Destined (Vampire Awakenings)

by Davies, Brenda K.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she interrupted with a soft smile.

  “Maybe we’ll stop by later in the day,” Vicky offered with a tiny smile.

  “That’s okay,” Isabelle assured them.

  “Isabelle!”

  She nearly jumped out of her skin as Willow’s head appeared in the doorway of the storm cellar. She didn’t even have to ask, the look on Willow’s face said it all. “Ah hell, what did you do now?” she mumbled as she leapt up the stairwell.

  Willow turned and started to run before Isabelle even reached the top. She followed her around the back of the house and toward the woods. Willow darted gracefully down a trail, easily dodging the tree branches that slapped at Isabelle. Cursing and muttering angrily, she wasn’t paying any attention to where they were going. Willow pulled up abruptly in a small clearing, if she hadn’t reached out and grabbed Isabelle, she would have plummeted right over the edge of the pit in the middle of the clearing.

  Skidding to a halt, her eyes widened as they landed upon the gaping hole that was about ten feet in diameter. It looked grotesquely out of place in the middle of the small clearing. “What the...”

  “Isabelle!”

  Surprise ripped through her as the small voice came from the hole. She stepped carefully to the edge of the pit and looked down. Her heart leapt into her throat, and her blood ran cold as she spotted Julian about four feet down, clinging to a tree root, his feet dangling in the air. Beneath him were at least a hundred old, deadly looking wooden stakes. It took her only a moment to realize that he had fallen into a bear trap that had been long forgotten.

  “Oh crap!”

  Isabelle dropped to her knees and scooted to the edge of the whole. Julian stared at her with wide, pleading blue eyes; his black hair was matted to his forehead with sweat and dirt. “Isabelle help me,” he begged.

  “Hold on Julian, don’t you dare let go of that root.”

  “Tell me something I don’t know,” he replied miserably.

  “No need to be sarcastic,” she muttered as she dropped to her belly and scuttled closer to the edge. She leaned into the hole, reaching for him, but he was even further down than she had thought. “Damn,” she muttered, wiggling further over the edge. “Willow, grab my ankles!” she yelled.

  When her ankles were grasped tightly she wiggled a little further out so that she was half in, and half out of the hole. “Julian grab my hands!” she gasped, barely able to breathe from the pressure on her stomach. He hesitated for a moment and then reached up and seized hold of one of her arms. She grasped his tiny forearm tightly, her hands digging into his flesh. “Now the other one,” she encouraged breathlessly.

  He bit into his bottom lip, fear evident in his wide eyes, and pale face. He released his hold on the root and seized hold of her other arm. Isabelle let out a sigh of relief as she grasped him tightly, her hands enclosing his small forearms. “Isabelle!” Willow gasped. “You’re too heavy!”

  Dismay ripped through her as she struggled to breathe. “Don’t you dare let go!” she yelled.

  “If you let go I will haunt you for the rest of my afterlife!” Julian shouted.

  Isabelle cocked an eyebrow as she stared down at her brother. He stared back at her, pale and trembling. “That’s a threat,” she mumbled. “She already has to deal with you for eternity; she might take her chances on you not being able to bother her in the afterlife.”

  His eyes widened even more, and she hadn’t thought that it was possible, but he became even paler. “That’s not funny!”

  “Willow, pull us up!” Isabelle commanded.

  “I’m trying!” Willow gasped.

  Isabelle closed her eyes and ground her teeth as she tried to wiggle backward. Her arms were beginning to ache painfully, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. Willow tugged at her ankles, pulling them back inch by excruciatingly slow, inch. The three of them cried out as Willow lost her footing and slid to the ground. Isabelle slid back over the edge, this time to her hips, before she was jerked to a halt. She bit down on her lip, stifling a cry as excruciating pain tore through her tortured arms. Julian looked about ready to burst into tears as he was jerked to a halt. Her arms screamed in agony as her shoulders were nearly ripped from their sockets by the force of his weight.

  “I’m sorry,” Willow panted. “I can’t do this.”

  Isabelle closed her eyes and groaned. What the hell was she going to do? Where the hell were Vicky and Abby? “Isabelle,” Julian panted.

