Midnight Surrender: A Paranormal Romance Anthology Read Online Free PDF Page A

real name. “Enchantment.”
    She gasped and jerked away from Hunter when she realized her power-name was influencing him. She pulled her magic back inside her body and hoped he hadn’t noticed.
    Hunter blinked and shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. He rocked back on his heels and jammed his fists in his pockets.
    Most of the time, Channie loved her power-name, and the sound of it on Hunter’s lips warmed her heart. But right now, she didn’t know which was more embarrassing — the fact that she wasn’t in control of it; or that Hunter thought she was trying to enchant him.
    Channie squirmed as Hunter chewed on his bottom lip and studied her. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Should she try to explain and apologize or just keep her mouth shut?
    Hunter lowered his gaze to his feet and flicked a pebble across the ground with his big toe. “When you get to The Gathering, tell Lovie Schmidt that you want to talk to her in private — and do it in front of her momma.”
    “ What?” Lovie Schmidt was not supposed to be a part of this conversation.
    “ Once you’re outta sight, tell her to meet me inside O’Riley’s barn.”
    Anger lit up Channie’s energy field like a hay field on fire. “You’ve got some nerve dragging me out here in the middle of the night! If you think I’m gonna cover for you so you can sneak off with somebody else you better think again!”
    “ Whoa.” Hunter’s eyes widened as his jaw dropped. After a moment, a grin spread across his face. “You’re jealous.”
    “ I am not!”
    “ You’re mad because I asked you to help me sneak off with somebody else. So, that means—”
    “ It don’t mean a damn thing!” Channie whirled around and stomped back to the cabin with Hunter’s laughter ringing in her ears.
    ~***~
    The next morning, Channie woke up with a pounding headache. One look in the mirror was all it took to convince her she needed a master healer. She didn’t want to risk Momma trying to heal it and leaving a scar. So she wrote a note on the chalkboard in the kitchen then rode her bike to Aunt Wisdom’s place.
    Channie found her in the greenhouse, grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle.
    “ Good lord, Channie. What happened?”
    “ I bumped my head on that old pine support beam again.”
    “ Come here.” Aunt Wisdom shifted from favorite aunt to master healer. She set the mortar and pestle on the work table then cast a cleansing spell on her hands. “Let’s have a look.”
    Aunt Wisdom tilted Channie’s head from side to side as she examined the cut. She pursed her lips and frowned. “Have a seat. I’ll go get my supplies.”
    Channie hopped her butt up onto the table then picked up the mortar and pestle. Might as well make herself useful. She swung her bare feet back and forth as she worked. The sharp, clean scent of lavender tickled Channie’s nose. She rubbed the tip of it with the back of her hand to keep from sneezing.
    When Aunt Wisdom returned, she poured a quarter cup of magically enhanced disinfectant into a glass bowl and added a handful of cotton balls. “This might sting a little.”
    “ Wait!” Channie hugged the mortar and pestle to her chest and leaned away from Aunt Wisdom. “Just clean it with regular witch hazel. I don’t need the enhanced stuff.”
    “ If this were a fresh wound, I might consider it. But it’s already scabbed over.”
    Healing Magic — whether administered directly from a healer’s hands or through enhanced herbal remedies — was painful. The more powerful the magic, the greater the pain.
    As a first year apprentice, it was Channie’s job to enhance the plants. She knew exactly how much magic was in that tincture. ‘Sting a little’ nothing. This was gonna hurt like hell.
    Channie flinched every time Aunt Wisdom dabbed at the cut. “Ouch!”
    “ Keep grinding that lavender. This’ll hurt less if you focus on something else.”
    “ It’d hurt a whole lot less if you’d just use regular