Change of Fate (The Briar Creek Vampires Series #4)

by Unknown

  “Do you ever wish your life was different?” Anna asked from her place on the bed next to him. They had curled up to watch a rerun of The Golden Girls, which was Anna’s favorite show. It was also Austin’s mom’s favorite. Watching it sometimes brought back memories of his mom, back when they were a happy family, even though he knew that was ridiculous. His mom didn’t love him, so how could he ever think of her in a positive light?

  “I wish it was different all the time,” Austin murmured. Actually, that was a lie. He tried not to think too much about his life, instead putting the people who did care about first. Even so, it was true . . . and he couldn’t even begin to explain it. Anna couldn’t possibly understand what it felt like to be him. He felt sorry for her because it definitely had to suck for her mom to be killed by a vampire, but what they had gone through was so different. His mom actually believed that she had killed her own son and was, somehow, able to live with herself every day. Just thinking about the fact that his mom still looked at herself in the mirror every day and thought that what she had done (or what she thought she had done) to him was worth it made Austin feel sick to his stomach.

  “What do you wish was different about it?” Anna pressed, tilting her head up to look at Austin.

  Flicking off the TV, he thought about it. “I wish that I didn’t grow up in Briar Creek. I wish I had grown up somewhere far, far away from vampires . . . and I wish that, no matter how different my life had been in this fantasy place, that I had met you,” Austin said, planting a kiss on her lips and pulling her close to him.

  “Do you want to know how I wish my life was different?” Anna asked as she snuggled against his body. Her skin felt warm against his. It reminded Austin of that feeling you get when you snuggle against warm sheets on a cold rainy day.

  “How?” Austin asked, kissing her forehead.

  Anna looked up at him, her dark brown eyes twinkling. “I wish I were a vampire.”

  Austin studied her face. This was the first time Anna had ever mentioned that she wanted to be a vampire. As far as he knew, she hated vampires, for the most part, because of the vampire who had killed her mother. She still hadn’t found him yet, but the whole reason she was at Huntington was to train enough to eventually find and kill that vampire. “Why do you wish that?” Austin asked.

  “I just hate to think about what will happen to us one day,” Anna said. “As I grow older and you stay the same.”

  Austin nodded. He knew that was a common concern for vampires. It was the reason most vampires only got romantically involved with other vampires; falling in love with a human was never really a good idea because you risked getting too attached. Austin tried not to think about it that much, but he had wondered what would become of him and Anna one day. It made him sad to think that she would eventually die, and he would stay the same as he was right now for all of eternity. “Maybe we should try not to think about that right now.”

  “No, we need to talk about it,” Anna insisted. “Will you turn me into a vampire?”

  Austin sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe in a few years?”

  “Why in a few years?” Anna asked. “Why not now?”

  “What would happen if things don’t work out? You’ll still have to live with being a vampire. It’s not reversible.”

  “Well, that’s true, I suppose,” Anna said slowly. “But, I think we’re going to work out. Don’t you?” From the tone in her voice, Austin could tell that she was thought that he was doubting their relationship, when really he wasn’t at all.

  “Of course I think we will,” Austin replied. “I just want us to take things a little bit slower before we decide if you should become a vampire. Besides, there’s something that vampires and humans can enjoy doing together that I would like to do with you before we decide to change you.”

  Anna raised an eyebrow at him. “You want to drink from me?”

  “Duh,” Austin replied, smiling. “You smell so good. I can’t wait to see how you taste.”

  He watched as Anna’s cheeks reddened. “I want you to drink from me, too,” she whispered.

  Suddenly, the realization that Anna had thought about this, too, made something stir inside of him. He felt goose bumps rise on his arms and chills shoot down his spine as she leaned in closer to him and, looking longingly into his eyes, pressed her lips against his.

  Anna’s lips lost their own shape, as they molded around his, as their tongues danced around each other in sync. Everything around Austin became a big blur; the only thing in the world that mattered right now was Anna. He became overwhelmed by the scent of her sweet earthy skin.

  She pulled away from him, but her lips moved down his neck, planting a trail of kisses against his skin. He couldn’t take it any longer; he had to taste her.

  Anna rolled onto her back, wrapping her arms around his waist as she pulled him closer to her. Kissing her neck gently, Austin tugged at her shirt. She pulled the shirt over her head, revealing the black and pink lacy bra that she wore underneath, which barely covered her breasts.

  Austin parted his lips and kissed her mouth again, pressing his hand under the bra and against her breast, before he moved to her neck.

  He nibbled at her neck gently before sinking his teeth into her, puncturing her soft flesh. He ran his tongue in a straight line over the sweet crimson liquid that flowed out of her wound. The moan that escaped Anna’s throat sent Austin over the edge, encouraging him to drink from her.

  Swirling his tongue around the wound, Austin lost himself in the flavor of her blood, which was more delicious than anything he had ever tasted. Her blood was more addictive than he imagined any drug could ever be. The scent of her blood and her skin enthralled him, and the sound of the moans that she released in pure ecstasy were like music to his ears.

