Boxed Set

by Brenda K. Davies

  Stefan couldn't move as his gaze locked on a pair of pure violet eyes. The young woman stared at him with a deer in the headlights look. Her hair was the color of chocolate, with subtle gold streaks running through its shimmering depths. It curled around her beautiful, delicate face before spilling down her back in thick waves. Her nose was small and narrow; her tiny nostrils flared as she gawked at him.

  She was tall and slender, with the elegant grace innate to their kind, but with her, he knew it would be present even if she were a human. She was beautiful, perfect, unlike anyone he'd seen before. When the delicate tip of her tongue came out to nervously wet her luscious lips, a bolt of lust ripped through him.

  For a second, she was all he could see, all he could sense. Then, the man next to her moved. Stefan's eyes shot to him as his instincts kicked into high gear. He knew what they all were, and he knew they were going to defend their home and each other.

  He’d sensed them miles down the road, but he hadn't known he was heading straight into their lair. He still couldn't believe it. Never had he seen so many of his kind in one place, and he knew there were more of them in the house, and he could sense even more close by.

  He also knew they weren’t killers, but they could attack him. He had come into their territory, after all, and he knew how territorial his kind could be. A strangled cry brought his gaze back to the woman as she turned and fled. Startled looks came over the faces of the two she shoved past, but they didn't make a move to stop her. The other one stepped forward, his body rigid as his hands clenched into fists at his side.

  "I don't think you should be here," the man said coldly.

  Stefan didn't think he should be here either, but he wasn't going to tell him that. He was stronger than most of his kind, but with so many of them here he knew he would be in for a grueling battle. One he wouldn’t walk away from unscathed, especially if he had to protect Jess and Delia from them.

  "You are the creepiest people I’ve ever met!" Delia cried. "I want to see my mother!"

  "Delia, shut up!" Stefan commanded.

  His gaze darted to the young girl by the porch, Delia was easily within their reach, and if they wanted to kill her, they could in seconds. The last thing he needed was for her to draw even more attention to herself. He needed all his senses right now, and Delia's yelling was not helping.

  "Stefan!" Jess cried at the same time Delia started shouting.

  He purposely shut them out as he tuned his senses to the air around him. Detecting the approach of others, he turned, so his body was halfway between the porch and the shadows at the edge of the house. He knew immediately there were four of them.

  They ran around the corner and skidded to a halt as their eyes landed on him. He half crouched prepared to fight to the death as a hiss escaped him. The three on the porch took a step toward him, hostility radiated from every inch of them. Stefan's muscles bunched in anticipation of a fight.

  Jess and Delia took a frightened step back. Delia began to scream hysterically, causing Stefan to wince at the harsh sound of her grating voice.

  "Stefan Corelli!"

  Disbelief shot through him as one of the newcomers called his name and stepped forward. The animosity surrounding the man seconds before vanished instantly. Stefan remained rigid as he slowly straightened. His eyes focused on the tall, blond man who spoke his name. At first, he couldn't recall who he was, then recognition sprang forth, and a small laugh escaped him.

  "David?" Stefan asked in disbelief.

  "Yeah, what are you doing here?" David grinned as he strode forward and extended his hand. Stefan accepted it and shook it briskly.

  "What is going on?" Jess planted her hands on her hips as she glared at them.

  "That's what we'd like to know," one of the other newcomers muttered.

  David peered over his shoulder and finally noticed the two humans gathered behind Stefan. "Who are you?" David demanded.

  "Kathleen's kids," the tall man at the front of the porch answered.

  David spun toward him. "What?"

  "Yeah, don't ask. Who is that?" he inquired nodding toward Stefan.

  David blinked in surprise as he glanced between Stefan and the group gathered on the porch. "This is Stefan. I met him when I went to college in Pennsylvania. He's the one who told me about what was going on with Liam and Sera."

  "Are these their kids?" Stefan blurted.

  "Some of them. That's Ethan, Aiden, and Ian Byrne," David nodded to the group still gathered on the porch. "Those are my friends Mike, Doug, and Jack. I told you about them before."

