Destined (Vampire Awakenings) (34 page)

   He ground his teeth as he tossed another board into the truck. He just wanted to get this wood loaded as quickly as possible and get back to the house. He would see Isabelle
before he returned
to helping with the new house, which he wanted finished as soon as possible. It would be much nicer to stay there with Isabelle, quieter, and more peaceful. Of course, Ethan would be there too, but at least it wasn’t a house load of people.

   Tossing another board onto the load he quickly wiped the sweat from his brow. He glanced over at Ethan as he bent to pick up another board. He had apologized to him about the other night, and Ethan seemed to have accepted
it, but he could still sense w
ariness in him.

   Stefan didn’t blame him in the
least;
he was a little w
ary of himself. There was something that wasn’t right with him still, but he didn’t know what it was. He was beginning to feel like he had when he’d left, unstable and angry. Isabelle had helped to ease it when he had seen her, but now that he wasn’t near her, it was starting to come back with a vengeance.

   He became even more aggravated when he thought about the fact that this might be the way he felt every time that he left her. That wasn’t a possibility he wanted to think about. He had always been free to come and go as he pleased, and although he had come back for her, he had never thought about the possibility that he might not be able to leave her again. It wasn’t that he wanted to leave
her;
it was the last thing he wanted to do, but the idea that it might never be able to happen was more than a little overwhelming.

   He also couldn’t rid himself of the feeling that something wasn’t right, wasn’t complete. That something was lacking, he just didn’t know what it could be. He thought that if he could figure it out than things would be better, but he couldn’t think through the aggravating clawing in his chest, and stomach.

   He sighed wearily as David handed him another board. The bolt of panic that hit him froze him instantly. The board slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a clattering thud that caused David to turn to him, his eyes wide in surprise. Stefan’s heart seemed to stop beating as Isabelle’s fear rolled over him, through him, nearly swamping him with its intensity.

   “Stefan
are you ok
?” David asked
worriedly
.

   “Get back to the house,” he hissed.

   “What?”

   Stefan didn’t bother to answer him as h
e turned and disappeared. “Shit
!” Jack gasped in surprise.

CHAPTER 18

   Stefan froze as he looked into the hole, a riot of emotions crash
ed
through him
at once
. Fear surged forward as his eyes landed on Isa
belle. She was covered in blood;
her face, chest, and throat
were
streaked with it. It took him a moment to realize that it wa
s
n’t her blood, but Kyle’s. When he did, anger surged through him as he realized the danger she had placed herself in. “Stefan.”

   All of his anger vanished as she looked at him with wide, pleading, tear filled eyes. The pain and hopelessness in her gaze tore at his heart. His eyes landed on Isabelle’s wrist pressed to Kyle’s mouth, narrowing as anger tore through him again. Suddenly, he knew what was missing, what was incomplete, what would get rid of the clawing sensation that he had been struggling with since he
’
d left her side. He made himself take a deep breath and shove the anger aside. Now was not the time for it.

   “He won’t stop bleeding,” she whispered, tears streaking down her blood and dirt caked face.

   Stefan snapped out of his frozen state, dropping to his knees he reached into the hole. She lifted Kyle gently from Cassidy’s lap and stood swiftly. Pain flashed through her face as she gasped softly
and shifted her weight. He clenched
his
jaw
against the anger, and fear that rocket
ed
wildly through his body as he realized that she had hurt herself. Cassidy stood slowly beside her, tears streaming down her distraught face as she whimpered softly.

   Isabelle lifted Kyle to him, her arms shaking as a soft sob tore from her. Stefan
clenched
his teeth against the pain that she radiated, both physical and emotional, as he wrapped his hands around Kyle’s arms and pulled him easily up. He laid him on the ground, his eyes quickly scanning the severe wounds in his chest and stomach before turning back around. He reached back down as Isa
belle handed Cassidy to him. She
was sobbing heavily,
her tiny body
shaking from the force of it. He seized hold of Isabelle, relief filling him the minute that her hands enclosed his, and he pulled her free.

   She released him instantly as she fell to her brother’s side, a bloody shirt clutched tightly in her hands as she pressed it to his wounds again. Lifting his head to her lap, she pressed her wrist to his mouth again. She was covered in dirt, and blood, her white bra was filthy, and more red than white now. The creamy skin of her shoulders, and back, was filthy.

   Anger pierced through him again at the sight of her undressed state. He knew that he was acting like an idiot, that he had no reason to be angry
.
B
ut the others would be coming soon, and the idea of them seeing her like this sent a bolt of fury and jealousy through him that he was unable to stop. Yanking his shirt briskly off, he walked over to crouch by her side.

   She lifted her head to look at him, the anguish in her eyes almost more than he could
bear
.
“Put this on.” He handed her the shirt as he picked Kyle up, her own tank
top falling limply to the ground. Blood instantly clung to his skin, matting against his stomach as it oozed through Kyle’s shirt to cling to his fingers. Isabelle stood beside him, trembling as she twisted his shirt nervously in her hands. “Put it on!” he ordered, more sharply than he had intended.

   She started in surprise as she glanced at the knotted shirt in her hands. She shook it out, her hands trembling as she slipped it over her head. His anxiety lessened instantly as the shirt fell over her, dropping down to mid thigh. She looked childish, and vulnerable in the oversized shirt, and he found himself liking the fact that she wore it.

