“That was a long time ago Brian,” he said softly. “Things are different now.”
“Not that long ago, I can still feel it in you. You may fool them, but I know what you are Stefan. We were together for a long time.”
“Things are different!” he spat.
Brian quirked a dark eyebrow at him, his eyes narrowed questioningly. “Why, because of the girl?”
Stefan’s hands clenched as fury shook his body. “You shouldn’t have come here,” he growled.
“Well I did, now you have to decide what you’re going to do.”
He already knew what he was going to do, what he would have to do. “If I help you, you’ll leave here and never come back, or I will kill you.”
Brian nodded briskly. “Fair enough.”
“If any of them get hurt, I will kill you.”
“Fine.”
“How long do you think it will be before they find you?”
He shrugged again. Stefan’s eyes flared as he took a step toward him. “A day, maybe two,” Brian answered quickly.
“Do you care to tell me what you did?”
“I killed one of them.”
Stefan snorted as he shook his head, his gaze darted back to the house. Shit, what the hell was he going to do? He didn’t want Brian anywhere near any of them, but he was right, even if they both left the others would track Brian here, and they would destroy everyone that lived here. His time here was done; no one would forgive him for bringing this down upon them. For the first time, he regretted stepping foot on this land, regretted meeting Isabelle. He wished like hell that he had never come here.
He didn’t know what he had been thinking, there was no way for him to escape his past, and it was about to come barreling down on all of them. He would be lucky if none of them got killed. He would gladly have sacrificed his life, but he knew that Isabelle would die without him, waste away without him. He could not allow that to happen. For better or worse, she was stuck with him, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that she remained safe. He wished that he could take it all back, wished that there was some way to set her free, but there was nothing that he could do.
“How many are coming?” he asked quietly.
“Four, maybe five.”
Stefan whirled back to him, his eyes blazed with fury. “How strong are they?” he hissed.
“They have me on the run,” Brian said with a negligent shrug.
“You son of a bitch! I should kill you now!”
“You need me, and you know it. We can do this together. It will be just like old times.”
“The old times are over with.”
Brian shrugged again. “So you say, but you’re still a killer Stefan.”
“I know what I am!” he snapped furiously. “Let’s go.”
He turned on his heel and headed toward the house. “Are you going to tell them?”
“I’m going to have too.”
“The girl...”
Stefan’s hands fisted, fury suffused his entire body once more. “I swear I will rip your throat out if you go anywhere near her.”
Brian chuckled softly; Stefan desperately fought the urge to hit him again. “I don’t want her, but she reeks of you Stefan. They’ll go for her too.”
“I know that Brian. That’s why she’s getting the hell out of here, with everyone else.”
He pounded up the porch steps, hesitating at the doorway. He turned back to Brian, his eyes narrowed. “I can kill you, don’t forget that.”
“I know.”
“Stay away from all of them, I mean it.”
Brian nodded quickly. Stefan eyed him warily for a moment more before opening the door. Isabelle, Ethan, Jack, and David were sitting on the countertops in the kitchen. Their eyes locked on Brian as he followed Stefan into the house. Isabelle’s gaze instantly darted back to him, widening in surprise as she leapt off the counter. “You’re bleeding!” she cried, casting Brian a scathing glance as she hurried toward Stefan.
Brian grinned at her as he shrugged negligently, closing the door behind him. “I’m fine,” Stefan assured her, grabbing hold of her arms before she could touch the wounds on his chest. Her gaze was worried and troubled, her delicate eyebrows drawn together as she studied him questioningly.
“What’s going on?” Jack demanded.
Stefan lifted his head to look at them as Brian leaned casually against the door, his long legs crossed before him and his arms folded over his chest. “Brian seems to have gotten himself into a little bit of trouble,” Stefan replied coldly.
“What kind of trouble?” David asked.
“Hey, I know you.” Brian straightened away from the door as he stared questioningly at David.
“Philadelphia,” Stefan reminded him sharply.
Brian nodded slowly; a sly smile curved his mouth as he studied David. “That’s right; you were the one whose friends were in trouble. How did that work out?”
“You’re at one of their houses,” David replied.
“Well, that’s good. Stefan and I never did believe in that soul mate crap, but I guess there must be some truth to it.”
Isabelle’s eyebrows furrowed, her mouth pursed tightly as she glanced sharply at Brian. The uneasiness in her stomach was beginning to grow by the second. Her gaze darted back to Stefan, but his face was cold and impassive as he studied David, Jack, and Ethan. His hands on her arms were just as impersonal as the rest of him. She swallowed heavily, as her gaze scanned the jagged wounds in his chest. They had already healed tightly; the only evidence of their existence was the dry blood on his shirt, and the jagged rips in it. Chewing nervously on her bottom lip, she looked up at him, but he still would not look at her, and he had effectively shut her out of his mind. Something was going on with him; something that she didn’t understand, but instinctively knew wasn’t good.
“What kind of trouble?” she asked tremulously, hoping to draw his attention back to her.
“The kind that’s going to follow me here, and soon.” Brian drew her attention again as his gaze, curious and troubled, focused upon her.
