New Beginnings: The Final Volume (5 page)

“Mom!”
I cried out terrified as I ran to her. She groaned as I rolled her so she was
looking up at me. “What happened?” I asked panicked.

“You
have to run. They know you are out of the coffin. They will come for you,” she
said quickly; then she winced like she was in pain.

“Who?
Who did this?” I asked terrified.

“That
would be me,” a female voice said sounding amused.

I
turned and was face to face with a woman with long black hair. She was a
beautiful woman; but there was something about her that I didn’t like. “Who are
you?” I asked angrily.

She
laughed, but it came out as more of a high pitched cackle. She acted like she
was really enjoying my confusion and anger. “Oh you really don’t remember. This
really is too fun.”

I
slowly stood and moved so I was in front of my mother. “I will do whatever you
want just don’t hurt my mother anymore.”

She
looked past me at my mother; then she smiled. “This should be fun. Come, come,”
she ordered.

I
glanced at my mother. I didn’t want to leave her behind, but I really didn’t
have a choice. I followed the woman out of the house and to a waiting limo. A
man opened the door for her and she waited for me. I climbed in then she
climbed in behind me.

I
watched her as she smiled at me. “You are not as intolerable now,” she teased.

“I
suppose I am supposed to know your name?” I said trying to keep my tone even.

She
giggled like it was a big joke. “I am surprised your friends haven’t mentioned me
yet. My name is Maven. I am the one that put you in this little predicament.
Although you are supposed to be at the bottom of an ocean, not in my town.”

I
remembered Alexander and Dorian mentioning her briefly. She knew the witch that
put the spell on me. “Your town?” I asked condescendingly. There was something
about her that was annoying me.

She
scowled showing the first sign of anger. “Yes, my town. It became my town when
I got rid of you; and I intend to make sure you disappear for good this time.”

“Do
whatever you want to me I don’t care,” I said angrily.

She
looked at me a little curiously. “You were so much more fun when you had your
memory.”

I
scoffed and looked out the window as the car pulled into a huge gated mansion.
I recognized the place, but like everything else I couldn’t place it.

“This
used to be your house, but now it’s mine,” she said amused as she climbed out
of the car.

I
rolled my eyes and followed her out. I didn’t really know what she wanted with
me. It wasn’t like I could tell her anything. I had no clue who I was let alone
who she was. I followed her into the house. She walked into a huge living room
and I followed.

I
felt anger surge through me when I saw James was chained to a chair. He looked terrified
when he saw me walk into the room. “What are you doing with James?” I asked
angrily.

Maven
giggled. “I caught him this afternoon. I thought he would make a perfect
addition to my collection.”

“You
can’t have him!” I growled turning to face her.

She
cackled. “What are you going to do about it? You are nothing but a weak human,”
she spat.

“You
know I won’t let you get away with this,” I said softly.

She
stepped up closer to me so she was nose to nose with me. “You can’t stop me,”
she countered.

“Push
me, and I will find a way,” I growled meeting her gaze.

“Would
you like me to handle her?” A woman asked as she stepped into the room.

“Bella
you remember Nina don’t you. She’s the witch that made you forget everything.”
Maven sounded way too happy to announce it. “Don’t waste your power, Nina. The
boys can handle her,” she said smiling.

Two
werewolves came up beside me and grasped each of my arms. They pulled me over
to a chair and forced me down into the chair. Maven watched them as they tied
me up. She sighed after a few minutes. “You are such a drag like this. I almost
want you to have your memory back.”

“Then
give it back to me,” I countered.

She
laughed and the sound made my anger flare up. I flexed my hands trying to
relax. I couldn’t just start fighting. I would never win. I had to come up with
a plan. I was beginning to really want Maven dead. I had a feeling the other me
wanted her dead as well.

“I
can’t give it back to you. You were too brave, too reckless. When you are like
this you are harmless. I bet you can’t even hurt a fly,” she said amused.

