Ascend (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #4) (4 page)

“Your shield.  I am sure it is stronger now that you have made the change.  You must promise me if I need to restrain you for any reason…you cannot use it on me.  If you hurt an innocent it would destroy you.”

A makerless vampire
.  Lukas’ earlier words resonated in my mind.  I could be uncontrollable.  If I was unable to control myself and acclimate to being around humans, we’d be forced to go into hiding.  I couldn’t let that happen…not with so much at stake.

“I promise.”  I sighed and squeezed his hand tightly.  “I won’t use my shield on you if we are among humans.”

“Or vampires as well.  You cannot reveal this gift you have to anyone else.  Your father knows, as does the three in the other room.  The more people that know, the more of a threat you will be seen to be.  We have enough enemies that would like nothing more than to see us eliminated.  We need no more than what we have already.”  Stefan advised.  A familiar image of a man floated to the forefront of Stefan’s thoughts as he spoke.

“Amir?” Saying his name made the hazy face of the strange, amber eyed man that I’d met only days earlier come into sharper focus.  He was Stefan’s vampire brother…and Lukas’ lover.

“He knows nothing.  He will remain in the dark about this ability,” Stefan retorted sharply.  I could tell by his tone and sense of resolve that our conversation regarding Amir was over.  And for now, I’d give him that.  However, this topic was far from closed.

Narrowing my eyes, I peered closer at him.  Amir was supposedly on our side, an ally for the greater good.  Had something happened to make Stefan distrust Amir?

Stefan glanced up at the ceiling and he heaved a heavy sigh.  “You will never let anything rest.  He has done nothing per se, vackra.  Amir is my brother.  You must remember I have not seen him in many years.  I cannot read him to know of his true intentions and for many years, he harbored much resentment about his existence as an immortal.  He is a concern and he will continue to be a loose cannon until he fully earns my trust. His cloaking ability makes him as blank to me as Kian and that will always worry me.”

Fucking Kian
.  Just thinking about my birth father made the hair on the back of my neck stand up in attention and my blood boil.  Evil, cunning and deadly, he would kill either Stefan or myself if given the chance.  If I had anything to do about it, he wouldn’t come close to touching Stefan or me.  The next time, I’d let my shield crush him.  I’d feel no remorse at seeing him die.

“You have my word.  I won’t use my shield in front of humans
or
vampires and I’ll let you restrain me if I lose it.  Please, I want to see them.  I want to see them so we can have some time to ourselves.”  I pleaded softly.  I hated to beg, but my body and my mind were at war, each wanting the same thing and both equally annoyed because they were being denied of what they wanted: Stefan…and Stefan naked in our bed.

“Go.”

His soft mental command made me reach for the doorknob once again.  My free hand tightened on his out of reflex as I pulled the door open and I stuck my head out the door into the hallway, surprised to see weak sunlight spilling through the large windows.  I’d totally lost track of time and had no idea what time it was, let alone the day.  I held my breath, not trusting myself to breathe in the one thing that I knew I’d want more than anything.

Blood.

Stefan followed closely behind me as I crept down the hallway.  All conversation from the other room had quickly ground to a halt as they heard my hesitant approach and awaited my appearance.  I glanced over my shoulder and exchanged a smile with Stefan.  His rugged face was filled with encouragement, love…and trust.  Feeling his rush of confidence through the bond gave me the courage to let down my guard and inhale a deep breath, waiting for the allure of Nikolaus’ blood to overtake me.  Bracing myself, my spine stiffened and my eyes clenched shut as I waited to lose control.

Exhaling softly, I felt no wild blood lust.  Sniffing softly, each of their unique scents blended together in the spacious room.  And I could hear the wet thump of Nikolaus’ heart as I stood on the other side of the room.  While tempting, it was manageable.  I cleared my throat and opened my eyes, glancing around the room at the people that I valued above all others.  All of their eyes watched me expectantly, waiting for me to address them.  Lukas seemed the most excited.  He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his icy blue eyes glittering.

I did my best to swallow my nervousness and try for nonchalance.  “Don’t you all have something else better to do?”

They all seemed to move at once, moving quickly to embrace me.  Their sudden movements frightened me and instinctively, I crouched defensively and felt my fangs drop for the very first time.

The emergence of my fangs was the tension breaker and distraction I needed.  I was suddenly fascinated with the razor sharp teeth, running my tongue over the long, needle like points.  Only Nikolaus had the presence of mind to step back, pulling Anna with him as he gave me the space to let me gather myself.

“Ah, your fangs.  Let me see you.”  Stefan blurred to stand before me, urging my mouth open.  His thumb brushed over my lips, softly stroking the plump flesh until they parted.  His index finger traced over each fang, causing a hot flood of need to unleash deep in my stomach.  “Beautiful.”

“Biased.” I shot back, innocently letting my tongue flicker out to playfully lick his lingering fingertip.

Lukas seized the opportunity and stepped to Stefan’s side.  His perceptive eyes appraised me as they always did, his head cocking from side to side.  He pursed his lips and nodded happily.  “Awake for less than an hour and you’re already like rabbits.  Typical.  Someone should write a smutty romance book about the two of you.  It would all be sex though since you’re obviously unable to control yourselves.”  His fisted hands rested on his waist and he tapped his foot impatiently.  “Tell me Mr. Romance showed you what you looked like.  He gave you a few minutes with a mirror, right?”

“A mirror?” I repeated, looking between Stefan and Lukas curiously.  “Why would I need time with a mirror?  I know what I look like.”

