Trinity - Defying Destiny (16 page)

Chapter Thirty-One

My mind was a shamble when I went up to the main house to join the others for dinner. Jason was still not back and a burning feeling in my stomach had grown out of control. Everyone around the table was chattering while Mr. and Mrs. Jane asked questions about the supernatural world that their children were involved in. True to their nature, they seemed interested, astonished, and not at all angry. Perhaps some disappointment that their children, along with Sky and I were in danger and themselves as well, but they hid those fears well. They truly were great parents and I felt sad that they had to go through it all. The only solace they had, was that their children, if not killed would live well beyond their death and as Vex had told me, ‘No parent should have to bury their own child.’ It was a cruel fate he had told me with a burning pain showing on his face, not hiding it but rather embracing it.

I had sat at the table quiet and just listening, their eyes occasionally looking my way, eager to know what I knew. I sat there thinking of nothing, blocking them all out, including, Garth if it were even possible. The father-daughter ties that bound us seemed to disturb me more than him. Though since he has been able to feel me for some time I guess, he must have been used to it.

It was creeping me out more that I could not hide all my feelings and emotions about Jason. I wondered how much he could feel and hear. From some of my thoughts and possibly Jason’s I was guessing he blocked those out otherwise I was sure Jason would be sporting either a broken nose or worse.

Garth did come across protective, as did Vex, and for that matter so did Lachlan and Jason. At times like this, sitting at dinner I felt overwhelmed by it all. I wanted my own thoughts and I wanted them left alone. My mind, as I had once thought, was not my own; knowing this now, well it felt like a kind of an intrusion. We were all linked, but it was only them on the receiving end. It seemed unfair.

After dinner, I helped Nikkee and Sky clean up. The food was lovely as always. The others had gone off to the rumpus room for drinks. After we finished cleaning up I went back out to our little granny flat with Nikkee and Sky.

We were sitting on Nikkee’s bed. I lounged on one pillow propping myself up on my elbows and resting my head in my hand.

I told them what Carra had said as they sat and listened.

“So we need to go back to that Club where Steven works?” Nikkee asked.

“Yes. With Sab,” I told them.

Sky had never been there with us, but she followed along.

“So that is how we find the book?” she asked.

“Yes, and Steven as well as the bones. Carra didn’t say exactly, but he is, after all, tracking the magic of the person that helped them to be stolen, so I am guessing it’s all linked.” I knew what I said was true even if it was not told to me. I felt like I was finally on the right path.

“And you have magic too?” Sky said in way of asking.

I looked down at my hands, “Energy to create magic I suppose.”

I still didn’t believe it, but Carra had never steered me wrong before, well mostly. I understand what she said about me needing to go to Paro. She knew that was where I would look and did not steer me away from that course of thinking. She hadn’t known what would happen, but just knew that she had to go there, as I also did. How cruel is fate?

The night was dark, and the moon was getting smaller and smaller. I lay on my bed tucked under just a sheet as the heat of summer had well and truly set in. The curtain was drawn so I could see clearly. I raised my hand out in front of my face and made my nails or I should say claws come in and out. The change still astounded me and they came out at random times when I didn’t want them to. I had been told I needed to learn restraint and so that was what I was trying to do while I kept my thoughts off Jason.

It was two am and I really didn’t want to sleep until I knew he was back. I thought perhaps he would be in the main house, but I didn’t want to keep checking.

I flexed my fist, in and out, controlling the change.

There was a soft tap at my door, which made me jump slightly, I was so focussed on what I was doing.

I sat up as the door opened.

He closed the door behind him and turned around with a sly smirk on his face. My heart started to race and I felt a slight panic. His eyes grew greener and brighter with each step he took. He looked like he had a deep burning need. He stopped just in front of my bed and chuckled.

“I am a man Trinity. But I have not come to ravage you,” he said laughing, “Besides the fact that your father is sitting in the lounge room wide awake,” he cocked one eyebrow.

I laughed at my innocence.

He sat down on the edge of my bed and grabbed my hand.

