ReAwakened

by Ada Adams

  “We have to make sure that you're okay, D. That's our primary goal right now.”

  “But—”

  “Who's the doctor here?”

  “Is your degree even valid today?” I asked, scowling in protest. “Smallpox and the bubonic plague are no longer a threat to our society, believe it or not.”

  “I'm glad you got your sense of humor back, but we have to take what happened very seriously. You just healed another Born with your blood and nearly ended up losing your own life in the process. Until we make sure that you’re okay, you’ll have to take it easy,” he warned. “And by it, I mean everything.”

  “Fine. I'll take it easy and let you play doctor,” I said, giving in. “As long as we do it back in Angel Creek. I have to find out what happened to my team.”

  Having convinced me that I wasn’t in any shape to drive, Razor took my car back to Angel Creek. He would come back for his later, he told me. Parting with his baby was a big deal for him, so I couldn't even argue the noble gesture.

  I spent most of the ride fighting an overwhelming sense of fatigue, but somewhere amidst the bumpy gravel roads and winding highways it won over. When I opened my eyes, we were parked in front of the cottage, and Razor was shaking me awake. Sebastian rushed to the car before we even had a chance to get out.

  Panicked, I turned to Razor. “Don't say anything,” I muttered under my breath. “To anyone.”

  “Don't say anything about what?” Sebastian asked as we disembarked the vehicle.

  Razor shrugged. “Apparently, I'm not at liberty to say.” He disappeared into the cottage.

  Sebastian turned to me. “Did it work?” he asked, his eyes caressing my face. “Is Sammy okay?”

  I nodded.

  “Wow,” he exhaled, impressed. “And you? How are you doing?”

  I smiled. “Great.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Really?” he asked, moving closer.

  “Yes, really. Just a little tired.”

  “I should have come for you sooner.” He pulled me against his chest. “I should have realized there was something wrong earlier on in the night. I shouldn’t have let that creep drag you off, lock you up—”

  “Are we going to do this again?” I grumbled.

  “Do what?”

  “The damsel-in-distress and knight-in-shining armor bit.”

  Pain flashed in his eyes. “That's not how I see us,” he murmured, sliding his hand to the side of my neck. “I told you before, you're no damsel. You're more like a butt-kicking dragon.” He caressed my cheek with his thumb.

  “Oh, thanks.” I attempted to sound annoyed, but his touch melted away the irritation in my voice.

  “Plus, I've worn armor before, and trust me, it's not my style.”

  “Long, flowy dresses aren’t my style either.”

  “Good. I’m really glad we settled that.” He was still smiling, but his expression suddenly hardened. His voice dropped as he said, “That doesn’t mean that I can just stop worrying every time you run off on your own. It has nothing to do with being knightly. It's about knowingly allowing someone I care about to walk straight into the path of danger as I stand by doing absolutely nothing. It drives me crazy.” He tightened his grip on me. “You drive me crazy.”

  “You drive me crazy too,” I told him truthfully. “So we’re even.”

  He chuckled, pressing his lips to my forehead. “One of these days, you’re gonna have to let me in there. You know that, right?” He kissed me again, but when he pulled away, Sebastian had two heads. Then three. And four. A terrible pain pierced my skull as I stumbled out of his arms. Losing my footing, I began to fall. My thoughts immediately fluttered to Aurora. But this headache had nothing to do with her. This was all me.

  Sebastian caught me before I hit the ground. He pulled me up, placing his hands on my shoulders in an attempt to steady me. “Dawn…exactly how bad was that blood transfusion?”

  “It wasn’t so bad,” I lied. “It was worth it.” That much was true. I’d to it all over again if it meant that Sammy lived. “Why?” The look on his face told me that his question didn’t blossom out of sheer curiosity. He was connecting my collapse to the use of my forta.

  “You just fell. While standing in place,” he said. “And I know it had nothing to do with my charm.”

  “I’m okay. I just got a bit dizzy.”

