Hazel Ch. 02

"You have been given an amazing opportunity." I don't think Everette is the one who told him about our conversation with the Star Dust leaders. "According to the ancestors you will have many successes along the way if you take it."

I wait for him to continue, but I already know what my answer will be.

"They know your mind's made up but they know all that you are capable of and know you are exactly what the Star Dust Coven needs to shake things up."

I bow my head. This is in reality the truest form of praise I could ever receive. I have people on the other side basically telling me I am the chosen one for the Star Dust Coven. And here I am choosing love instead.

"She doesn't remember anything." He points out. My head raises and I look at him. "They think that should make it easier on you."

For a split second I consider it. Me going off to be a Star Dust member, overlooking Covens around the U.S. and assuring that they are doing their best to protect humans. I would probably get more responsibilities than if I stay in my own Coven. Amelia would move on and living a normal human life. She would never be at risk of being hurt or targeted by anyone for being with me. She could eventually forget me. I hurt just to think of it. Seeing her happy with someone else, seeing them start a family. Because I know if I ever walk away I would never forget and I will always look over her. But can I really sit idly by as she falls in love with someone else. With a heavy heart I sigh. I don't think I can. I feel the shame wash over me for being so selfish and ignoring the wishes of the ancestors but I can never live without her. I love her so much she is basically a part of me. A part I cannot leave behind.

He turns his head to the side. "You're still going to choose her aren't you?" He doesn't sound like he's judging me. He looks almost amazed. "Well here." He hands me the bottle. It is small enough to fit in my palm. I put it in my bag.

"When you give this to her, make sure you are ready for the flood of emotions that will rush back to her. She will remember everything and it might be too much for her to handle so don't be alarmed if she needs a minute." He stands and I follow him to the door.

"Do they know what happened to her? Why she doesn't remember?" If they know so much about my abilities and what my future holds surely they would know what caused this.

"They mentioned some healing vapor used by the Wonderfield Coven." I can't hide my worry. "But it's okay, apparently it did more good than harm. Have you noticed how she is not as sensitive to your touch as she once was? They don't know if it is permanent or if it will wear out but enjoy it while you can."

I feel embarrassed but it all starts to make sense. The reason she didn't faint last night, the way I can touch her and I don't feel like I am hurting her. This purple fog took her memory away but gave me the ability to touch her in ways I only ever dreamed of. I get excited about the prospect.

"Again, give her some time to recover after you have given her the potion." He pats my arm and opens the door for me.

I blush but nod.

******

~Amelia~

"Why would she say no?" I yell over the chatter around us.

We're at a nearby bar where everyone seems to want to be tonight. Don't these people have classes tomorrow? Jake was just explaining that Hazel and Leo were given this amazing opportunity to be part of an all powerful Coven but that both would reject it. It doesn't make any sense. Who would turn that down?

Some would be freaked out to learn the person they fell in love with have magical powers but I couldn't care less. As soon as I laid eyes on Hazel I knew we were meant to be together. She could be an alien for all that I care.

"Star Dust members can't have soulmates." Jake looks around making sure no one around could be listening.

I sit back and let it all settle in. Hazel doesn't want to take the opportunity because she would have to leave me behind? Does she want to go? My heart contracts at the thought of her leaving me forever. But I can't ask her to do that. If this is a life changing opportunity I can't be the only reason she stays back. With dread deep in my gut I try to imagine letting her go so she can pursue being a new member to this coven. I have to give her the choice, let her know that I can find my way if she decides to leave. Juliet rubs my arm.

"Here," She hands me another shot or clear liquor. "Let's take another one. We're supposed to be here to distract you not make you feel sad." She gives Jake a pointed look.

He puts his shot glass up and smiles apologetically. "Sorry. Okay here's to our junior year of college."

"Here's to me taking summer classes to make up for this lost semester!" I chime in, pretending to be unbothered by the looming thought of Hazel leaving me.

We all laugh and push our glasses against one another. The drink burns down my throat. I bite the lime in front of me and shake off the feeling to throw it back up. We talk about Jake's football season and how his mom loves Leo. I try to pay attention to everything he's saying but the liquor is just making me more distracted. I can't stop thinking about her.

