Reclaimed (17 page)

“Ever hear of love at first sight? Seen, oh, I don’t know, like one hundred movies about it? Read a few books?” Sabrina scoffed.

“But those are fake. And they don’t involve my baby sister.”

“Well, your ‘baby sister’ is fine, and happy. Marie, I’m finally
happy
. I can see myself by his side. I can picture a life with this guy. Do you understand what I’m saying? I’m letting myself picture it. You, of all people, should know how hard this is for me.” Sabrina finished on a whisper.

She’d always had a hard time trusting men. Her former fiancé, Mike, had been a royal ass. She had thought she’d hit the jackpot, but instead gotten a virus—not literally, though it probably would have happened eventually. He banged anything wearing a skirt—or not. He’d been an equal-opportunity-asshole. But even knowing most men were not like him, she held herself back for years from her emotions. No man had proven worth getting hurt over. Until now.

Until Isaac.

Marie went pale and nodded. “Okay, okay. I’ll relax. I can’t help but worry about you. I love you. I’ve been your mom since our folks died. It’s hard for me to let go.” Tears shone in her eyes, and Sabrina swallowed past the lump in her throat.

She hugged Marie, unsure how to respond to what was said, but thankfully got saved from trying by her sister’s loud yawn.

“I love you, too,” she murmured. “And you’ve done a great job. You can relax now. I’m okay.”

“I’ll try. I promise I’ll try,” Marie assured Sabrina.

Chapter Eleven

She stood in the woods, once more enrobed in purple moonlight, and realized no wind rustled her hair. Utter silence surrounded her, but she could tell Elijah watched her from behind. She spun around to face him and froze at the sight of him. She hadn’t seen him in weeks, so she took her time surveying him. His eyes gleamed in the moonlight, his mouth pressed tight into a grim line. He watched her…no, scratch the last statement.

He glared at her.

Oh, boy.

“Why did you bring me here? Where were you?” she inquired as she sat on a fallen tree and sighed.

He looked startled and replied, “I went off to hunt Louisa. We fought and she ran away. She’s still out there somewhere, but she isn’t here anymore. I can’t find any traces of her.”

“Are you…okay?”

He snickered. “Oh yeah, I’m great. Never been better.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She felt his pain as if it were her own. He’d been hurt when she had chosen Isaac, as if he somehow sensed it had been decided.

He cursed and ran his hand through his hair in agitation. He looked so much like Isaac, she paused. “No, I’m sorry. You don’t deserve my anger.” He sighed loudly and sat beside her. “I always seem to lose my temper around you. Not the best way to win the girl, is it? Sabrina, I’m sorry about—”

“Shh. It’s okay. I’m sorry I pried. It’s obviously a sore subject, for both of you.” She didn’t want to trigger an angry response from him by discussing what had happened at her house weeks ago. And she certainly didn’t want to discuss him killing Amelia.

“Yes, but I should have known you’d ask. And I left because I had to chase Louisa. I didn’t want to leave you, I swear. I wanted to explain, to make you understand….”

He stared at her, the longing clear in his eyes, and she met his gaze hesitantly. The same love Isaac showed her—and the same devotion—shone in Elijah’s as well. It hurt to look at him, to know she couldn’t return his love the way he wanted to. She lurched to her feet, ready to flee back to reality.

“I really shouldn’t be here right now. Isaac would be upset if he knew.”

“Does Isaac already have such a claim on you that you must worry even about your dreams?” He jumped to his feet to pace furiously, fists clenched at his sides. “You don’t know what it felt like, watching Amelia die. It ruined me. It’s not a day any of us need to reflect upon, I assure you.”

“It’s okay, really. I know enough, I don’t need to hear about it anymore!” she exclaimed.

“What did Isaac tell you? How much of a monster I am? How I stole the only love of his life, the only thing that mattered to him in the world, and killed her?”

The last came out a growl, and she winced when he gripped her arms so tightly they throbbed.

Her temper swelled and she leaned into his face to jeer, “No, he told me what happened, and the discussion ended. There were no lies, no drama. No raised voices. Unlike
now
.”

