My insides squeezed together in a tight ball of emotions. My heart felt like it exploded in my chest. I was so stupid. He didn't love me. How could I be stupid enough to confuse his jealousy over Jace with love? All I wanted to do was curl up in a corner and cry. Seb did it to me again. Twice, he had rejected me. He caused a new wound before the old one could even heal.
“Ana…” He began to say but my right palm hitting his face silenced him. My whole body was shaking. I turned and stormed off before I caused any real damage. I shouldered past Jace and walked into my room. I ignored everyone and went right into the bathroom, locking myself in. My powers were shimmering below the surface of my skin. I stared at my eyes in the mirror above the sink. They were blazing blue with bolts striking through every few seconds.
Control it, Ana.
If I didn't calm myself, I would bring this whole building down. My hands gripped the porcelain sink so tightly, it started to crack. Seb will not get this type of reaction from me again.
***
Marie
I knew my brother was hurting. All my life, whenever Seb was in pain, I could always feel it like we were twins. Only, we weren’t. The car ride with the strange giddy girl had me completely exhausted. The girl, Lily, sang the whole way to Ana’s motel; quite badly, in fact. Add that to the intense emotions of my brother in the back seat and I was ready to combust. Finally, we arrived, and both my brother and I eagerly jumped out of the car. Everyone quietly watched Ana and that boy she kissed get out of their vehicle. I still couldn’t believe Ana had kissed another boy. Granted, I knew Seb hurt her, but I was sure the love they shared was strong, and Seb could easily get Ana back. Guess it won’t be so easy now with another guy in the picture. I briefly wondered if this boy was the same one Ana used to tell me about when she first turned.
Ana had scooped the curly-headed boy in her arms as if he were light as a feather. Ana should not be broadcasting her strength like that. Without even looking at my brother, I knew Seb was on his way to correct that problem. Once he took the boy from Ana, we all followed her into the room she was staying in. The room wasn’t great, but it was still better than the slaves’ room at Marcos’ manor.
“Can I speak with you for a second?” Seb asked Ana. Before he exited the room, I gave my brother an encouraging smile. We rehearsed his apology the whole way here. Now all he had to do was put his jealousy to the side and tell Ana he loved her. Then, they could be together, and I could relax. Well, at least, that was what I hoped for.
“Hello, I’m Marie,” I said to the remaining people in the room. The silence was starting to become too much.
“I’m Lily.” The chubby girl said, dusting off a chair that looked perfectly clean to me.
“Hi, I’m Jace and this drunk is Simon,” the boy said, pointing at himself and then to the sleeping form on the bed.
So, he was Jace. He was the one Ana had feelings for when she was still human. Well, this was an interesting turn of events. Still, if Seb told Ana how he felt, I was sure he could still win her heart.
“So, how do you know Ana?” Jace asked politely, smiling. He was attractive. There was no denying that, but was he the one for Ana?
“Oh, Jana and I are best friends! She saved my life,” Lily said a little smugly.
“Her name is Ana, not Jana.” I corrected.
Lily only shrugged it off and began texting on her phone.
“How do you know her?” Jace asked, turning his gaze to me. The boy in the bed mumbled and rolled over.
“Uh, long story. I’ll get him a cold towel.” I responded then dashed off to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure how much they knew about Ana, but I was certain it wasn’t much. I came back out and sat down next to Simon. I gently began wiping his face with the cold damp towel. This was the guy I was most excited to meet; Ana’s best friend. I’d heard so much about Simon, it was if I already knew him. As I ran the towel down his cheek, he slowly opened his eyes.
“Y-you look like an angel…my angel…” He mumbled, staring directly at me for a moment before his eyes closed again.
I was stunned by his words. No one ever called me an angel before. The smile that spread across my face was surprising yet intoxicating.
Simon, you look like angel, too. I kept that thought to myself and continued wiping his face.
“I’m going to make sure everything is okay out there.”