A random guy walks over to our table and shakes hands with all of us. Jake and Juliet look on guard. He leans his arm against my side of the table and stands a little too close for my liking. Even semi-drunk I don't feel anything when he leans in to call me beautiful. My first instinct is to push him away and ask him to leave us alone. I look him in the eyes ready to make a snarky remark when I suddenly feel my blood buzzing. It is not the liquor it's something else. The tips of my fingers feel tingly. I look away from the guy.

My eyes search the bar. She's here. I don't know how I know that but I can feel it. I press my legs together and looking throughout the whole bar. Then I see her and my breath catches. She's walking through the crowded bar to get to our table. She's wearing a baby blue blouse with tight dark jeans and black boots. Her hair is up in a ponytail. She looks so good, I'm left breathless.

The guy in front of me moves his head so he blocks my view. I feel my annoyance creeping in.

"Hey, I think you might want to leave her alone." Jake interjects.

The lights above us start to flicker.

Hazel's hand comes up to the guy's shoulder.

"You have three seconds to walk away from my girl." Her threat sends shivers down my spine. Whether from being turned on or scared for the guy, I don't know and I don't care.

The guy shoots me a frightened look and his skin goes pale. "Sorry." He murmurs and scurries away.

I get up from my chair to hug her. My body leans into her, basking in her warmth. No matter how hard I try, I can't stop myself from kissing her deeply. I sigh against her lips. This is exactly what I need. Her arms wrap around my hips and I pull her face closer to mine. Even with my eyes closed I can hear the flickering of the lights above us. This must be her doing.

"Easy Hazel." I hear someone say in the distance.

All too soon Hazel pulls back and looks at me with a breathtaking smile.

I look around to see most of the bodies in the bar looking at us. I give her another hug and hide my face into her neck.

"Glad to see you guys are properly distracting her with liquor." Leo says. I look out again and most people have looked away. He is sitting next to Jake, holding his hand.

Juliet offers him a shot but he shakes his head.

"And trying to push Amelia on to other love interests." Hazel looks down at me in question.

"He was nice." I bite my cheek to stop myself from smiling.

Her hand comes down to my ass and she squeezes it. "I can be nice." She purrs into my ear.

"I want to get out of here." I whisper back. I'm supposed to be playing it cool and pretending to know how to flirt but I can't even manage that. I just want to be alone with her right this second.

She nods. "Your place or mine?"

"Wherever." As long as we're together I want to add.

******

~Hazel~

I'm holding the glass bottle in my hand.

Amelia is in my shower. She'll probably be out soon.

I need to give her this soon. And then I need to be there for her when she remembers everything, including all the hurtful things Elise revealed that horrible night. It hurts me to realize she's going to have to remember everything about her mother's death again. I wish I could take the pain away along with the memories but unfortunately it doesn't work like that. I'm tempted to put it off and just keep enjoying how she looks at me or how she can't keep her hands off me but I know I can't. It is not fair to her and she needs to begin to heal.

The water faucet stops running. It's now or never.

Amelia comes out in my royal blue robe.

Her curly hair is parted down the middle. Her light brown skin glows with water droplets. My mouth waters at how innocent she looks. She looks shy. I smile. I will never get used to that look.

I open my arms to her and she comes to sit on my lap. I expect her to sit on my thigh but she straddles me instead. My hands wrap around her hips. She kisses me and I kiss her back. I'll give her this one kiss and then I'll mention the potion. The kiss starts to heat up. Her heated center gets closer to my lower belly. She moans when my tongue slides against her own. Her arms come up to my chest and she tries to push me back.

"Amelia," I try to gather my strength to stop this before it is too late.

"I love when you say my name." She moans against my lips.

I groan and bring my hands to each side of her face. Her damp hair smells like my brown sugar shampoo and I feel myself getting dizzy. "Amelia," I try again.

She pulls back and looks down at me. Her heavy lids barely open. "What's wrong?"

I catch my breath. "We need to talk." I close my eyes.

