Change of Fate (The Briar Creek Vampires, #4) by Jayme Morse & Jody Morse (21 page)

“What do you wish was different about it?”
Anna pressed, tilting her head up to look at Austin.

Flicking off the TV, he thought about it. “I
wish that I didn’t grow up in Briar Creek. I wish I had grown up
somewhere far, far away from vampires . . . and I wish that, no
matter how different my life had been in this fantasy place, that I
had met you,” Austin said, planting a kiss on her lips and pulling
her close to him.

“Do you want to know how I wish my life was
different?” Anna asked as she snuggled against his body. Her skin
felt warm against his. It reminded Austin of that feeling you get
when you snuggle against warm sheets on a cold rainy day.

“How?” Austin asked, kissing her
forehead.

Anna looked up at him, her dark brown eyes
twinkling. “I wish I were a vampire.”

Austin studied her face. This was the first
time Anna had ever mentioned that she wanted to be a vampire. As
far as he knew, she hated vampires, for the most part, because of
the vampire who had killed her mother. She still hadn’t found him
yet, but the whole reason she was at Huntington was to train enough
to eventually find and kill that vampire. “Why do you wish that?”
Austin asked.

“I just hate to think about what will happen
to us one day,” Anna said. “As I grow older and you stay the
same.”

Austin nodded. He knew that was a common
concern for vampires. It was the reason most vampires only got
romantically involved with other vampires; falling in love with a
human was never really a good idea because you risked getting too
attached. Austin tried not to think about it that much, but he had
wondered what would become of him and Anna one day. It made him sad
to think that she would eventually die, and he would stay the same
as he was right now for all of eternity. “Maybe we should try not
to think about that right now.”

“No, we need to talk about it,” Anna
insisted. “Will you turn me into a vampire?”

Austin sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe in a few
years?”

“Why in a few years?” Anna asked. “Why not
now?”

“What would happen if things don’t work out?
You’ll still have to live with being a vampire. It’s not
reversible.”

“Well, that’s true, I suppose,” Anna said
slowly. “But, I think we’re going to work out. Don’t you?” From the
tone in her voice, Austin could tell that she was thought that he
was doubting their relationship, when really he wasn’t at all.

“Of course I think we will,” Austin replied.
“I just want us to take things a little bit slower before we decide
if you should become a vampire. Besides, there’s something that
vampires and humans can enjoy doing together that I would like to
do with you before we decide to change you.”

Anna raised an eyebrow at him. “You want to
drink from me?”

“Duh,” Austin replied, smiling. “You smell so
good. I can’t wait to see how you taste.”

He watched as Anna’s cheeks reddened. “I want
you to drink from me, too,” she whispered.

Suddenly, the realization that Anna had
thought about this, too, made something stir inside of him. He felt
goose bumps rise on his arms and chills shoot down his spine as she
leaned in closer to him and, looking longingly into his eyes,
pressed her lips against his.

Anna’s lips lost their own shape, as they
molded around his, as their tongues danced around each other in
sync. Everything around Austin became a big blur; the only thing in
the world that mattered right now was Anna. He became overwhelmed
by the scent of her sweet earthy skin.

She pulled away from him, but her lips moved
down his neck, planting a trail of kisses against his skin. He
couldn’t take it any longer; he had to taste her.

Anna rolled onto her back, wrapping her arms
around his waist as she pulled him closer to her. Kissing her neck
gently, Austin tugged at her shirt. She pulled the shirt over her
head, revealing the black and pink lacy bra that she wore
underneath, which barely covered her breasts.

Austin parted his lips and kissed her mouth
again, pressing his hand under the bra and against her breast,
before he moved to her neck.

He nibbled at her neck gently before sinking
his teeth into her, puncturing her soft flesh. He ran his tongue in
a straight line over the sweet crimson liquid that flowed out of
her wound. The moan that escaped Anna’s throat sent Austin over the
edge, encouraging him to drink from her.

Swirling his tongue around the wound, Austin
lost himself in the flavor of her blood, which was more delicious
than anything he had ever tasted. Her blood was more addictive than
he imagined any drug could ever be. The scent of her blood and her
skin enthralled him, and the sound of the moans that she released
in pure ecstasy were like music to his ears.

