Read The Soul's Mark: CHANGED for Free Online

if it was possible.  That much power could burn a person up from the inside out if they weren’t careful with it.
    But he’s also the one who pushes her to the brink of explosion, the soft words floated through her mind.  It was true.  Mitchell and Amelia had always been a bit rickety together.  It had been a constant power struggle between them since they physically met.  There had been days where Lola had actually believed that the two of them would kill each other, and it had almost happened a few times.  It wasn’t really like that anymore.  She knew that.  Something really changed in them when the bond had been broken.  She could see the difference in them; she could feel it.  They weren’t taking each other for granted anymore.  It was as if they were seeing each other, really seeing each other for the first time.  But it still terrified her to think that in a split second one of them could snap again, and something could happen.  She didn’t know when she had started to care so much, but the idea of losing one of them made her feel sick.
    Lola brushed her meaty palm across her cheek, wiping away a stray tear that had managed to leak out.  She felt so useless, powerless.  Her body ached from her bones to her skin.  She’ d never imagined that having a child would do this to her; make her crazy with worry.  But right then, that’s exactly how she felt.  The stress, the worrying … it was crushing her; the weight of it pressed on her from all sides, as if she was being buried alive.
    “Lola, he’s right, you know,” Luke said.  “They’ve been through the bond before.  She can handle it.  And she needs his help.”
    Lola sighed, and glanced at the door.  Luke was giving her that look.  It was the one that wasn’t quite disappointed but far from approving.  She hated that look.  And she hated it even more when he was right.  But then, he usually was right.  He was the only vampire she knew that could completely push aside all the animistic instincts and see life for what it really was.  He rarely gave into the cravings, and even when they had first met, he had been patient with her.  Never forcing the bond, or her change.  He had left everything for her to decide, on her own terms.
    If only Mitchell and Amelia … She shook off the thought, knowing it was pointless.  And if she was honest with herself, she wouldn’t change a single thing about either of them.
    Luke leaned against the doorframe, watching her closely with his consuming hazel eyes.  The soft buzz in her brain warned her that he was listening, and the slight curve of his lips told her he thought the same thing.  It was a pointless thought.  They both knew it.  Amelia and Mitchell would never have Luke’s patience.  They were just too stubborn.
    Lola had been with Luke for a long time, but even after so long, it amazed her that just seeing him could still make her heart flutter so much.  After a few hundred years, he was still the most gorgeous man alive.  His thick arms flexed as he crossed them over his muscle-lined chest.  She closed the distance between them, rolling up on tiptoes to brush a kiss across his lips.  Just like always, her entire body flared from the heat of his simple touch.
    She let him scoop her into his arms, as he swung the door to their bedroom shut, and she rested her head against his chest.  “I’m not worried about her, Luke.  I’m scared for Mitch.  What if she hurts him?”
    Luke carried her over to the cushioned window seat and sat down.  He adjusted his hold on her, pulling her between his outstretched legs, and she leaned into him, relaxing her back against his chest.
    “He’d deserve it after all the pain he caused her,” Luke said with a chuckle.  It sounded cruel, but Lola knew it wasn’t meant to be.  That was one of the things she’d always loved about Luke.  He wasn’t a mean person.  Never had been.  “But she won’t.” He caressed her hair, and