Awakening (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3) (6 page)

Wiggling out of his arms, I looked into Stefan's face.  He was once again staring closely at Anna.  His brow was furrowed, his blond eyebrows heavy over the concerned blue of his eyes.  His chiseled jaw tightened and released a few times.  His entire being became still underneath me as he concentrated on her.

I was torn between wanting to give him space and the urge to dip into his mind.  Instead, I focused on his emotions in our bond.  He was scanning her future repeatedly, watching for minute changes.  I sensed his surge of excitement when he must have noticed a change.

"What's happening?"  I questioned.  Unable to sit any longer, I stood and began to slowly pace the room.

His brow smoothed out, the lines disappearing.  "It is time.  She is waking."

Hot tears pooled in my eyes and I let out a loud sigh of relief.  Stefan hadn’t relaxed.  He was still testing his connection to Anna.

"I can feel her too.  What can you see, Stefan?"  Lukas asked excitedly.  He joined me in my slow, nervous wandering of the room.

"Anna is trying to sort through her memories of that night.  She remembers who took her life and wants vengeance on him.  She knows she is alive, yet dead.  She is trying to make sense of how it happened."

Lukas and I came to a halt.  Not one of us moved.  The only sound in the room was my breathing and the muffled sounds of the city outside.  We were all transfixed on watching Anna awake from her long, two day slumber.

Anna's eyes opened first.  Her deep brown eyes took in the room, her brow wrinkling in confusion.  Her fingers blurred to her face, tracing the curves of her skin with a new quickness she hadn’t had before.  She turned her head to the side, meeting my anxious gaze first.

"Anna?" I whispered.  My voice sounded shaky even to my own ears.

She blinked at me a few times.  Her bewildered brown eyes moved from mine to focus on Stefan, who sat motionless in the chair.  His long fingers were tented under his chin as he gazed at his newest child with quiet anticipation.

Anna had been an attractive woman before her change.  She was now stunningly beautiful, her lustrous brown hair laying in deep, full curls against her shoulders.  Her flesh, while pale, still hinted at her olive complexion.  Her skin glowed with an iridescence that only added to her mysterious beauty.

A tiny smile of recognition broke over her face as she gazed at Stefan.  She rose to sit on the couch, slipping to fall on her knees at Stefan's feet in one smooth motion.

"Master," Anna murmured reverently.  She looked up at him through her eyelashes, completely at his command.  He leaned forward and held her face in his hands tenderly.  He beamed, his glorious face lighting up in a strange, loving smile as they shared a long stare.

"Anna.  My child."  He pressed a kiss to one side of her cheek, then moved to the other.  "You are outstanding."

Anna beamed, her brown eyes glowing with pride.  She said nothing as Stefan turned her face from side to side, admiring her changes with quiet, cool approval.

Fear crept up inside of me, closing around my throat like a vice.  Was it always this way with makers and their children?

Stefan’s cool voice disrupted my worried thoughts.  "Go with Lukas for now.  He has blood waiting for you.  We will have much to discuss soon."

She nodded, elegantly rising to join Lukas.  She glanced back at Stefan briefly before letting Lukas lead her from the apartment.

A surge of jealously surged through me as I watched Anna leave the apartment with Lukas.  Stefan was mine. 
Mine!
  I didn't want to share his love with anyone, even if it happened to be my friend.  I knew there was no need for my possessiveness, yet I couldn’t stop it from boiling through me.

They had barely left the room when he spun to face me.  Immediately he lunged at me, surrounding my face in his calloused palms.  He leaned down and pulled me to him abruptly, his mouth devouring mine.  His kiss was urgent, as if was trying to reassure me of his devotion.  I gasped at the swiftness of his embrace, but quickly returned the kiss with the same tenacity.  His lips scorched my mouth with his searing assault.  His thoughts spilled into mine, sending me reassurance that there was no one for him but me, nor would there ever be.  He was reminding me that I was the beginning and the end for him, flooding my mind with his own brand of possessiveness.

I tried to control my emotions, but they blasted out with a savage greediness.  He belonged to me!  I further forced my claim on him as I lightly bit at his lips until I tasted his blood on my tongue.  It spiked our lust, spiraling it out of control.  Unwillingly, he pulled back, resting his forehead against mine.

"For you," he vowed.  "I claimed her for you."

"I know,"  I said breathlessly.  "But you love her.  I didn't expect for you to love her.  It was a surprise."

"She is my child, vackra.  I love her only as my progeny.  You are my lover, my mate.  I desire no one else in my bed but you.  Do you understand the difference?"

Nodding weakly, I tucked my hair behind my ear and shifted my weight nervously.  What if Anna felt differently for Stefan?  What if her devotion changed and she was in love with him?  There were so many things I hadn’t thought about when I’d asked for Stefan’s intervention in saving Anna’s life.

"Josephine, I only changed her for you.  You begged me to not let her die.  She carries my blood, just as Lukas and you do.  We are all a family, however unusual."  He rubbed a finger across his lower lip as if searching  for the right words to reassure me.  His blue eyes bored into mine, desperate for me to understand.  "You are my lover.  We share a bond different from what I share with Lukas and now Anna.  You...you are my soul mate.  My other half.  My fated love.  To compare that to Lukas or Anna is like comparing a speck of sand to all of the sand in an entire desert.  Do you understand?"

