Page 2 of Fighting for Her Heart

“Love? That’s absurd.” The witch looks even more shocked than Zuben was.

I’m glad that Ember didn’t introduce me as her mate. Discretion is best with a witch.

“Ember, we need to talk,” the witch says. “ Alone. Now. There are things that you don’t understand. Ways that these vampires canuseyou.”

I growl.

Ember squeezes my hand. “Useme?” she laughs. “Mom, are you giving me the birds and the bees talk?”

Blushing slightly, her mother smiles. It seems she’s realized her daughter is not in immediate danger, although it’s equally clear she hasn’t figured out that Ember is also a vampire.

My mate’s love for her mother is palpable, making me want to trust this woman—this witch. Ember’s magic isn’t dark or evil, so I have to consider the possibility that her mother’s isn’t either. Meeting Ember proved to me that not every witch is like the ones who murdered my clan. Andthiswitch went to great lengths to protect Ember.

“Let’s have a chat,” Nora says to Ember, “in the kitchen.”

Shaking her head, Ember casts her eyes down. “Mom, there’s something else I’ve got to tell you.”

“All the more reason we should talk. Let’s go. Now.” Her voice takes on a scolding tone that reminds me again that this is Ember’s mother. My bear retracts, no longer feeling the immediate need to attack. This woman is a witch, but she’s also a mother,Ember’smother, and poses no danger—not to her.

“What I’ve got to tell you is important,” Ember says.

“More important than your taking two vampires as…aslovers?” Nora frowns, her face twisting with distaste.

“Mom…” Ember pauses “…Ican’tgo to the kitchen with you.” Her teeth drag along her lower lip as she tries to figure out how to break the big news. “Not until the sun goes down.”

Widening, Nora’s eyes fill with confusion.

“Mom, I’m a—”

Backing away, Nora slams into the door. “You’re a vampire! How did I not see it? How did this happen? Oh, baby.” She shakes her head, her face filled with pain—a pain I understand. Finally, I’ve got something in common with my mother-in-law. I’ve been a vampire for seventy years and still hate it.

Nora glares at Zuben and me. “Which one of you did this to her?”

She reaches toward the wall at the side of the door. The wall glows blue for an instant, an illusion of wooden stakes flashes, and the stench of magic burns my nostrils. If she can conjure wooden stakes, her earlier threat had teeth.

I doubt a conjured stake could kill a vampire, but the look of alarm on Zuben’s face says he’s not so sure.

“Evanora, please. You have nothing to fear,” Zuben says calmly. “Your daughter’s transition was imperative for her survival. We had no choice but to turn her and it was done with her full consent.”

The witch frowns. “You must have tricked her.”

“No, Mom!” Ember takes a step forward, and her mom stays pressed against the door and just blinks at her, clearly still in shock.

“It is a long story,” Zuben continues. “One I am happy to recount in full, but to summarize, we were trapped underground, and our only way to escape the perilous situation was a fifty-seven-and-a-half mile swim with very few places to come up for air. And as a human, Ember—”

“You turned her into a vampire so she could escape underwater.” Nora’s body relaxes, just slightly, and she steps away from the door. “Clearly weallhave a lot to discuss.”

I grunt. She doesn’t know the fucking half of it.

Chapter Two

Ember

Momand I walk through the woods, surrounded by a blue glow that lights the forest path. I don’t need the magical illumination, given my night vision, but I thanked her for creating the light nonetheless. These woods are so familiar from childhood, but feel even more so with Mom at my side, and I’m filled with happiness. So much happiness that Ryker’s absence has transformed into a low ache inside me, versus the intense pain from earlier today.

No. That’s not fully true. The pain of missing Ryker is still sharp, but it’s been counterbalanced, offset by the unexpected joy of seeing my mom. My emotions are on a teeter-totter, neither side fully up nor down.

Axe and Zuben are staying back from us, giving Mom and me space to talk, but I can sense them following behind and the plan to have Zuben go search for Ryker at nightfall has been dropped for the time being.