The Vampire Destiny 3: Awakening

by Alexandra Anthony

  Chapter 4

  Do Over

  Stefan had left the apartment early. After his phone call with Nigel the night before, they’d made arrangements to meet at an undisclosed location. Their conversation had been brief, talking in a strange code that only the two of them seemed to understand. I couldn’t help but wonder where my decoder ring was when I needed it. I suppose centuries of strategy and secrets justified creating this strange manner of talking. Apparently Nigel had found information that he felt warranted Stefan's attention and was anxious to meet with him.

  Stefan had been quiet after their call. He seemed reflective, preoccupied. He'd protected his mind from me, giving me limited access to his thoughts, but he couldn't hide his emotions from me. He could mask them; yet I knew deep down I wasn't going to like the news Nigel had for us.

  Unable to sleep, I was up early as well. Relishing the silence of the apartment, I unrolled my yoga mat happily. I'd missed my routine. I'd missed the serenity, the ability to relax my mind as I moved through the poses.

  I noticed that the normal strain I'd normally be feeling at the end of my workout wasn't there anymore. I was able to glide effortlessly from movement to movement without breaking a sweat or feeling tired.

  Lost in thought, I gave a final stretch and walked to the wall of windows. Peering down from eight floors in the sky, I could easily read the license plate of a taxi idling on the street. I backed away from the window until my legs banged into the chair. Falling into the seat, I stared blindly at the window.

  I couldn't deny my changes anymore. I was becoming more vampiric with each passing day. There wasn't any way to stop it or slow the process. Would I die for two days like Anna? Would I have to learn to tolerate the smell of human blood, be a risk to every human until I could control myself?

  I was still asking myself questions I had no answer for when Anna burst into the apartment. She was clutching her phone, her brown curls bouncing as she sped towards me.

  “It's Georgia. She's been calling me non-stop. I haven't answered the phone. I don't know what to say to her." Anna plopped down on the couch. "What should I do? Can you see what she's going to do?"

  Sadly, I shook my head. "Nope.” I popped the ‘p’. I can't see a human's future anymore, Anna."

  "Say again?" Anna asked, her mouth agape at my revelation.

  "I can't see a human’s future. Likewise, I can't see vampires either. I think it's because I'm neither one, at least not fully anyway," I explained. I twisted my hair into a messy bun and shrugged. "When did she last call you?"

  Anna flipped through the call log on her phone. "30 minutes ago."

  "Let me call her. I’ll ask her how you are and see what she says. Worse case, I’ll make something up." I rushed into the kitchen and unplugged my phone from the charger. Paging through my contacts, I dialed Georgia's number. I leaned against the counter, idly tracing the patterns in the shiny, dark granite.

  "Josie?" Georgia answered. Her voice sounded thick, almost as if she'd been sleeping.

  "Georgia? Were you asleep?" I asked. There was a crackle and a long pause. "Georgia?"

  "No. I'm here. What's going on?"

  "I was just calling to say hi. I haven't talked to you since we left Bali so I thought I'd check in. How are you?"

  Her answer was short and sweet. “Good.”

  My brow furrowed at her one word answer. Georgia always had an opinion, a story or something to offer advice about. “How’s Anna?”

  There was another long pause. "It's funny you mention Anna. She's gone and I can't get her on the phone. I stopped by her office but they said she'd headed back to the US."

  Anna stood silently on the other side of the island. Our eyes locked and I held up my finger. Hating to lie, I crossed my other fingers as I recited my off the cuff fib. "That's strange. Maybe something's going on with her family. I'll try to catch up with her."

  "Alright, Josie." Her voice was quiet, slurring and sounding distant. "I gotta go. I miss you but I'm not alone."

  "Georgia? Are you ok? What do you mean you're not alone?" I was growing concerned. She sounded odd, even less like her normal spunky self than when we'd left Bali. Had Stefan's will changed her irrevocably?

  "I'm fine, hun. Take care of yourself."

  The line went dead. I held the phone in my hand, simply staring at it. My eyes swiveled to Anna who was mirroring my look of utter confusion.

  “What the hell was that?"

