Boxed Set

by Brenda K. Davies

  She frowned as her gaze ran over him. "He did, but so do you."

  "I can because I'm not a killer, or I wasn't," he said as his gaze drifted toward the bathroom at the end of the hall. "The sun will be tougher for me to handle now, but I haven't killed so much I won't be able to withstand its rays. It's when murder becomes a part of you, a constant daily thing that the sun's rays become impossible for us to endure. For some of our kind, killing someone is something they partake in daily. The more a vampire kills, the stronger it becomes, yet the weaker it also becomes. The vampires with Tristan are to a point they can't tolerate the sunlight. That much was made clear this morning when they fled as soon as the sun came up. If they continue this way, it will become increasingly difficult for them to cross bodies of water too."

  "You mean to tell me they could become trapped on this island, terrorizing these people?" She'd go to Tristan before she ever let innocent people suffer because of her.

  Ethan couldn't stop himself from grabbing her shoulders at the panicked and appalled look on her face. "No, they'll leave before that's possible. Tristan was sick and twisted before all this began, but I doubt every human he changed was the same way. Self-preservation is key for almost everyone; it's even stronger in our species. Once immortality is gained, it's not something willingly given up. Keeping themselves trapped on an island with a growing pile of bodies and missing people reports will arouse suspicions amongst the humans. It’s almost a sure way to guarantee their immortality comes to an end. They'll leave before they’re trapped here."

  "Even Tristan?"

  Ethan thought over her question before shaking his head. "No, I don't think Tristan will go with them if they leave and you are still here. What he's become has done nothing to ease the madness residing in his mind before he changed. His safety isn't his number one concern, his obsession is."

  "And I'm his obsession."

  "You are," he confirmed.

  "And what am I to you?"

  Words tumbled through his mind so fast he didn't know what to say. There was so much he had to explain to her, so much he had to tell her, but he wasn't sure where to begin or how to start to make her understand what she was to him. In the end, he settled for the simple truth. "You're my everything."

  His words melted her heart. "Ethan—"

  "I didn't say that because I expect a response from you, or because I expect it to make everything better. I said it because it's the truth, and you have to know that."

  How could she possibly stay mad at him when he was saying things like that to her? She didn't have time to process the question or how to answer it before Isabelle appeared in the hallway.

  "Are you two going to join us?" Ethan tore his attention away from her to focus on his sister. "I think it's time for us to answer some questions."

  "So do I," Ethan agreed. He reluctantly removed his hands from Emma's shoulders. "Come on."

  Emma almost grabbed his hand, but though his words had melted a good chunk of her resolve, she thought it was better to have some of her questions answered before she made any rash decisions.

  Chapter Twenty

  Emma settled onto the couch between Jill and Mandy; she folded her hands before her as she studied the three vampires across from her. She'd just said that to herself, three vampires, but that was exactly what they were, what Ethan was. She watched them as they moved with the fluidity of liquid mercury around the room. It was impossible not to see them as predators now that she knew what they were, but she didn't feel the urge to get up and run away like she'd experienced last night.

  She wasn't frightened of them anymore, she supposed she should be, but she couldn't seem to summon the emotion. Maybe she was as batty as Tristan, but she didn't think so. These three had done nothing to warrant her fear; Ethan had saved her and her friends’ lives multiple times over the past twelve hours. Even if there was never anything between them again, she would always remember him with love, and she would think of him daily.

  Her heart shriveled a little at the thought of never being with him again, but her mind, full of its annoying practicalities, reared back to life. She had a family and friends; she didn't know what Ethan expected from her if she were to stay with him. What would she lose or gain, what was she willing to lose or gain?

  "What is it you want to know?" Stefan inquired from his position by the sliding doors leading to the balcony.

  "Who changed you?" Emma asked, her gaze focused upon Ethan.

  "No one changed Isabelle or me, or any of our siblings. We were born this way," Ethan answered.

