Destiny Awaits

by Shaw, Jaidis

  “What the hell!” I shouted in bewilderment.

  “I like you...so feisty. You have a lot of potential. That’s why it really pains me to have to kill you but...wait a minute...no it doesn’t,” he cackled as he lunged again. The scorching pain was overcoming me and I knew that this was it. As darkness took over my vision, a streak of black fur rushed past me and Gavin was nowhere in sight.

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  Chapter Three

  Bright moonlight streamed through my window as I stretched awake, the familiar feel of my quilt surrounding me in warmth. I didn’t remember going to bed but I felt exhausted, like I could sleep for several hours straight.

  “She’s awake!” Looking around the room frantically, I jumped backwards clutching my blanket to me for protection. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you,” the calming voice said. A tall shadow rose from a chair that had been placed in the corner. Instinctively I leaned over and turned on the bedside lamp to see who was in my bedroom.

  “Who are you? What are you doing in my room?” I asked.

  “Calm down. I’m Darren. You’ve been asleep awhile and I was asked to watch you,” he said. Feeling a little bit uneasy, I took in what I could of the man. He was quite tall, taller than the average male and had muscles bulging everywhere. His brown hair was cut short and was spiked in the front. Realizing that his big brown eyes were peering at me in suspicion, I snapped back to the reality that there was a stranger in my bedroom.

  “Who exactly asked you to stay here Darren? I don’t remember asking you, this is the first time I have ever seen you.”

  “You’re right, you didn’t ask me. Jayden asked if I would help him out. He is very worried about you. Actually, I don’t think I have seen him this worried since his sister.”

  “Jayden asked you? Why on earth would he do that? I’m fine. I mean I’m a little sore but...wait...why am I so sore?”

  “You had better ask him that...you two have a lot of catching up to do. Since you’re awake I’m gonna go try and get some sleep. I’ve been staying in one of the guest bedrooms, I hope that’s alright.” With that he disappeared into the hallway leaving me staring after him.

  Seconds later Jayden came rushing in and skidded to a halt before my bed. “You’re awake! I can’t believe it. I was so worried,” he panted as he sat on the edge of the bed.

  “Um, yes I am awake, but what are you doing here? And who is that Darren guy and why is he here?”

  “It’s a long story Alayna. You’ve been sleeping for the past four days. Don’t you remember the attack?”

  “Attack? What attack?” I asked as I searched the corners of my mind trying to recall what had happened the last few days. “I remember doing some stuff in the yard. You were here helping me. You went home for the evening and I decided to go for a walk. There was this one guy...”

  “Gavin right?”

  “Gavin...yeah. How’d you know his name? But wait...he...that creep bit me!” I realized as I dropped the quilt and grabbed at my neck, remembering the pain of his teeth tearing through my flesh. Feeling my skin for the fresh wound that would add another hideous scar to my neck, I hesitated when I found nothing but the jagged edge of my old scar. “Wait....I thought he bit me? I remember that psycho biting me!”

  “There is a lot of stuff that I need to talk to you about. It all may not make sense at first but it will. But first, why don’t I go cook you something to eat while you take a shower and get dressed.”

  Suddenly aware of the cool night air drifting in the open window, I looked down to find myself sitting on the bed completely nude. Clutching the quilt to me as the heat covered my face I couldn’t bear to look at Jayden. “Don’t be embarrassed. If it were up to me, you’d be naked all the time,” he teased as the familiar grin spread across his face.

  “Yeah right, and why am I naked? I never sleep naked.”

  “You go get cleaned up and we’ll talk about it while you eat, okay?” Before I had time to reply, he was up and walking out of the room.

  “Sure,” I said to the empty room as his soft footsteps drifted down the hall.

  Setting my bare feet on the plush carpet, I stood up and rushed to the bathroom shutting the door quickly behind me. “I can’t believe he saw me naked,” I exclaimed to the empty bathroom, “How awkward!” Feeling nauseous, I walked to the mirror to assess the damage. My reflection stared back at me as I searched my face and neck for any evidence of the bite that occurred. Besides my body being sore, there was no indication that anything had happened and I began to think my mind was playing tricks on me. The same old scar twisted its way around my neck and left shoulder in its familiar pattern. My neck tingled as I remembered the pain I had felt when Gavin had bitten me like I was a chunk of meat. “I must have hit my head really hard and just imagined him biting me. Like who would bite a person anyways,” I giggled as I checked the rest of my body for damage. The giggles were cut short by the realization that since Jayden had seen me naked, that he had also seen the scars that trailed their way down my body as a constant reminder of the pain and loss of my family. I wish I could just go back; back before the accident and before my body had been mangled and scarred for life. My fair skin used to be unmarked and perfect. At least people had always told me I had great skin. Not being able to change the past, I started a hot shower and let the water wash away my worries.