  "Yeah, I remember," Stefan replied. He'd heard of vampire children, been told they were normal looking, but he'd never actually seen one. It was incredible. "Who was the girl?" he inquired.

  "The girl was our sister, Isabelle," Ethan replied coldly.

  Stefan's eyebrows rose at the aggressive tone of the boy's voice, but he refrained from saying anything.

  "What is going on?" Delia asked shrilly.

  "Someone's going to have to take care of them," Stefan said, waving a hand dismissively at the humans behind him.

  "Not me," Jack announced. "I had enough of doing that with Kathleen years ago."

  "What did you do to my mother?" Jess nearly shrieked.

  "What are you going to do to us?" Delia cried as she backed away from the porch.

  "That's all you guys. It's a perfect training session for honing your powers of persuasion," David said to the men on the porch. "Why don't we go somewhere a little less chaotic and catch up?" he asked Stefan.

  "Good idea," Stefan replied.

  Chapter Four

  Isabelle woke with a groan to the endless pounding of a hammer, and the annoying buzz of a saw ringing in her ears. Moaning miserably, she grabbed her pillow and pulled it over her head. She had barely slept last night, and this was not the way she wanted to be awakened. Why were they working on the new house so early in the morning? She wondered angrily.

  Then she realized she was ridiculous. If they’d started later, she would have been dragging them out of bed to get them moving. She was just annoyed because she hadn't fallen asleep until the sun started to peek over the horizon. She groaned again as she recalled the reason why she'd had so much difficulty falling asleep.

  Him.

  Moaning again, she pulled the pillow more firmly over her head. The gesture was useless; it dimmed the pounding, but it did nothing to shut out the image of him seared into her brain.

  She recalled the story her mother told about the first time she'd seen her father, and how the world seemed to disappear. Nausea twisted in Isabelle's stomach. She didn't want to be her mom and dad. She wanted a peaceful life where she needed only herself to survive.

  With another loud moan, she finally conceded defeat; she wasn't going to get any more sleep. Sighing angrily, she threw the pillow aside and tossed off her sheet. She was getting ahead of herself where he was concerned. Just because the world seemed to disappear when she saw him didn't mean he was her soul mate. All it meant was she finally encountered her first vampire, outside of her close-knit family and friends, and it jolted her. That was all. It was the only reason things were so strange last night.

  However, no matter what she told herself, she couldn't shake the image of him from her mind, or the strange feelings he invoked in her.

  Thankfully, he would be gone today. Hopefully, he already was. She’d thought the notion would be pleasing; it disgusted her to realize it wasn't.

  "Isabelle!"

  Her door burst open with a loud bang as it slammed against the wall. She jumped as her sisters burst into the room like a tsunami. She didn't bother to turn and face Abby and Vicky as she swung her legs out of bed. She had never known privacy; she didn't bother to try and have any now. She quickly gathered her clothes as she moved toward her small half bath.

  "What's up?" she asked tiredly.

  All she wanted was to wash her face; it would help her feel better and wake up. "What's up?" they
demanded as they followed her to the doorway.

  "Don't you know?" Abby charged.

  No, she didn't know what their new melodrama was, and she didn't particularly care. Isabelle shut the door on Abby and leaned against it. "Hurry up!" Vicky yelled.

  She moved away from the door, turned the cold water on, and splashed her face with it. Feeling much better, she dressed quickly, pulled her thick hair into a ponytail, and opened the door. Her sisters sat on her bed; their hands clasped before them as they stared eagerly at her.

  She knew she would regret asking, Vicky and Abby could go on endlessly when something excited them. Isabelle usually ended up with a headache from trying to follow their inane chatter by the time they finished, but ask she did. "Know what?"

  "They're staying here!" Vicky exclaimed. "We can't get in the bathroom now, let alone with two more people in the house!"

  Isabelle blinked in confusion as she dropped her nightgown into the hamper. "Who is staying here?"

  "Kathleen and her kids!" they cried in unison.