  “Your nose is bleeding. And your eyes…”

  “What?” Could he tell that my vision had doubled—quadrupled even?

  “Your eyes look different. Your irises are a pale, pale violet color—almost white.”

  “It’s nothing. I just need to sit down for a bit,” I told him, motioning to the front door. “Let’s go see the others.”

  The scene inside the cottage was worse than I had expected. Overturned furniture and broken glass littered the living room floor, gutted couch cushions spewed out feathery entrails, but the destruction of material things paled in severity to the damage to Sophie, Brooke, and Seth's bruised bodies.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Brooke stopped me. “Before you say anything, consider taking a look in the mirror,” she joked. Her bravado was just a front; fear seeped through the cool and collected mask on her face.

  I sank into the seat next to Sophie. “What happened here?” I asked, looking at the deep lacerations running across the entire length of her right arm.

  “We were attacked by five werewolves and a dozen or so rogue vamps,” Sophie explained, wrapping some gauze around the dark red welts covering her body. “We think they came for you, but when they realized that you were gone, they went after Char. She's a Born too, after all.”

  “Is she okay?” I asked.

  “She wasn't hurt,” Sophie said. “Just really frightened.”

  “Can you believe we managed to fight them off?” Seth flexed his arms. A large, bloody bite glistened on his bicep. “I mean, we may not look so hot right now, but you should see the other guys.”

  “I'm not sure who had a worse night,” Hunter said, making his way into the living room. “You or us. That Jacques guy was nasty. Draining little kids…”

  “Do you think it will all stop now that he’s dead?” Sophie asked hopefully.

  From his place in the doorway, Razor shook his head. “Jacques was only a henchman in this whole operation.”

  “He's working for someone else—the same someone who ordered the attack on you guys in an attempt to prevent you from helping me,” I elaborated. “He called the boss a she, so I’m still thinking it’s a Born who can glamour.”

  Charlotte made her way down the stairs. “Have you thought about the possibility that it's someone close to you?”

  Sophie gasped. “No one here would ever be involved in something so foul, Char!”

  “But what about someone who's not here?” she asked in her syrupy voice. “A Born who was in Angel Creek during the attack, but somehow managed to remain completely unharmed.” She narrowed her eyes at me.

  “Lena?” I asked in disbelief.

  “She came over after the attack, acting all innocent and feigning ignorance. If you ask me, she’s the one we should be looking at,” she said, twisting one of her blonde curls around her finger.

  Sebastian cut in. “It's one thing to accuse her of being a coward and not fighting alongside the team, but to accuse her of something so elaborate and malicious is really stretching it.”

  “I’m with Sebastian on this one,” I told Charlotte. “Lena has no motive to hurt any of us.”

  Charlotte pursed her lips and shrugged. “If you say so.”

  “What's that supposed to mean?” I shot back.

  “We all believe what we want to believe,” she told me. “I just think that maybe you shouldn't be so trusting.” She looked over at Sebastian, then back to me. “Especially when it comes to that girl.”

  Sebastian scoffed. “Well, what about you? You seem unharmed too.”

  “They tried to take me!” Charlotte cried, frowning. “F
or the second time.”

  “And if Lena was here, they probably would have tried to take her as well,” I said. “For the second time.”

  “The point I'm trying to make is that she wasn't here. And that raises suspicion. Maybe you should go and talk to her,” she suggested.

  I didn’t have to go anywhere because at that exact moment Lena rushed through the door, flying directly into Sebastian’s arms.

  “Bast, I was so scared!” she cried. “The rogues came to Angel Creek!”

  Sebastian staggered upon impact, but quickly recovered his balance. Charlotte shot me a smug smile which I graciously returned.

  There was no way I was going to play her childish game.

  “I have to run a quick errand in town, but I’m too afraid to go anywhere,” Lena moaned into Sebastian’s sweater. “What if they attack again?”

  “Maybe Sebastian can go with you,” Charlotte suggested, still smiling.

  Lena looked up at Sebastian. “Will you? I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

  “I can do it,” Razor offered.

