Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (28 page)

   Stefan was struggling wildly against losing complete control as bloodlust, and fury, raged through him. David’s words slowly managed to penetrate the wild frenzy growing within him. Isabelle
would
hate him if he hurt Ethan. It was that thought alone that enabled him to shove the killing frenzy aside and release his hold on Ethan’s neck. He hit the ground, stumbling back, his eyes flashing with rage as his hand flew to his bruised throat. David grabbed hold of Ethan’s arm, shoving him forcefully to the side as Mike grabbed hold of the other one.

   “Get your parents,
” David hissed.

   “Neither of us
is
going anywhere.
” Ian said forcefully.

   “You need to get your parents, now!” Mike shouted, shoving them both toward the door.

   “Mike...”

   “Go!” David bellowed.

   Stefan moved swiftly to the couch, shooting a warning look at Doug as he moved past him. Doug took a quick step back, his gaze focused worriedly on Isabelle as Stefan laid her gently on the couch. Jack came rushing back into the room, a bag of blood clutched tightly in his hand. He skidded to a halt next to Doug, his gaze flickering quickly to Isabelle, and then apprehensively back to Stefan. Anger shot through him at the thought of Jack feeding her, but Jack made no move toward her as he held the bag out to
Stefan
.

   Stefan stared at him for a moment before snatching the bag out of his hand and ripping it open with his teeth. They both took a step back as David and Mike came slowly forward. Stefan lifted her head cautiously, opening her lips gently to place the bag against them. She moaned softly, her eyelids twitching as she opened her mouth to receive it.

   Relief flooded through him as he gently stroked her hair and continued to slowly feed her. “Is she going to be okay?” Mike asked softly.

   “Yes,” he growled.

   He was a little w
ary that they would attack him for what he had done to Ethan, but he knew that he could destroy them if they even attempted it. He was not going to leave Isabelle alone with them. It did not matter to him that they were like her brothers, or that he had attacked first, he was not going to allow any of them near her until he knew that she was completely safe.

   However, as they made no move to come near him, no move to take her away from
him, his w
ariness quickly turned to confusion. Why weren’t they attacking him? Surely they would, if they thought that he would harm Isabelle, or them. Instead, they stood silently, accepting the fact that he had assumed control over her, and that he had attacked one of them.

   From everything that he had seen over the past week, any of them would willingly die for one of the others. He didn’t understand their silent acceptance of the fact that he had come damn close to killing Ethan. It made absolutely no sense to him. What was the matter with them? Why were they taking this so well? And what the hell did they know that he didn’t? His jaw clenched as a million questions raced through his head, but then Isabelle moaned softly and all thought fled as he focused his attention solely on her.

   “What the hell happened?” David demanded.

   Stefan lifted his head, his eyes flashing dangerously, as his jaw clenched. Their eyes widened slightly as they stared at him, but none of them said anything, and the looks on their faces were one
s
of awe. “I’ll tell you later,” Jack said quickly.

   Stefan searched their faces, but he didn’t much care what they thought. His attention returned to Isabelle as the last of the blood slid slowly down her throat. He tossed the bag aside, lifted her head gently, and slid onto the couch. He laid her head in his lap, gently stroking her soft, pale face. She rolled over, her delicate hand curling tightly into his thigh.

   A surge of protectiveness flowed through him as his hand curled into her hair, wanting to get as close to her as possible, needing to keep her safe from the world. From himself. He was even more dangerous th
a
n the men that had attacked her, even more deadly.
He was e
specially
dangerous
now, when his emotions were in a rioting turmoil that felt as if they were going to explode.

   The screen door banged open as Sera and
Liam
came rushing inside. “What happened!?” Sera cried, running forward
, terror etched onto her delicate face
.

   She cast David and Doug a scathing look as they moved to intercept her. She easily darted around them. She fell on her knees before Isabelle, her hand flying out to touch her brow. Tears spilled freely down her face as she stroked her hair back. “Is she okay?” she sobbed.

   “She will be,” Stefan grated.

  
Liam
appeared behind her, reaching out to grasp hold of Isabelle’s hand.
Stefan instinctively stiffened;
a snarl curv
ed
his mouth, as he
pulled
Isabelle tighter against him.
Liam
’s eyes flashed with fire, a growl escap
ed
him as he ripped Sera backward. “What the hell are you doing?” she demanded angrily, as he shoved her behind him.

   “Whoa!” Doug jumped in between them both, his hands held out. “Calm down! Both of you!”

   Sera poked her head around
Liam
, her eyes widen
ed
in surprise before
she began to laugh. “
Liam
, move,
”
she said, shoving at his back.

   “No!” he snapped.

   Sera laughed harder, drawing glaring looks from both Stefan and
Liam
. Suddenly, Doug began to chuckle softly, and from behind him, he could hear more muffled laughter. “I think that we should all go into the dining room,” Sera managed to say. “Stefan will take care of Isabelle.”

   “I am not leaving my daughter alone with him,”
Liam
grated.

   “Yes, you are,” Sera said firmly.
Liam
’s eyes slowly changed back to green as he turned to look down at her, a
n
eye
brow raised questioningly as they sile
n
tly communicated with each other. She nodded briskly as she took hold of his arm, skirting wide of Stefan as she led him away.

