Trinity - Defying Destiny (7 page)

Chapter Twelve

I had jumped up from the table, abandoning my food. I walked out of the dining room with eyes following me the whole way. I glared back not showing how utterly terrified I was of them. I walked through the reception area, and over to the door we had walked through when we first came here. I stormed down the hall, into the car garage and just about fell over Steven.

“Hey, why the big rush, is this a prison escape?” he asked in a playful grin.

“No… Yes… I,” I stuttered.

“Oh, your friend,” he muttered realizing what I was doing.

“They will be back soon. It’s only a thirty minute drive into the big town,” he patted my back.

“What?” I asked not thinking straight. I started walking out of the garage. I heard footsteps approach beside me.

“You can’t walk there,” he said.

“I was supposed to be with them. I am the one that turned her, shouldn’t I be…”

“Lachlan was saying, because you are new as well he might not have been able to keep an eye on you both. I offered my help but he said he didn’t trust anyone with the two of you,” Steven muttered in an annoyed tone.

“Can you open the door, please?” I asked.

He walked over, hit his hand on the wall and then the large rollers turned, opening up the moonlight to us. My claws sprung out. I dropped to one knee and my hands hit the ground in front of me catching myself. I watched as they seemed to grow out of nowhere. The pain started to slow to a light throb.

“Trinity are you…?”

I shook my head and held my hand up. My jaw ached and as it felt like all my teeth were throbbing with a toothache all at once. They were moving up and down. I screamed out. As the pain was subsiding, I felt my k-nines hit my bottom lip.

I looked up at Steven. All he did was raise one eyebrow. He didn’t back from me. If anything, he looked curious.

“WOW! That was some sort of change. Seemed like your wolf wanted full control, but your vamp chose to put its own two cents in,” he said.

“What?”

“Never mind, you look freaky as hell,” he rushed to tell me.

I looked up to the moon. I wanted to run, jump and feel the freedom of the wind in my hair.

“I have never seen a change like that, even for a newbie,” Steven uttered in awe.

I started walking up the steep slope and out to the yard. I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled.

“I can’t believe they went without me,” I said sadly.

“Don’t take it to heart. It’s because you are both Lachlan’s. It’s hard enough to have one newborn let alone two,” he defended Lachlan.

“I am not Lachlan’s.”

“Right, yes, your Jason’s.”

I couldn’t help but hear the distaste in his tone. I turned and faced him.

“You don’t like that, go bite me,” I snapped.

“What is it with you and your friend offering biting sessions with me? I know I am good looking, but now I am just getting a big head,” he quipped with a cheeky grin.

I gave him a half smile, “I thought you looked different. Must be the new custom sized head.”

I walked over to the long grass, held my hand out and let the grass tickle my palm.

“What are you doing?” he wondered from where I left him.

“Shhhhh,” was all I could say.

I closed my eyes. I thought of Nikkee. I tried to concentrate, but Steven kept talking or should I say muttering to himself.

“Could you please be quiet for just a few minutes I’m trying to concentrate?” I said in a serious tone.

There was complete silence.

I thought hard. I tried sifting through my emotions to see what was mine and what could be hers.

Excitement.

I thought harder. Lachlan had mentioned that he would guess where I was by using my feelings when I let them out.

Nothing, just excitement.

“Damn!” I yelled frustrated.

“Couldn’t feel her?” Steven asked.

“I did, but I can’t pick where she is,” I was disappointed.

“It takes a long time for you to be able to do that. Most of us avoid creating another vampire; we only do so when we are much older,” he said.

I turned around, only my upper chest could have been seen, and the grass covered the rest of me.

“How old are you?”

“Technically I am thirty three, but I was turned when I was nineteen,” he said in a quieter tone.

“Why did you turn?” I asked.

He laughed, “It’s not as if most of us have a choice Trinity.”

“I’m confused. Aren’t you all governed?” I said.

“Only those that want to be.”

“Ok, how did you turn and why?” I asked differently.

“Oh, you know, met a cool chick at the club. The next thing you know she is biting my neck and forcing me to drink her blood.”

“What happened after that?” I asked.

“Well I stayed with her for a while, when she got tired of me she moved on to the next poor guy,” he told me with a hint of distaste.

“What? You were turned by a vampire to be a play toy?” I chuckled a little.

“That’s how good I am Trinity,” he smirked.

My pocket vibrated. I frowned and pulled it out. It was a private number. I hesitated and decided to answer.

“Hello”

“Trinity?”

“Jason,” I breathed out and my heart started to speed up.

“How are you?” he asked. He seemed off, like he was talking mechanically.

“I’m ok. What about you?”

“All seems fine at the moment. We are on our way back,” he said.

“We?” I questioned.

“Dustin, Chelsi and I.”

Oh Chelsi, yippee. “That’s great,” I replied, hiding the resentment, I was starting to feel towards her.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m just outside with Steven, getting some air and waiting for Nikkee to come back,” I smiled.

There was a long pause.

“Jason?”

“Why didn’t you go with Nikkee?” he asked.

“Cause they left without me,” I said in a cranky tone.