Lukas sighed heavily.  He shook his head and his eyes went skyward in bored exasperation.  “Hello…you’re a vampire now.  You still look like Josie, but it’s a much-improved version.  You need to see this…”

Lukas grabbed at my hand, attempting to tug me along with him.  Normally, he was much stronger than me and I had no choice but to follow.  But now…now I could hold my own with any of them.  A smug grin settled over my face as Lukas lost a winning fight to drag me away.

“I think the days of you dragging me around are over, Lukas,” I advised, arching an eyebrow at him.  Mumbling under his breath, he walked across the room and plopped on the couch, his arms stiffly crossed under his chest.

Anna and Nikolaus stood back against the wall, cautiously watching me.  Neither had made a move to approach me, giving the opportunity to face them when I was ready.

My gaze landed on my brother’s face first.  His emerald eyes were guarded, but his steady heartbeat let me know he wasn’t afraid of me.  He was simply waiting for my acceptance, knowing I needed my space and didn’t want to intrude until I was prepared and willing.

Jutting my chin, I opened my arms wide enough for both Anna and Nikolaus.  “I know you both want to do it.  Let’s get this over with so we’re not hugging all night.”

They both wrapped their arms around me at the same time.  My head rested at the base of my brother’s throat, his pulse strumming strongly against me.  I could smell his warm blood, coursing through his veins temptingly.  I realized sooner than later, I’d need to feed.  But it wouldn’t be on my brother.

As if he’d read my mind, his grip on me only increased, leaning to whisper in my ear.  “You won’t hurt me, Josie.”

I nodded and hugged him back for a moment.  Not wanting to press my luck, I pulled away and let Anna pull me closer.  “I was so worried.  Don’t do that to me again.”

Laughing softly, I squeezed her and playfully nudged her with my shoulder.  “Anna.  You’re not going soft on me are you?”

She huffed and tossed her brown curls over her shoulder.  “You were out for three days, Josie.  Stefan couldn’t feel you in your bond.  You were in pain…” Her voice faded out and she shuddered.

“
Three days
?  I was out for three days?”  I looked around the room to each of them.  My eyes met Stefan’s steady gaze.  His blue eyes looked haunted and the still fragile bond between us ached with its need to reconnect. “That explains so much.  Now I understand why you were worried.”

“
I
was never worried, Josie.  You always have to be difficult.”  Lukas retorted sarcastically.  He examined his nails and shook his head dramatically.  “Why would your change to a vampire be any different?”

“Enough.”  Stefan’s voice thundered through the room.  He walked to the door and opened it, his patience and his self-control frayed.  “Tomorrow, we have much to discuss.  There are decisions to be made that require planning.  But for now, I need to be with Josephine.  As you can see, she is fine.  She needs to feed and there are things we need to discuss.”

For a moment, no one moved.  Everyone was surprised by Stefan’s sudden outburst.  Once again, it was Nikolaus that had the presence of mind to tug at Anna’s hand and slap Lukas on the back of his head.  They each stopped and hugged me goodbye as they filed out of the apartment.  Stefan slammed the door shut behind them and pressed his hand against the heavy wood, swallowing and breathing heavily.  I stood motionless, watching as his shoulders moved with the effort of his ragged breathing.

When his eyes swung over and connected with mine, I could feel his desire as strongly as if it was my own.  His fathomless stare seemed to pin me in place and leave me vulnerable as if his eyes alone could strip me naked.

His voice was raspy and guttural. “I have had enough of making small talk.  You need to feed.  And then…and then I need to fuck you.”

Stefan strode through the room, disappearing into the kitchen.  Unsure of what to do with myself, I wandered to the floor to ceiling windows and pressed myself against the cool glass in the living room, staring into the city that was just out of reach.  Life went on around me: cars passing by and people dodging through the traffic on the street below.  My new eyes could see the smallest detail; pick out the slightest flaw.  I could see the tiny cracks in the sidewalk from this much higher vantage point.  More sensitive to the sunlight than before, I found myself squinting at the weak beams of fading light from the evening sun filling the large windows.  My open palm slapped against the glass in frustration.  I felt out of control, my emotions fluctuating from confusion, to curiosity to extreme arousal.  My forehead fell against the glass, overwhelmed at the warring sensations building inside of me.

I jumped when two massive arms wrapped around me, pulling me back against his chest.  His head lowered to leave a blazing trail of kisses down my neck. Shivering from his touch, one arm reached up to bury my fingers in his soft blond hair at the nape of his neck. His thoughts were cautious, bordering on worry.  He'd felt my rapidly fluctuating moods and simply reacted to pacify me, attempting to temper his mood to accommodate me.  My change, while expected, had happened so quickly even he hadn’t had time to prepare.  He was out if his element, and Stefan didn’t like to be out of control.  He hadn't predicted or seen the change.  He was anxious to reconnect, our bond screaming out for one another.

"What is it they say? A penny for your thoughts?" The deep timbre of his voice had surprised me.  Nestling deeper in his arms, I closed my eyes against the burning tears that threatened to spill over.

I couldn't slow my mind down enough to focus on one thought.  I was worried about bloodlust, Stefan's own brush with death, my father...the worry of our growing bond. I was almost immobilized when our bond was severed.  How could we ever be apart?

His hold on me tightened as he read my frazzled thoughts.  A rush of strength flooded through me, his own assurance bolstering my flagging spirits.

His lips tickled my ear.  "It will work itself out, Josephine.  I will not let you fail.  You are stronger than you think."