  “No, I think Sebastian should,” I said.

  For once, Sebastian didn’t challenge my request. He, along with everyone else in the room, could see that Charlotte was trying to start yet another childish fight—a conflict we had no time for as we had much bigger problems to deal with. The cottage was no longer a safe haven for any of us.

  Nothing was safe anymore.

  That evening as I was getting ready for bed, the soft symphony of pebbles against glass drew me to my bedroom window. Sebastian stood on the grass below, his dark hair illuminated by the moonlight, his face masked by shadows.

  “We have a door, you know,” I called down as I opened the window to let him in.

  “I should have known that it was a stupid idea to listen to my brother’s advice,” he griped as he scaled up the wooden planks of the cottage exterior, pulling himself up through the opening. “He said…ugh, never mind what he said. Let’s just pretend this never happened, okay?”

  “As you wish.” A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. This side of Sebastian was something I hadn’t been privy to before. Following our first encounter, if anyone had asked me if the intimidating vampire I’d just met was more likely to throw pebbles at my window or a wrench at my head, I definitely would have picked the latter.

  “What brings you over?” I asked, stopping myself from adding Romeo to the end of the sentence. Something told me that Sebastian wouldn’t appreciate the joke, especially considering that the window climbing was Razor’s idea in the first place.

  “I wanted to see how you’re feeling,” he said.

  “All better,” I lied. I had been experiencing minor black-outs all evening. The darkness came on suddenly, and though it didn’t last long, it was disabling and unnerving nonetheless.

  Sebastian leaned against the window ledge, his silver eyes studying me intently “Why is it that I don’t believe you?” he asked, crossing his arms, carefully examining every inch of my face.

  “The same reason that I don’t believe you when you say that you don’t enjoy wearing a shiny suit of armor?” I guessed.

  “Touché. The difference between the two is that there is no harm in me wearing the armor, but there is in you hiding your feelings. Especially when it comes to your health and safety.”

  “I guess there is some merit in that...”

  In fact, there was a lot of merit in what he was saying, but the truth was, I didn’t know how to be honest about my weaknesses. Sebastian wanted me to share my pain and fear with him, but I had no knowledge of how to go about doing that. I’d grown up not relying on anyone. My father had always been there to offer me the best care possible when it came to my physical well-being, but talking about feelings and emotions weren’t his forte. I’d learned how to take care of things internally, without anyone’s help. A big part of me wanted nothing more than to open up to Sebastian, but the ability to do that was buried so deep inside me, even if I was able to draw it out, I wasn’t sure that I would know how to use it.

  As if he’d been reading my mind, Sebastian asked, “Will you at least try to be more honest about the things that are bothering you?”

  I nodded. “Yes.” For both of our sakes, I would try. “But I can’t make any promises.”

  After all, even for a vampire, my worries were far from normal.

  Realizing that he wasn’t going to get any further, Sebastian changed the subject. “My main goal was to check up on you, but that’s not the only reason I’m here,” he said.

  “Oh?”

  He pushed away from the window, slowly crossing over to where I was standing as he spoke. “Yesterday came close to being one of the worst days of my life.”

  Knowing Sebastian’s history, that was saying a lot.

  “When we drove up to that slaughterhouse, I went crazy.” He was now standing in front of me, his fists clenched tightly against his thighs. “Crazy imagining what Jacques was doing to you.” His jaw tightened. “I spent two weeks trapped in his hospital, watching those jerks drain little kids and slice open innocent women. Just the thought of them touching you—” He couldn’t finish the sentence.

  “It’s okay,” I said as he grabbed my shoulders, crushing me against him. “Nothing bad happened,” I told him. “Except that Jacques got a taste of his own medicine.” I shuddered, remembering the horrifying sound of his body being fed into the grinder; the sickening crunch of bone and flesh.

  “I couldn’t stand the idea of you never knowing how much you mean to me,” Sebastian whispered, pressing his lips to the top of my head. He pulled back to look into my eyes. “But, as you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m not very good with words.” His light eyes glowed in the darkness. “So, I’ve been trying to find another way to share my feelings.”