David, Ethan, and Jack slid off the counter, their bodies tense as their eyes narrowed. “Then you should probably leave,” Ethan said coldly.
“It’s not that simple. They’ll track me here no matter what. I either leave, and Stefan faces them by himself, or I stay, and Stefan helps me.”
“We’re here, we can help” Jack said.
“You’re like pitting a lamb against a lion,” Brian snorted disdainfully.
“Brian!” Stefan hissed warningly.
“It’s true,” he retorted.
“And you’re that much stronger?” Ethan demanded.
Brian’s eyes narrowed as he met Ethan’s hostile gaze. “I could snap your neck before you could even blink.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed as they sparked red. “Enough,” Stefan said coldly, wanting to ward off a fight that would not end well.
“And you? Are you that much stronger Stefan?”
He finally turned his gaze back to Isabelle; he couldn’t keep putting it off. Her gaze was dark and turbulent as she stared questioningly up at him. There was a sudden coldness surrounding her that had never been there before. An aura of hurt surrounded her that would have shredded him, if he hadn’t already steeled himself for the fact that she was going to be hurt, and he was the one that was going to do it.
He remained silent as he stared at her, his jaw locked, his eyes as cold as black ice. She didn’t know the man that stood before her, and she was beginning to realize that she never had. The feeling turned her heart to a cold lump, and caused her stomach to twist into tight knots. She refused to acknowledge it though. If she did, she knew that she would completely break down, that she would lose all control and never stop crying. Now she needed to know who he was.
“Well Stefan,” she prompted.
“Yes.”
Isabelle refused to acknowledge the agonizing pain that ripped thr
ough her as she lifted her chin slightly, her eyes narrowed. She knew where that kind of power came from, what it meant. She could smell it on Brian, feel it radiating off of him. She had smelled it on the others, but she had never smelled it on Stefan. Not once had she sensed anything wrong with him, and she why she hadn’t. She didn’t understand any of this, and her sense of betrayal was beginning to almost choke her.
“Why don’t you smell like him, or like the others at the club?”
Stefan’s eyes narrowed as Brian straightened away from the door. Jack and David cast her questioning looks. “What are you talking about, what smell?” Jack demanded.
She turned to stare at them in confusion. “Don’t you smell it?” she asked.
The confusion in their eyes was her answer. She turned back to Stefan and Brian, her forehead furrowed as she frowned at them. “Well I do,” she said forcefully. “Brian’s nowhere near as bad as the ones at the club, but you smell off, you smell different. But you,” her gaze narrowed as she stared angrily up at Stefan, loathing began to burn through her body. “You don’t smell like that. Did you cover it up somehow?”
Stefan shook his head as he stared at her in confusion. The fact that she could even tell that something was off with Brian was amazing. Someone of her young age, who had never fed from a human, shouldn’t be able to sense it at all. For a moment he thought that it was his blood in her, but if she had known about the ones at the club, than that wasn’t a possibility. His gaze darted to Ethan. “Do you smell it?” he demanded.
Ethan’s jaw locked as his eyes, and nostrils, flared. “Yes.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jack exploded impatiently.
“He’s a killer, he smells of death,” Isabelle said coldly. “And so is Stefan.”
“Was,” Stefan replied, just as coldly.
“Till when?” she demanded.
Stefan’s jaw locked, his eyes flared, and a muscle in his jaw began to jump. His hands clenched on her arms as she stared defiantly up at him. “That doesn’t matter.”
“Till when?” she hissed.
“About two years ago Stefan suddenly got a conscience,” Brian supplied, disgust evident in his voice.
Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise, she turned to stare at him in disbelief. “You weren’t when I knew you,” David said in shock.
Brian snorted as he straightened away from the door. “Of course we were.”
“Brian,” Stefan growled in warning.
“Were you ever going to tell me?” Isabelle asked softly.
“No.”
She forced herself not to wince at his cold admission. He had intended to keep her completely in the dark about his past, about who, and what he was. The fact that she truly didn’t know the man she had given everything to nearly shattered her. It took every ounce of strength and pride she had to remain standing, to remain looking at him, and not to flee the room like a coward.
“What made you change?” She was immensely proud that her voice didn’t shake, but remained firm and cold.
“I did.”
“Why?” Isabelle asked softly.
Stefan shifted his stance, his hands on her arms tightened. “There are some of us that are like the men that you met at the club,” he told her. “Brian and I used to kill them in order to stop them.”
“Plus we got all of their power, and when a vampire kills a human they get stronger. When we kill one of our own, we get a lot stronger.”
Stefan ground his teeth, forcing himself not to lash out at Brian. He was deliberately trying to bait them, deliberately being a jackass, and he was pissing Stefan off. Now, however, was not the time to beat his old friend into a bloody pulp. There was much more behind the story than Brian was letting on, but he seemed determined to try and paint everything in the worst possible light. It was because Stefan had changed his ways, and left Brian, Stefan knew that, but he was not in the mood to tolerate his insolence.
“You ever kill a human?” Isabelle asked softly.
“One.”
The color drained from her face, as for the first time she showed some kind of emotion. “Why?” she whispered.
“It was a hunter Isabelle; it was him, or me.”