  “It’s okay, just hold on. Willow, you have to do this!”

  “I can’t,” she cried, her voice choked with tears.

  “Then go get help!” she snapped, her patience at an end. She was scared senseless, holding her brother over certain death, and damn close to her own death. She didn’t have time to deal with Willow’s tears.

  “But...”

  “Go!” she and Julian yelled at the same time.

  Her ankles were released and she slid a few inches forward. Fear slammed her heart into her throat as she struggled to dig her feet into the ground. The slow slide stopped as she managed to plant her toes into the soft dirt. Fear and adrenaline shook her as she stared down at Julian; his eyes were even wider in his small, pale face.

  “I swear if we get out of this I am going to kill you!” she grated through her teeth.

  Julian managed a wan smile as he cast a worried glance behind him. “Please don’t let go.”

  “I’ll never let go,” she assured him, and she wasn’t. She’d go plummeting over with him before she ever let go. Julian’s hands dug painfully into her skin as he lifted his head to look at her again. His eyes were bright with unshed tears as his lower lip began to quiver. “How do you manage to get yourself into these messes?”

  “We were only walking,” he whispered plaintively.

  Isabelle closed her eyes and dropped her head. The cool dirt filled her nostrils, and pressed against her face as she inhaled deeply, trying to ignore the tortuous pain in her arms and shoulders. Her legs were beginning to ache, and her feet were beginning to cramp from digging into the ground. She didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to keep them both up. She grit her teeth, determined to hold on for as long as it took.

  “Your hair is tickling me,” Julian said softly.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled as she lifted her head.

  Hands suddenly seized hold of her waist. She cried out as she was lifted easily off the ground, Julian coming with her. Stumbling back, she was set on the ground, her trembling legs barely supporting her. A strong hand in the small of her back quickly righted her. A small jolt of something ripped through her, but it was forgotten as Julian fell against her, his arms encircling her waist tightly as he buried his head in her chest. She hugged him tightly, dropping her head to his as she absorbed the shudders wracking through his body.

  “It’s ok,” she soothed, gently stroking back his dirt streaked black hair as the hand fell away from her back.

  He lifted his head, tears slid through the grime on his cheeks, leaving clean tracks in their wake. Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise, she hadn’t seen Julian cry since he was four years old, and that was over eight years ago. He always tried so hard to emulate his older brothers, and he believed that tears were a sign of weakness that they would never show.

  “Hey, it’s okay now.” She wiped the tears and dirt from his cheeks as he buried his head against her again.

  “Are you still going to kill me?” he muttered.

  She laughed softly as she hugged him tightly. “No, but I will next time.”

  “It’s a deal,” he promised fervently.

  He pulled away from her, wiping the tears from his face as his gaze traveled behind her. His eyes widened in surprise as his face turned thirteen shades of red. Isabelle frowned as she turned to see which one of her brothers had pulled them from the hole. By the look on Julian’s face, it had to be Ethan; he was the one that Julian most admired.

 
Her breath froze in her chest as her eyes locked on a pair of perturbed onyx ones. Stefan stood stiffly, his jaw locked, dirt, sawdust, and sweat coated his strong boned, handsome face. His shirt was off to reveal his hard, broad chest, and wide shoulders. Muscle and sinew rippled beneath the layers of dirt, and sweat, coating him. His stomach was ridged with even more muscle, and Isabelle suddenly understood the term washboard abs as her mouth went dry.

  She swallowed nervously as her gaze slowly traveled over his narrow waist before moving further down. The filthy jeans he wore clung to his hard, well muscled thighs and the obvious bulge between his legs. Her heart leapt into her throat as her eyes slowly traveled back up. Thick dark hair curled over his chest, circling his nipples before traveling down in a V that would have drawn her attention lower again if she hadn’t adamantly refused to look. She couldn’t look back down there again, it did odd things to her body that she didn’t understand, or appreciate.

