Awakening (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3) (12 page)

Lost in thought, I gave a final stretch and walked to the wall of windows.  Peering down from eight floors in the sky, I could easily read the license plate of a taxi idling on the street.  I backed away from the window until my legs banged into the chair.  Falling into the seat, I stared blindly at the window.

I couldn't deny my changes anymore.  I was becoming more vampiric with each passing day.  There wasn't any way to stop it or slow the process.  Would I die for two days like Anna?  Would I have to learn to tolerate the smell of human blood, be a risk to every human until I could control myself?

I was still asking myself questions I had no answer for when Anna burst into the apartment.  She was clutching her phone, her brown curls bouncing as she sped towards me.

“It's Georgia.  She's been calling me non-stop.  I haven't answered the phone.  I don't know what to say to her." Anna plopped down on the couch.  "What should I do?  Can you see what she's going to do?"

Sadly, I shook my head.  "Nope.” I popped the ‘p’.  I can't see a human's future anymore, Anna."

"Say again?"  Anna asked, her mouth agape at my revelation.

"I can't see a human’s future.  Likewise, I can't see vampires either.  I think it's because I'm neither one, at least not fully anyway," I explained.  I twisted my hair into a messy bun and shrugged.  "When did she last call you?"

Anna flipped through the call log on her phone.  "30 minutes ago."

"Let me call her.  I’ll ask her how you are and see what she says.  Worse case, I’ll make something up."  I rushed into the kitchen and unplugged my phone from the charger.  Paging through my contacts, I dialed Georgia's number.  I leaned against the counter, idly tracing the patterns in the shiny, dark granite.

"Josie?" Georgia answered.  Her voice sounded thick, almost as if she'd been sleeping.

"Georgia?  Were you asleep?" I asked.  There was a crackle and a long pause.  "Georgia?"

"No.  I'm here.  What's going on?"

"I was just calling to say hi.  I haven't talked to you since we left Bali so I thought I'd check in.  How are you?"

Her answer was short and sweet.  “Good.”

My brow furrowed at her one word answer.  Georgia always had an opinion, a story or something to offer advice about.  “How’s Anna?”

There was another long pause. "It's funny you mention Anna.  She's gone and I can't get her on the phone.  I stopped by her office but they said she'd headed back to the US."

Anna stood silently on the other side of the island.  Our eyes locked and I held up my finger.  Hating to lie, I crossed my other fingers as I recited my off the cuff fib. "That's strange.  Maybe something's going on with her family.  I'll try to catch up with her."

"Alright, Josie."  Her voice was quiet, slurring and sounding distant.  "I gotta go.  I miss you but I'm not alone."

"Georgia?  Are you ok?  What do you mean you're not alone?"  I was growing concerned.  She sounded odd, even less like her normal spunky self than when we'd left Bali.  Had Stefan's will changed her irrevocably?

"I'm fine, hun.  Take care of yourself."

The line went dead.  I held the phone in my hand, simply staring at it.  My eyes swiveled to Anna who was mirroring my look of utter confusion.

“What the hell was that?"

"I don't know," I murmured.  I turned the phone over in my hand.  "She sounded out of it, like she was drunk."

Anna slipped her hair behind her ear.  "She started acting strange ever since you and Stefan came back from New York to Bali to wrap things up for your move back.  For some reason I have a feeling you know why.  Care to share?"

I drew in a deep breath.  "Georgia walked in on us.  She'd been watching him drinking from me.  We had to explain what we are.  The day I met you for lunch, she showed up at my house, unannounced and uninvited.  She tried to convince Stefan or Lukas to change her.  When that didn't work she cut herself, thinking that the smell of her blood would sway them."

"So Stefan erased her memory.  Shit, what did he call it?" She scrunched her nose up.  She snapped her fingers.  "I remember!  He forced his will on her."

"Yes.  He didn't have a choice.  He didn't want to change her because..."

"Because she's Georgia.  Say no more." Anna waved her hand.  She bounded around the counter and leaped to sit on the edge.  "We haven't gotten to really talk since I.. woke up.  You fought for me that night.  You stood up to Derek.  You never gave up on me, Josie."

Embarrassed, I looked up at Anna.  Her brown eyes glittered.  She'd never been sentimental as a human and I found it strangely odd she was being so emotional now.

"You'd do the same for me, right?"  I questioned, looking up at her curiously.  "How do you feel?  Do you miss being human?"

Anna looked up at the ceiling.  "I don't miss it but it's one hell of an adjustment.  It's strange, Josie.  I suddenly have no limitations, an endless life.  I can see things I'd never seen before and I'm able to move faster than you can imagine."

"I was so scared you'd hate me," I mumbled.  "I'm just glad you're here and you 're happy."

"You and me both."  She gave me a spirited shove.  "Enough of this mushy shit.  Give me the dirt on your father and what happened last night."

An involuntary shiver shook my body.  "You don't know about my father?  I figured Lukas or Nikolaus would have filled you in."

"I know what they told me.  I want the real deal, straight from the horse’s mouth."

"As far as my father is concerned, there's not a word to describe his creepiness.  Nikolaus and I both think he sent Derek to Bali."

Anna's brow furrowed.  "Your Dad tried to have you killed?  Why?"