  Isabelle swung toward them as her mouth dropped open. She’d completely forgotten about Kathleen, Delia, and Jess in her confusion and self-pity last night.

  "What?" she nearly yelled.

  "Yeah," Abby said, nodding her golden head enthusiastically. "Kathleen starts a new job in two weeks; she thought it would be fun to stop by and surprise mom. They invited them to stay for the entire time!"

  Isabelle felt as if someone dumped a bucket of ice water over her head as her entire body went completely numb. "What about Jess's boyfriend?" she croaked.

  "He is so hot!" Vicky batted her eyes dreamily as she folded her hands under her chin. "Do you know he's the one who told David what was going on with mom and dad? He's over two hundred years old!"

  Isabelle didn't care about any of that. There was only one thing she cared about. "Is he staying here?" she managed to choke out.

  "Yeah, he's helping out with the new house right now!"

  Isabelle's throat went dry, and her heart jumped into her throat. There was no room in either house now, where would everyone stay? A cold chill of apprehension began to trickle through her as she gazed around her room. There was more space at the other house. There was an extra bathroom, and if someone bunked up...

  Isabelle shut the thought down as panic began to constrict her chest.

  "He's going to stay at the other house with Jess. She doesn't go back to college for a few weeks. Maybe they're soul mates like mom and dad! That's so romantic!" Abby cried.

  Isabelle felt like a fist slammed her in the gut. She fought to catch her breath and absorb everything they were saying. Was he staying here? With Jess? For two weeks? Her thoughts were a scattered mess, none of which were the least bit romantic.

  "I don't think they are," Vicky contradicted Abby. "They sure don't act like mom and dad. I mean he didn't even see Jess after he left with The Stooges last night."

  "That's true," Abby said as she bit her bottom lip.

  "Isabelle, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost?" Vicky demanded.

  Blinking herself out of her horrifying thoughts, she forced herself to focus on the identical faces before her. "Ah, nothing. How are they going to stay here? I mean, Kathleen is mom's friend from school; she fainted when she saw her last night! They can't possibly stay here! How can any of them explain how they haven’t aged in the past twenty-five years?"

  "Stefan took care of that. His powers are really strong since he's so old!" Abby breathed reverently. "He made it so whenever Kathleen, Jess, and Delia look at mom, dad, and The Stooges, they see people in their forties."

  Isabelle gaped at them in dismay. She could manipulate people's memories, but only a moment or two of them, and it always left her tired and drained. She couldn't begin to imagine the amount of power it would take to accomplish such a feat.

  "He can do that?" she breathed.

  "Yeah, isn't that awesome? Can you imagine what else he must be able to do?"

  No, she couldn't, and she didn't want to. She shuddered involuntarily as her sisters continued to prattle on about Jess's boyfriend.

  "Isabelle." She turned as her mom's head appeared in the doorway. "

  Yeah?" she asked shakily.

  Her mother frowned as she stepped fully into the doorway. "You okay?"

  "Yes," she lied.

  Her mother's gaze searched her face, but Isabelle forced herself to remain outwardly serene, even though she was a seething mass of turmoil. "I see you've heard the news."

  "Yes."

  "It will only be for a little while, and Jess goes back to school in two weeks. Plus, the new house will be finished soon."

  Isabelle nodded numbly. "It's okay, mom."

  "Well, until the house is ready, I was wondering if um..."

  Isabelle's cold chill became an iceberg as her terror from earlier blazed back to life. If somebody shared a room, there would be more beds open at the other house, and Aiden was leaving soon for football practice. Please no, she begged silently. Please.

  "Would you mind staying at the other house with the guys and Jess?" her mom inquired. "I know it's a lot to ask, but Aiden leaves for college on Monday, and Ian leaves in a week and a half. In no time at all, you'll have more privacy over there. It will also give you a chance to catch up with Jess. You two were close as children.”

  Isabelle's shoulders slumped as her unheard pleas went unanswered. At any other point in time Isabelle would jump at the opportunity, but now the thought made her stomach cramp.