That
was it. That was my in. She thought I was harmless like this, but I wasn’t. I
was strong. I had proved that when I hit Rick. Defeating her was a possibility.
I would use her arrogance against her. “If you believe that then why are you
bothering me? Why can’t you just let me live my life in peace?”

She
scoffed. “I will never let you have peace. I will make sure you never forget
who I am!”

“I
have already forgotten,” I countered.

She
watched me for a second then laughed and wagged her finger at me. “You are
good, but you aren’t that good. I am not stupid Isabella.”

“I
beg to differ,” I said dryly as I leaned back in my chair. The rope around my
wrists was looser than they thought. If I worked at it I would be able to free
my hands.

She
rushed over to me and slapped me across the face. She hit me hard enough to
momentarily daze me. I started laughing. “That is all you’ve got? I suggest you
hand me off to your flunkies because you suck!” I hissed. I could tell I was
only angering her more, but I didn’t care. I was glad she was angry. I was glad
I was getting to her. I never thought I could despise anyone as much as I
despised her, and I really didn’t know why I did.

She
regained her composure and smiled tightly. “I simply don’t think hitting you
will get me anywhere. Perhaps if I hit him, or even better I could make him
mine,” she said smiling as she walked over to James. She caressed his hair and
I felt my anger hit me full force. I didn’t want her touching him. He pulled
away in defiance, and I remained quiet. I didn’t want to encourage her to do
anything to James. She smiled. “I think that will work. Nina make him mine. I
want him to be completely in love with me. Erase her from his thoughts. In fact
make him hate her,” Maven ordered happily.

I
felt my heart start to pound as I finally freed my hands. James looked at me
terrified as Nina started to chant. I saw a dagger on the table not far from me.
Before I could even think about it I lunged for the dagger. I threw it, and it
hit its mark. Nina stumbled backwards. The dagger was sticking through the left
side of her chest. I knew killing her meant I would never get my memories back,
but I couldn’t let Maven have James.

Maven
screamed in fury as she lunged at me. She knocked me to the floor and started
hitting me. She was so angry she obviously forgot she had powers. I swung and
caught her across the face. She went flying back into the wall. I regained my
footing and ran for another dagger as the two werewolves attacked. James was
struggling to get free of the chains that held him. Maven looked from me to
him. I didn’t like how her expression changed. Suddenly James screamed in
agony. Fear shot through me as I lunged for Maven. She was so focused on him
she didn’t see me coming. I screamed in fury as I forced the knife through her
chest. Her face went blank as she stumbled backwards. I knew I had gotten her
heart. It was a deadly blow.

I
ran to James’ side and collapsed to my knees next to him. He wasn’t moving.
“James,” I whispered terrified. He groaned and opened his eyes. I looked up as
Alexander, Dorian, Rick, and Ali came into the room. “Alexander help him,” I
begged.

Alexander
knelt next to me and touched James. James had closed his eyes again. His
breathing was slowing and I was starting to panic. “I can’t help him. You have
to turn him,” Alexander said softly as he brushed James’ hair out of his face.

“I
don’t know how to!” I cried horrified. The only way to save James was by me
doing something I had no clue how to do.

“Ya,
and it looks like her memories died with them,” Rick said sounding slightly
amused.

“You
shouldn’t have killed Nina,” Dorian chided.

“Nina
was going to hurt James, and I would rather be dead then let that happen,” I
said angrily.

“Good,
then bite him and give him your blood. You have to do it or he will die,”
Alexander said watching me.

“I
don’t know how to bite him,” I said panicked.

“Just
like you bit me, bite him,” Ali said coming up beside me. “Think about whatever
it was you were thinking about in the garden.”

