Back to You (48 page)

“I love danger!”

He gives me a dirty look, his eyes full of disapproval.

“I know,” he says, looking down. “But there won’t be a next time.”

Vuk’s topaz eyes stare him down with intensity.

“Is that so?” he says, on the defensive. “Do you think you can stop her from going where she wants. Butt out, it’s none of your business.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Donn retorts.

“Donn.” I get my breath back and whisper his name tenderly, gazing into his eyes questioningly, intensely. “This is all absurd. You have to get used to the fact that I see Vuk as family.”

“Werewolves are dangerous.”

“Cut it out,” roars Vuk. He stands stock still, clenching and unclenching his fists as he tries his best to control the slight spasms that are starting to overtake his body. Donn doesn’t reply, he doesn’t want the situation to get out of control. I search his face, noticing for the first time how the circles around his eyes have turned into a deep purple color.

“Donn,” I plead calmly. “If you can just let me…” He raises a hand to stop me, his eyes fixed on Vuk.

“There’ll be no arguments about this,” he says firmly.

“And I won’t argue about not being able to see him unless I’m at college.” My obstinacy makes Donn stiffen. Vuk betrays no emotion, he just shakes his head.

“Until she asks me to go, I won’t move a muscle,” he murmurs, his eyes still on Donn. Then he turns to me, and I see a light in his topaz eyes that makes something in me melt.

“I’ll never ask you to go,” I sigh. I know it’s a promise I’ll keep.

A moan escapes Donn’s throat.

“It’s nothing personal.” I grasp for the right words, turning to him as my stomach begins to churn. His eyes are cold and dark as the night. Donn’s face is contorted with bitterness.

“I wish I had taken a photo of you how I found you that night of the full moon.” He pauses to catch his breath, trying to appear as relaxed as can be. “Then no words would have been necessary.” His words drip with irony. I look at him coldly, my eyes narrowed. “I understand your point of view, Stella, but you should try to understand mine,” he adds, a hint of an inviting smile on his lips.

I try unsuccessfully to read through his words, but the rush of emotion I feel for Vuk clouds my mental state. The memories of that night still send shivers through my body. My head spins. Donn can see my thoughts getting clouded up.

“Breathe, little girl,” his voice is a velvet whisper and I see a reassuring smile on his delicious face. I obey. He seems unsettled, wallowing in his distress.

“Can you try to see things from my point of view?” he pleads.

“Maybe…” I reply, my voice barely audible. “But you really shouldn’t hold anything against him, Donn. If only you could see things objectively.” I implore him with my eyes.

“Good idea. Anything else?” Donn snorts. His voice rises in pitch while trying to make it as convincing as possible.

“The memories of that night still torment me, you know? I bet you have no idea of the state you were in. It was days before you even began to look human again!”

His anger stings like a bee, it’s painful to hear the resentment he obviously feels towards me.

“And how would you know?” I retort.

“Because I was there! I have always been there, by your side. I would come visit you at night. You’d curl up into a ball when you felt the cold creep into your room. I’d take the rocking chair from Jeff’s room and watch you sleep,” he confesses on the spur of the moment. Amazement washes all the anger from me. “And now you’d like me to forget all that. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“No! I just want you to put it behind, like I have. He didn’t mean to do it, he was out of his mind.” The quiver in my voice betrays the conviction I hoped to convey. Donn stares at me for several seconds with a flash of impatience.

“Ok,” he spits out bitterly. “When you’re like this you’re really stubborn and naïve!” His eyes are impenetrable once again. His face is unexpressive, cold.

For an instant I really do hope that they might be able to get along, but it’s like pressing together two powerful magnets and hoping that the laws of physics will bend to my will.

Vuk glares at Donn, furious. I can see the tremors begin to shake his rock-hard chest; he clenches his fists and jaws to keep the spasms at bay.

“Be careful, Stella. He could get out of control,” Donn warns, his voice racked with anxiety. Vuk darkens.

“You think I could hurt her?” The accusation in his tone does not escape either one of us. “So who’s thirsty now?” he mocks, his bright yellow eyes wide open, full of hatred.

Donn emits a deep-seated roar. Vuk bares his teeth in reply. They throw daggers at each other for an interminable moment, their eyes narrowed to thin slits. The silence is suddenly broken by a third voice, familiar and very upset.

