Awakening (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3)
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Authors: Alexandra Anthony
Tags: #Erotica
AWAKENING
(The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3)
By Alexandra Anthony
Copyright 2012 by Alexandra Anthony
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the author’s website and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ADULT CONTENT
Alexandra's books are for adults only. They contain sexy vampires, graphic language, romantic/erotic content and situations that aren't for the faint of heart. Consider yourself warned.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1-Curiousity Killed the Cat
Chapter 3-Tell Me What You See
Chapter 6-Blinded by the Light
Chapter 7-Pomp and Circumstance
Chapter 8-The Ties That Bind Us Can Hurt Us the Most
Chapter 9-There’s a Hole in My Heart
Excerpt from Ascend (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #4)
Appendix A: Swedish to English Translations
To my husband for all of his love and continued support. You’ve been there to celebrate the good times and hold my hand during the bad. I love you.
To my friend and sister from another Mother, Sue- Thank you for suffering through all of the beta reading, your encouragement and being my own personal PR machine.
To Ally Thomas- You’ve been my constant support throughout this journey. You’ve talked me down from ledges, helped me and always been there to make me laugh. I’m happy to have you in my life.
To my Team Stefan Street Team- I’m blessed to have so many supportive ladies who spread the word about my book. A huge thank you to Kellie, Julie, Heather, Mayrose, Sue, Ally, Victoria, Melissa, Melinda, Angela, Renee, Jaime, Ashley, Lisa, Beth, Toni, Courtney, Lyndsey, Patricia, Toni, Corinne and Estrella.
And finally, my loyal readers. Thank you for supporting me throughout the ongoing adventure of Josie & Stefan.
AWAKENING
(The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3)
"We are one now."
It was not an exaggeration. We were literally one being now. One mind, one body, and one soul. Even the gravity of the thought shocked myself. I had never expected in my long life to share an existence with another creature, yet here I was, irrevocably bonded to the love of my existence. Our fates, our lives were tied together. There was no choice now. No second chances. Life, death, love, immortality, possession.
Surrender.
Josephine had no way to understand the depth and sincerity of my oath. We were tied together in the oddest of bonds: love, fate, destiny, and now our blood. We were so intermingled that there was no separation or difference between us. My blood flowed freely in her veins as her own surged in mine.
One.
Only hours ago, I had heard her voice in my head as she called for me, a maddening crescendo that nearly drove me to the brink of insanity. If not for the knowledge that her plaintive cry meant she was still alive, it would have driven me mad. She called me to her and I followed her plea. I was given no choice, it was instinct. As was systematically ripping Derek apart limb by limb...I had been impulsive.
Foolish.
Shattered by the strength of my love.
Ruined.
Powerless to resist my urge to protect her, I rushed in to rescue her without a second thought. As I replayed the events in my mind, I berated myself for my irrational and impetuous behavior. I was much too old to have been so reckless. In nearly 1,000 years I had never gone to battle without some sort of a plan or strategy. Logically I knew better, yet my devotion to her overruled common sense and likely would be the death of me. As I contemplated the thought of facing a final death, I could not find it in me to care. If I met my demise tomorrow, I would be happy to know I died understanding what it meant to love.
By the time I grasped the consequences of our mutual blood exchanges, it was too late to turn back. I should have explained this to her, given her the choice to decide. My selfish nature and need to possess her had made me greedy and indifferent. While I did feel remorse, I was satisfied that my love could be rivaled in its intensity by hers. It was a pittance, yet I clung to this truth. I needed her love, as surely as I wanted to possess her. I felt it was only fair since she owned me just as thoroughly.
Each drop of my blood she willingly took from me forced my essense deeper into every pore, every tissue and organ of her being. Her presence was ingrained in my mind and soul, claiming me as hers. True mating between vampires was a rare occurrence since it showed not only weakness, it made us defenseless, a slave to the bond. If she were to meet her death tomorrow, I would be forced to follow behind her. A vampire to mate with a human was unheard of. Then again, Josephine was no longer truly human. She was my beautiful hybrid, my perfect mate.
She was powerful in her own right, growing stronger as she continued to slowly change into her vampire-like form. I would grieve for her lost humanity as she struggled to discover what true immortality meant. She was still very young, having many things to accept and understand about this life. I had long ago let go of my mortality and embraced my existence. Others new to this life struggled with their new found eternal reality.