"Probably the same reason he killed my mother: control and power.  I don't want anything to do with him and he doesn't like to be denied.  My mother was leaving him when he killed her.  Notice a pattern?"

Anna leaned back on her arms.  "Your father killed your mother and then sent that piece of shit after you?"

"I think he sent Derek for numerous reasons, Anna.  He and my father had been lovers, not to mention his ability to shift and take on another vampire form.  Derek and Stefan had a tenuous background.  Derek probably volunteered, especially when he figured he could just kill me.  What better way to get even with your enemy?"

My stomach rolled as my mind took a reluctant trip down memory lane.  If I were to close my eyes, I could almost feel the weight of Derek's body against mine, the cutting tightness of the restraints around my wrists.  I forced my mind back to the present and to Anna.

"And what happened last night?"

I was getting ready to answer when Lukas breezed in.  At some point, we really needed to set some boundaries.  It was a battle I'd save for another day.  Preferably a day when Stefan was here and could handle it.

Lukas looked at my yoga mat with dismay.  "You don't have to do that yoga crap anymore.  You aren't going to change.  You're going to look the way you do forever."

"It relaxes me, Lukas."  I watched as he perched on the stool, daintily crossing his legs.  "I like the yoga crap."

"You should be the most relaxed person in the room the way you and Stefan go at it," Lukas muttered as he examined his fingernails.  He looked up with a gleam in his eye.  "Then again, I'd probably be stressed if I was such a hot commodity."

"Ok, what else did I miss?" Anna glanced at me inquisitively before focusing back on him.

Lukas beamed.  He was going to get enjoyment from my little run in with Aidan last night.  "It appears Josie has an old boyfriend in town.  That had to be awkward little display.”

"I think it was awkward for Aidan," I said grouchily.  I decided I'd act non-committal to not spur Lukas on.  Grabbing the carafe, I filled it with water and began making coffee, taking my time putting the filter in and measuring the scoops of coffee into the basket.

Lukas waited until I faced them again.  "Why pray tell would it be difficult for Aidan?  Fill us in, sweet cheeks."

I smacked my hand on the counter angrily.  "Dammit, Lukas.  You know what happened.  Do you enjoy making me feel worse than I already do?  Is this your 'thing'?"

Lukas' already pale face blanched.  His lips parted and I cut him off angrily before he could utter another word.

"Yes, I have a few ex-boyfriends.  This one happens to be my now ex-editor.  We met him last night and he was obviously hoping I'd see him and leave Stefan behind.  It didn't work out that way."

"Like anyone with half of a brain would leave Stefan for anyone," Anna piped in.  She gave me an apologetic smile.  "Let me guess.  Stefan didn't take it too well?"

"No.  In Stefan’s defense, Aidan insulted Stefan and when I tried to leave, he kissed me.  I had to talk Stefan down.  I think, no, I know he wanted to kill him," I recollected quietly.

The coffee maker beeped and I jumped at the sound.  I rummaged nosily through the cabinet  for a mug and poured myself a cup, skipping the half & half and sugar.  I didn't want to waste time, I needed the boost.

Carrying my coffee in both hands, I slipped past them both to cross the living room to the couch.  I silently sipped my coffee, the warmth from the mug strangely soothing me.  Stefan had only been gone for a few hours, yet our tie selfishly wanted him here with me.  I felt his existence pulsing in my mind, but I missed his physical presence.  Our bond required that we remain together.  The feeling reminded me of when we first met and he had to go away on Council business.  I felt as if I had a hole in my chest, an emptiness only he could fill.

Staring into the steaming cup, I wondered if we'd bonded then and not known?  Had our love for one another been that strong back then?  Had our souls recognized their other half so early?

"Josie, I didn't mean to upset you."  My gaze moved from my coffee to Lukas.  He was sitting on the ottoman, his hands rubbing his jean covered knees nervously.

Narrowing my eyes, I glowered at him.  "I think you like to rile me up and see how far you can push me.  At least be real about it, Lukas."

He stood up at put his hands on his hips.  He angrily turned towards Anna.  "See.  I told you she wouldn't accept my apology."

"That wasn't exactly an apology, Lukas," Anna chided.  She turned her head to the side and gave him her ‘you know you’re talking bullshit’ look.  It rivaled her death stare in its effectiveness.

He threw his hands up in exasperation.  "What side are you on?"  He started to stomp to the door when I directed my shield toward him.  It tightened around him, tying him to the spot.  I felt his immediate panic, followed by confusion as my invisible shield kept him immobile.

"I can't move.  I can't fucking MOVE!" Lukas screeched.  I resumed sipping my coffee as he struggled.

Anna stood stock-still in the kitchen until she gathered her wits and rushed to his side, attempting to grab his arm but her hand was deflected.  She looked at me with alarm in her brown eyes.  "Josie?  We need to call Stefan.  I don't know what's wrong with him!"

Smiling haughtily, I sat my cup down on the end table.  "I know what's wrong with him.  I'm doing it."

"You're doing this?" Lukas asked shrilly.  His brow furrowed in disbelief.  "No way.  I don't believe it.  Stefan would have told me you could do this."

"Oh really?"  Testing my strength, I increased my hold on him, watching as his arms moved under the force.

He let out a surprised gasp.  "It is you.  What the hell else can you do?"

I pulled back my shield and he slumped forward, grasping the back of the chair for support.