Page 24 of Violet

Only reason I noticed the gym is because I was storming across a part of town I don’t normally see, scaring all the citizens I passed. That’s when I saw it. The perfect outlet for my frustration. A brand new gym.

One look at the walls made of one-way-glass and the state-of-the-art equipment, and I was sold. I jogged home, grabbed my gym bag, and signed up on the spot. Thought it was a sign, except apparently it’s a front for the mafia... like my day couldn’t get any worse?

“Now we can talk,” Bert says, turning on one of the showers to drown out his voice.

I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms in front of my chest.

“It’s a good gym,” he says.

“Your point?”

“We could stay undercover. Make sure everything’s on the up and up.”

I hesitate, but it’s a good plan. “We can keep the town safe... and get a good workout...”

“Without driving to Scarborough,” Bert finishes.

“You really got something against Scarborough, haven’t you?”

“Was seeing a woman from there in the early 90s, and she tried to stake me,” Bert says.

“Seriously?”

He shrugs. “Wanna talk about your mate?”

“No.” I press my thumb against the locker’s sensor and groan. Oh hell! Did I give the mafia my fingerprints?

I jerk out my gym bag, unable to stop myself from thinking about Violet again. Violet, looking older than Gran. Violet, looking terrified of me. Fighting Bert. Breaking the library door.

I feel the anger coursing through me. Anger I can’t control. With an outraged shout, I slam my first into the locker. Pain radiates up my arm, but the metal doesn’t so much as bend. Spelled lockers. I swear, if this dream gym is owned by the mafia, I’ll—

“You know I could just turn her for you, right?” Bert asks, piercing my rage-induced haze.

I freeze. Because somehow, even with me being a troll, having a vampire partner, and living in a supernatural town all my life, the thought never crossed my mind.

“Into a vampire,” Bert clarifies when I don’t reply. “She’s your mate. I turn her. Everyone’s happy.”

“But she’d still...” I wave my bruised hand vaguely in the air.

“Look old?” Bert asks.

I nod.

“Age is just a number, man.” Bert shrugs. “You just have to ask yourself what do you want? To lose her forever...”

“Or to be with a gran.”

“She’s your mate,” Bert says, like that’s all that matters. And suddenly, it is.

“Let me take a quick shower, and then we’ll go find her!”

Chapter 11

Violet

I’m curled up on the couch, scrolling through my phone, while Violet sits next to me, reading. She’s already a quarter of the way into Love Blooms, the pink paperback my sister donated to the library. She clucks or chuckles from time to time, but she’s made it absolutely clear I can’t have the book or see what’s so funny until she’s done. Which will probably be tomorrow, since she reads so fast.

For a split second, I wonder if there might be something off about that book... the same way there’s definitely something off about the pumpkin spice lattes at Jewels Cafe. Rumor has it, if a girl named after a jewel takes one sip, she’ll find her fated mates... and a bunch of Silver Springs residents already have.