“Ella May Whitely!” Jeff’s roar echoes in the distance between the house and us. “I can see your car and I know you’re with Vuk! I heard his voice. Get inside this house now!”

I can hear the panic in his voice, but it’s not Vuk’s fault. Maybe he heard a third voice? Could he have recognized Donn’s dulcet tones? And what if the other evening he had seen the chauffeur pull up in the long black car in front of our driveway, the night we returned from the coast? Donn is the first to speak up, his voice unwavering.

“It seems that Jeff thinks along the same lines,” he quips, looking at Vuk and me. We both stand still, staring blankly into the dark, just waiting for Jeff to stride into view. Vuk breathes in deeply, his jaws tightening.

“I knew it,” he hisses between clenched teeth. He figured that sooner or later Jeff would have heard us. “Sorry about getting you into trouble with your dad,” he mumbles. “But I had to be here.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I whisper, looking at his dark, ruffled hair, damp strands stuck to his face. “You’re forgiven.”

“Thanks, Ella May,” he winks, and we look knowingly at each other. Donn looks at us, his face darkening.

“I don’t see the funny side of all this,” he comments in irritation. He seems surprised at my reaction. “The sooner we get out of here, the better it will be for Stella.” Both men tense, each expecting the other to make an exit first. It seems we’re about to witness a battle to determine who has the most testosterone, a kind of ancient clash of the vampire against the werewolf, lifelong enemies. As I look from one handsome face to the other, I realize that I’ll never be able to change their nature, despite my best efforts. They could never be friends or allies. It’s all so childish.

“Cut it out, this rivalry is so dumb!” I plead, losing patience.

“It’s nothing against him personally, little girl, but I won’t walk away until he does. That way I’ll know you’re safe,” Donn whispers in my ear. His cold breath slides down my neck into the hollow of my collar.

“You know he’d never hurt me,” I whisper back, my lips brushing his smooth cheeks as I speak.

He smiles weakly, then a penetrating light flashes in his turquoise eyes. He seems thrown into confusion. He grabs hold of me and sinks his fingers into my hair. He takes a deep breath.

“Ah, so hard to forget, Miss Whitely. You smell so good.” His hands search my face with anxious fingers. Then he pulls back, turns up his nose, and looks at me.

“Although I can always smell a trace of dog on your clothes,” he adds, his voice dripping with disgust, his eyes fixed accusingly on Vuk.

I feel his fists tighten into a ball against my back. And I recall Tyler’s theory, which seems dumber than ever but…

“Is this really about my safety?” I ask falteringly.

The black fire of his eyes leaves no room for doubt.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not…” It’s hard to finish off the thought. “You shouldn’t get upset if I want to spend some time with Vuk.”

“I know.” He stifles a laugh.

“Stop kidding around,” I grumble, furrowing my brows, a strong suspicion that he’s making fun of me.

“I’m being serious.” The fire in his eyes flares up again. “This is about you. The only thing I care about is that you’re safe from harm.”

“Ok,” I sigh. “But I don’t give a damn if one of you is a werewolf and the other one a vampire, if all others are human and you’re mythical creatures. From now on, I’m neutral ground. I’m sick and tired of all this. And as far as all this dumb stuff of being enemies is concerned, I want no part of it!” I stammer, exasperated.

They both look at me with gloom. Their facial expressions contain an ocean of words that will never see the light of day. Their emotions range from rage to amazement.

“No, no, and no!” I shake my head to eliminate the very thought. “I refuse to be dragged into your territorial disputes!”

Vuk frowns and takes a deep breath.

“About territory…one other thing,” he says, turning to Donn. “We’re combing the woods. We’ve found no trace of Adam or his companion in our area. Have you?”

“Yes, near Boston, southeast of Cape Cod,” thunders Donn, his face clouding over. “The latest trail leads to the ocean then into the forest. We lost trace of them in the Myles Standish State Forest.”

“That’s where Tyler works, near Scott’s house,” I add, overcome with panic. An icy chill runs down my spine.

My stomach churns, my head feels like it’s about to explode.

“Hush, Stella. No need to worry. Everything will be fine, back to normal in no time,” says Vuk soothingly, stroking my hair and throwing a knowing glance at Donn. They obviously know something I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with Scott and Tyler. Or his secret.