It took everything in him, all of the will in
his body, to pull away from her, as he reminded himself that
drinking too much from her would drain her of all the blood in her
body. Once he had torn himself away from her, Austin inched closer
to her face, preparing to kiss her on the lips, when Anna brushed
him away from her.

“That was . . .
amazing
,” Anna told
him, closing her eyes as though she were remembering how good it
had felt all over again. “But I am not kissing you until you go use
some mouthwash.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Austin asked.

Anna shook her head and giggled. “No, I’m not
kidding. I’m serious. You just drank my blood. You’re not putting
those lips anywhere near this,” she said, lifting her hand to her
mouth, “until you go use some Listerine.”

Climbing off her bed, Austin went into the
private bathroom in her dorm room and rinsed his mouth with
Listerine. When he came back, Anna wrapped her arms around his neck
and whispered, “I love you,” before planting a tiny kiss on his
lips.

“I love you, too,” Austin said. And he
realized it was the first time he had ever told someone he loved
them and meant it.

Chapter 31

****

I want to go home
, Lexi thought for
the third time in the past five minutes. Nothing happened, and she
sighed loudly.

Dan glanced over at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m getting so frustrated,” Lexi replied.
“When we get back to the 21st century, I’m going to kick their
butts. They should be wishing for us to come back every minute
we’re gone. Why aren’t they?”

“I don’t know why, Lexi,” Dan said,
shrugging. “You can’t be mad at them, though. They don’t know what
they’re supposed to be thinking.” He looked down at the ground.
Lexi noticed that his sandy blonde hair was starting to get a
little long now. He’d needed a haircut before they had time
traveled; now, he was in desperate need of one. “I also don’t know
if I should mention this,” Dan went on, “but we also don’t know for
sure that that’s how we’re going to get back. Belinda said she was
told that was the way, but . . . what if it’s not?”

The thought hadn’t even crossed Lexi’s mind.
She had just assumed that it was right. “Well, what do we do now
then? There’s no way to know how we can get back.”

Dan shrugged. “I didn’t say it won’t work.
It’s possible that no one from home has thought about wanting us to
come back. Just don’t count your chickens before they hatch. That’s
all I’m saying.”

Lexi leaned her head against the side of the
house and glanced up into the sky. It was growing dark now. She
hated sleeping outside, especially knowing that Albert was going to
wake up soon . . . if he hadn’t already. Would he try to attack
them? He shouldn’t. Lexi was wearing the bat pendant, and Dan
didn’t have a human scent at all, so hopefully she didn’t have
anything to worry about.

“So, what’s this about you hating me?” Dan
asked, glancing over at her. Lexi could tell from the tone of his
voice that he was trying to act like he was joking, but she knew
that it really bothered him.

“I don’t hate you,” Lexi said quietly. “I
just . . . I didn’t know that I could trust you before. I thought
you were on their side.” She looked down at her hands, feeling
guilty.

Dan seemed to notice that that she felt bad
about it because he reached for her hand and, locking his fingers
around hers said, “Hey, it’s okay. I understand. I really do.”

Lexi looked up at him and, feeling the tears
form behind her eyes, whispered, “It’s not just that. I just want
to go home.”

Wrapping a muscular arm around her and
pulling her closer to him, Dan said, “We’ll get home soon. Don’t
worry.”

Lexi shook her head. “No, Dan. You don’t
understand. You might get to go home, but I never will.”

“Of course you will. I won’t let you stay
here by yourself,” Dan insisted. “We’ll go home together . . . even
if I have to hold for dear life onto your leg again, we’ll both get
back.”

Lexi sighed. “No, you don’t get it. I
can’t
go home. I don’t have a home. Even if we get back to
the future, I have nowhere to go.” She felt the tears streaming
down her cheeks. “I can’t go back to my aunt and uncle’s house. My
mom is dead. I doubt my dad will even want me. I have nowhere to
go. I can’t live at Huntington forever.”