  It took everything in him, all of the will in his body, to pull away from her, as he reminded himself that drinking too much from her would drain her of all the blood in her body. Once he had torn himself away from her, Austin inched closer to her face, preparing to kiss her on the lips, when Anna brushed him away from her.

  “That was . . . amazing,” Anna told him, closing her eyes as though she were remembering how good it had felt all over again. “But I am not kissing you until you go use some mouthwash.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Austin asked.

  Anna shook her head and giggled. “No, I’m not kidding. I’m serious. You just drank my blood. You’re not putting those lips anywhere near this,” she said, lifting her hand to her mouth, “until you go use some Listerine.”

  Climbing off her bed, Austin went into the private bathroom in her dorm room and rinsed his mouth with Listerine. When he came back, Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “I love you,” before planting a tiny kiss on his lips.

  “I love you, too,” Austin said. And he realized it was the first time he had ever told someone he loved them and meant it.

  Chapter 31

  ****

  I want to go home, Lexi thought for the third time in the past five minutes. Nothing happened, and she sighed loudly.

  Dan glanced over at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m getting so frustrated,” Lexi replied. “When we get back to the 21st century, I’m going to kick their butts. They should be wishing for us to come back every minute we’re gone. Why aren’t they?”

  “I don’t know why, Lexi,” Dan said, shrugging. “You can’t be mad at them, though. They don’t know what they’re supposed to be thinking.” He looked down at the ground. Lexi noticed that his sandy blonde hair was starting to get a little long now. He’d needed a haircut before they had time traveled; now, he was in desperate need of one. “I also don’t know if I should mention this,” Dan went on, “but we also don’t know for sure that that’s how we’re going to get back. Belinda said she was told that was the way, but . . . what if it’s not?”

  The thought hadn’t even crossed Lexi’s mind. She had just assumed that it was right. “Well
, what do we do now then? There’s no way to know how we can get back.”

  Dan shrugged. “I didn’t say it won’t work. It’s possible that no one from home has thought about wanting us to come back. Just don’t count your chickens before they hatch. That’s all I’m saying.”

  Lexi leaned her head against the side of the house and glanced up into the sky. It was growing dark now. She hated sleeping outside, especially knowing that Albert was going to wake up soon . . . if he hadn’t already. Would he try to attack them? He shouldn’t. Lexi was wearing the bat pendant, and Dan didn’t have a human scent at all, so hopefully she didn’t have anything to worry about.

  “So, what’s this about you hating me?” Dan asked, glancing over at her. Lexi could tell from the tone of his voice that he was trying to act like he was joking, but she knew that it really bothered him.

  “I don’t hate you,” Lexi said quietly. “I just . . . I didn’t know that I could trust you before. I thought you were on their side.” She looked down at her hands, feeling guilty.

  Dan seemed to notice that that she felt bad about it because he reached for her hand and, locking his fingers around hers said, “Hey, it’s okay. I understand. I really do.”

  Lexi looked up at him and, feeling the tears form behind her eyes, whispered, “It’s not just that. I just want to go home.”

  Wrapping a muscular arm around her and pulling her closer to him, Dan said, “We’ll get home soon. Don’t worry.”

  Lexi shook her head. “No, Dan. You don’t understand. You might get to go home, but I never will.”

  “Of course you will. I won’t let you stay here by yourself,” Dan insisted. “We’ll go home together . . . even if I have to hold for dear life onto your leg again, we’ll both get back.”

  Lexi sighed. “No, you don’t get it. I can’t go home. I don’t have a home. Even if we get back to the future, I have nowhere to go.” She felt the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I can’t go back to my aunt and uncle’s house. My mom is dead. I doubt my dad will even want me. I have nowhere to go. I can’t live at Huntington forever.”

  Dan looked at the sky. “I’m not going to pretend that I understand because, the truth is, I don’t. I still have my parents. I still have a home.” He turned to Lexi and wiped away one of the tears that slid down her cheek. “But it seems to me that home is a place where you’re surrounded by people who love you . . . people who care about you. You do have that, Lexi. There are people who care about you.”

  Lexi rested her head against his shoulder; it offered her more comfort than anything else in this place that they were stuck in. “You never call me Lex anymore,” she said, looking over at him. “Why?”

  Dan glanced back at her. “Because it’s what Gabe calls you.”

  “So?” Lexi asked. “A girl’s not allowed to have a nickname?”

  Dan shrugged. “It just didn’t feel right, calling you the same thing he called you. If I ever give you a nickname again, I want it to be one that only I call you. I don’t want to have to share it with Gabe . . . or anyone else.”

  Lexi got the feeling that Dan knew that Gabe wasn’t the only guy who she’d had feelings for over the past few months. Should she tell him about Craig . . . and Brandon? She quickly shook the thought away. Lexi knew she hadn’t really had feelings for either of them. After her mother died and Gabe had tried to kill her, she had felt so alone – so alone that she had thrown herself at Craig and Brandon, trying to fill up the emptiness that consumed her. It hadn’t helped, though. When she was with them, she felt more alone than ever. If Dan were to ask her, she’d tell him, but she didn’t have to go out of her way to talk about it.

  “I wonder what they’re doing right now,” Lexi said. She looked up at Dan. “Do you think they’re thinking about us?”

