She swallowed, her throat still parched. Her thoughts shot back to her cousin. “He should have tried to save Chan.” Tears filled her eyes. “It only makes me feel worse. Chan helped me through the first turn, and because of me, because I was a little stronger than he was, he was passed over.” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Is that fair? I lived, and he died.”

“No,” Burnett said. “But life is seldom fair.” He dropped a hand to her arm. “But I can tell you what is fair. You are still with us. And…” He pointed to the door. “In the living room are several very concerned friends of yours who are also grateful that you are alive. Kylie and Miranda haven’t left this cabin for two days.”

“Two days?” she asked. “I’ve been out for two days?” Her next thought was how long ago Chase had left, but she didn’t want to ask it. Didn’t want to think about him, but she couldn’t seem to help it. What did that mean? Or did it mean anything at all?

Burnett nodded. “We were all getting worried. And, I know they are all ready to see you, but are you ready to see them?”

No, she thought, but nodded. If it were Kylie or Miranda in here, she’d be freaking out.

“Remember, Steve knows all of this. The doctor knows some of it. And I’m aware you share everything with Kylie and Miranda, and even though I can’t tell you not to, in this case, I’ll suggest you don’t.”

Keep secrets from her two best friends? She didn’t think so.

After freshening up, Della nodded to Burnett, who stood in the back of the room and opened the bedroom door. They all came barreling in. Kylie, looking panicked, came in first. Miranda, a close second, with tears in her eyes, followed. Perry stood at her side. Steve moved in behind them, and then Jenny and Derek. She even saw Lucas hanging in the back.

Friends. She had a butt-load of them.

Miranda, the perpetual hugger, dropped on the bed, and when she tried to do her thing, Della held up her hand. “I’m fine.” Right then, she looked up and met Steve’s gaze. He winked at her, but she saw something else there. Fear. And she knew exactly what he feared.

Bits of their conversation from when she’d been feverish sounded in her head. He said I’d be … bonded to him. She had told Steve about Chase.

I won’t let that happen, Steve had answered. But he had to have known he might not be able to stop it. Yet, he’d done it. Emotion squeezed her chest. Chase had risked his life, endured pain to save her, and Steve helped him do it, knowing he might lose her.

“Don’t you ever do that again!” Miranda snapped.

“I’ll try not to.” Della met Kylie’s eyes. “I’m fine, so get that worried look off your face.”

“I tried to heal you,” Kylie said, and her eyes brightened with unshed tears. “I couldn’t. My hands wouldn’t get warm and you wouldn’t wake up.”

Della recalled Chase saying healers wouldn’t work.

“But I’m better now. So no emotional outpouring okay?”

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” Miranda started chirping and bouncing her butt on the bed.

“What about no emotional outpouring did you not understand?” Della asked.

The witch rolled her green eyes. “You better be glad your pissy pass hasn’t expired.”

“Her what?” Lucas asked.

Della exhaled.

“I’m just happy,” Miranda said. “It’s your aura. It’s not dark anymore. I mean, it’s still vampire dark, but it’s not ugly dark.”

“Nothing about Della could be ugly.” Steve moved in and sat down beside her. He still looked worried. His hand eased over close and touched her wrist. Almost testing her.

She wished she could tell him not to worry.

But she could, couldn’t she?

No one controlled her. It was her choice. She had to believe that. Turning her hand over, she laced her fingers with his. She held on tight, but her still hurt. Hurt from missing Chase.

An hour later, Della was back at her cabin—alone in her bedroom. Pacing. Left to right. The tiny room made pacing difficult.

Steve had walked her back with Miranda and Kylie. When he saw that her two friends weren’t going to give them any alone time, he kissed her on her cheek—in front of them—and told her to call him the minute she could.

She hadn’t called him yet. He was going to ask her. Ask her if she felt different about Chase. What was she going to tell him? He deserved the truth. And yet …

She hadn’t even told Miranda or Kylie anything about what really went down. Della could tell they were waiting for her to explain things. They’d gotten out the Diet Cokes. But Della had played the “tired” card and come to her bedroom.

Okay, fine, she was being a terrible friend and worse girlfriend. But give her a freaking break! How was someone to explain something they didn’t understand? Or tell the truth when they didn’t know the truth.

Bonded? What the hell did that even mean?

She didn’t want to believe it could mean anything.

And yet she hadn’t stopped thinking about him. Her emotions spun like a roller coaster jacked up on coffee that had been laced with speed.

Angry.

Confused.

Beholden.

All of them targeting the same guy.

Almost as frustrating—almost—were her newfound powers. Which she understood even less than the word “bonded.” Of course, it could be because she hadn’t checked them out yet. And when would she get that opportunity?