  "That's possible?" Mandy asked as she wiggled forward on the couch. Emma could almost see the scientist wheels spinning in her head as she practically salivated over Ethan's words.

  "It is," Ethan confirmed.

  "So you're not the living dead?" Emma inquired.

  "Well, considering Isabelle and I never died, no, we are not the living dead."

  "But to be changed, you have to die?" Jill's eyes were focused on Stefan as she asked the question.

  "Yes," Stefan slid his arm around Isabelle's waist and pulled her against him. A twinge of longing coiled through Emma's chest as she watched them, she found she couldn't look at Ethan.

  "Your heart still beats?" Mandy asked.

  "And we still breathe. Think of the change as similar to being brought back to life after a heart attack, like being hit with a defibrillator. The heart briefly stops beating, breathing ceases, but you're still aware of what is going on around you. Then the influx of vampire blood shocks the heart back to life. We become something more afterward, but we also retain our ability to do human things such as reproduce, eat, breathe, and have a heartbeat."

  "Amazing," Mandy breathed. "What exactly are you? I mean where did vampires originally come from? Was Dracula the first?"

  Stefan and Ethan both chuckled as Isabelle shook her head no. "Vampires go much farther back than Dracula, or so the legends go," Isabelle said. "It's said they go back to a time when demons used to roam the earth freely. They were forced to retreat when humans began to hunt them and sealed themselves away in what the legends claim to be Hell."

  "And these demons gave their blood to humans before they were forced into Hell?" Emma inquired.

  "No, they mated with humans. The first vampires were born. They discovered later that by sharing their blood they could create more of their kind, but we were born of this world," Stefan explained.

  Emma could feel her eyebrows in her hairline, but she couldn't seem to get them to go back down as she examined the three of them.

  "Because they were born of two vampires, Isabelle and Ethan, as well as their siblings, exhibit stronger abilities, especially for their young ages," Stefan continued.

  "Amazing, just amazing," Mandy said again. "And you are immortal?"

  "Yes," Ethan confirmed.

  "Your blood, does it have healing capabilities?"

  "It does," Isabelle said.

  "Just imagine the possibilities," Mandy murmured.

  "There are no possibilities," Stefan said gruffly. The malevolent look in his eyes made Emma's skin crawl and caused her to slide a little further back on the couch.

  "Back off, Stefan," Ethan said in a low rumble that did nothing to lessen the unease growing inside her.

  Isabelle rested her hand on Stefan's arm and pulled him back a step. Stefan relaxed visibly, but his eyes remained fixed on them. Isabelle shot a pointed look at Mandy. "No one is going to say anything, Stefan," Isabelle assured him.

  "No, of course not," Mandy gushed. "It's just the scientist in me, the future doctor talking about the possibilities. I would never say or do anything about it though, I swear. It's just fascinating."

  Emma stared defiantly at the three of them as she rested her hand on Mandy's arm and squeezed it reassuringly. "Of course you wouldn't say anything," she said soothingly. "The three of you don't kill, but do you feed on humans?"

  "Some of us feed on them but don't hurt them," Ethan answ
ered. "I prefer to use blood bags."

  "Before Stefan, that was what I did too," Isabelle said.

  "I feed on humans when it's necessary, but they're never aware of it," Stefan informed them.

  "You're safe with us," Isabelle said reassuringly.

  "You told me you could control people's minds and alter their memories. We've seen how fast you can be, is there anything else you can do?" Jill asked.

  "Our hearing and eyesight are exceptional, better than a human's, and we're stronger than any human," Ethan told her.

  "We've seen," Emma muttered. "Is the stake through the heart thing real?"

  "It is, but to be fair, a stake through the heart would kill anything. Beheading and fire too. For some, sunlight is another way to go," Ethan continued.

  "Good to know," Emma said as she curled a strand of hair around her finger and tried to digest this information. This world she’d never imagined could exist was all so strangely fascinating and bizarre.

