Amelia was finishing up before getting ready to go out with Victorija again. Daisy was heading off to meet with her friends for another overnight vigil for her YouTube channel.

“Have a good time tonight, and be careful. You don’t know what’s out there,” Amelia said to Daisy, and gave her a hug.

“I do know what’s out there, Amelia, and that’s the scary part.” Again, Daisy’s eyes went to the mark on her neck, which had been aching and painful a few times today.

The pain seemed to come in intense episodes. The achy need and discomfort would build and build to a point where she became dizzy and thought she might pass out, and then it would start to ease. She was sure it had something to do with Byron. Even though she hadn’t seen her ex-lover for six months, she could almost feel her in every cell of her body.

Amelia had been so busy today she hadn’t had a chance to talk to Daisy about the videos she had sent her. The YouTube videos had really disturbed her. She felt connected to them somehow, as if she knew something and just couldn’t make sense of it.

“Daisy, those videos you sent me…about witches and vampires. I know it sounds crazy but—”

Daisy took her hands and said, “Tomorrow. Can we talk tomorrow? I really need to run.”

Daisy was avoiding this conversation. Why? “Okay.”

Twenty minutes later, Amelia was just retouching her make-up in the staff room when she heard the door open and ring the bell. Daisy must have forgotten something. She hurried back out to the front.

“Daisy, did you—”

She stopped dead and gasped. There standing by the door of the shop was Byron, with a large bunch of flowers. Amelia’s heart was thudding in her chest, and she felt her bite mark start to ache.

“Hello, Amelia,” Byron said.

This couldn’t be real. Some days during the last six months she had daydreamed about Byron turning up again, but now it was happening, and all she felt was intense anger. She walked up to Byron and examined her closely before slapping her on the cheek.

Byron grabbed her wrist to stop her from slapping her again. “I deserved that, but don’t do it again, Amelia. Please let me talk.”

“How dare you, how dare you walk back into my life, just as I’m starting to rebuild it, stand there with your flowers and expect me to fall at your feet.”

Amelia pulled out of her grip, and Byron dropped the flowers on a chair.

“I don’t. I just want a few minutes of your time to explain myself,” Byron said.

Even as angry as Amelia was, her body and her heart were drawing her to Byron, and she had to fight so hard against them. “Get out,” Amelia said with as much coldness as she could muster.