   He tore his attention away from her and back to Kyle. He was so pale and limp in his arms, his breath rattled slowly in and out. Stefan shifted his hold as he bit deep into his wrist, bringing a surge of blood forth. He held it to Kyle’s mouth, feeling a moment of relief as
t
he
boy
swallowed it down. Isabelle followed anxiously beside him, limping badly, as he moved quickly down the path toward the house.

   “Are you okay?” he demanded. Her eyes flew to his face, wide and anxious as she nodded. “Why are you limping?”

   “A stake went through my shoe.”

   Fury ripped through him, seizing his muscles, and causing his arm to convulse around Kyle. Isabelle’s eyes widened in surprise as her lower lip began to tremble. “You could have been killed!” he spat.

   “I had too,” she whispered.

   “Is he going to be all right?” Cassidy asked anxiously, breaking through the sudden tension that radiated between the two of them.

   Stefan clenched his jaw as he turned to look at the small girl hovering at Isabelle’s side. Isabelle’s arm was wrapped around her tiny, trembling shoulders as she
held
her tight. Her big blue eyes were wide and bright with tears as she looked anxiously at her twin brother. “I don’t know,” he answered honestly.

   He broke free of the woods, striding across the yard toward
Liam
’s house. Vicky and Abby were walking up from the
lake;
they broke instantly into a run as they spotted them. “What happened?” Vicky cried. “Oh
no
, Kyle!”

   Tears streamed down their faces as they peered anxiously over
Stefan’s
shoulder at him. Stefan carried him swiftly up stairs as Isabelle hurried forward to slide the glass doors open. Willow rushed to the right, flinging open the closed wooden doors of the living room. Stefan walked briskly in and laid Kyle down on the couch, pulling his shirt over his head so that he could get a better look at the jagged wounds.

   “Mom! Mom!” Vicky yelled as she took off up the stairs.

   Isabelle hurried to the bathroom, ripping towels out of the cabinet and wet
ting them in the sink. She rush
ed back to the living room, ignoring the burning pain in her foot. Her mother
raced
down the stairs, her eyes widening in horror as she took in Isabelle. Then she
turned
,
her mouth dropp
ed
as she looked at Stefan.

   “Kyle
!” She rushed into the living room, falling beside Stefan as she reached out to try and stop the blood flow with her hands. Isabelle hurried forward to hand her mother the towels that she had collected. Her mother took them quickly, her hands shaking as tears slid down her cheeks. “
Come on baby,
” she
whispered
as she used the wet towels to wipe the blood away. More blood welled up from the wounds, but
it was slower than before.

   Isabelle bit on her bottom lip, tears streaking down her face as her mother washed the rest of the blood away. The wounds appeared to be healing now, slowly. Isabelle’s hands trembled as she handed her mother another towel. Isabelle’s gaze went to Stefan, instinctively searching him out for reassurance,
or
some sort of help. He met her gaze, his eyes dark and turbulent, his face, chest, and abdomen streaked with her brother
’
s blood as he reached for her. She clasped his hand tightly, immediately comforted by his touch as the heat of his hand burned into her. She choked back a sob as she slumped against the back of the couch.

   He squeezed her hand tightly, and released her. The sob tore free of her at the loss of contact. An overwhelming feeling of despair washed through her as her gaze returned to Kyle. Stefan’s wrist was pressed tightly against his mouth, his other hand cradled beneath his head as he held him firmly against his arm. Another emotion began to come forth
,
a
n emotion that was just as strong, and just as overwhelming as her fear and despair as she watched how gentle and kind he was being with her brother.

   It took her a moment to pinpoint it, a moment to understand what it was, and when she did, it slammed into her gut with the force of a fist. She gasped loudly, her hand flying to her mouth as she fought back the extreme wave of panic that tore through her. Stefan’s eyes
were dark and stormy as they shot back to her
. Isabelle stared back at him, her gaze rapidly searching his blood streaked face.

   She loved him, she truly did love him. Isabelle forced herself to take a deep breath before she fainted, or threw up. She didn’t know
how
or when it had happened, but it had. It scared the hell out of her. She started to tremble with fear, and the overwhelming emotion of love that was tearing through her. She hadn’t wanted this, had never wanted to be this vulnerable to anyone, but she did love him. She knew in that moment that she would die for him,
and
that she would surely die without him. She needed him as much as she needed blood, as much as she needed her family. The need was stunning in its ferocity.   

   “Isabelle,” he said gently.

   She forced herself to push the emotion aside as she focused on her brother again. The wounds seemed to be getting better by the second as her mother took away a towel that was only splotched with blood, not saturated. She could see sinew starting to rebuild, closing the wound that had gone straight through before. Relief flowed through her, leaving her weak and trembling as she placed a hand against the back of the couch, leaning against it for support.

   “What happened?”

   Isabelle turned as Kathleen, Delia, and Jess appeared in the doorway. Jess’s eyes lo
cked on Isabelle, hatred blazed
through them as they quickly took in the fact that she was wearing Stefan’s shirt. A small tremor rocked Isabelle as the force of that hatred slammed into her. A low growl sounded from behind her and Jess’s eyes instantly darted to Stefan
and
widen
ed
in surprise. Isabelle turned to
him;
his jaw was locked with fury, his eyes blazing with anger as he glowered at Jess. For a moment, the room was filled with a tense fury that shook her, and Isabelle found herself frightened that he would snap.

   “We need to call an ambulance!” Kathleen cried, breaking the tension as she spun toward the kitchen.