  “What are you trying to say?” Tiny butterflies fluttered around my stomach, making their way into my chest.

  He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’ve said the words, I love you to someone once before, only to learn that the revelation wasn’t a truthful one. It’s taken a very long time and a very special person to make me understand the true meaning of those words.”

  The butterflies morphed into a flock of wild birds, their wings beating rapidly against my chest, clamoring to get free.

  “So I’ve decided that I shouldn’t speak.” His low voice glided through the room, each word rousing the birds even more. “Instead, I would like to show you.”

  Show me?

  He took my hand, gently guiding me to the bed. I struggled to breathe as the walls of the room suddenly closed in on me.

  What did he mean by show?

  Ideas flashed through my mind, but only one of them made sense. He couldn’t tell me, so he was going to show me. With his body.

  “I’m not sure if this is a good idea.” My words came out in short, ragged gasps.

  He smiled. “I’m not so sure either.”

  Then why did you lure me to the bed?! I wanted to yell, but my voice failed me.

  “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens,” he said.

  See what happens?

  “Before I begin…”

  Begin? Begin what?!

  “…I just wanted to warn you that I’ve never done this before.”

  Neither have I!

  I jumped up. “I don’t think this is a good idea!”

  “Wait,” he whispered. He tenderly grasped my wrist, pulling me back to the bed. “Do you trust me?”

  Yes. I trusted him. With my whole heart. I just didn’t know if I trusted us—this close to one another. I nodded slowly. “I trust you.”

  “Then please give me a chance,” Sebastian said. “If you hate it, I’ll leave.”

  I shivered, my mind contemplating possible reasons why I would hate it.

  “No,” I said resolutely. “I don’t want to rush into things.”

  Sebastian laughed. “Dawn, all you have to d
o is sit here. I’ll do all the work.”

  Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “No!” I yelled, pushing away from him. “It shouldn’t be like this! It’s not right. I’m not ready, and we’re—”

  I stopped myself mid-sentence as Sebastian’s eyes widened. “Wait…what exactly do you think we’re doing here?”

  My throat felt dry. “You wanted to…uhh…show me how you felt. You...brought me to the bed…” I searched for the right words to describe the situation. Finally, I just said, “You took me to bed and began firing off a lot of suggestive innuendos.” I exhaled sharply.

  Sebastian’s bewildered expression turned to amusement. “Oh, uhh…” He rubbed the back of his head with his hand, fighting a grin. “I think I may have given you the wrong impression. I did want to show you how I felt. But not...like that.”

  “Oh,” was all I could manage.

  Embarrassed, relieved, and perhaps even slightly disappointed, I buried my face in my pillow, preparing to spend the rest of eternity in its feathery sanctuary. The cool, soft fabric soothed my burning cheeks.

  “I’ve been trying to find a way to let you know how I feel,” Sebastian said. “After nearly losing you last night, I don’t want to hold back anymore.”

  I heard him fumbling for something underneath the bed. He took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply. A soft melody began to fill the room. I slowly lifted my gaze. Sebastian was sitting next to me, his fingers swiftly gliding across the strings of Hunter’s acoustic guitar.

  The beautiful tune he played was unlike any song I’d ever heard—surreal and unpredictable, it was both soothing and turbulent at the same time. Just when I would relax into its sweet melody, the piece would swell to a crescendo, taking with it the beat of my heart. I was listening to the past few months with Sebastian play out in a compilation of notes, I realized, and though the song had no words, its meaning was clear. As our eyes connected, a small smile played across his lips.

  The music took me further than I could have imagined. It was dangerous. Sexy. But it was also filled with devotion and tenderness. I relished in seeing Sebastian so vulnerable—so open. This was a rare moment for us both, and I tried to absorb every second of it. As the song came to an end, I closed my eyes, letting the last note wash over me. I didn’t want him to stop. I didn’t want us—whatever we were at this point—to end.