The strength of his words surged through me.  He loved
me
.  He'd searched 200 years for
me
.  I was his fate.  As I was his beginning and end, he was also my own.  I'd love this man for an eternity and I'd still long for more time with him.

“Yes, Stefan.  I was just so afraid…”  My voice broke and I caught my bottom lip between my teeth.

He opened his arms to me and I fell into the comfort of his familiar embrace.  While content, the sensation of our bodies pressed together caused electricity to crackle between us.  It was palpable and grew stronger with each passing day.

"Go to Anna, Stefan."  Even as I spoke the words, I fisted my hands tighter into his t-shirt.  I didn't really want to let him go.  But for Anna’s sake, I had to.

"Your brother will be stopping by soon."

Drawing back suddenly, I stared into his handsome face.  One blond eyebrow raised slightly and the corners of his lips pulled upwards.

I opened my mouth to speak, but his lips silenced me.  His mind was sexy and sarcastic in my mind.
"Still you underestimate me.  I can see his future.  He is close by."

Extricating my lips from his, I pouted.  "I don't underestimate you.  You just manage to shock the hell out of me.  Why can you see his future and not mine?”

He pressed soft kisses onto my lips, my cheeks and then my eyelids.  "Perhaps it is the difference in your ages.  He is more vampire than you for now.  Speak to your brother.  I need to explain things to Anna and we will meet back here soon.  I have plans for you that involve us and our bed."

The mere mention of Stefan and a bed made my pulse rate accelerate.  I couldn't help but be aggravated at my body's predictable reaction to the thought of our naked bodies, skin to skin, lost in one another and our indescribable passion.

His amused laughter brought me out of silent daydreams.  He'd been shamelessly reading my thoughts, an avid spectator to the inner workings of my mind.

He leaned forward, the stubble from his cheek sexily scratching my cheek as his lips found my ear.  "If my heart could beat, it would race every time I saw you."

How did he do it?  How could he always manage to say something so incredibly sweet that it totally disarmed me and silenced my sarcastic barbs.

Stefan curtly looked up and twisted his head to the side.  “Your brother is here.”

With that, a loud knock sounded on our front door. 

"Hold that thought."  Stefan spanned the room, a slow saunter that made the muscles in his back roll with his fluid movements.  He opened the door and arranged his chiseled face into a polite smile.

"Nikolaus.  Please, come in."  He stepped aside to let my brother pass.

Nikolaus nodded absently, shrugging out of his leather jacket.  He dropped it on a stool, leaning across to lightly peck me on the cheek.  He affectionately squeezed my elbow on his way to the couch.

Stefan cleared his throat and crooked a finger at me, beckoning me to come to him.  Smiling softly, I went to his side.  He smirked as his eyes visually caressed the contours of my face.  His hands traveled up and down over the length of my arms.  We both craved each others love covetously.  Our bond wanted us to be together, aggravating and comforting me at the same time.

"I will see you soon.  Call if you need me."  Stefan wrapped a possessive arm around my waist and pulled me to him, his mouth covering mine in a toe-curling kiss.  He reluctantly lifted his lips and when he spoke again, his mental voice was teasing.  
"I can disarm you because you love me as I love you.  We will crave each other and want no one else."

He turned to walk out and I stuck out my tongue, reaching to smack his ass.  He jumped, spinning to face me in surprise. 
"So you're saying we're each others personal drug? That you're my personal addiction?"

"Absolutely.  And you are mine, vackra."
 His mental voice was resolute.  He stole a final kiss from my mouth before disappearing from the room, the door quietly slamming shut.

I groaned deeply, crossing my arms under my chest.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to fuck him or smack him.  Maybe both...

Men.

"So Josie…where's the new vampire?"  Nikolaus’ voice pulled me from my dirty thoughts.

I'd forgotten he was here.  I turned on my  heel and sat down across from him, slipping into the chair.  I tucked my legs underneath me and fiddled with my ponytail.

"The new vampire’s name is Anna.  She's next door, learning the ropes," I explained.  Nikolaus nodded, running a hand through his short disarray of wavy brown hair.

"You and Stefan.  You were speaking telepathically, weren’t you?"  Nikolaus questioned.  My expression must have taken on a look of panic because he was quick to lean forward, his face contrite.  "Fuck, Josie,  I was just guessing.  I won't tell a soul."

"No one can know."  I hissed loudly.  My hands balled into fists.  "No one.  Especially Kian."

"Relax.  Your secret is safe with me, I promise.  Can we move our conversation back to Anna?"  He stretched his arms out across the back of the couch, a small smile turning up the corner of his mouth.

"Why the sudden interest in Anna?"  I arched an eyebrow suspiciously.  Tiptoeing into his mind, I was surprised to see a perfect rendition of Anna's face in his thoughts.  He'd had a vision of her.  When I pressed in deeper, a barrier fell into place, like a steel door slamming closed on my intrusion.

"Hey!  Don't poke around my brain.  It feels...weird," Nikolaus barked angrily.  He shivered and dropped his eyes to the floor.  He stared at the dark wood for a brief moment before meeting my curious stare.  "Look, I didn't mean to get pissy with you.  I’m still wrapping my brain around finding my sister after 28 years.  I forget what it is we can do.  It’s just been a long time since anyone has had the ability to get inside my head.  Mom always knew what I was going to do…”

A-ha!  Our mother.  She'd been the last person to have the ability to mentally communicate with him.  No wonder he’d had such a visceral reaction to my mental invasion.