  The water soon began to run cold and I took that as a cue that my shower was over. I toweled off and went to my room in search of clothes. Girlish fears started up again as I tried to decide what I should wear since Jayden was here. After trying on several different combinations, I finally settled on a comfy pair of blue jeans and my favorite pink tank top. Running the towel through my hair one last time, I let the wet tendrils cascade down my back and hide the scars that I was suddenly more conscience of than ever.

  When I entered the kitchen, I found a plate of eggs and bacon sitting at the table waiting on me. Jayden was at the sink busily washing the dishes that had piled up on the counter. “What are those from?”

  “I hope you don’t mind but Darren and I have been staying here while you were...resting. I haven’t had time until now to get the dishes washed up and getting Darren to wash a dish is like asking a wolf to stop howling at the moon...it just never happens.”

  “Staying here? Like staying overnight? You guys haven’t caused any damage have you?” I teased as I sat at the table and began to eat the steaming food.

  “We haven’t caused any damage...not yet,” he joked back. It felt good to be around Jayden. I always felt safe with him nearby and he had a way of making me laugh. Having him around made me feel like a person again. He didn’t stare at my scars like I was a leper. Jayden washed the remaining dishes in silence so I could finish eating. It didn’t take me very long so I must have been hungrier than I thought.

  “So, are you going to fill me in now? I mean I thought I remembered what happened because I could have sworn that creep had bitten me, but there isn’t a mark, so now I’m thinking I’m starting to lose my marbles.”

  “You’re not losing your marbles. You will probably think that I’m the one who has lost my marbles here soon. Let me ask you something, and I want you to be honest, okay?”

  “Okay, what do you want to know?”

  “Have you ever heard of...shifters?”

  “What, you mean like people turning into animals?” I laughed.

  “Yes, that’s what I mean.” His emerald eyes searched mine as if he could read my thoughts.

  “I’ve heard stories, but of course those are just rumors. I mean, can you actually picture someone turning into an animal? That’s insane, not to mention I think it would freaking hurt if it were possible.”

  “It’s not as bad as you would think. Kinda feels good in a way; like a release.” Jayden’s eyes remained locked on mine and I began to wonder if he was the crazy one after all.

  “So you’re saying tha
t shifters are real and not only are they real, but that you are one?” Rolling my eyes I got up from the table and carried my plate towards the sink. Within seconds, Jayden was there, taking the plate from my hands. He sat the dish in the sink and grabbed onto my shoulders and spun me around to face him.

  “I’m serious Alayna. Please try and be open-minded about this. I almost lost you and you’re acting like I’m crazy.” I could see his hands shaking as he lowered them from my shoulders.

  “You’re serious aren’t you? You’re really a shape shifter?”

  “Yes,” was all that he said as if he were expecting me to make some sarcastic remark. Although it would have been the perfect time to take a crack at him, I didn’t feel up to playing games right now. Searching his eyes, I could find no evidence that he was joking. He honestly believed what he was telling me. Part of me wanted to believe him but how could you believe something you have never seen? I tried thinking back to the other day but being in such close proximity to Jayden made it hard to concentrate. He smelled so good and it felt nice having him there and so close to me.

  “Wait, you said ‘You almost lost me.’ Were you worried about me?” I asked trying to lighten the mood.

  “If you must know, yes, I was worried about you. I still am worried. I mean...umm...,” he hesitated, trying to find the words he wanted to say. “It’s just that, well, I like you Alayna. I like you a lot. You are a beautiful person, inside and out. I know it probably sounds insane but I feel complete when I’m around you. So yes, I am worried about you,” he said as he pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing as if I would run away. I let him hold me, not only because I didn’t want to hurt him by moving away, but because it felt really nice to be in his arms. Moments passed and then his grip loosened and he released me. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself,” he said as he went back to sit at the table. Following him there, my thoughts were swirling in chaos.

  “Okay, so please tell me what you know. How did I get back here? I remember trying to get back to the house but I only made it to the pile of old stepping stones. I think I remember hitting him with a rock. Yeah I’m pretty sure I did hit him but then everything started going black. Right before I passed out, there was a flash of black and then he disappeared.”

  “When I got here, I saw you lying on the ground and he was over you. You did in fact hit him and gave him a nice gash on his face. I jumped in as soon as I could but he saw me coming and got away. You were already passed out when I came back so I brought you into the house. That’s when it gets tricky.”

  “The flash of black? That was you?”

  “Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there sooner. I should have known better than to think he would stay away,” Jayden said as he hung his head in shame.

  “I’m not your responsibility Jayden. It’s not your fault.”

  “Is it wrong for me to want you to be my responsibility?”

  Blushing, I looked at the floor not knowing what I wanted to say. “It’s not wrong. I really like having you close to me. You make me feel safe.”

  “How can you say that? You almost died Alayna...and I could have stopped it. I should have been there for you.”

  Before I knew it I had reached out and grabbed onto his hand. “Jayden, look at me! You saved me! If you hadn’t shown up, who knows what would have happened.” Searching his eyes, I tried to look for any sign that he believed me. He genuinely felt sorry that he hadn’t prevented it. In that instant, realizing that he really did care for me, my heart skipped a beat. I had forgotten what it was like to have someone care for me. Feeling tears begin to form in my eyes, I pulled my hand away and tried to change the subject. “Okay, so you ran Gavin off, but what was he? Is he a shifter too? He did bite me didn’t he?”