“You have been troubled,” he said as a matter of fact.

I sighed and looked down at his hand holding my own, “I thought I was blocking you out.”

“You have, it’s just written all over your face.”

“I am worried about some things that Carra told me. Something is going to happen and I am going to pay the price for my decision,” I confessed.

He reached his hand out and placed it down the side of my face. I leaned into it.

“You know what I have always liked about you?” he asked, but answered before I could say anything, “Your caring nature and how even though you had it tough you still smiled, you still cared and didn’t turn into the woman that somewhat mothered you. You are unique and sexy, different with a sense of humour and a huge heart. I am not the best at being forward or saying my feelings, but there are more than enough times for me to know how much I love you just by the sheer thought of you being hurt or capturing the eye of someone else,” he finished with a lopsided smile, slightly red cheeks and blazing eyes.

“I’m so unfamiliar with this entire boyfriend, girlfriend stuff. It is normal to be so jealous and suspicious?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“Trust is something we must earn from each other. In time it will come. Being jealous just reminds you how much you care for someone. Did you know that Chelsi had cheated on me?” he asked.

I pulled back and looked at him from a further distance to see if he was having a go at me. “No, she wouldn’t have,” I protested.

“No, she did.”

“With whom and why?” I asked with more curiosity than I should have. It also made me sad that someone could do that to him.

He raised his shoulders and then let them drop. “With another wolf under my command. He was quite pleased with himself as he had more than a few times challenged me for Alpha. I think he thought it would break me when in fact it really did not bother me,” he confessed.

“Why didn’t it bother you?” I asked.

“Because I only ever had one person on my mind. Try as I did to get you out of my head it never worked. You see Chelsi clung to me when I turned her, she is, in fact in the right to be an Alpha, but she will never be. I used her just as she had me. She has since regretted it, but also when she had cheated, I simply said, ‘it was alright, I had eyes for another,’ catty, but true. That is her hate for you. She now knows that it was you that my eyes had always been set on,” he said looking down at the sheet, picking at it slightly near my knee.

Each slight touch felt like small currents of electricity zapping my skin, it was nice but also unbearable. I wanted him to touch more of me, have his lips upon my own and hold me tight.

He made a chuckling sound and looked up, “So you see, I wasn’t going off to see Chelsi. Even though I did not have strong feelings for her, to begin with, it’s still a sting knowing what she had done. It repulsed me more than you know to have to hold her hand and pretend we were a happy couple. It was even worse knowing what you were feeling about it.” He looked up and met my eyes, “I know I’m not the most open person, but I promise I will be with you. After all, I know mostly what you are feeling so I think that’s only fair,” he grinned flashing his teeth at me.

I sucked in a short breath. I felt like I was going to die or at least faint every time I saw that gorgeous smile.

“So I went out, called in a few favours and got you a Christmas present,” he announced and pulled a small box out of his pocket setting it on top of my knee.

“But, it’s not Christmas,” I protested.

“Yes, it is, since a few hours ago,” he smiled again.

I shook my head and thought back. Yes, Christmas decorations had been out, they always were around October. Jason’s parents’ tree was up in their living room, but it had been since we finished school. I counted on my fingers as well as in my head and realisation hit me. It was in fact Christmas after all.

“Oh crap. That came fast,” I said sheepishly.

“Yeah, I never took much stock in it until now,” he replied.

I looked down to the little box and then back up to him. “But I don’t have anything for you,” I explained.

He waved a hand as dismissal and leaned back on his elbows resting his head in his hand watching me with his wolf eyes.

My hands slightly shook as I reached out and picking it up. I popped open the lid to find a silver ring with a small bright blue Sapphire in the middle and three tiny diamonds on each side.

“It’s beautiful,” I said in a whisper, as I looked it over between my fingers. I noticed writing on the inside. Yours for eternity.

“Oh, Jason! It’s so… I am lost for words,” I said in a quiet voice.