“You should have Garth or Vex with you,” he mentioned concerned.

I turned around watching Garth walk toward us.

“Why?” I asked, not understanding.

“It’s just safer,” he said.

“I don’t understand. It’s just Steven.”

There was a long pause again.

“Just keep someone close to you, someone you trust,” he definitely was sounding irritated.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Everything’s fine, I will talk to you soon.”

Then the phone went dead.

That was strange, I told myself. Steven was no longer where he was. Garth had taken his place. I mentally sighed. What was going on with Jason? Was he being jealous, overprotective, or both?

“Hey,” I said to let him know I acknowledged he was there.

“You ok?” he asked.

A small frown came, “Yeah, apart from my friend having her first feed without me, my… well Jason either going possessive or paranoid. I don’t even know where Sky is, although I haven’t really looked. Apart from that I think I am getting a handle on things.”

“Nikkee will be fine. Jason is not being overprotective or jealous.” I went to say that I hadn’t said jealous, but he cut in, “He is not being paranoid; he just wants you safe and looked after until things settle down. You have gotten a taste of what things are like here, the rifts, and the non-understanding. They fear you because they do not understand you,” he finished walking towards me.

“I don’t think I understand myself,” I replied honestly.

“I understand you. Now you understand you, too. Nothing much has changed Trinity; you can still be you even as you are now,” he said stopping in front of me.

“I don’t know if I can. I feel different; I guess I look freaky with my eyes, fangs and claws. But I am just not sure if I can go back to how I was. I liked the little circle I had, I had come to like my life. Now there is all of this,” I waved my hand out around us.

“This is not permanent; it is just a place for you to stay while the heat cools off. It can also be a place you want to come back to, a home of sorts. Alternatively, I can build you a home somewhere else. It doesn’t matter where. People care about you, I care about you. We just want you safe,” he said placing his big warm hand on my shoulder.

I turned and looked at it. I had that touch once, I had embraced it when I was scared and confused. It had comforted me and made me feel safe. I tried to let it have that same effect.

“I understand, but I also want to have a normal life or at least some kind of normal. I want to go to college,” I replied simply.

“And you can; you have a few weeks before courses start. It should be long enough for Nikkee to have a handle on things. Sky is doing quite well, like yourself. There are things you can do. You just have to be careful.”

“Will you be there?” I asked.

“I won’t be far away,” was all he replied.

Chapter Thirteen

I waited outside until Nikkee came back. Garth and I were sitting on the ground in the short grass. We didn’t talk about much while we waited. I mainly wanted to sit there and enjoy the peace and quiet. Not that it was quiet. I could hear the grass moving and swaying slightly in the breeze, hear small animals and bugs flying around. The barn creaked and croaked with the cool night air. After calming myself, my nails slowly retracted back under my fingers. It wasn’t as painful as when they were coming out, but it still slightly stung as they made their way back under my skin. I didn’t know why it hurt so much that time compared to my other changes. Was it because of the sudden attack from the moon or the fight between vamp and wolf?  I could still feel the sharp points of my teeth touching the bottom of my lip. I was actually quite surprised that I could talk normally with them, but it almost felt like they had been there my whole life. I only wish my nails felt the same way. The sudden change had hurt and yet other times I didn’t even know I had changed. Could it be my temper blocking it out?

I was still confused with the whole monster vs. monster saga. Steven had been fine talking to me, but the mention of me being with Jason made him seem angry about it. I knew it was because Jason was a werewolf. Did Steven think that I should be with a vampire instead? I thought back to Sky asking about my vampire side. I tried to think putting aside what I was feeling. I wondered if I could feel separate things between the two halves. Would I be able to pick one at a time or did I have to be all three regardless? And what would happen if I let the vampire side take over my wolf side? Will my feelings for Jason change?

A pain started in my chest at the thought of not being with him. Did my wolf and vampire side overrule my heart; was that still at least my own? If they wanted to fight with each other, what was I going to be able to do to tame both beasts? When Jason wasn’t near me it felt like I was leaving my heart open and exposed. Everything was so new especially with Jason. I felt like a freak and my heart was telling me that Jason deserved better, someone that didn’t think they were like a ticking time bomb. I felt like I was going to explode.

Nikkee and Lachlan finally made it back just before sunrise. She looked radiant with the new spring in her step she came running over to me and engulfed me in a hug.

“Oh my gawd, Trin, that was AMAZING!” she gushed, and then added, “I feel so alive. Every inch of my body feels like I am being zapped. I just can’t seem to sit still. I just ran and ran. It kind of pissed Lachlan off…” she had taken note of my face. “What’s wrong?”

“I just thought you would have wanted me to come with you,” I told her honestly.

She grabbed my hand and said, “I did, but Trin, I was so hungry, you have no idea how hungry. I wanted you to have time with Garth to talk about things. I’m so sorry, I can’t explain it. Sky was even looking appetizing.”

As she explained it to me, I started to feel stupid. Again, my mind was trailing off, thinking stupid thoughts. I had actually felt jealous that they had gone out without me when I should have known that my best friend would not leave me to go do something as big as this unless she absolutely had to.