She had a feeling Burnett was going to be watching her like a hawk to make sure she didn’t expose herself—the way Chase had.

Frankly, she didn’t blame Chase. What good was having powers if she could never use them?

Or, as in this case, almost never use them. Burnett had said they could be used in dire emergencies. Define “dire emergency”.

Della picked up her phone. Her mom had left a message. She needed to call her. But it must not be a dire need, because she didn’t want to do it. Or maybe she just didn’t know what to say to her any more than she did to anyone else?

Oh, she knew what she wanted to say: Hey, Mom. Did you know Chan’s dead? I know you thought he was dead a while back, but he wasn’t. And guess what, now I’m not just a vampire, but a really badass one. And, oh yeah, I’ve supposedly bonded with a guy. Though I don’t have a fracking idea what it means. So could you stop being ridiculous and tell me about my dad’s sister and brother who I’m pretty sure sent this guy here to bond with me?

Oh yeah, that would go over about as well as a fart in church.

She heard someone walking up to the cabin. Lifting her face, she inhaled, wanting it to be a certain scent. Chase’s scent.

But what did she want with him?

Answers, she told herself. Chase had some explaining to do. And not just about this bond thing, but about who sent him looking for her.

It wasn’t Chase.

She heard Derek ask where she was, and then Miranda said, “You’re going to tell her now?”

She swung the door open. “Tell me what?”

Both Kylie and Miranda looked concerned.

Derek walked over to the sofa and dropped down.

“Just tell me,” Della said. “It’s about Chase, isn’t it?”

“No,” Derek said.

“Then what?” she asked.

“A couple of days ago, I finally got someone from your father’s school to chat with me about your aunt and uncle.”

“And?”

“Your aunt is … dead.”

Della heard him, but didn’t want to accept it. “So you found her obituary. She could have faked it, just like my uncle.”

“I don’t think so,” he said.

“Why not? Just because she wasn’t in the same funeral home. There could be others who—”

“It’s not that,” he said. “She was murdered.”

“Murdered?” Della’s gut tightened. Someone had killed her aunt? “When? How?”

“It was about a year after your uncle was supposedly killed in the car accident.”

“Who killed her?” She thought about her father, the pain he must have endured after first losing his twin and then his sister. No wonder he didn’t talk about the past. “Did they catch the bastard?”

His eyes filled with regret. “When I found this out, I went to my PI buddy and asked him to look into it. He has a lot of friends who are detectives.” Derek cupped his hands and paused.

“And?”

“He got someone to pull the file. It’s listed as a cold case. They never arrested anyone because they never had enough evidence.”

“So they had no suspects? None? Someone kills my dad’s sister and just gets away with it?”

He paused, and she could tell he didn’t want to tell her. “Spill it!”

“There was only one suspect.”

She waited for him to tell her more. Her patience snapped. “Good Lord, do I have to reach in your mouth and pull out the words? Who was it?”

He still hesitated. “Your father.”

Della swallowed. “They thought … That can’t be right. My father would never—”

“I didn’t say he did it, I just said that he was their only suspect.”

Della saw the way Miranda and Kylie looked at her. Empathy. And the little witch was about to try and hug her again. “He didn’t do it,” Della seethed. “I’m telling you he didn’t do it!”

“We believe you,” Kylie said. “We just feel bad that you have to hear it. And you’ve been sick and—”

Wanting to scream, no, wanting to run, she took off. At first, she forgot not to run too fast. But she slowed down just enough that she wouldn’t have Burnett after her. She made seven laps, pretty damn fast, and never even got tired. Finally, she landed. There wasn’t one noise. Silence.

Then her phone dinged with a text.

She pulled it out. Her breath caught. It was from Chase.

Worried about u. We need to talk.

“No shit, Sherlock!” she said, and started to type a response, but she heard and smelled someone coming.

Kylie, with Miranda on her back, landed beside her. Della slipped her phone back in her pocket.

“Are you okay?” Kylie asked.

“No,” Della said, miles past trying to pretend. “I’m not.”

“Do you need a hug?” Miranda asked.

Della stared at the little witch and thought of about ten over-the-top pissy things she could say, but when she opened her mouth, not one came out.

“Yeah,” Della said, and a few tears slipped from her lashes. “I think I do.” Confusion to the point of pain swelled inside her. Her dad was suspected of killing his sister. She was bonded to some guy she barely knew, and didn’t know what that meant. But as much as she wanted to deny it, it felt like it meant something.

Standing in the midst of a group hug, without a friggin’ clue what she was going to do, she found a moment of clarity. She had a shitload of questions that needed answering and big decisions she had to make, but one thing she knew. She had two of the best friends ever.

And if she could just remember that, she’d survive all of this. Survive and find answers. She had to.

After all, she was a reborn. That had to mean something.