He let out a string of curses and released her. “I’m sorry, again. I just get so angry when I think of you two. When I picture you in his arms, I get angry enough to snap, and I do. Unfortunately, it’s always seems to be at you. It should be Isaac, though.
He
somehow discovered my plan to meet you at McGuiness. I hadn’t even sensed him nearby.”

Sabrina cocked her head, confused by his statement. “What do you mean, he discovered about meeting me at McGuiness?”

“In your dream. I told you to meet me at McGuiness. Do you recall that night?”

“Yes, of course. But it was Isaac, not you…right?”

“It was me in the dream, but him in the daylight,” he bit out.

“Oh. So you’re telling me you’d intended to be there, but Isaac found out and beat you to me?” Sabrina inquired.

“Yes. I’d seen him go into the tavern the first day you saw him, and I knew he’d seen you. When he came out, looking flustered, I knew I had to act fast. I couldn’t go in there to talk to you. The risk was too great. Enforcers swim all over the damn place all day—even the homeless guy is on their payroll. I watched you leave, and wanted to speak to you so bad. But I didn’t dare to on their stomping grounds.”

Zeke’s on their payroll? Why, for the love of God, didn’t he have a home? Maybe it had been a front all along?

“Wait…you were the one I saw that day?” She gasped as she remembered thinking she’d seen a man in the shadows. “I saw you, but thought I hallucinated.”

“Yes, it was me. I wanted to come to you, but I didn’t. Damn it.” He kicked a huge rock, and she watched it sail through the air and crash into a tree, denting the rough bark. “So I came to you in a blasted dream, and told you to meet me there when I knew it would be closed. There’d be no risk of running into Isaac or his big oaf, Connor. But you would go to the familiar location, thinking Isaac would be there. And since you hadn’t met Isaac yet, it would have been
me
. I would be the one in your bed. I would be the one you trusted. Not
him
.”

She flushed as images of them in bed together played through her head. “How do you know he did it in trickery? Maybe he just happened to show up. He had no way of knowing you were planning the same. And he goes there all the time.”

“I don’t know how he did it!” he exclaimed in frustration, as he slashed a hand through the air. “All I do know is he’s a sneaky bastard who stole you away. And now he reaps the benefits.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way. Maybe he did or didn’t do what you say. But even if he did, who are you to judge? Need I remind you what happened to Amelia?”

Elijah sucked in his breath. “Touché.”

“I’m sorry. You have so much anger in you, it’s hard not to fight back sometimes,” she murmured. This conversation had gone on long enough. Isaac wouldn’t like this—not one little bit. And, yes, she cared about his feelings. How could she not, when she loved him?

She cared for Elijah, too, though. Which royally sucked, since he should be her enemy…since he was Isaac’s. But, she felt a pull toward him, some feelings she could not shove aside. His sadness struck her as if it were her own. Seeing him alone in the world hurt. He needed a friend. Couldn’t she be that for him, at least?

Would it be so wrong to fill that position?

“Anger over losing you? Yes, I do. Anger over watching Amelia die? Yes, that too. It eats at me, consumes me. I breathe, feel, and live anger and pain. It is all I know. I can’t stand knowing I have lost you—
again
.”

“You never had me. I’m not Amelia. You have to understand the difference here. And I love him. Not you. I’m sorry.” She ended on a whisper.

“You thought you loved him before. I proved you wrong,” he pointed out. Desperation rang out in his tone, and he leaned toward her. His gaze bore into hers, beseeching her to give into his will.

“That isn’t
me
, Elijah. I’m not her. We are two different people,” she insisted. “Why can’t you accept I’m not your long-lost love, but only a woman who resembles her?”

“Damn it, Sabrina. You
are
her, and you belong with me, not him,” he urged.

“No, I don’t,” she whispered. She felt bad for being so blunt. His love shone clear in his eyes. But she loved Isaac, and the sooner Elijah accepted it, the better off they would all be. “Elijah, Isaac and I are close now. I know there are feelings you have…you’ve confused me for Amelia. I’m not her. I know you think you care for me, but—”

“I think I care for you? I’m sorry, but that’s an understatement.” He laughed harshly and grabbed her hand to place it on his chest before biting out, “Do you feel a heartbeat? No? Well, it used to beat for you, and only you. If I had a heart now, it would still beat only for you.

