AWAKENING
(The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3)
By Alexandra Anthony
Copyright 2012 by Alexandra Anthony
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the author’s website and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organizations, or person, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ADULT CONTENT
Alexandra's books are for adults only. They contain sexy vampires, graphic language, romantic/erotic content and situations that aren't for the faint of heart. Consider yourself warned.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1-Curiousity Killed the Cat
Chapter 2-Who’s Jealous Now?
Chapter 3-Tell Me What You See
Chapter 4-Do Over
Chapter 5-I Remember You
Chapter 6-Blinded by the Light
Chapter 7-Pomp and Circumstance
Chapter 8-The Ties That Bind Us Can Hurt Us the Most
Chapter 9-There’s a Hole in My Heart
Excerpt from Ascend (The Vampire Destiny Series Book #4)
Appendix A: Swedish to English Translations
Acknowledgments
To my husband for all of his love and continued support. You’ve been there to celebrate the good times and hold my hand during the bad. I love you.
To my friend and sister from another Mother, Sue- Thank you for suffering through all of the beta reading, your encouragement and being my own personal PR machine.
To Ally Thomas- You’ve been my constant support throughout this journey. You’ve talked me down from ledges, helped me and always been there to make me laugh. I’m happy to have you in my life.
To my Team Stefan Street Team- I’m blessed to have so many supportive ladies who spread the word about my book. A huge thank you to Kellie, Julie, Heather, Mayrose, Sue, Ally, Victoria, Melissa, Melinda, Angela, Renee, Jaime, Ashley, Lisa, Beth, Toni, Courtney, Lyndsey, Patricia, Toni, Corinne and Estrella.
And finally, my loyal readers. Thank you for supporting me throughout the ongoing adventure of Josie & Stefan.
AWAKENING
(The Vampire Destiny Series Book #3)
Prologue
"We are one now."
It was not an exaggeration. We were literally one being now. One mind, one body, and one soul. Even the gravity of the thought shocked myself. I had never expected in my long life to share an existence with another creature, yet here I was, irrevocably bonded to the love of my existence. Our fates, our lives were tied together. There was no choice now. No second chances. Life, death, love, immortality, possession.
Surrender.
Josephine had no way to understand the depth and sincerity of my oath. We were tied together in the oddest of bonds: love, fate, destiny, and now our blood. We were so intermingled that there was no separation or difference between us. My blood flowed freely in her veins as her own surged in mine.
One.
Only hours ago, I had heard her voice in my head as she called for me, a maddening crescendo that nearly drove me to the brink of insanity. If not for the knowledge that her plaintive cry meant she was still alive, it would have driven me mad. She called me to her and I followed her plea. I was given no choice, it was instinct. As was systematically ripping Derek apart limb by limb...I had been impulsive.
Foolish.
Shattered by the strength of my love.
Ruined.
Powerless to resist my urge to protect her, I rushed in to rescue her without a second thought. As I replayed the events in my mind, I berated myself for my irrational and impetuous behavior. I was much too old to have been so reckless. In nearly 1,000 years I had never gone to battle without some sort of a plan or strategy. Logically I knew better, yet my devotion to her overruled common sense and likely would be the death of me. As I contemplated the thought of facing a final death, I could not find it in me to care. If I met my demise tomorrow, I would be happy to know I died understanding what it meant to love.
By the time I grasped the consequences of our mutual blood exchanges, it was too late to turn back. I should have explained this to her, given her the choice to decide. My selfish nature and need to possess her had made me greedy and indifferent. While I did feel remorse, I was satisfied that my love could be rivaled in its intensity by hers. It was a pittance, yet I clung to this truth. I needed her love, as surely as I wanted to possess her. I felt it was only fair since she owned me just as thoroughly.
Each drop of my blood she willingly took from me forced my essense deeper into every pore, every tissue and organ of her being. Her presence was ingrained in my mind and soul, claiming me as hers. True mating between vampires was a rare occurrence since it showed not only weakness, it made us defenseless, a slave to the bond. If she were to meet her death tomorrow, I would be forced to follow behind her. A vampire to mate with a human was unheard of. Then again, Josephine was no longer truly human. She was my beautiful hybrid, my perfect mate.
She was powerful in her own right, growing stronger as she continued to slowly change into her vampire-like form. I would grieve for her lost humanity as she struggled to discover what true immortality meant. She was still very young, having many things to accept and understand about this life. I had long ago let go of my mortality and embraced my existence. Others new to this life struggled with their new found eternal reality.
I watched her closely as her slender, elegant fingertips traced the veins under my skin as she considered my words and what they potentially meant. Her touch was like a blazing heat, scorching across the flesh she touched. When she met my gaze, her eyes were raging emeralds and her mind was a beautiful labyrinth of chaos. She was confused, terrified, aroused and filled with pride.
