Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (35 page)

   “No!” Stefan snapped, halting Kathleen in mid stride. She turned back to him, her eyes wide in disbelief. “There will be no ambulance. There is absolutely nothing wrong here. You have seen nothing, you know nothing. All of you need to go back upstairs and stay there for the rest of the day. Now!”

   Isabelle jumped as he lashed out the last word. Fury radiated from every inch of him as he gl
ared at Jess, a muscle twitched
in
his cheek, and a vein throbbed
in his forehead. Isabelle reached instinctively to squeeze his hand in an attempt to soothe some of the anger from him. He turned slowly toward her, his eyes blazing. For a moment he remained rigid, but then his jaw relaxed, and his eyes slowly returned to black. Her hand tightened on his before she released him and turned her attention back to the doorway. Jess, Kathleen, and Delia were already gone.

   She turned back around as her mother lifted the towel from Kyle’s chest to inspect the wounds. They were healing even faster now. Relief started to claim her, but she was scared that it was too soon to hope that he would be okay. A loud pounding on the back steps jerked her head around as everyone came rushing through the glass doors. Her father’s face went white as
his eyes landed on Kyle. “No
!”

   Isabelle stood silently as he rushed toward her mother’s side. “What happened?” Ethan demanded.

   “The bear trap,” Isabelle whispered.

   Ethan’s eyes widened. “Damn it! We should have taken care of that thing!
Why would they go near it?” he
demanded
fiercely
.

   Everyone turned to look at Cassidy as she stood huddle
d behind Stefan; tears streaked
her face as she trembled fiercely. “We just wanted to take a look,” she sobbed.

   Vicky walked over
and wrapped an arm around her shak
ing shoulders, pulling her tight against her side. “Is he going to be okay?” David demanded.

   “I think so,” Stefan said slowly.

   Isabelle couldn’t stop herself from reaching down to him again. She needed to touch him, needed to feel him, and be reassured by his presence. His shoulders stiffened as he seized hold of her hand, clasping it tightly, and refusing to release her. “Do you want me to do that?” her mother asked anxiously
, waving toward Stefan’s wrist
.

   Stefan looked at her and shook his head. “My blood is stronger, it will help more.”

   Her mother nodded weakly as her father wrapped his arm tightly around her and pulled her close to him. Stefan stiffened, his hand tightening upon Isabelle’s as Kyle bit into his wrist. Relief flowed through him as he drank deeply, and with relish. He relaxed his grip on Isabelle’s trembling hand, but she refused to release him. He squeezed her hand slightly, taking comfort in her reassuring touch, and presence.

   Eventually Kyle’s bite began to lessen as his thirst for blood became less. Stefan pulled the towel back to reveal the wounds. They were still dark, and vicious looking, but they had stopped bleeding, and bone, muscle, and skin had
now
knitted neatly back together. He pulled his wrist gently away from Kyle’s mouth as the boy released him. 

   “He’ll be all right,” he said softly. “He’ll need more blood, and he probably won’t awaken for awhile, but he’ll be all right.”

   He stood slowly, moving away so that
Liam
and Sera could get closer to their son. “Are you okay?” Isabelle asked worriedly.

   He glanced up at her, smiling softly as he nodded. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ease the trembli
ng that remained from her fear
f
or
Kyle, and the shock of her realization
about Stefan
. He moved toward her, his chest and hard stomach coated with blood. Isabelle rushed forward, flinging her arms around his waist as she buried her head against his chest. Tears of relief slid down her cheeks as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him.

***

   Isabelle sat silently at the kitchen table feeling drained, and completely exhausted. She shifted slightly and leaned back against Stefan. His arms tightened around her waist as she dropped her head to his hard shoulder and nuzzled against his neck. His familiar scent of crisp air, woods, soap, and pure male filled her
nostrils
. She sighed contentedly as she moved even closer to him. Beneath his familiar scent she could suddenly smell the copper tint of his blood.

   She stiffened slightly as the
fierce
urge to taste his blood
surged into
her. She had never experienced such an
intense
urge before, hadn’t though
t
it was possible, but she suddenly wanted it to fill, and warm her. She closed her eyes tightly against
the yearning
, but the smell of it, and the power that radiated from it, caused her mouth to water. She wanted to whimper from the
hunger blazing through her
, but she forced herself to remain silent, and not let on to the sudden discomfort that consumed her.

   She turned her head away from the throbbing pulse in his throat and rested her head against his chest. She forced her attention away from him, and to the people that surrounded them. Ethan, Ian, Mike, Doug, Jack, and David sat silently around the table, their faces as tired and strained looking as she felt. Vicky, Abby, and Julian sat on the island, leaning tiredly against each other. Willow walked in from the living
room;
her shoulders slumped as she
glanced at them through
shadowed eyes.

   “Is he awake?” Doug asked.

   “No.” Isabelle sighed softly and closed her eyes as she snuggled closer to Stefan’s warmth, allowing herself to be comforted by the gentle beat of his heart. She stifled a yawn as a wave of exhaustion swept her.  