  "I don't know," I murmured. I turned the phone over in my hand. "She sounded out of it, like she was drunk."

  Anna slipped her hair behind her ear. "She started acting strange ever since you and Stefan came back from New York to Bali to wrap things up for your move back. For some reason I have a feeling you know why. Care to share?"

  I drew in a deep breath. "Georgia walked in on us. She'd been watching him drinking from me. We had to explain what we are. The day I met you for lunch, she showed up at my house, unannounced and uninvited. She tried to convince Stefan or Lukas to change her. When that didn't work she cut herself, thinking that the smell of her blood would sway them."

  "So Stefan erased her memory. Shit, what did he call it?" She scrunched her nose up. She snapped her fingers. "I remember! He forced his will on her."

  "Yes. He didn't have a choice. He didn't want to change her because..."

  "Because she's Georgia. Say no more." Anna waved her hand. She bounded around the counter and leaped to sit on the edge. "We haven't gotten to really talk since I.. woke up. You fought for me that night. You stood up to Derek. You never gave up on me, Josie."

  Embarrassed, I looked up at Anna. Her brown eyes glittered. She'd never been sentimental as a human and I found it strangely odd she was being so emotional now.

  "You'd do the same for me, right?" I questioned, looking up at her curiously. "How do you feel? Do you miss being human?"

  Anna looked up at the ceiling. "I don't miss it but it's one hell of an adjustment. It's strange, Josie. I suddenly have no limitations, an endless life. I can see things I'd never seen before and I'm able to move faster than you can imagine."

  "I was so scared you'd hate me," I mumbled. "I'm just glad you're here and you 're happy."

  "You and me both." She gave me a spirited shove. "Enough of this mushy shit. Give me the dirt on your father and what happened last night."

  An involuntary shiver shook my body. "You don't know about my father? I figured Lukas or Nikolaus would have filled you in."

  "I know what they told me. I want the real deal, straight from the horse’s mouth."

  "As far as my father is concerned, there's not a word to describe his creepiness. Nikolaus and I both think he sent Derek to Bali."

  Anna's brow furrowed. "Your Dad tried to have you killed? Why?"

  "Probably the same reason he killed my mother: control and power. I don't want anything to do with him and he doesn't like to be denied. My mother was leaving him when he killed her. Notice a pattern?"

  Anna leaned back on her arms. "Your father killed your mother and then sent that piece of shit after you?"

  "I think he sent Derek for numerous reasons, Anna. He and my father had been lovers, not to mention his ability to shift and take on another vampire form. Derek and Stefan had a tenuous background. Derek probably volunteered, especially when he figured he could just kill me. What better way to get even with your enemy?"

  My stomach rolled as my mind took a reluctant trip down memory lane. If I were to close my eyes, I could almost feel the weight of Derek's body against mine, the cutting tightness of the restraints around my wrists. I forced my mind back to the present and to Anna.

  "And what happened last night?"

  I was getting ready to answer when Lukas breezed in. At some point, we really needed to set some boundaries. It was a battle I'd save for another day. Preferably a day when Stefan was here and could handle it.

  Lukas looked at my yoga mat with dismay. "You don't have to do that yoga crap anymore. You aren'
t going to change. You're going to look the way you do forever."

  "It relaxes me, Lukas." I watched as he perched on the stool, daintily crossing his legs. "I like the yoga crap."

  "You should be the most relaxed person in the room the way you and Stefan go at it," Lukas muttered as he examined his fingernails. He looked up with a gleam in his eye. "Then again, I'd probably be stressed if I was such a hot commodity."

  "Ok, what else did I miss?" Anna glanced at me inquisitively before focusing back on him.

  Lukas beamed. He was going to get enjoyment from my little run in with Aidan last night. "It appears Josie has an old boyfriend in town. That had to be awkward little display.”

  "I think it was awkward for Aidan," I said grouchily. I decided I'd act non-committal to not spur Lukas on. Grabbing the carafe, I filled it with water and began making coffee, taking my time putting the filter in and measuring the scoops of coffee into the basket.

  Lukas waited until I faced them again. "Why pray tell would it be difficult for Aidan? Fill us in, sweet cheeks."