  Her gaze slowly traveled back to his face. It was magnificent. His jaw was square and hard, with dark bristles just beginning to show along the firm line of it. His cheekbones were high and sharp, his nose narrow, and finely chiseled. His lips were full and hard, and compressed into a tight line. Isabelle shuddered as the sudden desire to kiss those lips tore through her, causing her knees to tremble again. It took all she had to remain standing.

  He was a gorgeous, dangerous looking man, and he radiated an aura of power that shook her. She wished that Julian was still in her grasp so she could use him as a barrier against Stefan. Use him as a barrier against the racing of her heart, her suddenly dry throat, and the fierce urge to touch him that was wracking through her.

  “You ok?” he asked in a deep voice that sent small shivers of delight through her.

  Isabelle nodded slowly, not trusting herself to speak. She had thought, hoped, prayed, that the reaction she’d had to him last night had been some kind of fluke. She was dismayed to realize that it wasn’t. She wanted to flee into the woods and hide until he was long gone.

  She didn’t want to be anywhere near him, and she fervently wished that he would stop staring at her like he wanted to devour her. Stop staring at her like he could see straight into her soul. His gaze was doing odd things to her body that she didn’t find unpleasant, but still didn’t like. It was a look she had often seen on her father’s face when he looked at her mother, and she didn’t want it directed at her. She wanted nothing to do with him, or anything that he might represent. Anger and resolve stiffened her spine.

  “Thank you,” she said coldly.

  Humor flickered through his eyes as his gaze traveled slowly over her. Isabelle stiffened even more as he seemed to undress her with his eyes. She scowled at him as he finally met her gaze again. “No problem.”

  Isabelle forcefully turned away from him and draped her arm around Julian’s shoulder. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  Julian shrugged her arm off and straightened his shoulders proudly. “I’m good.”

  Isabelle grit her teeth in exasperation. When he had needed her help, she had been there for him, but now, when she desperately needed his, he was abandoning her. “Fine,” she grated.

  “Thank you,” Julian said to Stefan as he strode proudly by, showing absolutely no sign of the immediate death he had just faced.

  Willow burst out of the woods, slamming into him, and knocking them both to the ground. “Hey!” Julian yelled angrily.

  “Oh, sorry!” she cried, jumping to her feet.

  Isabelle sighed as she ran a hand tiredly through her still wet hair. If any of her younger siblings survived to maturity, she would be truly amazed. Vicky and Abby suddenly appeared behind them, their eyes wide as they caught sight of everyone. Isabelle glowered at them as they came forward, openly admiring Stefan, before stepping to the edge of the hole. “And where were you two?” she demanded.

  “We were tired!” they both cried in unison.

  “How were we supposed to know that they were in trouble again?” Abby demanded.

  “Yeah!” Vicky yelled.

  Isabelle took a deep breath as she attempted to control her anger and frustration. It wasn’t only them that she was annoyed with, but also herself, and Stefan, and the whole damn world for playing this cruel joke on her. “By Willow’s tone,” she retorted.

  They both gave her identical looks of disbelief as they propped their hands on their hips. “Willow always panics when they do something wrong! We just thought that they had dared the twins to do something stupid again!” Abby protested her green eyes flashing angrily as she gazed rapidly between Isabelle and Stefan.

  “I do not!” Willow protested vehemently.

  “Wow that is deadly!” Vicky breathed as she gazed into the hole.

  “No kidding!” Isabelle snapped.

  Vicky looked at her in surprise, not used to catching Isabelle in a bad mood, or even having Isabelle yell at them. “What’s got you in such a mood?” she demanded.

  Isabelle’s jaw clenched as she bit hard on her bottom lip to keep from exploding. “He could have been killed.”

  “So could you.”

  Isabelle’s eyes snapped to Stefan. He was standing in the same spot, his arms folded causally over his chest. There was an amused gleam in his eyes that set her teeth on edge. It was as if he knew that it was really him and herself, that she was mad at, and he was thoroughly enjoying it. As if he knew exactly what had been on her mind when she had looked at him.

  She realized with a jolt that he had. Just as she had known exactly what that hungry gleam in his eyes had meant. He was a very handsome man after all; of course he knew the effect that he had upon her. Pride and anger stiffened her spine as she tilted her chin defiantly. It didn’t matter what he knew, she had every intention of staying as far away from him as possible.