   Stefan dropped his head down to rest on hers and inhaled her gentle, reassuring scent. She had taken a shower, her hair was still damp, the smell of it clean and refreshing. Beneath the lose T-shirt, and baggy pants she wore, he knew that she was completely naked. The knowledge of that had caused him to grow hard long ago, and he was desperately fighting against his baser instincts as she snuggled closer to him
.
The movement
caus
ed
his erection to jump and throb.

   He
clenched
his teeth against the growing ache in his loins as he shifted the obvious swell away from the gentle curve of her buttocks. She was completely exhausted, both emotionally and physically, the last thing she needed right now was to know what he was thinking about.

   He glanced down at her bandaged foot, knowing that the wound was heeled by now
.
B
ut the sight of the blood dampened bandage caused anger, and fear, to course through him. He was going to have a talk with her later about putting herself in danger. He knew that she wouldn’t like it, but that was too bad, he
’d be damned if she got
hurt
,
or something worse. She was too impatient for his liking, too willing to
risk her own life
. She had to start thinking about herself, about him, if something happened to her...

   The thought alone unleashed something wild and primitive in him. It made him want to destroy the world, and everyone in it. His hands instinctively tightened around her, pulling her more firmly against him as he fought back the panic, and fury, that the thought aroused. As long as he was alive, nothing was ever going to happen to her, and if she didn’t start taking better care of herself, he was going to
l
ock her up somewhere
s
afe. He didn’t care if she hated him for it, but he would do it if it meant keeping her
protected
, and alive. He didn’t think he could survive without her.

   He stiffened instantly;
the realization br
ought
a surge of raging emotions forth. She lifted her head to stare questioningly at him, but he forced his face to remain blank as he met her gaze. He would figure it all out later, talk to her later about it, but not now. She had enough on her mind now. He h
ad enough on his mind
now.

   He kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose and she smiled softly. That smile clenched at his heart and caused him to harden even more. He shifted slightly as he tried to ease the growing pressure in his
cock
and she dropped her head to his shoulder again. Her long lashes brushed lightly against his neck as her eyes closed.

  
Liam
appeared in the doorway, his face drawn and tight as he leaned against the frame. “Is he awake?” Abby demanded.

   “No, why don’t you guys go on up to bed, you look beat.”

   “But...”

   “Go on,” he told them, the hard set of his face leaving no room for arguments. “He
probably
won’t be up for awhile.”

   They exchanged quick glances, but obviously decided that arguing wasn’t going to work. They slid off the island and shuffled slowly out of the room. “Good night,” they mumbled as they left.

  
Liam
’s gaze came back to them. “You guys should head home too, you look like hell.”

   “You don’t look much better,” Mike retorted.

   “Yeah but I’ll look good after some sleep, you look like
crap
all the time.”

   “You wish,” Mike muttered.

  
Liam
smiled wanly. “Go on, get out of here.
You’ve all done enough, get some rest.
”

   “You sure dad?” Isabelle asked softly.

   “Yes
.”

   They exchanged quick looks before climbing to their feet. Isabelle went to get out of Stefan’s lap, but he kept his arms firmly around her as he rose swiftly to follow everyone outside. She smiled softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. She was immediately comforted by the reassuring beat of his heart, and the warmth of his body. Her eyes drifted closed as he carried her down the stairs and out to the field.

   “You really think he’ll be all right?” Ethan asked anxiously.

   “Yes,” Stefan answered.

   He glanced down at Isabelle, smiling softly as he realized that she was sound asleep. “Thank you,”
Ethan
said softly.

   Stefan glanced sharply up at him. “I didn’t do anything,” he replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

   “You got there a lot faster than any of us would have, and you knew that they were in trouble.”

   “I knew that Isabelle was in trouble,” he corrected.

   Ethan
smiled softly. “Just like in the club.”

  
Stefan shrugged slightly, careful not to jar Isabelle out of her sleep.
“Yeah.”

   Ethan’
s smile faded as he glanced down at Isabelle. Stefan pulled her tighter against him, tensing at the thought that
Ethan
might touch her, but he made no move to. “You were the last thing that she
ever
wanted you know,”
he
said softly.

   Stefan’s eyes snapped with fury as they met Ethan’s. “What?” he demanded angrily.

   Ethan flashed a bright grin as he met Stefan’s furious gaze. “We weren’t the anti-social ones for no reason
you know
.”

   “What the hell are you talking about?” he growled, his anger growing by the second.

   “Calm down,”
Ethan
said gently. “I’m just saying that she stayed hidden up here, never fed from humans, and avoided them at all costs, because this was the last thing that she
ever
wanted to have happen to her.”

   It was taking everything that Stefan had not to grab him by the throat and shake some
words out of him that made
sense. “What
do you mean
?” he nearly bellowed.

   Isabelle shifted slightly
;
one arm f
e
ll
limply into her lap. Stefan forced himself to ta
ke a deep breath, and calm down
before he woke her. She needed as much sleep as she could get. “You still haven’t figured it out?” David asked incredulously.

   Stefan shot him a glowering look. “Figured what out?” he demanded.

   “I thought when you came back here it was because you knew.” David shook his head as he closed his eyes and chuckled softly. “Man, you are dense.”

   “Look...” Stefan hissed, fury building inside of him. Isabelle whimpered softly as she buried her head tighter against his chest, instinctively trying to soothe him in her sleep. It took everything he had to remain calm.