I barely heard Jace. I knew I should have stopped him, but for some reason, I was drawn to this sleeping boy; like my body didn’t want to leave his side. This was strange. I continued to stare at his adorable small face and huge head of curls. The urge to touch them was overwhelming. What was this I was feeling? Could it be that I was attracted to him?
I shook off those thoughts for now and continued to soothe him. The moment was cut off by Ana storming into the room. From the way the bathroom door slammed, I knew instantly my plan didn’t work. Oh Sebby, what have you done.
I stood and quickly left the room to find my brother. I would console Ana after I hit my stupid brother on the head.
“Bestie, open the door. It’s me!” Lily said, knocking on the bathroom door.
I knew Ana wouldn’t open that door anytime soon.
When I stepped outside, I was glad I did. Seb and Jace were inches apart. Judging from their matching tense stances and balled fists, a fight was only a punch away; one that Seb would easily win. I quickly inserted myself in the small space between them.
“I don’t know who you are or what you are to Ana, but just know, she will be mine,” Jace said confidently.
They were both taller than me, so it was almost as if I wasn’t standing there.
“Not if I have anything to do with it.” Seb responded with matching confidence.
I knew I had to stop them before it got out of hand, and I was getting annoyed with them talking over my head.
“Jace, could I speak with my brother alone. Please,” I said in my sweetest voice.
One thing about being small was that people never think of you as a threat. Stupid of them. Jace looked down at me and gave a stiff nod before turning and walking back into the room. I wasted no time flipping on my brother.
“What the heck happened?”
Seb sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“I didn’t exactly stick to the plan,” he said, looking exhausted.
“It was simple, Seb. Apologize, confess your love, the end. What went wrong?”
“My apology fell short, and I may have suggested that I didn’t love her…” He trailed off.
“What?!” I shouted. I couldn’t believe this. Are all men this stupid or just my brother?
“I wanted to tell her. I was going to, but when he came out here, I saw them kissing in my head, and I got angry. It happened so fast, and then Ana slapped me…” He trailed off again and touched his red cheek.
So, not only did he ruin the plan, he managed to make the situation worse, to the point where Ana actually slapped him! Unbelievable! If this is what love was, it might be better for me to just be alone.
I looked at the sad eyes of my brother. He was always so strong and protective. I was the only one he even showed his emotions to. All I wanted was for him to be happy. I knew, with all my heart, Ana was the one who could give him that happiness. If only he wasn’t such a fool about the whole thing.
“You’re an idiot, but you love that girl, and it’s time she knew it, Seb. You can’t hide your feelings forever,” I said gently.
Seb nodded and slung an arm over my shoulder. “I know. This is just harder than I expected.”
I laughed and Seb joined in. Guess it was not so simple after all.
The door opening caught both their attention. Ana stepped out, looking ready for war. Her hair was piled up and she had changed into black jeans and a black tank. I could never get over how beautiful Ana was, and from my brother’s sudden tense body, he was obviously thinking something along those lines.
“Ana, are you okay?” I as
ked softly, taking a step towards the girl I saw as a sister.
Ana cut her angry eyes briefly to Seb before looking back at me.
“I’m just great.” She replied rather sarcastically.
Oh Seb, you really pissed her off.
“Where are you going?” Seb demanded.
I just wanted to hit him right now. For some reason, he could never say the right things to Ana. He was the smartest man I knew, but when it came to Ana, he was a complete idiot.
Ana’s eyes flashed red with anger
“That’s not your concern,” Ana said, walking off.
“Ana, please don’t leave like this.” I begged. I knew she was hurting, but I really didn’t want her to be alone.
Ana slowly turned around and gave me a small smile.
“I need answers. I’m just going to see this woman named Helia. I won’t be long,” Ana said.
“I’m coming.” Seb jumped in.
Ana’s body froze.
“No, you’re not.” Ana’s voice was filled with anger, but I knew it was just to cover her pain.