  “Let’s hope so,” Dan said, lying on the ground on his back. Lexi rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arm around his waist.

  “Maybe if we fall asleep, we’ll wake up from this nightmare,” she whispering, closing her eyes.

  “Easy for you to say,” Dan whispered. “Vampires don’t get to sleep.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Lexi murmured as she closed her eyes and snuggled against him. Even though they were similar in so many ways, it was still really easy for Lexi to forget about the differences between them.

  Lexi heard the footsteps from behind her just as Dan shook her awake, holding a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet. Holding her breath, Lexi waited for Mary-Kate’s face to appear in front of her. Her sister must have realized that they hadn’t gone into town, after all, and came back here to find them.

  It made Lexi sad to think about the fact that she and Mary-Kate would probably never be friends now that this had happened. She had been so excited to have a sister, especially now that her mom was gone, but that would never happen now. They might be related by blood, but it was clear that Mary-Kate didn’t want any part of her.

  A light bulb went off in Lexi’s head. Mary-Kate must have been the one who her mom had told her she cared about but couldn’t trust. Hadn’t her mom said that there was more than one person she couldn’t trust? Lexi couldn’t remember, but she got the feeling that there was.

  She glanced over at Dan, who was sitting protectively next to her, and smiled. At least he wasn’t the one who she couldn’t trust.

  The footsteps grew louder as they crunched over old leaves. It was the middle of spring, and the yard was covered with leaves from autumn. People definitely hadn’t spent much time in these days trying to take care of their yards, that was for sure.

  From in between the leaves that covered her eyes, Lexi watched as the person crept around the edge of the house. The person was tall, with broad shoulders. It wasn’t Mary-Kate.

  It was Albert. He had woken up.

  Would he be able to smell them? Lexi felt for the bat pendant, which still dangled from their neck. It should mask her scent so that he wouldn’t even be able to find her here.

  At least, that’s what she thought. Albert glanced over in the direction of the bushes and began inching over towards them. His hair looked disheveled, and his body had a dirty look, probably because he had spent the past few days lying on the bank of the river. Lexi was glad that she hadn’t looked into a mirror lately; her own skin was probably tainted with dirt. She couldn’t wait to get home to take a warm bath and wash the dirt, and the memories that were bound to come with this experience, away.

  As Albert got closer to them, Lexi began to panic. What was he going to do? Did he want to drink her blood? Maybe she should just let him have it instead of fighting against it. Being a sport about it might at least help her survive his attack, if nothing else.

  Dan braced her shoulders. Even though he was trying to seem protective, Lexi could see through his act. Dan was also panicking. It wasn’t like he had a stake this time.

  “Who hides there?” Albert asked as he peered over the bushes. When his face was level with theirs and his eyes poured into hers, Lexi whispered, “We do.”

  “Who is we?” Albert asked.

  “I’m Lexi, and this is Dan.” She wasn’t sure why she told him their names; she just figured that being honest with him would be the best option right now.

  “What makes you hide outside of my home?” Albert asked, his forehead wrinkled.

  “It’s a long story,” Lexi said. “We’re hiding from someone, though.”

  Albert glanced from Lexi to Dan before turning away from them. The next thing she knew, she heard him going into the front door of the house.

  “Albert!” Belinda’s voice chirped. Glancing up, Lexi realized that the window must still be open because she could hear the woman’s voice clearly, as though she were right next to her. “You have returned! I am so grateful.”

  Albert didn’t say anything in response, but Lexi heard the sound of something breaking.

  “Albert? What are you doing?” Belinda asked. A few moments passed before Lexi heard anything else, but when
she did it was the sound of Belinda moaning. Lexi realized that Albert must have been bloodthirsty which was, she was pretty sure, typical of a newborn vampire. She only wished that Belinda could enjoy the comforting feeling that came with a vampire who she loved feeding from her without having to worry that her world was about to come crashing down on her.

  Chapter 32

  ****

  Rhonda opened her eyes from the relaxing state that she had just been in. Vampires couldn’t sleep, but they could relax more than she had ever been able to as a human. She was constantly finding herself getting lost in her own relaxation.

  She felt for Gabe’s arm, which had been wrapped around her waist earlier tonight. When she didn’t feel him, she rolled over onto her side. He was missing.

  You want to come back to my bed, Rhonda thought in her head, hoping to command Gabe to come back to her.

  She waited a few moments. When Gabe didn’t come back, she rolled onto her side, trying not to pout.

  Her dorm room door clicked open, and Rhonda smiled. She loved this mind control thing she had going on. It made her feel really powerful. “Come back to bed, babe,” she murmured, as she snuggled against the satin sheets on her queen-sized bed.

  Rhonda felt a hand being clamped over her mouth. “You listen to me,” a female voice said.

  Rolling over to glance at the face that hovered over her, Rhonda felt a sense of fear wash over her. The cat green eyes that stared back into hers belonged to Veronica Hart.

  Biting down on Veronica’s hand hard enough for her to remove it from her mouth, Rhonda asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to give you a warning, if you will,” Veronica replied in a bored tone of voice, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder. “I want you to stay the hell away from Gabe. He’s my man.”