  I smacked my hand on the counter angrily. "Dammit, Lukas. You know what happened. Do you enjoy making me feel worse than I already do? Is this your 'thing'?"

  Lukas' already pale face blanched. His lips parted and I cut him off angrily before he could utter another word.

  "Yes, I have a few ex-boyfriends. This one happens to be my now ex-editor. We met him last night and he was obviously hoping I'd see him and leave Stefan behind. It didn't work out that way."

  "Like anyone with half of a brain would leave Stefan for anyone," Anna piped in. She gave me an apologetic smile. "Let me guess. Stefan didn't take it too well?"

  "No. In Stefan’s defense, Aidan insulted Stefan and when I tried to leave, he kissed me. I had to talk Stefan down. I think, no, I know he wanted to kill him," I recollected quietly.

  The coffee maker beeped and I jumped at the sound. I rummaged nosily through the cabinet for a mug and poured myself a cup, skipping the half & half and sugar. I didn't want to waste time, I needed the boost.

  Carrying my coffee in both hands, I slipped past them both to cross the living room to the couch. I silently sipped my coffee, the warmth from the mug strangely soothing me. Stefan had only been gone for a few hours, yet our tie selfishly wanted him here with me. I felt his existence pulsing in my mind, but I missed his physical presence. Our bond required that we remain together. The feeling reminded me of when we first met and he had to go away on Council business. I felt as if I had a hole in my chest, an emptiness only he could fill.

  Staring into the steaming cup, I wondered if we'd bonded then and not known? Had our love for one another been that strong back then? Had our souls recognized their other half so early?

  "Josie, I didn't mean to upset you." My gaze moved from my coffee to Lukas. He was sitting on the ottoman, his hands rubbing his jean covered knees nervously.

  Narrowing my eyes, I glowered at him. "I think you like to rile me up and see how far you can push me. At least be real about it, Lukas."

  He stood up at put his hands on his hips. He angrily turned towards Anna. "See. I told you she wouldn't accept my apology."

  "That wasn't exactly an apology, Lukas," Anna chided. She turned her head to the side and gave him her ‘you know you’re talking bullshit’ look. It rivaled her death stare in its effectiveness.

  He threw his hands up in exasperation. "What side are you on?" He started to stomp to the door when I directed my shield toward him. It tightened around him, tying him to the spot. I felt his immediate panic, followed by confusion as my invisible shield kept him immobile.

  "I can't move. I can't fucking MOVE!" Lukas screeched. I resumed sipping my coffee as he struggled.

  Anna stood stock-still in the kitchen until she gathered her wits and rushed to his side, attempting to grab his arm but her hand was deflected. She looked at me with alarm in her brown eyes. "Josie? We need to call Stefan. I don't know what's wrong with him!"

  Smiling haughtily, I sat my cup down on the end table. "I know what's wrong with him. I'm doing it."

  "You're doing this?" Lukas asked shrilly. His brow furrowed in disbelief. "No way. I don't believe it. Stefan would have told me you could do this."

  "Oh really?" Testing my strength, I increased my hold on him, watching as his arms moved under the force.

  He let out a surprised gasp. "It is you. What the hell else can you do?"

  I pulled back my shield and he slumped forward, grasping the back of the chair for support.

  "This is it," I replied. Feeling pleased with myself, I picked up my coffee cup and took a drink.

  "It's enough for me." Lukas muttered, obviously shaken by my display. "I'll be next door if you need me."

  He almost ripped the door off the hinges to get out of the apartment. It slammed behind him, a testament to his thinly disguised anger.

  "I should go check on him," Anna said. She walked to the door and hesitated with her hand on the knob. "There's more to you than just being half-human and half-vampire. I can feel it. I've always known there was more to you than meets the eye, Josie." With those words, she left the apartment, leaving me alone with my coffee and the silence of the now empty apartment.

  ***

  He'd only been gone for less than 12 hours and I was slowly climbing the walls awaiting his return. I realized the hard way today that the drawback to our bond was when we were apart, we mourned the separation from the other. The broken ties reached out for the other, their tendrils desperate to reconnect.