“Why does your heart beat faster when I’m near?” He placed his hand on her chest, and she flushed when her traitorous heart sped up. “I can hear your heart beating from a mile away. I hear it speed up as I come near. I hear your breathing get faster as well. Especially when I do this.”

Grabbing her chin firmly, he crushed his lips to her passionately. She cringed, afraid she’d feel the same surging emotions she always had in his arms. And to feel anything now would be the worst betrayal to her and Isaac. But she sagged against Elijah in relief when she realized she only had some slight desire toward him. But not
love
. Never love.

He wasn’t Isaac.

He seemed to sense she didn’t react as she had in the past, for he pulled back to look at her, shock and resignation in his eyes.

She, however, couldn’t help but be marvelously relieved. Elijah no longer had a pull over her. For her, Isaac—and only Isaac—would do. She smiled but flinched in guilt as she saw Elijah’s distraught face. She cupped his cheek, as she gave him one last tender peck on his lips.

“I’m sorry. You have to let me go,” she whispered.

“But, Sabrina—” His words were lost in the howling of the winds whipping in gale-like force around the two of them. Odd, it hadn’t seemed windy before….

An invisible force threw Elijah backward through the air. She heard a grunt of pain as he slammed into a tree. Unable to hold straight at the assault, it crashed to the ground. Elijah lay in a heap on the ground at the splintered base of the tree, unmoving for a split second. Leaping to his feet, he growled.

She turned to search the forest, but the furious wind whipped her hair in her face and the thunder crashing overhead told her with frightening clarity who lurked in the shadows.

Isaac.

Her heart lurched to a halt as she realized he had seen her kissing Elijah. He would be mad. No, furious. The dangerous storm attested to as much. They were going to fight over her, and one of them would die.

Oh, God.

“Isaac, no!” She screamed too late. He already soared through the air to crash on top of Elijah. He snarled and grabbed Elijah’s head. She gasped when she realized he tried to
rip
his head off. The next step to killing him, she knew, would be salt water.

He didn’t fight to teach a lesson to Elijah—he fought to kill.

She rushed toward the pair and shrieked when Isaac flew through the air and slid across the ground before colliding against a huge rock. Elijah straddled him and lifted his head by the hair to punch him in the face.

Anger surged through her at the assault. “Elijah, no. Get off of him!” He ignored her, and his fist smashed into Isaac’s face once more. Isaac struggled to free himself, but Elijah’s grip proved too strong to break. They spun in mid-air, defying gravity as each fought to gain the upper hand. Sabrina chased them once more.

Damn it, why the heck can’t I fly?

“
I’ll…kill…you….” Isaac vowed.

Sabrina noticed his teeth glistened in the moonlight, much like Elijah’s did. Oh, God, he’d turned into a vampire. She’d never seen him in another form, besides brief glimpses here and there as he left. Which left him vulnerable—and he could die. She had to make them stop this madness.

“Isaac, Elijah, this has to stop, now. Get off him, Elijah!” she shouted as she bolted toward them once more.

Oh, God, what if one of them got hurt—or worse yet, died? She had to do something besides shriek at them uselessly. They came to a halt by an enormous tree, and she wasted no time in reaching them. She was acting foolish, reckless even, to interfere in a battle between two immortals. But she could not—
would not
—stand by idly.

She leapt onto Elijah’s back and yanked his hair as hard as she could. He hissed in anger, but didn’t release Isaac. She tightened her grip even more, but he continued to ignore her. She cocked an arm back and punched him as hard as she could on the side of his head. He snarled in response, but continued to pull on Isaac’s head. Isaac’s eyes were not on his opponent, but instead they focused on her. And he appeared furious.

“Sabrina, get off him!” he shouted. “And leave now.”

She glared in response. Leave? Not a bloody chance in hell. She snubbed him as inspiration struck. Her puny strength did nothing to stop Elijah, so she threw her hands over his eyes to blind him. Brilliant.

He roared and arched his back, and reached behind his back to rip her off. Caught in the heat of battle, he tossed her aside. She cried out as her head slammed on the ground. She lay in a daze, staring up at the starless sky. Black spots swam before her vision, and she gasped for air.