Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (27 page)

   Panting heavily, and trembling with fury and fear, Isabelle’s panic was starting to become all consuming. For some reason, a picture of Stefan formed in her mind. She silently screamed his name as the blondes teeth sank into her neck. She lost all thought as agonizing pain
tore through her body, blurred her vision, and knocked
all of the fight out of her.

  
Never had she felt anything so hurtful, never had she imagined such pain could exist. Fire burned through her, searing her veins, and burning her skin. Her entire body felt as if it were engulfed in flames licking over every inch of her skin, searing the marrow from her bones. She wanted to struggle, wanted to break free, but she found herself unable to move through the agonizing torture that was tearing her body to shreds.

   A loud roar echoed in her ears, moments before the teeth were ripped from her neck, tearing across her skin. She stumbled back, slamming into the wall, her hand reaching up to cling to the jagged wounds in her neck. “Isabelle! Isabelle!” She blinked dazedly at Stefan as he grabbed hold of her shoulders. “Isabelle are you all right?”

   She focused on him for a moment, saw the worry, and the fury that twisted his face as his eyes blazed a violent blood red. She opened her mouth to tell him that she was all right, but a wave of blackness washed over her, and all thought was lost as it
pulled
her under.

   Stefan swept her quickly into his arms before she hit the ground. He swung her easily up, cradling her head against his chest as his hands wrapped into her silken hair. A fierce wave of protection washed over him, pushing out some of his fury. Then, he thought about what could have happened to her and the fury blazed forth again. He anxiously scanned the alley, searching for any sign that they might still be around
.
H
oping they were so he could rip them to shreds. But they were all gone, including Jack and Ian.

   Stefan pulled back her hair, the fury in him nearly explod
ed
as he saw the jagged lacerations that ripped through her delicate skin. His hands were shaking with fury, and fear, as he lightly touched the marks. She whimpered softly, but didn’t awaken. He instantly dropped his hand b
ack to his side; a snarl curled
his lips as he cradled her tighter. The constricting pain in his chest was almost unbearable as he realized that he could have lost her, that they could have taken her from him.

 
He bit back a roar of fury, and anguish, as he quickly scanned the alley again. He should have gone after them, should have destroyed them himself, but he had been unable to leave her side.
He had been u
nable to go anywhere until he knew that she was okay,
and
that they had not destroyed her. Unable to be anywhere, but at her side.

   Jack appeared beside him, panting slightly, his eyes wide with worry as he gazed at Isabelle. “Is she all right?” he asked anxiously.

   “No. Where are they?” he snarled.

   Jack’s eyes sharpened on Stefan. “They’re gone,” he said slowly.

   “They were old,” Stefan
said softly
. Jack’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t question how Stefan knew that. “We need to get her out of here, now.”

   Jack nodded as Ian reappeared. “Get the car,” Jack told him.

   “Is she all right?” Ian demanded.

   “Get the damn car!” Stefan snapped.

   Ian’s eyes darkened with anger, but he didn’t argue with him. Instead, he nodded sharply and took off around the building. Stefan shifted his hold on Isabelle as blood began to trickle onto his fingers. Fierce anger ripped through him again as he fully realized that someone else had touched her, that they had hurt her. He was trembling with his urge to kill, with the fierce need to destroy. He should have gone after them, should have destroyed them. He had mistakenly thought that he had managed to
rid himself
of
such urges, managed to leave them in his past, but he knew now that he had been completely wrong. The killer in him was still very close to the surface, and it was Isabelle that brought it out
in him
.

   He inhaled sharply as that realization sank in, rattling
his
thin thread of composure even more.

   When her fear had slammed into him inside the club, he had been jolted by the amazing fact that she had been able to communicate it to him at all. Only vampires who had a bond with someone were able to communicate with
them
. That bond was usually forged through blood or sex. Since he had
shared
neither with Isabelle, it completely astonished him that she had managed to reach through to him, and that he had been able to receive it.

   Then, all of those thoughts had fled as he
was
seized by the overwhelming drive to get to her. Her pain
had slammed into him, hammered
into his skull until all he wanted was to kill whoever was hurting her, and anyone that got in his way. He had been seized again by the bloodlust that had driven him for centuries, a bloodlust that he had been determined to rid himself of. He now knew that he had failed miserably in his attempt to do so.

   He had also failed in his need to keep her safe. She had been hurt by
a part of the
world that he had never wanted her to know existed, and all because he had been too stubborn to
go
after her when she
’
d
left.
T
o afraid to go after her. It was his fault that she was hurt. If it hadn’t been for him, she never would have come to the club tonight, she never would have been outside, and she sure as hell wouldn’t have been hurt. At that moment, he hated himself completely.

   “How much did they take from her?” Jack asked worriedly.

   “I don’t know,
”
Stefan said coldly, the anger constricting his chest.

   “
W
e need to get her blood, now!”

   Stefan searched her face. She was extremely pale, her lips nearly white, but her heart was beating soundly, and she was breathing regularly. He closed his eyes and used his power to push himself into her body, to feel out the amount of damage that they had inflicted upon her. It wasn’t something he would be able to do if she
was
awake, and fought him
.
B
ut now that she was unconscious, and vulnerable, he was able to drift into her, and sense how much they had taken. He sighed in relief as he realized that it hadn’t been much, that they hadn’t even gotten the same amount of blood as one of her bags. He pulled slowly out of her, lightly stroking her velvety cheek as he gazed at her unconscious form.

   “They didn’t take much,” he said quietly.