  This had to be why so few vampires mated. It crippled them, exposed their vulnerabilities. From my crash course in being with vampires, they don’t like to appear vulnerable or weak.

  I’d spent the day alone, napping and lounging on the couch, staring out the window. Really, I’d tried to avoid anything that required thinking. I’d thought enough about my father, Council meeting and vampires to last me a lifetime.

  It was nearly eight o’clock when I heard his key in the door to the apartment. He pushed open the door and dropped a bag on the floor. Bounding off the couch, I leaped into his open arms, burying my nose in his neck. I inhaled the woody, familiar smell of him and instantly relaxed as I felt the strength of his arms wrap around me. My fingers instinctively fanned into the depths of his thick, golden hair.

  "It appears I was missed." His mental voice was amused at my enthusiastic display. He gently released me to cup my face in his hands to kiss me. The bond between us hummed happily at its reconnection, the electrical-like currents flaring between us as we touched.

  Smiling shyly, I rubbed my nose against his. “You were. I enjoyed the quiet but I’m glad you’re back.”

  Stefan still had my face in his hands. He ran his thumbs over my cheeks softly, letting out a heavy sigh. “There are things we need to discuss. Come with me.”

  Stefan released my face and grabbed his keys. He took my hand and led me out the apartment towards the elevator.

  “Stefan! I’m in a nightgown. Where are we going?” I protested as we hurried along. I glanced down at my gown. It was more like strategically placed lace over satin than a nightgown. I hadn’t planned on wearing it for long.

  “No one will see you. Come.” He veered towards the stairwell, guiding me up two flights of stairs. We came to the rooftop entrance and he pulled out his keys, unlocking the door. A small patio was on the roof, scattered lounge chairs and tables arranged on a cobblestone path.

  I looked around and then back at Stefan. “Are we supposed to be up here?”

  He smiled arrogantly. “Ah, you forget we own the building. This is our space. We are completely alone.”

  Placing my hands on my hips, I giggled. “Stefan, you own the buildings. I appreciate you including me, but it’s yours.”

  “Yet another thing we need to discuss.” He frowned and irritation darkened his features. “Come sit with me and tell me about your day.”

  He lowered himself into a lounge chair, stretching out his lo
ng legs. He opened his arms wide, an enticing invitation to join him. I sat down and he pulled me along side of him, wrapping me in his embrace.

  “Let’s see. I spoke with Georgia this morning,” I began reciting my day, quickly ticking things off. I’d save the worst for last and would rush through it as quickly as possible. “I had a long talk with Anna and I used my shield on Lukas.”

  He stiffened beside of me. “I told you not to tell anyone of that ability. Even Lukas.”

  “I know. He aggravated me and it kind of happened.” I hadn’t intended on using my shield on Lukas. I was only stretching the truth a little.

  “Are you forgetting I know when you lie? Not only are you are horrible at it, but I can feel the dishonesty,” Stefan murmured. “Lukas is frustrating so I understand why you did it. What was his reaction?

  I chuckled softly as I remembered Lukas’ unhappy reaction to my ability. “I scared him. Anna thinks I’m more than a hybrid. What else could I be?”

  Stefan smoothed his cheek against my hair. “Did anything else happen?”

  Shaking my head, I glanced up at him. It didn’t escape my notice that he’d avoided my question. “I have nothing. Now,what did you want to tell me about?”

  I felt his dread creep into our tie. He didn’t want to talk about any of the things he had to discuss. He knew they’d be upsetting to me, which in turn would be upsetting to him.

  “The Council Meeting is on Friday. We are all required to attend. We will all be required to testify,” Stefan said, his voice almost robotic. He sounded like he was reading off from a prepared statement. His expression turned sullen as he pulled me closer to him.

  My panic rose. I knew about the meeting. Knowing that I’d be testifying was daunting. “We? What if..”

  "There is no reason to worry about Friday, vackra. It will be fine."

  My eyes went skyward for a moment and a deep sigh escaped. "We're testifying in front of the Council to explain Derek's death. My father will be there. You can't expect me not to worry a little."

  He tipped my chin up with his index finger and smiled me, exposing his even teeth in a wicked grin. He tapped the side of his temple with the tip of his index finger lightly.