Privy to her feelings, I had the knowledge of knowing she wanted to be mine. She had accepted both sides of me, the dark and the light. I regretted that she had seen the dark side of me, the side I had wished to hide away from her. It was inevitable. Likely she would see it again, sooner than later.
The darker part of me was strong. It toyed with me, tempting me to crack open my own chest to tuck her away from my world and the dangers lurking around each corner. Her father, the Board, the Council… I wanted to shelter her, protect her at any cost. There was little I would not do to keep her safe.
Within days I would have to face the Council when we returned to New York for my hand in killing Derek. Merely a formality, Josephine would have to testify and it would make her uneasy. She would be more concerned about my fate than her own. I would have to register Anna as my progeny if she survived the change and she as well would be forced to testify about the cause of her own mortal death.
Anna would be my newest progeny; a child I never wanted to sire. The thought of training and teaching another to be a vampire was exhausting and an irritation for me. Yet I did it for Josephine. She begged me to save her friend’s life and I could not refuse her. I was unsure if it was too late for Anna’s survival to cross over to her new existence as a vampire. She was in between, neither alive or dead. Her future was unreadable to me or to Josephine.
We had to wait.
Josephine was nervous. She was torn between hoping for Anna’s awakening and acceptance that she may not survive. Yet layered under the nervousness and worry, she noticed my presence in her mind. She found it curious and I knew I would have questions to answer soon. My response would anger her and in turn, frustrate me.
For now, I would let her have her time to think. Relaxing in my seat, I began to feel the probing inquisitiveness of her mind exploring through mine, searching for the information she was looking for.
It was time.
Chapter 1
Curiosity Killed the cat
It had been one of the longest plane rides of my life. There was no mile high club fun for me this trip. The overall mood was a somber one. Lukas was still disappointed with his paralyzing fear and inability to help Anna. He didn't have to say it. The worry was etched across his face, replacing his normal sneer. Stefan was stoically reserved, still deeply concerned the future of his newest child and about the dark side of himself he'd revealed when he killed Derek viciously in front of me.
That was the least of my concerns.
My own mind was a twisted disarray after the events of the last 24 hours. I was still trying to come to terms with my own brush with death and the worry about Anna’s fate was weighing heavily on me. It was during my feeble attempt to make some sort of sense of things that I noticed Stefan’s much stronger presence pulsing in my mind, replacing the normal hum I’d grown accustomed to feeling. There had been some shift, some change that caused his once silent emotions to become a part of me. I could perceive and separate his resigned sense of duty, love, remorse and even more peculiar, his reluctant feelings of guilt that shadowed every single one of them.
Curious at his strange emotional state, I studied his profile as we sat on the plane. His broad shoulders were arranged in a lazy slouch, his beautiful face appeared almost serene, at peace. Blond tousled hair spilled over his forehead, begging me to smooth it into place. His blue eyes were closed, his eyelashes casting shadows over his high cheekbones. If I didn’t know better, Stefan appeared to be the picture of relaxation. The only tell was the anxious set of his chiseled jaw and mouth. Tensed in a slight frown, I wanted to kiss his lips soft again. He had that effect on me. I had this indescribable urge to soothe him, make anything that was troubling him fade away. I couldn't help but wonder if it would it always be this way for us. Would we always be consumed with visceral urges to comfort, gratify and love the other above anything and anyone else?
It was an equally a troubling and satisfying question.
Probing further into his thoughts, I was plunged into the depths of his mind. It was like stepping into a turbulent maelstrom. Wildly overpowering every thought was his almost covetous love for me, tinged by his compulsive worry for my safety. He was torn between being fearful that I'd seen too much and that someone or something would attempt to tear me away from him. Worry for Anna kept him probing their non-existent blood bond, on alert to any shift that she would awaken. Being inside his mind was an exhausting experience, but I kept pushing forward.
Not one of his thoughts or emotions were surprising to me. This wasn’t what I was looking for. I knew if I continued to search, I’d find the source of his strange feelings of remorse and guilt. Tapping into his emotions, I closed my eyes to concentrate fully on him. I probed deeper, driving further for the answers I desperately needed.
"Vackra, please ask me your questions. Do not sort through my mind like you are rummaging through a filing cabinet. Talk to me."
His deep voice broke the long stillness that had filled the plane. He hadn't spoken since his ominous statement of ‘we are one now’ and brief explanation of how I'd mentally called to him when Derek had held me captive.
My eyes slid open at his words. His remained closed, his expressive face calm. "I'm sorry. There’s something different with us now. I can feel you in my mind, Stefan. I can sense your emotions, your whole being in the back like it’s part of me. Why is that?"
More guilt and regret flooded our strange new connection. Finally opening his eyes, he swiveled in his seat to meet my probing gaze. His lips twitched into the tiniest of smiles as one of his hands moved to slowly trace the curve of my face. His fingers were like gentle feathers across my cheekbone and lips. He sighed and let his hand drift down my neck, along the outline of my collarbone to drift down my arm. He reached for my hand, engulfing it in his much larger grip, sighing in the relief that our contact brought him.