Dan looked at the sky. “I’m not going to
pretend that I understand because, the truth is, I don’t. I still
have my parents. I still have a home.” He turned to Lexi and wiped
away one of the tears that slid down her cheek. “But it seems to me
that home is a place where you’re surrounded by people who love you
. . . people who care about you. You do have that, Lexi. There are
people who care about you.”

Lexi rested her head against his shoulder; it
offered her more comfort than anything else in this place that they
were stuck in. “You never call me Lex anymore,” she said, looking
over at him. “Why?”

Dan glanced back at her. “Because it’s what
Gabe calls you.”

“So?” Lexi asked. “A girl’s not allowed to
have a nickname?”

Dan shrugged. “It just didn’t feel right,
calling you the same thing he called you. If I ever give you a
nickname again, I want it to be one that only I call you. I don’t
want to have to share it with Gabe . . . or anyone else.”

Lexi got the feeling that Dan knew that Gabe
wasn’t the only guy who she’d had feelings for over the past few
months. Should she tell him about Craig . . . and Brandon? She
quickly shook the thought away. Lexi knew she hadn’t really had
feelings for either of them. After her mother died and Gabe had
tried to kill her, she had felt so alone – so alone that she had
thrown herself at Craig and Brandon, trying to fill up the
emptiness that consumed her. It hadn’t helped, though. When she was
with them, she felt more alone than ever. If Dan were to ask her,
she’d tell him, but she didn’t have to go out of her way to talk
about it.

“I wonder what they’re doing right now,” Lexi
said. She looked up at Dan. “Do you think they’re thinking about
us?”

“Let’s hope so,” Dan said, lying on the
ground on his back. Lexi rested her head on his chest, wrapping her
arm around his waist.

“Maybe if we fall asleep, we’ll wake up from
this nightmare,” she whispering, closing her eyes.

“Easy for you to say,” Dan whispered.
“Vampires don’t get to sleep.”

“Oh, yeah,” Lexi murmured as she closed her
eyes and snuggled against him. Even though they were similar in so
many ways, it was still really easy for Lexi to forget about the
differences between them.

Lexi heard the footsteps from behind her just
as Dan shook her awake, holding a finger to his lips to signal her
to be quiet. Holding her breath, Lexi waited for Mary-Kate’s face
to appear in front of her. Her sister must have realized that they
hadn’t gone into town, after all, and came back here to find
them.

It made Lexi sad to think about the fact that
she and Mary-Kate would probably never be friends now that this had
happened. She had been so excited to have a sister, especially now
that her mom was gone, but that would never happen now. They might
be related by blood, but it was clear that Mary-Kate didn’t want
any part of her.

A light bulb went off in Lexi’s head.
Mary-Kate must have been the one who her mom had told her she cared
about but couldn’t trust. Hadn’t her mom said that there was more
than one person she couldn’t trust? Lexi couldn’t remember, but she
got the feeling that there was.

She glanced over at Dan, who was sitting
protectively next to her, and smiled. At least he wasn’t the one
who she couldn’t trust.

The footsteps grew louder as they crunched
over old leaves. It was the middle of spring, and the yard was
covered with leaves from autumn. People definitely hadn’t spent
much time in these days trying to take care of their yards, that
was for sure.

From in between the leaves that covered her
eyes, Lexi watched as the person crept around the edge of the
house. The person was tall, with broad shoulders. It wasn’t
Mary-Kate.

It was Albert. He had woken up.

Would he be able to smell them? Lexi felt for
the bat pendant, which still dangled from their neck. It should
mask her scent so that he wouldn’t even be able to find her
here.

At least, that’s what she thought. Albert
glanced over in the direction of the bushes and began inching over
towards them. His hair looked disheveled, and his body had a dirty
look, probably because he had spent the past few days lying on the
bank of the river. Lexi was glad that she hadn’t looked into a
mirror lately; her own skin was probably tainted with dirt. She
couldn’t wait to get home to take a warm bath and wash the dirt,
and the memories that were bound to come with this experience,
away.

As Albert got closer to them, Lexi began to
panic. What was he going to do? Did he want to drink her blood?
Maybe she should just let him have it instead of fighting against
it. Being a sport about it might at least help her survive his
attack, if nothing else.