“You are not going to see a great witch alone.” Seb told her sternly.
Ana raised a brow. “Witch?”
“Yes. Helia is a great witch. One of the most powerful witches alive. Marcos tried to contact her for a spell years ago, but he couldn’t find her. That’s the thing with witches; you can only find one when they allow you to.” Seb informed her then took cautious steps towards her direction.
He better be careful before Ana zapped him. But Ana seemed to be thinking over something hard; too hard to notice Seb now stood next to her.
“Helia is a witch. Helia knows the truth about me. I have to see her.” Ana rambled, more to herself than to us.
I was curious about Ana’s thoughts, but I didn’t ask.
“Hey, did you say you had to see Helia?” Jace asked as he closed the door behind him.
I gave my brother a stern look and mouthed “behave” to him.
“Yes. And no, you’re not coming.” Ana told him, snapping from her thoughts. She finally realized Seb was next to her. With one look, she had Seb taking a few steps back.
“Why do you need to see her?” Jace asked very suspiciously; almost like he knew something.
Ana sighed in frustration.
“What’s it to you, Jace? Do you know something about her?” By the tone of her voice, Ana was on edge.
I saw her get like this when Talon taunted her. If Ana didn’t calm down, her ability would start showing. Too much emotion caused her go haywire.
“Yeah, I know everything about her.” Jace said seriously.
Everyone stopped and stared at him. What did he mean by that?
“How?” Ana asked, taking even strides towards Jace’s direction.
It was silent for a moment. And then Jace said the last thing any of us expected to hear.
“Because she’s my grandmother.”
Chapter 20
Helia: The Great Witch, Part I
Marcos was losing his mind. When they returned from their horrible visit to Maximus, they discovered Seb had escaped. Marcos wasn’t too happy about that.
“How could this have happened?!” Marcos bellowed at one of the scared-looking human guards.
“I-I don't know, sir.” The human stuttered back.
Talon was trying to hide his amusement as he stood behind Marcos in his office. In Talon’s eyes, this was all Marcos' fault. He was too relaxed with Ana, and now, she escaped. Then, he left Seb alone with the human guards. With the amount of training Seb had, those guards didn't stand a chance.
Too bad, he couldn’t tell Marcos this.
Talon looked back up in time to see Marcos drop the lifeless man’s body to the ground. He had drained him of all his blood.
“The situation is out of control!” Marcos yelled, punching a hole in the wall.
Maybe for you, Talon thought. Seb’s leaving gave him a bonus kill. Oh, how he couldn't wait to rip him and that girl apart.
“I believe you should continue the search for the girl, and I'll find Seb.” Talon suggested. He knew well that Seb was in Mercy Falls because that was where Ana would have gone. That was another secret he kept from his master.
“The last scent of the girl was in Seattle. I'll start there. When you find Seb, bring him to me. I want to kill him myself,” Marcos said, his black eyes filled with rage.
Talon nodded in acceptance, but knew he wouldn't obey his master. As soon as Marcos left for Seattle, Talon would leave for Mercy Falls. He could barely contain his excitement at the thought of killing them both.
Oh Seb and Ana, beware.
***
Bobby
All I wanted was for Kim to shut up.
For the last hour, she and Josie had been going on nonstop about the new girl coming to the party. All this chatte r was seriously messing up my buzz.
I lifted the plastic cup to my mouth, downing the remaining contents. Josie leaned over me again to talk to Kim. I was starting to wonder why I sat in the middle of them.
“I heard from Ashley, who heard from Darcy, who heard from Stephanie, whose weird cousin, Eddy, works at that shitty motel outside of town that the new girl is staying there,” Josie said.
My head was spinning. I could barely understand her babble.
“We should go there tonight and give her a real welcome.” Kim replied in a devious voice.
I knew that meant bad things were going to happen to the new girl. I still couldn't believe she rejected my offer. No girl rejected me! Not to mention, I saw her leaving with Jace. I couldn't let my ex-best friend get the girl.
