Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (47 page)

   Stefan turned, his eyes narrowing as he searched the night for a hint of their presence. “The blond is the one that bit Isabelle,” Jack said.

   The bottom of
Stefan’s
stomach plummeted as he suddenly realized why they had left. They may have come here with every intention of killing Brian, but once here, they had scented something else, something
even better
that had been denied to them. “Brian lets go!” he hissed.

   “What?” he asked in surprise.

   “Now!”

   Stefan’s panic was growing by the second. They had a head
start, a fairly good head start. He turned, racing across the field, and blurring into the night. “I hate it when he does that,” Jack mumbled. “We’re going to have to put a bell on him.”

   “Where the hell is he going?” Mike demanded.

   Brian stood silently for a moment more. “They attacked this girl Isabelle?” he asked
softly
.

   “Yeah,” David replied.

   Brian’s eyes narrowed. “That’s where they’re going.”

   “What!?” they all yelled.

   Brian didn’t wait to answer them, he took off, following Stefan’s scent as he blurred into the night.

   “Let
’
s go!”
Liam
hissed. “Now!”

***

   Isabelle rolled over and punched her pillow again. It didn’t matter what she did, she was never going to get comfortable, never going to go to sleep without Stefan beside her. She contemplated going over to the next room to see her mom, she was certain that she wasn’t asleep either, but she knew that if she woke up Willow, and Cassidy, she would never hear the end of it. She sighed as she flipped onto her back to stare at the ceiling. It didn’t help that Vicky was snoring softly, and Abby had just finished mumbling something about cookies.

   She tried to reach out for Stefan again, but he was still shut out from her. She rolled back over, curling into a ball as she tried not to think about what that meant. He hated her now, she was sure of it. She didn’t know why he hadn’t told her of his past, why he had deliberately lied to her, but she was now certain that there was a good reason. Her mother wouldn’t trust him if there wasn’t, the others wouldn’t trust him either. Ethan had told him to leave, not the others. They didn’t hate him
.
S
he was certain that Ethan didn’t either, but he had done
the same thing that she would
have
if their roles had been reversed. They
were
too much alike,
arrogant
, judgmental, and quick to anger. Also highly protective of e
ach
other. She didn’t blame Ethan, and she was certain that once she got everything straightened out, Ethan would come around.

   She just had to get everything straightened out first, and she truly hoped that Stefan would give her a chance. That he would be able to forgive her, and that he hadn’t believed her when she had said that she hated him. She wished that she could take those words back, but she couldn’t, and he wouldn’t let her into his mind to tell him that she loved him, that she had lied
when she said she hated him
. If something happened to him, she would never forgive herself. She wasn’t even sure that she could forgive herself now. She had been so cruel to him, so hurtful.

   She shut the thoughts
out;
they did her no good now. She would talk to him
tomorrow;
she would straighten it all out then. He would be all right. He would be fine. She would beg for his forgiveness if she had too. The idea
of doing that didn’t exactly si
t well with her, but for the first time in her life, she was willing to put her pride aside and humble herself to someone, if that was what it came to. She hoped that it wouldn’t, but she would do it if she had too. She owed him that much, and more, much more.

   She sighed and flopped back over again. “Would you stop doing that,” Abby mu
ttered
irritably.

   “You were the one talking about cookies just a minute ago,” Isabelle whispered back.

   “Cookies?”

   “Yeah.”

   “I could go for some cookies,” Vicky mumbled. “At least I’d have something good to eat while I’m listening to Isabelle sigh and moan.”

   “How could you hear me over
your snoring?” Isabelle retorted
.

   “I don’t snore!”

   “You snore louder than a chainsaw!”

   “Yeah you do,” Abby agreed.

   “Whatever,” Vicky mumbled.

   Isabelle rolled over to look at them. Abby had propped her head up on her hand and was staring at her from over Vicky’s back. Vicky was scowling at her from half lowered lids.
Isabelle
managed a tremulous smile as she lifted herself onto her elbow. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” she apologized.

   “This bed sucks anyway,” Vicky mumbled.

   ‘Isabelle!’

   Stefan’s voice slammed into her mind so fiercely that she almost fell out of bed from the shock of it. ‘Stefan?’

   ‘They’re coming Isabelle, get to safety now!’

   ‘What?’

   ‘Now! It’s the men from the club, they’ll find you! Go now!’

   Isabelle jumped up, tossing the blankets aside as his panic surged into her
and
flar
ed
her own to near epic levels. Her eyes instantly fell on Vicky and Abby. “Get up!” she yelled.

   “What?” they demanded, bolting up in the bed.

   “Get up! Now! Hurry!”

   “Isabelle...”

   “They’re coming here. The men from the club, they’re coming here!”

   “Oh
no!
”
T
hey bounded out of the bed
simultaneously
.

   “Get in the bathroom,
”
she commanded.

   “What?”

   “Isabelle...”

   She grabbed hold of Abby’s arm and started propelling her tow
ard the bathroom. “Vicky move
,” she urged
frantically
.

   Vicky rushed over to the bathroom, flicking on the bright, florescent light. It flashed for a moment before blazing to life. Isabelle blinked against its bright flare as she shoved Abby into the ugly little green room. Her fear was rapidly mounting. “Stay in here!” she hissed.

