really believe all that garbage, don’t
you?” he said to Josh, but he sneered at Amelia.  “She’s not your creator, and
Mitchell really is her soulmate.  That piece of trash didn’t make you. 
She doesn’t have the power to pull that off.  It’s a myth, a legend, a
ridiculous fairytale to help the baby hunters sleep at night.  And she’ll kill
you the first chance she gets.”
    Amelia didn’t see Tristan move, but he must
have, because all of a sudden Josh was flying through the air.  He hit the
wall, bounced off, and landed face first on the ground.  He didn’t stay down
long.  In a blink, he was back up, but to Amelia’s horror, he kept his eyes
cast down, refusing to look at