  A small smile curved his full, hard mouth as his hungry gaze traveled leisurely back over her. A small tremor began to wrack through her as his gaze burned into her, causing her skin to warm everywhere that it touched upon. When it lingered upon her heaving chest, Isabelle was horrified at the prickling sensation that caused her nipples to tingle and harden. She forced herself to shove the new sensations he awoke aside as she glowered at him. She didn’t know what he found so amusing about this situation, but she didn’t find anything at all funny about it.

  “Yeah Issy!” Vicky cried grabbing hold of her arm. “You are so lucky that Stefan was coming back to the house!”

  Yeah, she was the luckiest person alive, Isabelle thought angrily as Stefan smirked smugly. She turned away from him, taking a deep breath as she forced herself to remain calm. She had to get away from him, all of them. She was too damn aggravated right now, too damn unsettled to be able to deal with any of this. All of her fear for Julian, and herself was gone, but there was a new fear gnawing at the pit of her stomach. One that was threatening to strangle her.

  She hurried back to the path, ignoring Vicky and Abby’s chatter as she mumbled a quick thanks to Stefan, refusing to look at him again. It took all she had to hold her head high and keep on walking as she felt his gaze burning into her back with every step she took.

  CHAPTER 5

  Stefan wiped the sweat from his brow as he grabbed a bottle of water and dumped it over his head. His gaze settled on Delia, Jess, Vicky, and Abby. They had set up lounge chairs and donned their bathing suits in order to absorb the sun. Suntan lotion, magazines, and a radio were scattered around them. Soft music drifted through the air to him.

  They looked extremely relaxed as they flipped through the pages of magazines and talked softly. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, nor did he particularly care. He knew for a fact that Jess’s ability to communicate about anything other than fashion, or hair, was severely limited. He didn’t know how someone who went to college knew so little of the world, but somehow, she had managed to do it.

  He shook his head as he grimaced slightly. Raising an eyebrow his gaze ran back over them as he wondered why Isabelle wasn’t wit
h them. Obviously her sisters enjoyed the leisurely pass time of doing nothing. From what he had gathered, Isabelle was usually with one relative or another, so he’d assumed she would be with her sisters and the other girls.

  Popping the top off his bottle, he drank a long swallow of water to wet his parched throat. Ethan appeared beside him, his gaze settling on the quartet spread across the lawn. “I wish I could work on my tan,” he grumbled as he grabbed a water bottle.

  Stefan nodded his agreement as he took another swig of water. “Why isn’t Isabelle with them?”

  Ethan laughed softly as he took a swallow of water. “Isabelle, work on her tan,” Ethan snorted. “That’s a joke.”

  Stefan looked at him in surprise. “Why is that?”

  Ethan shrugged as he took another drink. “Isabelle is one of those people that are always doing something to keep occupied. Plus she’s a bit of a tomboy, lounging around in the sun is about as appealing to her as eating a box of ants,” Jack answered as he appeared beside Ethan.

  Stefan’s eyebrows rose in surprise. The last thing he would have pegged Isabelle as was a bit of a tomboy. From what he had seen of her, she was dignified, beautiful, and completely un-tomboyish. She was too much of a tempting, desirable woman to ever be pegged as anything else. He had pictured her spending hours brushing her hair to get it to shine like it did, painting her nails, and flipping through fashion magazines in order to keep up on the latest fashions. The picture they painted of her though didn’t fit in with his image at all.

  “Plus, she’s cleaning the house,” Ethan added.

  “What?” Jack roared.

  Ethan’s grin grew brighter as he turned to face an irate looking Jack. “I told her not to bother, but apparently, and I quote, ‘We’re all filthy slobs’.”

  “I like being a slob!” Doug declared as he dropped his hammer and stormed over to Ethan. “Go over there right now and tell her to stop!”

  Ethan laughed softly as he shook his head. “While I’m at it why don’t I jump in front of a charging bull, wave my red flag, and hope that he stops,” he retorted. Doug’s eyes narrowed as Jack folded his arms firmly over his chest. “Besides, what harm can it do?”