  "I don't like the idea of staying in the place where someone died, especially with that body still in here," Jill said.

  "We'll take care of it first thing tomorrow morning," Stefan promised. "But going out there right now is not an option."

  "You can come stay at our place. There's more room, and with Aiden and Ian arriving tomorrow, there will be more protection," Isabelle offered. "Ian and Aiden can share a room, that won't be new to them."

  Mandy and Jill looked at her, but Emma didn't know what to think about the idea of sleeping in a home with five beings who could kill them with ease. However, she was sitting in this house with three creatures who could kill them and a dead body. She had to admit she preferred the five lethal beings and no dead guy over the three of them in a home where someone had been killed, and where everything had gone to shit in less than twenty-four hours.

  But she didn't know about sharing a home with Ethan either. She didn't know if she could maintain her restraint and distance if they were put so closely together.

  Her eyes drifted back to Ethan.

  "I'll leave you be, Emma," he promised, as he seemed to sense where her thoughts were going.

  Isabelle spun toward him, she opened her mouth to speak, but Ethan gave her a censuring look and shook his head. She closed her mouth. Her face remained scrunched in disapproval as she stared at her brother. Stefan squeezed Isabelle's shoulder.

  "What is it?" Emma inquired. "What's wrong?"

  "It's nothing," Ethan assured her with a forced smile, but Emma didn't believe him. There was something he wasn't telling her, something upsetting Isabelle as she continued to stare helplessly at him. "I think it would be better if you came to our house, but that is entirely your decision to make."

  Emma clasped Mandy and Jill's hands. "Can we have some time to talk?" she asked.

  The three vampires exchanged a look before nodding. "We'll be in your room, scream if anything happens," Ethan told her.

  She waited until she heard the click of the door closing before she turned to her friends. "What do you want to do?" she asked quietly.

  "I think we should stay with them, Emma, look what happened tonight. There's no guarantee a human won't try something there too, but I've lost all interest in staying in this place," Jill said and shivered in disgust.

  "Your whole trip is ruined because of me," Emma muttered.

  "It was ruined because Tristan is a freaking psycho. Besides, judging by the looks of Ethan, I'm immensely curious about meeting these brothers of his," Jill said with a wink.

  Emma laughed as Jill succeeded in easing some of her anxiety. "They're younger than him."

  "Even better, fresh meat."

  Emma couldn't stop laughing as she leaned against her friend's side. "Can you honestly believe this is our lives right now?"

  "Not even a little bit," Mandy said. "Things will never be the same again."

  Emma couldn't help but agree as she glanced at the hallway. She was curious about what else it was Isabelle and Ethan were keeping from her, but she didn't mention it to Jill and Mandy. They didn't like the idea of being here anymore, and they would be safer at the other house. Emma was far more concerned about their safety than whatever it was Ethan still wasn't telling her. She had a feeling she would find out eventually anyway, and nothing could be more astounding than what she'd already learned.

  Emma dropped her bags on the floor by the bed she’d once shared with Ethan. She turned away from it as memories of that fantastic night trickled through her mind. Even though she couldn't see him, she could feel him within the room; his presence was as commanding as the waves crashing against the shore.

  Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him as he leaned against the frame of the door. His lips were pinched, lines etched the corners of his mouth, and his eyes had taken on a reddish hue that wasn't quite the red she'd seen the other night, but they most certainly weren't the pure emerald of his eyes.

  "Are you okay?" she asked nervously.

  "Yes." He was anything but okay though. What felt like a panther clawing at his chest, and the tightening in his gut, had increased overnight. Now he was certain he could drain five more people and still not satisfy his thirst. Watching her now was the only thing making him feel even a little better. He had to feed, but needed to make sure she was settled in before he could retreat to the world of blood feverishly beckoning him.

  "I can stay with Jill and Mandy. Maybe we can find a cot to put in their room or an air mattress, so you don't have to sleep on the couch," she offered.