He sat back up and took the ring from me. “I thought it was fitting. The stone looks like your eyes and the three diamonds on each side is a symbol of your name, three, Trinity. I saw it while I was down here freeing Dustin. I bought it on the spot, but it still needed engraving and with everything going on, I just didn’t have the time.” He grabbed my right hand and placed it on my fourth finger, “It is a promise. I promise to be truthful and trustworthy towards you always.”

It was so romantic and so unlike Jason that I was lost for words. I didn’t know he would be like this, hard as stone, strong, protective and yet sweet and loving when we were alone. I was smitten before, but now I was positively gone.

I leapt up, threw my arms around his neck, and crushed my lips to his, fast. His arms went around me and held me tight. I lost myself in his touch and warmth. I thought of nothing but him and me. All my worries and fears left me when I was in his arms. He was my strength. Nikkee and Sky were too, but this was something else, this was something special just for me.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Jason stayed in my bed and was a gentleman the whole night. He didn’t ask for anything more than just being next to me and helped keep my dreams at bay. I had woken up with the sun shining on my body; I held my hand out and let my ring gleam in the sunlight. It was stunning and beautiful. I had been so nervous to open the box. I wasn’t sure what it was. Jason and I had only been together a few weeks and yet I got butterflies thinking he was going to propose. I don’t think I would have said yes, as it was too soon, it felt as though it wasn’t, but I knew it was. I had laughed in my own head at the thought. I knew Jason was not that type of person to rush into stuff. I thought the promise was more appropriate, especially with my emotions and feelings being so confused. I knew now where I definitely stood with Jason. His words had meaning and the thought of the ring made it known. Not that I needed jewellery to know that, but it was the meaning behind it. He could have brought a 50-cent ring from a vending machine and it would have had the same effect.

I had reluctantly snuck out of the bed, leaving his sleeping form where it was. He was exhausted; I could tell by his deep breathing that he needed rest.

I went to the bathroom, showered and freshened myself up. My stomach growled and the smell of pancakes crept down the hallway, making me rush into the open plan living, kitchen and dining area.

Garth and Vex were sitting on the couch while Nikkee and Lachlan were at the table. Sky was in the kitchen cooking up a storm. I looked around and found the whole area was decorated for Christmas even with a tree.

“What the hell?” I questioned upon entering the room and seeing it all.

“Merry Christmas!” Nikkee sang out and sprang to her feet rushing over engulfing me in a massive hug.

“Wow, this is amazing. I didn’t even hear you do any of it,” I said hugging her back.

“You had other things on your mind and then, well Jason kept you occupied,” she said grinning. “It’s our first Christmas as a new family,” she explained.

Again, I looked around and smiled. “Ah, we may need a bigger house for next year,” I explained.

“That will be arranged once we know what’s going on,” Garth said next to me. He put his arm over my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. I automatically did the same back as if that was the way we had always done it, and yet it was the first time.

I looked up and smiled at him. He was trying and I decided that I should also. At least I finally had some family that I could say were just my own.

We ate the breakfast that Sky had cooked for us all. It was delicious and so was the blood bags that Nikkee and I sucked into.

“Will the Club be open tonight being Christmas?” I asked between large mouthfuls.

“Yes, it never closes,” Lachlan answered.

“Why there?” Jason asked next to me.

He had woken up just in time for breakfast and I blushed a bit when Nikkee and Sky started gushing over the ring he got me for Christmas.

“I don’t know. That is all Carra told me. She is a bit cryptic at times, but I guess I can’t be told all the answers,” I replied with a slight shrug of my shoulders.

“Have you heard anything else about ‘Mutual’?” Jason asked.

Garth gave a nod, then sat forward, placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. A frown came across his face as he said, “Yes, the whole place is gone. Nothing can be saved. The whole complex is burnt to the ground a large crater of rubble. Everyone scattered, but they are messaging regularly. We need a new house and fast,” he spoke in a serious tone.

“Why?” I asked.

“We don’t know who or why they did it,” Lachlan said.

“No, I mean, why do we need a new place fast?” I corrected myself.