  “Gavin is not a shifter. He’s a vampire.”

  “Oh boy! So you’re telling me that there are all sorts of things that are real like vampires and witches and such?”

  “There are many types of magical beings out there. I’m sure you have heard stories of most. It’s just a matter of believing that they aren’t just stories.”

  “I’ll try to let that sink in later. What I want to know is what happened when you got me in the house.”

  “That’s tricky because I don’t really know. You’re different. You shouldn’t be alive to talk to me right now.”

  “What do you mean? He just bit me a couple of times and I lost some blood.”

  “It’s more complicated than that.”

  “Just tell me Jayden.” I said as my patience was staring to wear thin.

  “When a vampire wants you for a meal, they normally just have to sink their teeth in once. Somehow you got him off of you so he had to try again. You lost a lot of blood Alayna. When you hit him with the rock, it broke his skin and his blood must have dripped onto your neck. If caught soon enough, the transformation can be stopped by the transfer of shifter blood.”

  “Wait! You lost me. Are you telling me that he tried turning me into a vampire?”

  “He wasn’t trying to and I doubt that he even knows his blood got on you.”

  “So then what do you mean ‘transformation’?”

  “I could smell his blood in you and I knew it was just a matter of time before you died and then woke up a vampire. However in most cases, if a human is given shifter blood soon enough, it will cancel out the vampire blood and save the human. But with you, something is different. I don’t know what made it possible and I will probably never know, but when I exchanged blood with you to save you, they mixed somehow instead of canceling each other out.”

  “Mixed?”

  “I told you it’s complicated Alayna. You should have woke up a couple hours later and been fine, but within minutes your body started tensing up and all the bite marks healed. I called Darren and asked if he would take a trip out here and see what he thought. There are so many things you don’t know and honestly I don’t even know where to begin,” he sighed, trying to find the right words.

  “It’s okay. Let’s just get it all out there on the table.”

  “Then I should tell you that my parents never went away to help an aunt.”

  “Then why would you say that they did?”

  “What was I supposed to say? That I’m a shifter, that I’m next in line to be Alpha and that I brought my sister out here for a vacation and let her be killed? You would never have wanted to see me again.”

  “So why aren’t you with your parents?”

  “I can’t go back. How can I show my face there after letting my sister get killed? I stayed here so I could track down her killer and never left.”

  “You know my brain is going through information overload right?” I asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

  “You’re right. You should be resting. Are you feeling okay?”

  “I feel fine. Just a little sore and a little tired. Now what did you mean about the bloods mixing?”

  “Mine should have cancelled out Gavin’s but from what I can tell they combined with yours instead. I don’t know how or why. I do know that you have extraordinary healing powers now which I can only assume would be amplified by both the shifter and vampire bloodlines. We heal fast but it normally takes us a few hours to completely heal and it took you mere seconds. I don’t know what else to tell you. Other than the healing, I don’t know what properties you received from me and what you got from Gavin.”

  “Ugh, this is all too much information. Would it be okay to change the subject for a bit? I need some time for it to sink in.” I tried thinking of something else to talk about but my head was swirling with all of the new information I had just received. There was only one thing I was sure about, and that was that I was thankful Jayden was here. “Thank you for saving me. It really means a lot, even if I turn into some crazy shape shifting vampire,” I teased and flashed Jayden a smile that I hoped would reassure and comfort him. Before I knew what was happening, Jayden stood up and pulled me to his chest
.

  “I’m just glad you’re alive,” he whispered as he hugged me.

  “I am too,” I whispered back. I really was grateful in that moment to be alive. Releasing me from his grasp, Jayden stepped back and went to look out of the window. “You should get some rest Jayden. Something tells me that you didn’t sleep very much the past couple of days.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. I tried sleeping but I just found myself watching over you all night.” He smiled as he turned to look at me. “Did you know you talk in your sleep?”

  “Really? I hope I didn’t say anything embarrassing,” I said as I cringed at the thought of what all I could have been talking about.

  “It was mostly about your family, nothing embarrassing.”

  “That’s good then I guess. Come on, you need to rest,” I said as I turned and headed for the hallway before he could make up an excuse to stay awake.

  “Would it be okay if I slept in your room? I’ll sleep on the floor. I just want to make sure I’m close in case something happens.” I stopped walking as I pondered the situation. Under normal circumstances I would have said no to a guy I’d only known a short while sleeping in my room, but at this point, I would be able to sleep better knowing he was there. Then it occurred to me that he had already seen me naked so letting him sleep in my room was the least of my concerns right now.

  “You don't have to sleep on the floor, but you have to promise to be good.” I grabbed his hand and led him towards my room. “I would feel safer to have you with me anyways.”

  “I’ll be good...for now,” he winked and we went off to try and get some much needed rest.

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  Chapter Four