The only reason I slept with Kim was to get back at Jace for turning on me and befriending that geek, Simon. I quickly realized that Jace never even cared for Kim. It sucked for me because, now, I couldn't get rid of her.
I stood, no longer wanting to hear the girls’ plotting. I pushed my way through the crowd and headed upstairs for some peace. The party would continue all night, but I was too drunk to participate any further.
Goodness, it wasn’t even midnight yet.
Once upstairs, I found an empty room and collapsed onto the bed. I couldn't get the hot new girl out of my mind. I wondered if I actually wanted her for more than just sex. That would be a first.
Quietly, the bedroom door opened and, seconds later, I was being straddled.
“Hey, sexy. Waiting for me?” Kim purred, leaning closer to me. Her alcohol breath burned my nostrils.
“Get off.” I mumbled as I turned my head.
“What?!” Kim asked as if she didn't hear.
I grabbed her by the hips and pushed her off. She let out a yelp of surprise.
“What the hell, Bobby!” Kim screeched.
I couldn't stand the sound of her voice. Standing up, I reached down to zip up my pants that she had cleverly undone in seconds.
“What are you doing?” She questioned in her usual bitchy tone.
At this point, I just had enough of Kim. Without turning to face her, I walked towards the bedroom door.
“Later, Kim,” I said, pushing the door open and inserting myself back to the party.
Something was bothering me. That something, or rather someone, had blue eyes and long dark hair. I needed more time with the mystery girl of Mercy Falls.
And what I want, I always get.
Yanking another beer from the fridge, I decided then and there that I would go after her. If Jace got in my way, I'd just deal with him the way I did anyone else that had something I wanted.
I was a taker.
So, I would simply just take her
***
Ana
Did he really just say what I think he just said? Glancing at the faces of Seb and Marie, I knew I didn’t hear it wrong.
“Your grandmother is great witch?” Seb asked, his voice showing his disbelief.
Jace raised a brow at him and snapped. “What’s it to you?”
“Just answer the que
stion, Jace.” I jumped in.
Jace turned his handsome face to me. His eyes softened when he looked at me, and I had to force myself not to be affected by it. What was going on with me? It couldn't be natural to be this attracted to two men.
“Ana, did you hear me?” Jace asked.
I didn't even realize that I was just staring at him and not absorbing a word he had said.
“Huh?” was my genius reply.
Jace’s lip turned up in a halfhearted smile that could melt a girl’s heart. Focus, Ana!
“I said let me take you to my grams. It isn't my place to tell her story,” he said like I understood that.
But what choice did I have right now?
“Marie,” I said, facing my small confused-looking friend “Do you mind keeping an eye on the others until we return?” Marie exchanged a glance with her brother before nodding.
Speaking of the jerk, he was next for me do deal with.
“Seb, you are not coming.” I told him sternly.
The expression on his face could only be described as defiant. He stood taller, folding his arms across his chest.
“I understand you’re angry with me right now, but there is no way in hell I'm leaving you alone with witches.” Seb responded, raising his brows in a challenge.
I could just scream right now! This night just kept getting worse, and I had a feeling this witch was only going to add to my problems. However, like usual, Seb was right. I shouldn't travel alone to meet a witch. Jace wouldn't be of any help if trouble arose considering the witch was his grandmother. What did that make him? All my senses told me he was human, but I was still relatively new to this vampire thing. Maybe I’d ask him after I talk to his grandmother.
“Fine. Let’s go guys,” I said, walking ahead of them.
Once we were in Jace’s car, I was ready to get back out and just make a run for it. The tension was so thick, I could almost see its waves in the air. To make matters worse, I had to sit in between them. Oh joy.
Jace drove pretty fast, and I knew it was because he wanted out of this car as well. The silence weighed heavily around us. Honestly, I didn't want to talk to either guy. They have both royally pissed me off tonight especially Seb.
Pure: A Paranormal Romance Page 19