”I’m sorry Nikkee, you are right, I didn’t know. I must have been blocking you out and not feeling your pain,” I said feeling sheepish.

“It’s ok,” she smiled, “Where is Sky?”

“In the training centre,” Garth said.

“Training centre?”

“Do you want to take a look?” Lachlan asked.

Nikkee and I both looked at each other and said, “Hell yes!” at the same time. Lachlan turned around and started heading back inside while Nikkee and I hung back. She told me that she did really well with her first feed and that the guy barely noticed what she had done. Even though she wanted to just keep drinking her rational side told her she couldn’t. She said that Lachlan had been very impressed, because she only took a small amount, however, that meant she had to feed on other people to get her full feed. She said that once she learns her limits she should be able to just feed on one. She seemed very proud of what she had accomplished, I felt the same and gave her a squeeze with the arm I had around her shoulders letting her know that I was just as proud of her.

I gave her the run down on what Garth had told me in the dining hall. I also told her about Ally and all the things she had told me. She listened intently as we wove ourselves around the hallways until we walked into a large open room that was like a hangar. I looked up and saw large beams along the roof. The floor had large mat areas in different colours that I guess meant different things, over on the far wall in front of us were lines of all different types of weapons and fighting gear, and then I saw there were a few people standing around on a blue mat.

There were cheers and voices of people egging something on. Garth and Vex were already over there and next thing I know Garth lifted Sky up with one arm from the back of her shirt. He set her on the ground and gave her a pat on the back.

“Good job, but you must learn when to stop. Your opponent is out cold,” Garth said as we walked over.

Sky had cuts and grazes on her arms and face. I looked down and saw a person passed out.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I came in here to check it all out. This idiot started talking shit about us. He challenged me and I accepted,” Sky replied breathlessly sporting a huge grin.

“I didn’t know you could fight,” I was smiling back.

“Neither did I,” she replied.

The group that was standing around the blue mat started to walk off as they gave me questioning looks, but as they passed Sky, they gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“Nice to know one of us is making friends,” I said laughing.

“I heard you already did?” Sky replied.

I raised one eyebrow at her, which she knew was my trademark, “What?”

“Ally! She came and found me. We had a big talk. She is the one that brought me here,” Sky told us.

“Where is she now?” I asked, looking around trying to see her.

“In the shower,” she told me and pointed to a doorway. “She sparred with this totally hot guy,  but she wasn’t knocked out or anything.”

I smiled at her, then my eyes widened as I was watching the marks on her arm fade.

“Cool, huh?” she said as she looked at what I was seeing.

“Yeah.”

“How did your feed go, Nikkee?” Sky asked.

Nikkee started telling her about her first feeding experience. I turned and walked over to the far wall and started looking at all the weapons that were hung up or sat on tables. They were all cleaned and polished. There were some battens, knives, staffs, and even guns. I remembered that night of the forest and how excited I was when we opened up Jason’s trunk to find a whole heap of weapons. Now that I looked at them, I felt scared and unsure about myself. Was I really that much of a threat to people for them to try to avoid me. Was there some sort of power that I had, to have them all scared and fearful to be around me? Or was it just as simple as what Ally had said? That it was my fault that we were all nearly exposed. Was I still in danger from my own kind? Even throughout history, people have always seemed to destroy things that they deemed a threat or were unsure about. How was I going to prove to everyone that there was nothing dangerous about me? Sure, now my temper and emotions are hard to rein in, but that didn’t mean I was dangerous. It just meant that I needed some guidance, I needed some sort of stability. Something that felt normal.

Why didn’t they understand what was going on in my head? Only a few weeks ago I had found out that my destiny had already been written. Then I was told that humans were not the only species that lived among us. I, like them, had been thrown into a new world that seem to have nothing but deception, blood, anger, and monsters. Oh yeah, finding out that the guy I was crushing on was not only an alpha wolf, but had also been the one to wake MY dormant werewolf.  This was possible because Garth, the main werewolf, is indeed my father who was never there while I was growing up, but in fact had been there even though I never knew because he wanted to protect me from all this crazy stuff. It didn’t seem to work out too well. To add to my list I’d also turned my best friend into a vampire who seems to be handling that a lot better than I was; my other best friend is a werewolf who was happy to be whom she is or at least she seems to be. The final crunch, the one I tried not to dwell on too much was Mark. He not only betrayed me, but he betrayed Sky and Nikkee and put us all in danger. I wanted to punch him in the face so badly. I looked down and saw that my fists were clenched without even feeling the pain that was going through my palm. I unlocked my hands to see that my nails had dug their way into my skin and blood was seeping out freely. I held my hands up to my face and watched as the blood flowed and then the cuts closed over. I frowned to myself, it didn’t seem to happen that fast for Sky, was I some sort of super healer?

I pushed that thought aside, I didn’t really care, what I did care about was who was with me and who wasn’t. How was I going to find out who I could trust and who I couldn’t when I’ve been deceived before and so had the others? I needed to talk to Lachlan and find out if he could help me find Carra’s hidden prophecies, help me sift through who I could trust and who I couldn’t because at the moment I could only count those numbers on one hand.