  "I'll be fine," he assured her. "I'd like for you to stay in here." He didn't add he hoped she would welcome him back into her arms or that it would be easier to protect her if her friends weren't in the way.

  "Ethan," she said when he turned away from her. "Thank you."

  His shoulders hunched up, but he didn't say anything as he left the room and made his way to the kitchen. They'd taken the body of the man out on the boat this morning and tossed his weighted remains into the ocean. Thankfully, the police never arrived. He and Stefan moved the body so quickly through the early morning hours, he doubted anyone had seen them. If they were spotted, the humans probably hadn't had the time to process what they had seen.

  Isabelle took a step away from him when he walked over to the dented fridge. It creaked as he opened it, and for a second he thought the hinges might give out, but the door held.

  "I'll have to buy another one of these before we leave," he said as he removed three bags from inside.

  "That's not an issue right now. Are you going to be able to do this?" she asked.

  "Of course."

  She hovered near his elbow as she leaned against the counter. "Look at me." He grabbed a bag and tore the top from it with his teeth before looking at her. "Have you seen your eyes?"

  "Haven't had the pleasure of a mirror lately."

  "That much is obvious," she retorted. "You look like you've been up for a week straight."

  He frowned at her before downing the contents of the bag. "I feel like I have. I take it my eyes are red."

  "No, they're some weird combination of your green and red. I've never seen anything like it before Ethan."

  "Well, isn't that interesting." He ripped the top off another bag and consumed the contents. "Don't you have to get to the airport?"

  Isabelle sighed and shook her head. "You're a stubborn fool."

  "It takes one to know one."

  A footstep in the hall caused him to drop everything into the trash. The last thing he wanted was for Emma to see him feeding; she was freaked out enough as it was. When he saw it was only Stefan, he retrieved the bag of blood from the trash and nodded to him before retreating to the pool area. He settled in the shade of an umbrella as the sun now made his skin itch in a way it never had before. He listened as the two of them left the house, but his attention remained focused on the sun shining off the clear pool water. It was the last place he'd made love to her, the last place he'd been inside her and known complete cal
m.

  There wasn't enough blood in the world, he decided as he tossed the empty bag into the trash and went to get more.

  Isabelle eagerly searched the crowd of passengers getting off the plane as they walked around her. She spotted Ian easily amongst the crowd. At six-four he was the tallest of her siblings, and taller than most of the people around him. His golden hair was disheveled and curled at the corners of his sky blue eyes. Not only was he the tallest of her siblings, but he was also the most built with his broad shoulders and chest. His heavily muscled arms were emphasized by the black wife beater tank top he wore.

  Aiden was at his side; at six two he was shorter than Ian but still tall. He also had a more lean, whipcord build than Ian and Ethan. His black hair was shorter than the last time she'd seen him, and his eyes were darker than Ethan and her father's; they were more of a leaf green than an emerald.

  Ian reached out and pushed Aiden's shoulder, knocking him slightly off balance. Aiden lowered his shoulder and shoved into Ian's chest in response. They both laughed and smiled as they continued to jostle each other through the crowd. For a minute, her heart soared as she savored in the sight of them. It had been almost a year since she'd seen them, and she'd missed them so much. It had been an amazing experience to explore the world with Stefan, but she was ready to get home to her family. This was supposed to be a happy reunion, yet all she felt was stressed out.

  Rising on her tiptoes, she waved above the crowd to get their attention. They stopped shoving each other long enough to look at her and Stefan.

  "There she is!" Aiden broke into a broad grin when he finally saw her. He barely acknowledged the people around him as he rushed forward.

  Isabelle released a little squeal when he wrapped his arms around her, lifted her off the ground, and spun her around. Ian claimed her as soon as Aiden released her. Isabelle clung to him while he twirled her around before placing her on her feet. He grinned at her as he held her shoulders and leaned back to inspect her.