Isabelle’s gaze darted to Brian, he smiled slyly at her. “That’s when Stefan got a conscience.”
“Now is not the time to talk about this,” Stefan said coldly. “You need to start packing.”
“What?” she demanded angrily.
“You’re not staying here.”
“I’m not leaving!” she snapped, ripping her arms free of his grasp as she tilted her chin defiantly.
“You’re all leaving.”
“No we’re not!” Jack declared.
Stefan was trying very hard to keep a hold on his temper. Isabelle was still staring at him as if he was a monstrosity, and Jack, David, and Ethan looked about ready to explode. “This is our home,” Isabelle said coldly.
“I know that Isabelle,” he hissed. “But you are going to have to leave until this is over.”
Her eyes flashed a violent shade of red as she glared furiously up at him. “I think you should leave, and take him with you!”
He sighed impatiently, wanting nothing more than to drag her from the house right then. “They’re coming here no matter what Isabelle, and when they find everyone here, they won’t leave until you’re all destroyed. You cannot be here for that.”
Isabelle’s jaw clenched furiously as she folded her arms over her chest. David, Ethan, and Jack stood silently, their bodies tense and anxious. “I am not leaving my home!” Isabelle spat.
“None of us are,” Ethan growled.
“If you want to stay, that’s fine. Isabelle is leaving,” Stefan said firmly.
“The hell I am!” she snarled, her nostrils flared, and her eyes blazed red as she glared at him.
Stefan’s eyes flashed with fury as he took a step closer to her. “I will drag you out of here kicking and screaming if that’s what it takes,” he hissed.
Isabelle glowered at him. “If you drag me out of here, I will hate you for the rest of my life Stefan.”
Fury snapped through him, stiffening his muscles and locking his jaw as rage filled him. He refused to acknowledge the pain that her words aroused. It didn’t matter if she hated him or not, as long as she was safe. He could live with her hatred; he couldn’t live with her death. “Then you will hate me.”
Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise as pain and anger filled their violet depths. “How could you do this?” she whispered.
“Go pack.” Her jaw clenched as her hands fisted at her sides, but she made no move to leave. “Now!” he roared.
Isabelle jumped in surprise as his command whipped over her. She looked at David, Jack, and Ethan for help but they remained silent, their gazes wary as they met hers. “Go Isabelle,” Ethan said softly.
“You’re taking his side?” she nearly shrieked.
“If it means keeping you safe, than yes,” Jack answered.
Tears of frustration filled her eyes, but she refused to shed them. “And what about you?” she asked more calmly.
“We’re staying,” Ethan said.
“Tying the lambs up for the lions?” she taunted. “You’re not much stronger than me Ethan.”
Anger flashed through Ethan’s eyes as he met her defiant gaze. “Go pack Isabelle.”
She stared at them in disbelief, wanting to scream with rage and frustration, but unable to do so. It took all she had not to fly off the handle and turn into a raving lunatic. She couldn’t believe that they were taking his side; she couldn’t believe that he was going to force her to leave. She couldn’t believe that Stefan had kept so much of his past from her, that he had never told her about this. She pushed down the hurt that realization caused, and clung desperately to her anger. It was the only thing that was going to get her through this.
“Go Isabelle,” Stefan ordered.
“Go to hell!” she snapped. “You don�
�t have a say in this, and neither do you guys! I am not leaving!”
“I have a big say in this,” Stefan spat taking another step toward her. He towered imposingly over her as she continued to glare up at him, refusing to back down, refusing to concede defeat. “You’ll either go willingly, or you’ll go forcefully, but you are going.”
“Let’s get two things straight Stefan, no matter what I am not going willingly. And you do not have a say in this. I make my own decisions about my life, whether you like it or not!”
He grasped hold of her elbows, his fingers dug painfully into her flesh as his face twisted into a brutal snarl. Isabelle stifled a cry of fear in the face of his fury as she continued to glare at him defiantly. “I do have a say, when your life directly affects mine!” he hissed. “Just as mine directly affects yours!”
“Let go of me,” she responded icily.
His hands tightened on her elbows as his eyes blazed a furious shade of red. “You will go pack, and you will do it now!”
Isabelle refused to struggle, it would be useless anyway, and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of overwhelming her. “I hate you.”
His eyes flickered for a moment, hurt blazed through them before the fury quickly returned. Isabelle wanted to find satisfaction in the fact that she had hurt him, as much as he was hurting her. But she found none. Spitefulness was not something that she took joy in, nor was the obvious pain that had flared through his eyes. Besides, she didn’t hate him, she could never hate him. She wanted to take the words back, but she couldn’t. It was too late now.
“That’s fine,” he replied coldly. “You can hate me for the rest of our days Isabelle, but you are leaving.”
He released her and took a step back, his face as cold as granite, and just as hard. His eyes blazed shards of black ice that revealed no emotion at all. She took a deep breath in order to fight back the tears that threatened to overflow. They were no longer tears of frustration, but of hurt, and regret. “Go,” he ordered hoarsely.
She didn’t even bother to look at Jack, David, and Ethan as she lifted her chin and left the room. “Now what?” David asked.
Destined (Vampire Awakenings) Page 28