"I feel it as well. It was as I said earlier, we are one now. When you called for me, I heard you. You were like a beacon, sending out a distress call for me across the miles. The guilt I feel is because I should have explained the consequences of our blood exchanges. I should have given you the opportunity to choose. Yet I chose for you."
I sat frozen in my seat, just holding his hand. Warily watching him, I simply waited for him to explain. My unusual calmness seemed to unnerve him. He'd grown accustomed to my overreactions and panic. Maybe his influence had calmed me. Or possibly my close call with death had forced me to grow up a little bit.
His blue eyes averted from mine as he organized his thoughts. "After we exchange as much blood in love as you and I have, we become tied to one another. It is a link that cannot be severed. The tie would not form if the love was not there to bind us. All I did was bond us together indefinitely."
Unblinking, I said nothing. I was torn between wanting to embrace him and slap him. Lukas was on the plane and my eyes shot to his seat to see if he was listening in on our conversation. His head was bent over his laptop, earbuds stuck in his ears. Leaning closer to Stefan, I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper.
"All you did was bond us indefinitely?" I hissed angrily. He made it sound like he'd chosen my shoes for an innocuous dinner party instead of bonding us eternally. "You thought it would be acceptable to make a decision like this for me? For us? So let me get this straight. You let me ingest your blood, knowing eventually that this would be the outcome. And you also decided I was on a need to know basis about a life-altering experience such as bonding? I don’t get it, Stefan. You knew I'd eventually find out and be pissed off at your high-handed bullshit. Since you clearly have everything figured out, tell me how I’m supposed to feel.”
Stefan stared at the back of the airplane seat in front of him as if it held the answer I’d want to hear. He muttered something inaudible under his breath and I watched as he gave up and his shoulders drooped in defeat.
"You should be furious with me. I deserve every bit of your anger. I cannot explain it to you in a way that you will understand, Josephine. I love you as I never loved another creature. You are my other half, my soul, my life. Exchanging my blood with you was instinctual. It is how two true mates forge the bond we now have. As I said, if there was no true love between us, it would not form," Stefan replied vehemently. His thumb brushed absently over my wrist. His blazing blue eyes were locked on mine again, imploring for my understanding.
My anger waned fractionally. "That doesn’t let you off the hook because in a way, it makes it worse. It’s not like you didn’t know we loved each other. You knew the love was there between us. You had a vision of me, foretelling our relationship 200 years ago! Stefan, don't you think this should have been discussed before you became the sole decision maker in our relationship? This whole thing is like a shotgun wedding in reverse."
"A shotgun wedding?" Stefan questioned, his voice raising sarcastically. A blond eyebrow quirked in undisguised humor. “Explain what this ‘shotgun wedding’ term means?”
Beautiful bastard.
I heaved a loud sigh. “It’s a marriage where the groom is forced to marry the bride because he's gotten her pregnant. Her father holds a shotgun as security so the groom won't get cold feet and bolt," I explained, squeezing his hand. "There may be no baby, but you offered me your blood in love to tie me to you forever, even if it was instinctual. You knew that it was also your greatest weapon to make sure that I can't leave you. Our blood conn
ection is your proverbial shotgun. We’re tied together, for better or for worse."
Stefan's face tightened, his eyes turning into icy shards of ice. His mood shifted, his emotions becoming dark and broody. "Why would I do such a thing? I do not want you against your will. You have told me many times that you love me. You agreed to an eternity with me. Now you suddenly do not want any of this? Did my lack of communication change anything between us?"
Moving stealthily from my seat, I straddled his lap in the airplane seat. I gripped his handsome face in my hands, leaning in until the tips of our noses were touching. "Nothing has changed. I love you. I'll love you until there is no tomorrow, dummy." I leaned to kiss him softly. Pulling my lips back from his, I whispered against his mouth. "I want everything. I also want a little communication about things such as life-binding occurrences. I don’t like surprises. This qualifies as a big one for future reference."
The black of his pupils devoured the blue of his eyes as he absorbed my words. He was remembering the last time I told him I wanted everything and his mood switched amorously. His hands pulled me tighter against him as he shifted his hips upward. The outline of his hard cock rubbed against the denim of my jeans in the most interesting of ways.
"I want to know every part of you like the back of my hand. You are mine," Stefan muttered. His fangs had come out to play, letting their desire be equally known.
"I am yours. And it appears like you're all mine now too," I drawled in a hushed voice. "We can't do this with Lukas here. Drink, but nothing else."
His eyes slipped to the crook of my neck and slipped back up to meet mine. "I love you. För evigt."
Bypassing my neck completely, he captured my mouth in a kiss. He sliced his tongue with his fang, letting his blood rush into my mouth. Before I could react, I felt his sharp teeth pierce my tongue, our blood mixing as he continued to devour me with his talented mouth.
The Vampire Destiny 3: Awakening Page 1