  "Do you think they're soul mates mom?" Abby asked excitedly.

  Her mother smiled as she shook her head. "I don't know honey, maybe."

  "That would be so awesome!" Abby gushed, ever the romantic at heart.

  "So, Isabelle, what do you say?" her mom asked, her violet-blue eyes hopeful as she studied Isabelle.

  Isabelle wanted to say no, she wanted to scream no, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her mother was so sad after Ethan told her he ran into Kathleen. The nostalgia in her mother's voice when she'd spoken of her old friend had torn at Isabelle's heart. This was her mother's chance to catch up with Kathleen, to spend some time with her friend, and to regain some of the time she was forced to give up.

  Her mom would do anything for her; Isabelle couldn't refuse her this simple favor, no matter how unhappy it made her. It would only be for a couple of weeks; she could handle a couple of weeks. Nothing bad was going to come of it. She hoped.

  "Sure mom, no problem." She choked out the words past the lump in her throat.

  Her mother beamed at her. "Thanks, Isabelle, I owe you one." More than one, Isabelle thought. "Why don't you guys take some drinks down to the building site," her mom suggested to the twins. They bounced off the bed eagerly and fled down the hall, bickering over which one of them would get to serve Stefan. "I think they have a crush on him."

  "Yeah," Isabelle muttered absently. Her mind was already focused on how she was going to get through the next week.

  "Are you sure you're okay?"

  "Yeah, mom, I'm fine."

  "Do you need a hand moving your stuff?"

  Two hours later Isabelle was greatly regretting the fact she’d turned down her mother's offer of help, opting to recruit Abby and Vicky instead. They’d done nothing but talk her ear off about Stefan and how amazing he was. She had a pounding headache, and she swore if she heard his name one more time she would scream.

  Not to mention, they were almost no help at all. She only packed three bags and two suitcases to take with her. She had already packed most of the things in her room in preparation for the move to her new home, so there was little left to take with her.

  Ethan opened the screen door for her when they stepped onto the porch. He took one of the suitcases from her as he glanced back at the twins with an amused smile. They were each carrying one small backpack, while she lugged both of her suitcases and a bag.

  "Taking a break?" she asked irritably.

&n
bsp; He flashed a grin at her as he walked back into the house. "Damn right. It's hot as Hell out there. I can see you have a lot of help."

  Isabelle looked at the kitchen tile beneath her feet —so covered with dirt and footprints it was difficult to tell the tile was light blue instead of dingy gray. The kitchen was clean, but only because they didn't use it often.

  "Yeah," she mumbled.

  "Doug's going to bunk with David, so you'll have the basement to yourself. There's a half bath down there."

  "I know," she mumbled.

  He flashed another grin as they headed into the living room where it was excruciatingly obvious a bunch of bachelors lived here. Two forest green couches faced the big screen TV on the far wall. Two green reclining chairs were set at an angle at the end of the couches; their worn footrests were still in the air. The coffee table in the center of the oval was dark wood, but the varnish was faded and scratched, and at least a dozen water rings marred it. A screen in the corner had once been white, but dust and time had yellowed it, and the picture of a deer in a color-filled meadow was faded.

  The room was a light cream color, but the walls were marred by dirt and fingermarks and in desperate need of a new coat of paint. Dust covered the TV and the light green curtains. The windows were as smudged as the walls. The bookshelf, in between the two windows on the left-hand wall, was cluttered with old paperbacks tossed haphazardly onto it.

  Wrinkling her nose, Isabelle studied the room with mild distaste, wondering how long it would take to clean everything. "We're only going to be here for a few weeks," Ethan said.

  "I know."

  He glanced at her over his shoulder as he strolled across the room. More footprints marred the old, green carpet. It was tattered and worn with age, and torn straight to the floor in some places. "So don't plan on redoing everything, and don't go too crazy with the cleaning."

  Sometimes it was nice to have someone who knew her as well as Ethan did, at other times, he was a pain in her ass. "I wasn't," she muttered as she followed him down the stairs to the basement.