“Because some of the vampires and werewolves that were there are new and scared. They cannot go back to their families. They need shelter, protection and help controlling their impulses,” Vex answered.

I looked down thinking. “What about a school?” I suggested.

Lachlan frowned at me.

“No, really. Like ‘Mutual’, but a college or something. Build a whole new school, but for our kind,” I said, liking my idea, as it would mean I could go to school without interference.

“It’s not a bad idea, but it would take months,” Garth said obviously reading my thoughts.

“We need something now though,” Lachlan insisted with an impatient tone.

“Okay grumpy pants. What idea do you have?” I half snapped at him.

His eyes glared at me, “We can take some to my house and Jason’s, for now. However, we will need to buy something soon. Even if we just buy a mansion in Montana, an estate.”

“That’s a good idea,” Vex said.

“Jason, do you mind?” Garth asked as if no one else thought to.

“No,” he replied.

“Right, Vex can gather the vampires, take them to Lachlan’s and I will take the wolves to Jason’s,” he said to us all.

“You lot go to the club and have a look around,” Vex added.

“What do we do if something happens?” I asked.

“We won’t be far away, both Jason and Lachlan’s place is in Surface Paradise,” Garth answered.

I looked at Sky and Nikkee, “I am not quite sure what I am even looking for,” I admitted.

“Information probably. If Carra is leading you there, then someone must know something,” Vex assured me.

“Do humans and witches go there?” I asked.

“Yes, those that know about our kind, some stumble in there on drunken nights and usually go home with a few puncture marks,” Lachlan said with a laugh.

I couldn’t help but giggle at it too, it made me think of Nikkee when she had offered a bite session with Steven not knowing he was a vampire.

Lachlan realized what I was laughing about and then his eyes went cold. The silence in the room was unbearable as everyone started thinking, about what I didn’t know.  I know I was consumed with trying to figure out the puzzle at hand.

I stood up finally as eyes looked my way, “Well, I guess we should get organized. The coast is a couple of hours drive away,” I said while carefully stepping in between legs and bodies and out of the kind of circle we were all sitting in.

Nikkee, Sky, Lachlan, and I were in Nikkee’s car while Vex, Garth and Jason were in his. I wanted to be with him, but we had other paths to take.

I looked at Nikkee’s parents and waved as they saw us all off.

We had gone back to the main house to wish them a Merry Christmas and open presents. I had received a beautiful silver bracelet with gemstones around the boarder. Sky got the same and so did Nikkee. Her mum told us it was to link us together as we always had been. It was very sweet. We didn’t tell them what we were doing, as the less they knew the better. They did know it was important as we couldn’t join them for Christmas lunch, but they were not put out. They never were. I loved them dearly.

“It’s platinum,” Lachlan spoke next to me in the back seat.

“Huh,” I said, looking at him.

“The ring and the bracelet, it’s not silver, its platinum gold,” the corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile.

“Oh, I thought it was silver,” I said even though he obviously knew what I was thinking.

He laughed, “It is easily missed if you don’t know your jewellery,” he pointed out.

“Well, I have only got Carra’s necklace. Nothing else until now,” I stated.

“That is platinum too,” he added.

My hand went to my neck and touched it unconsciously. It always felt warm sitting on my chest.

Nikkee had backed out and was now following Jason’s car.

“Did you feel me when I was in the forest?” I asked Lachlan. I had wondered how much they could now feel about me if I concentrated enough.

“Well, yes and no. I could feel when you had gone to sleep. Only just. Your thoughts and feelings are becoming more and more distant. I myself block you out when it is needed. It’s not hard to do once you get the hang of it,” he told me.

“I can barely feel Nikkee,” I told them.

“That could be because you are working so hard on blocking the rest of us out. In time, it just comes natural. And your thoughts and feelings will be just a small feeling in the back of my mind. I can choose when to and not to bring it out, but when you are blocking us all, I don’t really have a choice,” he finished frowning.

“It’s all so confusing,” I admitted.