   “What about Isabelle?” Ethan demanded.

   “She’ll be fine,” Doug said.

   “But...”
   “Ethan trust me, she’ll be fine,” Sera said softly. “Come on.”

   Stefan found himself alone with only the dark mass of his twisting emotions for company. For a moment, he had been willing to kill Isabelle’s father simply because he had wanted to touch his daughter. He had almost killed her bother for the same reason. He knew now that there was something seriously wrong with him, that she was causing him to lose all of his control. Hell, he felt like he was going insane.

   She moaned softly, burying her head deeper into his lap as his hands tightened convulsively on her. A fierce surge of guardianship seared through him again, but he quickly shoved it aside. He needed to stay cool, and calm. He needed to think. He knew that he had to get away from her before he truly hurt someone, before he caused her even more pain. Before he brought the monster that he had once been down on all of them.

   He could easily destroy everyone in this house, and for some reason
,
Isabelle made the demon in him even fierce
r
, and wild
er
, than it had ever been before. If he didn’t get away from her, he would become the one thing that he had truly hated over the years, the one thing that he had fought so savagely against becoming. She deserved much better than anything he could ever give her, much better than the dark world of pain and torment that he lived in, and he meant to see that she was never again touched by it. Never again touched by
him
. He had been selfish in his lust for her, but he knew now that he had been wrong, and he was going to right it.

***

   “I cannot believe that you’re leaving her alone with him!” Ethan exploded. “He’s obviously unstable! He was going to kill me! He could kill
her
!”

   “No
,
he couldn’t,” Sera said softly.

   “How do you know that?” Ian yelled.

   “Calm down,”
Liam
said. “He won’t hurt her, he loves her.”

   “What!?” Ethan and Ian demanded.

  
Liam
and Sera exchanged an amused look as they turned back to them. “They’re meant to be together,” she said softly. “They’re soul
mates.”

   Mike, David, Doug, and Jack grinned with amusement as Ethan and Ian started to sputter. “Trust me, we know the signs,” Doug said
with a small chuckle
.

   “What? Total insanity?” Ethan bellowed.

   “Yep,” they all said.

   They exchanged confused glances. “I don’t understand,” Ethan said wearily.

   “You wouldn’t
,
you didn’t see your father when he first met your mother. When soul mates meet each other they are totally unstable, especially the male, until they have completely branded their mate. Your mother was still human, a vampire cannot have that. They sense the mortality in their mate, and they need to change it, they need to make them a vampire. Your father was so volatile that if we even touched her, he wanted to rip our throats out. If your mother hadn’t changed willingly, he would have forced it on her, no matter what,” David explained.

   “Until their relationship is solidified, than
Stefan
is going to be very unstable,” Mike stated.

   Ethan and Ian turned to
Liam
and Sera, their
eyes
questioning. “My guess is that neither one of them knows what’s going on yet,” Sera said softly. “And they’re both fighting their feelings.”

   “Stefan is the one that told me about you two, he should know
.
” David
’s brow was furrowed in confusion as he studied them
.

   “Sometimes it
’
s easier to see something when it isn’t right in front of you. Plus, I know Isabelle, if this isn’t something that she wants, than she is going to fight it every step of the way. For now, just stay away from Isabelle, and d
on’t touch her when he’s around,
”
Sera said softly.

   “But...”

   “I know you don’t like it Ethan,”
Liam
said. “But you have too. Until they figure out what is going on, and everything stabilizes, you need to stay away from her. He will
be volatile
, and he won’t mean t
o be
. I know I would snap for no reason. I thought I was going insane. I had no idea what was wrong with me, what was going on, and I would have killed anyone.”

   “Threw me across a room,” Doug mumbled.

   Ethan and Ian gaped at him in astonishment before turning to look at their father.
Liam
shrugged as he reached out to pull Sera against him. “If it ever happens to you, trust me, you’ll understand. Something inside of you changes. All rational thought, and all control vanishes, until you know that she is yours. Although, I’m not sure how it works between two vampires, but I suppose it’s similar.”

   “They’ll probably need to exchang
e blood, and...” Mike broke off;
a dull flush stain
ed
his cheeks as his face twisted in chagrin.

   “I don’t want to think about that!”
Liam
yelled.

   Sera bit into her bottom lip to keep from laughing. “Neither do I,” Mike muttered.

   “Well I hope they do, whatever it is that they have to do, soon,” Jack said. “It was hard enough dealing with
Liam
, but if that guy snaps it is not going to be pretty. His powers are a lot stronger than ours. He lifted Ethan like he weighed no more than a twig.”

   Ethan smiled sheepishly as he rubbed his bruised neck. “Yeah he did.”

   “Should we tell him what’s going on?” Ian asked.

   They looked wearily at each other. “I’ll talk to him,” Sera said softly.

   “You will not!”
Liam
snapped, his hands tightening on her.

   “He’s not going to hurt me
Liam
;
I was the only one that he let near Isabelle. I don’t think he knows what’s going on, and once I tell him I think he’ll be a lot calmer, and things will start to make more sense to him. Right now, he’s just as confused as you were.”

   “I d
on’t want you anywhere near him.
”