“It’s a shame,” says Donn after a brief pause. “If they had gone northwest, you wolves could have helped us.”

“Help who?” I cut in before Vuk can say anything. I force myself not to yell, but my voice rises.

“Aaron and his family, Jason and…others.” I imagine he’s referring to the other members of the Council, but my mind settles on the thought of Jason.

“How is the hunt going?” I ask in a melancholic tone. “He’s been away for almost a week, hasn’t he even found a grizzly?”

Donn’s face hardens.

“Yes,” he replies grimly. “But what do you think might be keeping Jason away?” His coldness is melting away. I search his deep turquoise and my heartstrings tighten. He notices the change of my heartbeat and smiles tenderly.

“Your safety,” he adds gently. “He went hunting to feed and give in to his natural instincts. But he also went to follow the trail.”

“The trail of what?” I ask, confused.

Vuk stiffens and Donn’s smile fades.

“Nothing of any importance.” His words don’t seem to fit with the anxiety displayed on his face. My eyes urge him to go on, to give me more information, but he squirms, clearly ill at ease.

“Aaron and Jason are tracking someone,” he confesses. “The two rebel vampires we talked about in the library, to be precise. On the orders of the Council, obviously. They are working alone, not in a group.”

Vuk looks at me, fearing my reaction. He places a comforting hand on my shoulder and delicately strokes my cheek. His familiar warmth brings instant comfort.

“They are tracking Adam and the girl.” My words stick in my throat. I’m sounding hysterical now. “It’s my worse nightmare!”

“Calm down, baby girl, Jason is in good hands. Aaron will look after him, they’re family,” Donn assures me. “The rebels are trying to track you down, but they’re still far off. We still don’t know why they’re hunting you, but they leave a trail wherever they go, even though they are experts.”

He gives Vuk that same knowing look. My mind flashes back to what he said about not having found any trace of Adam in their part of the territory. He studies my face with a penetrating gaze, so hard to read.

“Although Aaron doesn’t really consider Adam to be a real threat, he doesn’t intend to let this go,” Donn continues. “It’s as if he and his companion are thirsting for revenge. And if someone like her is set on the kill, nothing can change her mind. So I fear we’ll have to kill her. So Aaron and Jason followed them almost to New Hampshire. The rebels were driven back by the wolves to the borders. Then Jason followed a false lead that took him to New England. As I said, he messed up in following the trail, and Aaron let me know.”

“Aaron prefers not to see you, but he’d risk his life to protect you.” Donn sighs, his eyes have that faraway look in them. “You remind him of someone, and it causes him pain to see you.”

“Someone?” I ask.

“A woman,” Donn adds. “Charleen Harris, the only woman he’s ever loved.” His eyes spark with sincerity.

“What happened to her?” My voice falls flat as I can guess the answer before he speaks.

“She was around centuries ago, Stella, but she died young, before her time, while she was studying piano at the Conservatory in Italy. But that’s another story.” He trails off, his lips breaking into a sad smile thinking of some faded memory. I raise my brow, struck with curiosity.

“Tell me about her.”

“It’s a long story, and I don’t want to deprive Aaron of the pleasure of telling it himself. He’s a marvelous storyteller.”

“Does it still cause him so much pain? Can’t he get over her? Death comes to all of us sooner or later.”

“Well, not all of us, Miss Whitely,” he grins mischievously. “And he hasn’t gotten over it because…he killed her,” his voice now a barely audible whisper. His irises are jet black, circled with ruby-red shadows. He’s thirsty. I force myself to suppress a shiver that could reveal my inner thoughts.

“Oh. I get it.” Suddenly the references Vuk made before coming out of the library tower seem to make perfect sense.

“Really?” he questions, moving in closer to me. His face hardens, as if he has let something slip out that was meant to stay buried deep inside.

The sudden closeness of his body sets my heart racing. He searches for my hand and sighs when his icy fingers make contact with mine. It’s a strangely reassuring feeling that sends a low-charge electric shock through my body and dulls the pain. My mind goes blank and my head spins slowly. Maybe it’s because I’ve forgotten to breathe.

“And you, Donn? Are you dangerous?” I ask, my heart skipping a beat as I anticipate the true answer to my question.