She doesn't say anything. Something in my eyes makes her sigh. She places both hands on my shoulders and gets off my lap. I want to pull her back against me but I can't think straight when she is so close. I just need to get this over with. When I open my eyes to look at her I see her standing before me with a worried look on her face.

I pat the spot next to me but she shakes her head. It is my turn to sigh. "We haven't really had time to catch up. But I think it is important that you know a couple of things."

She looks uncomfortable. I don't know why and I will make sure to get this over with as soon as I can so she can stop looking at me like that but I can't delay this conversation any longer.

"I've been given the opportunity to be part of a great Coven."

She bites her lip. "I know."

My eyebrows pull in confusion. Why does she look so troubled? I haven't even said anything.

"Hazel, I know it is a great opportunity and I understand that you can't pass this up. I will support you completely and I understand that this is what you have probably been looking towards your whole life."

I stand to interrupt her but she puts her hand up.

"I just want you to know that I will be fine." Her voice shakes. My heart begins to feel heavy, or is it her heart? It's getting harder to distinguish between the two. "I will just need time to get over you, and I know you'll have to move so that should make it easier-"

"You want me to leave?" There is a mixture of disbelief and pain in my tone.

She turns away. I hear her sniffle.

I'm rooted to my spot. This is not at all how I envisioned this conversation going. How did she find out about the Star Dust Coven's opportunity? And how did she come to the conclusion that I could take it?

"I think you should take it."

I lick my lips and ball my hands into fists. I want to reach out to her, pull her into my arms but she doesn't seem to want me near her. My heart beats at an excruciatingly slow pace. How did it come to this? How did I have not see this coming?

"Amelia I need to hear from your lips that you don't want me around anymore." My eyes are brimming with unshed tears. If this is what she wants, I need to hear it. My mind starts to think of all the possible reasons she would want me to leave. She probably wanted a quick fuck and then live her life as if nothing happened. I probably scared her away from wanting to have a future with me. What did Jake and Jules say to her? My hands goes up to my chest, this hurts.

She turns around, her own eyes full of tears. "I want what is best for you."

I walk towards her and grab her arms. "Say you don't want to be with me anymore." Fear is gripping at my throat. If she says it, our connection will be over. If she doesn't want me what am I going to do? I find it hard to breath.

She shakes her head and looks down at the ground.

"Tell me you don't love me and I will leave you alone." I find myself shouting. I shake her out of desperation when she doesn't answer.

"I can't!" She yells back and with that she breaks down and begins to cry against me. I pull her tight and feel my own relief. "I can't." She says more defeated. "Oh God, please don't leave me." My tears roll down my eyes and I take deep breaths. "I'm so sorry." She sobs into my chest. "I can't imagine my life without you. I can't let you go. I know it's selfish but-"

"Shhh." I pull her closer and kiss the top of her head. "I'm not going anywhere."

For once the world feels like it's back on its axis.

******

~Amelia~

I wake up her the dark room.

Hazel's arm is around my stomach. I'm lying on my back and she's on her side. The moonlight shines through the window onto her face. How can I feel so deeply about someone that I just met? Her face looks serene, her soft lips slightly open. It's probably 3 in the morning but I feel reenergized. She's not leaving. She said she loves me and that she would not leave. My heart skips a beat at the thought of our future.

After my embarrassing breakdown Hazel took me to bed and just held me the whole time. She talked about her decision to reject becoming a member of the Star Dust Coven and how she could never live without me. She went on to tell me about our own story of how we met and how everything played out. If others had it their way we wouldn't even be together at the moment. I shudder at the thought.

"You okay?" Her sleepy voice interrupts my thoughts.

I look into her eyes and smile. "I'm perfect."

"Your heart beat it says otherwise." She yawns and pulls me closer.

"How do you...?"

She smiles. "My heartbeat is synced to yours. A soulmate quirk."

I must look shocked and then it dawns on me. "So that's what Jake was talking about."

She rolls her eyes. "Can we not talk about your ex while we're in bed together."

"Sorry." I peck her lips.

Her breathing gets even again.

"Hazel?"

"Hm?"

"What were you going to say earlier?"

She groans. "We should probably wait until we're both up."

"Is it bad?" I worry again.