I watched her closely as her slender, elegant fingertips traced the veins under my skin as she considered my words and what they potentially meant. Her touch was like a blazing heat, scorching across the flesh she touched. When she met my gaze, her eyes were raging emeralds and her mind was a beautiful labyrinth of chaos. She was confused, terrified, aroused and filled with pride.
Privy to her feelings, I had the knowledge of knowing she wanted to be mine. She had accepted both sides of me, the dark and the light. I regretted that she had seen the dark side of me, the side I had wished to hide away from her. It was inevitable. Likely she would see it again, sooner than later.
The darker part of me was strong. It toyed with me, tempting me to crack open my own chest to tuck her away from my world and the dangers lurking around each corner. Her father, the Board, the Council… I wanted to shelter her, protect her at any cost. There was little I would not do to keep her safe.
Within days I would have to face the Council when we returned to New York for my hand in killing Derek. Merely a formality, Josephine would have to testify and it would make her uneasy. She would be more concerned about my fate than her own. I would have to register Anna as my progeny if she survived the change and she as well would be forced to testify about the cause of her own mortal death.
Anna would be my newest progeny; a child I never wanted to sire. The thought of training and teaching another to be a vampire was exhausting and an irritation for me. Yet I did it for Josephine. She begged me to save her friend’s life and I could not refuse her. I was unsure if it was too late for Anna’s survival to cross over to her new existence as a vampire. She was in between, neither alive or dead. Her future was unreadable to me or to Josephine.
We had to wait.
Josephine was nervous. She was torn between hoping for Anna’s awakening and acceptance that she may not survive. Yet layered under the nervousness and worry, she noticed my presence in her mind. She found it curious and I knew I would have questions to answer soon. My response would anger her and in turn, frustrate me.
For now, I would let her have her time to think. Relaxing in my seat, I began to feel the probing inquisitiveness of her mind exploring through mine, searching for the information she was looking for.
It was time.
Curiosity Killed the cat
It had been one of the longest plane rides of my life. There was no mile high club fun for me this trip. The overall mood was a somber one. Lukas was still disappointed with his paralyzing fear and inability to help Anna. He didn't have to say it. The worry was etched across his face, replacing his normal sneer. Stefan was stoically reserved, still deeply concerned the future of his newest child and about the dark side of himself he'd revealed when he killed Derek viciously in front of me.
That was the least of my concerns.
My own mind was a twisted disarray after the events of the last 24 hours. I was still trying to come to terms with my own brush with death and the worry about Anna’s fate was weighing heavily on me. It was during my feeble attempt to make some sort of sense of things that I noticed Stefan’s much stronger presence pulsing in my mind, replacing the normal hum I’d grown accustomed to feeling. There had been some shift, some change that caused his once silent emotions to become a part of me. I could perceive and separate his resigned sense of duty, love, remorse and even more peculiar, his reluctant feelings of guilt that shadowed every single one of them.
Curious at his strange emotional state, I studied his profile as we sat on the plane. His broad shoulders were arranged in a lazy slouch, his beautiful face appeared almost serene, at peace. Blond tousled hair spilled over his forehead, begging me to smooth it into place. His blue eyes were closed, his eyelashes casting shadows over his high cheekbones. If I didn’t know better, Stefan appeared to be the picture of relaxation. The only tell was the anxious set of his chiseled jaw and mouth. Tensed in a slight frown, I wanted to kiss his lips soft again. He had that effect on me. I had this indescribable urge to soothe him, make anything that was troubling him fade away. I couldn't help but wonder if it would it always be this way for us. Would we always be consumed with visceral urges to comfort, gratify and love the other above anything and anyone else?
It was an equally a troubling and satisfying question.
Probing further into his thoughts, I was plunged into the depths of his mind. It was like stepping into a turbulent maelstrom. Wildly overpowering every thought was his almost covetous love for me, tinged by his compulsive worry for my safety. He was torn between being fearful that I'd seen too much and that someone or something would attempt to tear me away from him. Worry for Anna kept him probing their non-existent blood bond, on alert to any shift that she would awaken. Being inside his mind was an exhausting experience, but I kept pushing forward.