   “Isabelle, wait! What about you?”

   Isabelle ignored her as she raced across the room
;
she
grabb
ed
the tiny wooden chair in the corner. She ran back to the bathroom and thrust it inside. “Use this to block the door, and don’t you dare come out, no matter what!” she ordered.

   “Isabelle...”

   “Do it!” she snapped, grabbing the handle and slamming the door shut. “Lock it tight!”

   She waited until she heard the chair being placed against the door before she ran over to the other door. Her hands were shaking as she fumbled to get the chain into place. ‘My mother!’ she screamed to Stefan.

   ‘It’s
you
they want Isabelle! You they’re tracking. Your mother has been warned.’

   Isabelle bit back a sob as she turned back around. Vicky and Abby were stuck in here with her. ‘I have to get out of this room!’

   ‘No!’

   ‘Vicky and Abby are in here!’

   ‘Don’t you dare leave that room!’

   Isabelle glanced wildly around. They could come in here, she knew that. People stayed in this room, but they didn’t
live
here. It was no one’s home. She either left the room
,
and took them away from her sisters, or she stayed and led them right to them. It was not a hard decision to make. She spun back around, trembling as she reached to slip the chain free of its lock. Her hand froze midway there.

   ‘Stefan...’

   ‘Stay in that room!’ he commanded.

   ‘Stefan, they’re here.’

   His roar of fury was so loud that for a moment she swore it echoed through the room. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t his bellow that filled the room, but the shattering of the large plate glass window behind her. Isabelle screamed as air rushed into the room, and a darkness that had nothing to do with the night, rushed in to meet her. She recognized the putrid smell instantly as it swamped into her mind, nearly drowning her with its memories of pain and fear.

   She ripped the chain free, and un
locked
the dead bolt as hands seized hold of her. Isabelle swung wildly, lashing out with claws. She caught him across the face, slicing his skin open and spraying his blond hair with blood. She lashed out again, fear for her sisters serving to make her wild, and savage, as she caught him in his chest. She would do everything in her power to make sure that this monstrosity didn’t get anywhere near them.

 
The door burst open behind her;
it
slamm
ed
into her back, and knock
ed
her to the floor. She cried out as her shoulder slammed into the wall and pain pierced down her side. Splintered wood, and shattered plaster r
a
ined down around her as the ruined door crashed to the floor. She scrambled back up as the other one came at her. “Kill her!” the blond hissed.

   The redhead came eagerly toward her, his eyes gleam
ed
with bloodlust. Isabelle jumped to her feet as the blond turned toward the bathroom door. “No!” she screamed.

   She launched herself at the redhead at the same moment that her mother rac
ed
through the door
and
fl
u
ng herself at his back. He hissed in fury as he stumbled backward, her mother
’
s claws tearing down his back. Isabelle slashed at him, ripping his chest open with her nails. The blond, distracted by her mother’s presence, came back toward them as Willow and Cassidy
flew
into the room.

 
“Get out of here!” Isabelle screamed at them.

   They skidded to a halt, their eyes wide as the blond turned toward them. Fear tore through her as they turned to run back out of the room. He disappeared before her eyes, coming to
a
halt in front of them. “Veal!” he hissed.

   “Mom!” Willow screamed.

   The door to the bathroom burst open as Abby and Vicky rac
ed
out. Isabelle felt as if her heart stopped beating for a full moment. She was so focused on everyone else that she had completely forgotten about the man before her. He flung her mother off, knocking her to the floor as he reached out and seized hold of Isabelle’s arm. She swung out instantly, but he grabbed hold of her other arm, twisting it painfully to the side and forcing her to her knees. She bit back a whimper of pain as she lifted her chin to glare defiantly back at him.

   “I’ve been dying to see you on your knees,” he said with a cruel smile.

   “Screw you!” she spat.

   “Isabelle!” Vicky screamed.

   Isabelle swung up, ignoring the tortuous pain in her arm, as she caught him across his stomach. Blood spurted over both of them as he twisted her arm all the way over, knocking her to the floor. Agony tore through her and she almost screamed, but managed to stop herself in time. Fear flowed through her as he knelt over her, pinning her shoulder against the wall. He was so strong, so much stronger than she was. There was no way that she could fight him. Thoughts of her family rushed over her as the sounds of a battle filled the room, but there was nothing that she could do to help them, she was completely trapped, and he was going to kill her.

   The roar that filled the room was so loud that it drowned out every other sound instantly.

   Relief flowed through her. The redhead released her arm, spinning away from her as Stefan seized hold of him, ripped his head back, snapped his neck
and ripped out his heart
. Isabelle stared in amazed surprise as the man fell lifelessly to the ground. She couldn’t believe how quickly
Stefan
had managed to kill him
.
Marveled a
t the amount of strength that it must have taken. The man had been much stronger than her, much stronger than anyone she had ever known. Except Stefan, she realized.

   Swallowing heavily, Isabelle struggled back to her knees, cradling her wounded arm as she lifted her head to meet his red filled, furious gaze. The ferocious snarl on his face vanished instantly, and his eyes turned back to black as he knelt before her.

   “Where’s the other one?” she gasped out.

   “Dead. Are you okay?” he demanded.