   “They must have! Look at her!”

   “No, they didn’t,” Stefan grated.

   “Then w
hy is she out like a light!?” Jack
shouted
his fear evident in his slightly shrill voice
.

   Stefan grit his teeth and closed his eyes against the raging anger, fear for her, and self loathing that was tearing him to shreds. “Because of the pain.”

   “What?”
Jack asked
in confusion.

   Stefan’s eyes flew open. Jack’s eyes widened in surprise
,
his mouth parted slightly, and he took a quick step back. “The pain!” he hissed. “When you’re a human, and your blood is drained unwillingly, it hurts like hell. Trust me, I know. When you’re a vampire and it happens, it feels as if the fires of hell are searing through your body. It’s why she couldn’t fight them off.”

   “Oh,” Jack said softly, his eyes slowly scanning Stefan before returning to Isabelle. “Will she be all right?” he asked worriedly.

   Jack
took a st
ep toward her, his hand reached
out to touch her. Stefan immediately stepped back, anger flaring through him as a soft hiss escaped. Shock
over his reaction
coursed through him, but his body remained tense, and rigid, with animosity. He didn’t know why he had done it, he knew that Jack would never hurt Isabelle, but the idea of him touching her had instantly brought the demon out
of him
.

  
He knew he would lose control if Jack insisted upon touching her, the thought alone made him shake with fury. Jack’s eyes came back to his, but to Stefan’s surprise, he didn’t argue with him, and he didn’t try to get near her again. His eyes were filled with
a sad acceptance as he took a w
ary step back
and
his hand dropp
ed
limply to his side.

   Stefan’s eyes narrowed on Jack
as he clung tighter to her. She was so
vulnerable
, so frail and fragile that it was tearing
at his insides. He eyed Jack w
arily, unable to understand why Jack, a man that had helped raise
Isabelle
, had just backed away from him without a protest.
Stefan didn’t understand why
Jack
did
not insist upon taking over the care of her, or to have Stefan release her.
Stefan’
s emotions were becoming more tumultuous and disordered by the second. He was losing complete control of himself, because of her.

   “Will she be okay?” Jack asked again.

   “Yes,” he grated. “She just needs some rest, and some blood.”

   Headlights swung into the alley as Ian came racing toward them. He pulled up with a screech of brakes and hopped out of the car
and
rac
ed
toward them. “Jack, you drive! Give her to me!”

   He stopped before Stefan, his arms out to take Isabelle. Stefan’s nostrils flared as his jaw clenched, and his rage began to build again. “No,” he spat.

   Ian blinked in surprise, and then anger flooded his face. “Give my sister to me!” he demanded.

   He reached out to grab her. Stefan hissed angrily, turning so that his body was between Ian and Isabelle. Ian’s eyes flashed
fiercely
as his nostrils flared and his jaw locked. Jack jumped forward, grabbing hold of Ian’s arm and pulling him roughly back. “Get in the car Ian!” he ordered.

   Ian rounded angrily on him, his hands clenched at his sides. “I will not! Not without...”

   “Now! Get in the car now!” Jack bellowed
at him
.

   Ian’s eyes widened in surprise as Jack shoved him toward the passenger side of the car. “Jack...”

   “Ian, if you want to live, you will get in this car!” Jack hissed.

   Ian stared at him in shock as Jack flung the door open and shoved him inside. Stefan stood silently, his anger slowly ebbing as astonishment began to replace it. What the hell was going on with him, with Jack? Stefan stood, unable to move as confusion rolled through him. “Let
’
s go!” Jack yelled.

   Stefan shook off his confusion, now was not the time for it. He moved swiftly forward, sliding into the back seat, and closing the door. He cradled Isabelle on his lap, unable to let her go as Jack tore out of the alleyway.

CHAPTER 13

   Stefan carried Isabelle swiftly into the house behind Jack. David, Doug, Mike, and Ethan looked up from the baseball game they were watching, shock register
ed
on all of their faces seconds before they leapt to their feet. “What the hell happened?” Mike demanded.

   “She was attacked,” Jack answered. “Put her on the couch Stefan, I’ll get some blood.”

   “Shit
!”

   They came rushing around the couches toward him. Stefan glowered at them, pulling her tighter against his chest as his eyes flashed dangerously. If he had to, he would kill everyone in this room to keep them from touching her. David, Doug, and Mike skidded to a halt behind the couch, their mouth’s gaping open, while Ethan kept on coming. “Get away from her!”
Stefan
spat as Ethan stopped before him.

   Ethan’s eyes widened and then narrowed fiercely in anger. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but that is
my
sister!”

   “I’m telling you right now to get away from her!” he nearly roared.

   Mike jumped forward, grabbing hold of Ethan’s arm and ripping him back. “Get your hands off of me!” Ethan snapped
at him
.

   “Go get your parents, now!” Mike ordered.

   “But...”

   “Now!”

   “I’m not going anywhere!” Ethan yelled. “Until I know what happened, and he gets his hands off of
my sister
!”

   Stefan’s eyes burned red with fury as he glowered at Ethan. Ethan’s eyes flashed red as he took a step fo
r
ward. Stefan hissed and lunged forward. Seizing hold of Ethan’s throat, he lifted him easily off of the ground. Ethan struggled in his grasp, his hands clutching wildly at Stefan as he dug into
Ethan’
s throat. “
Shit
Stefan, no!” David yelled moving swiftly forward to stand in front of him, but making no move to stop him. “Isabelle will
hate
you if you hurt him!”