He smiled at me, “It is. See, I mainly feel you when you are screaming, like in your head. It is usually when you are scared, confused and all that.”

“So you are not too scared and confused Nikkee?” I asked.

She glanced in the rear vision mirror and smiled. “Yes and no. I feel hungry all the time and I have been struggling with not eating random people, but mostly I say to myself ‘If Sky and Trinity can do it then so can I’,” she said grinning.

“I am scared,” Sky said from the front seat. “I am scared that I don’t know what I am capable of. Garth said that we would go into a kind of frenzy at the next full moon. We will want to hunt. I am worried I will hunt the wrong thing if I let my wolf take over me completely,” she confessed to us all.

“Wolves and vampires struggle with the same drive, hunt and eat, only a vampires needs are much greater and we need the blood to survive. It is like the virus changes our DNA code and our red blood cell count drops. You could just get a blood transfusion, but drinking it is the better way, because you still want to eat even after that,” Lachlan said.

“So it’s like being fed through a tube in the hospital, you still feel hungry even though you are getting food?” I asked.

“Yes, your mind is still telling you to eat.”

“So, what about us drinking out of bags. Is that why I still feel hungry because I have not taken it from the vein?” I asked.

“Yes, exactly,” he replied happy that I have caught on.

A shiver ran down my spine thinking of my last feed, but then my mouth watered.

“How soon will I have to feed before I kill someone again?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“Tonight, and Nikkee as well. She has let it go far too long, longer than you, but she is like you when you first turned. You both don’t act like newborns, but who knows,” he pondered, waving a hand as a matter of fact.

“Tonight?” I exclaimed. “But we have other stuff to do, stuff more important,” I protested.

“No, you will both feed before we go,” he said in a stern tone.

“Why?” I asked.

“Do you want to kill someone again Trinity?” he snapped, getting angry at my protests.

I leaned away from him as his words stung; I looked out the car window and saw Jason’s brake lights come on and his car slow.

“Sorry,” Lachlan said. “Look, you let it go too far and then you couldn’t control yourself. You may not want to feed off someone, but you have to. It’s that simple. The blood bags will tied you both over, like it does with me and Vex, but in the end, we still need fresh blood from the vein.”

I relaxed my shoulders a little and tried to imagine Vex feeding off someone.

“Vex can go longer as he is much older. In time, you will be able to withstand the need longer and longer too. Or maybe you won’t be able to because of the two beasts inside you,” he said in a kinder tone.

I looked back out the front window and saw Jason’s car start to move faster. I frowned.

“Why do I need to have it for two beasts? Wolves don’t drink human blood?” I pointed out.

“No, but we do like it fresh from a kill or have our steak raw or even just rare to not arouse suspicion at restaurants,” Sky said adding, “Ally told me,” she finished in a quiet tone.

I knew Sky was worried for Ally even if she had turned her because she was possessed with magic, but they too had a bond growing and I started to feel guilty that I had over looked Sky’s need to find her. I looked to Lachlan and wondered if I would have the same fear if he were to disappear. I knew I would with Jason; I didn’t even need to ask myself that question. Then the answer came to me without even re-thinking it. Yes, I would, just like how I want to save anyone that was taken by the humans.

“How did they manage to be taken by humans anyways?” I asked, the thought never crossing my mind until now. I guess it was human of me to think they were as well.

“Dustin reported that there were a lot of tranquilizer darts around the burnt rubble,” Lachlan answered.

“So, they what… Shot them like animals?” I asked feeling angry.

Lachlan looked at me with a ‘you already know’ look. “Yes, that is what we are,” he said in a plain tone.

“No, we are not,” I said with force.

He reached a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Trinity, the sooner you come to terms with yourself the better. You are an animal, so is Sky, Nikkee, Jason, myself, and even your father. The list goes on. We are what we are. We have killed innocent people, we have broken laws, defied the laws of nature. Yes, we are animals and that is that,” he said in a tired kind of tone.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, we don’t need to act like it or be treated like one,” I said stubbornly.