I
tried to think, but my thoughts were scattered. All I could think about was the
fact that James was dying and I had to save him. I took a deep breath and
focused. I thought about blood and the way Ali’s blood tasted. The thought of
the metallic sweetness made my mouth water. I looked at James’ throat and the
slight pulse in his neck was there, but just barely. I lowered my mouth to his
neck, and bit down. My teeth sunk easily into his soft flesh and he groaned.
Hot blood filled my mouth, and it tasted good. His blood was much hotter and
thicker than Ali’s blood. After a minute Alexander pulled me away. I was a
little disoriented from the taste of the blood. It gave me a euphoric feeling
almost like I was on drugs. I gasped when Alexander bit my wrist. He released
me, and pressed my wrist to James’ lips. James groaned and slowly began to
drink. After a minute he passed out.

“No!
What happened? Why isn’t it working?” I asked panicked as I shook James.

“It
is, it just takes time,” Ali said pulling me to him. I buried my face into his
chest as tears rolled down my cheeks. I was terrified that James would die. I
had gotten attached to him quickly. I was pretty sure I was attached too all of
them even though I didn’t really know why.

Alan
and Gabriel came into the room followed by two others. One of the two others
saw me and ran to me. He hugged me and I looked at Ali a little confused as the
guy nuzzled my neck. “That’s Matt,” Ali said obviously seeing my confusion.

“She
doesn’t remember yet?” Matt asked confused.

“She
had the bright idea to kill both Maven and Nina to save the fur ball,” Rick
said dryly.

“That
fur ball is my brother and she would have done the same for you Rick as much as
you want to act like she wouldn’t. She was fucked up in a way, but she never
let anyone hurt us,” the other man said angrily. I knew his name was Joseph
because Ali had told me about him. He was James’ brother and Matt was his
cousin.

“Whatever,
I’m going to check the perimeter,” Rick muttered and stalked off.

“What
happens next?” I asked looking up at Alexander. Everyone seemed to look to him
for guidance, so I did to.

“We
go home, and figure out what our next move is,” he said as he lifted James.

I
had no clue what my next move would be. I killed the only chance I had at
remembering who I was, but it was well worth it.

The
next two days I spent between my mother and James. My father, who I finally met
for the first time since losing my memory, had changed my mother into a vampire
when it didn’t appear she was going to make it. I was relieved that he made it
to her. If she had died I wasn’t sure what I would have done.

I
walked to the window in the library. I was taking a much needed break. Not that
sitting in a room full of dusty books was a break, but I enjoyed the silence.
Listening to James’ pain filled cries was not appealing. Alexander assured me
it was normal although I came close to tears a few times. Alan took over for me
so I could have a small break before James woke up. He was supposed to wake up
anytime now. I was both nervous and excited. I wanted to see that he was ok,
but I wasn’t sure how he would react. Joseph had told me that James hated the
idea of being turned. I only hoped that maybe he felt differently now. I didn’t
have a choice. I couldn’t let him die.

“Hiding
I see,” Alexander said amused as he walked into the library and shut the door.

I
smiled then looked back out the window. It had started raining and this window
had an overview of the gardens; so it was a particularly nice view. “I’m not
really hiding. I am just taking a break. I don’t know how much longer I can
take his screams.”

He
sat in a chair not far from me. “A lot has changed since we last talked about
what your plans are. Do you know what you are going to do now?”

I
laughed sadly. “I don’t think pretending everything is normal is going to work
now. Hell my mother is a vampire too,” I said dryly.

He
smiled. “You can still have a life Isabella. Being what you are isn’t the end
of the world, it never was; even though you acted like it was a time or two.”

He
was right. It wasn’t the end it was really just the beginning. Maybe starting
over wasn’t such a bad thing. I had obviously made mistakes and there was
nothing I could do about that. All I could do was hope the people I had hurt
like Rick and Ali would forgive me one day. The people that I cared about had
only become more important to me. They were still standing by me even though I
had made mistakes. “I think I will accept what I am and move forward. That is
really all there is to do,” I said and smiled back at him. I was home, I was
done running from what I was. I had tried so hard to fight what I was before,
and all I did was cause more damage. Now we could all move forward with our
lives. After all we were all going to be stuck with each other for a very long
time. This wasn’t the end for me. This was a new beginning for all of us.

Isabella’s
story has ended, but check out my other series on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/ellaprice.ella

.