She looks down at me for a while. "I have a potion that will bring back all your memories."

"Oh." I'm stunned. Do I really want to remember? Yes, I do. I want to remember my first kiss with Hazel, the first time I laid eyes on her. I want to remember out first date and what we did to end up together even though the cards were stacked against us.

"Don't worry, I'll be here to help you through it." She kisses my forehead. " I love you, Amelia."

I sigh. "I know it's crazy because I feel like I just met you but I love you too, Hazel."

She smiles and leans down to kiss me.

"You are my world."

******

~Hazel~

"Is this your final answer?" Both of the Star Dust leaders are looking at me like I have lost my mind.

I bow my head. "Yes."

I wish my parents were here. They're currently standing outside my father's study waiting for us to wrap things up here. It has only been fifteen minutes but they came on a mission. I wonder if they went to Leo's Coven yet. Did they expect our answers? Surely they are fully aware of my relationship with Amelia.

Amelia, I sigh. I can't wait to get back to her. She's probably in class right now trying to catch up on all the work that she has missed. She's lucky she has a pretty smart tutor. I want to chuckle.

"Do you understand what it is you are saying no to?" The woman before me says.

I look up and nod. "Yes, I am fully aware."

She seems more shocked than I would have expected.

"Well, we wish you and your soulmate the best." The man says. He doesn't smile.

"Hazel, you could have done great things."

"I will do great things." I correct her.

She puts her nose up in the air and stands with the man.

They leave the study, not saying anything to my parents along the way. And just like that I know I have made the right decision. I could never be one of them. I am meant to be here, looking after my people with the love of my love by my side.

My father walks through the door first, my mother right behind.

"We are proud of you." My mother says. She comes to hug me and kisses my head.

I look over at my dad, expecting some disapproval. He has not been a fan of my relationship with Amelia since the beginning and he has had to take a lot of backlash from other Covens for allowing me to be with her. Now that I have said no to the highest form of honor, he is probably even more disappointed in me.

"Charlotte, please let me speak to Hazel alone."

My mother kisses me one more time and then kisses my father on the lips. "Be easy on her. Imagine if you were asked to leave me behind all those years ago."

He lips go into a grim line.

She closes the door behind her and I am left alone with him.

"You know I do not approve of your relationship with Amelia." He is still standing.

I shift uncomfortably in my seat.

"But I do admire your grit." His disapproving brow says otherwise. "Hazel, I just want you to be happy. And I know she brings you happiness. So I can't do anything more than give you my love and support."

I feel my bottom lip quiver. "I love her so much father."

He nods. "I know." He comes over and pulls me into a hug. "You have made us so proud. Not once has your integrity or feelings been wavered in the face of all of the obstacles you have had to face. Many would have given up long ago. I am proud to call you my daughter. And I can't wait for Amelia to become my daughter in law." He smiles at my shock. "I couldn't think of anyone else more worthy of your love."

I jump into his arms and feel the tears rolling down my face.

He has just given me the one thing I didn't know I was waiting on, his blessing to make Amelia mine for the rest of my life.

"We can have the ceremony any time you like. Just pick a date and your mother and I will make preparations."

I look at him and smile. "Thank you so much. You have just made me the happiest daughter in the world."

******

~Amelia~

She's here.

Scrub the conditioner out of my head and speed through the showering process. It has been two full days since I have seen her. I can't wait to be in her arms again.

Thankfully Jules is out visiting Adam, who should be out by next month. Now that Elise is captured, he is free to leave. I was happy to hear the Roderick Coven, all thanks to Leo, was taking him in. Now Adam could be with Juliet and still be part of a Coven. Leo didn't mind teaching him the tricks of the trade. I snicker at the thought of Adam being a badass like Leo and his father. This should be interesting. Jake decided to stay on campus for his last semester before moving in with Leo. I think all of us will eventually move in with our soulmates, I am just waiting for mine to ask.

I wrap a towel around myself and rush out of the bathroom.

Hazel's toned body greets me from my bed. She's wearing a purple sundress with yellow flowers all over it. She smiles when she sees the look on my face. My mouth is watering.