Reclaimed (8 page)

And here she stood, by Isaac’s side once more.

He kicked a tree, watching in satisfaction as it cracked beneath the force.

Through her window, he spotted her sleeping form. Her brow furrowed, as it always did when something troubled her. He knew he’d caused her stress, and he could fix it. It would not be as simple as before, due to the guards, but he could do it.

He needed to see her.

Now.

***

The wind whipped her hair into her face, obscuring her vision. She didn’t feel afraid, merely irritated she couldn’t see. She sensed him lurking somewhere nearby in the purple moonlight. She could sense him by her side just before he gripped her arm in an urgent manner.

“Sabrina, please. We must talk.”

Returning his stare, she knew with certainty who stood before her. The pieces fit together with a clarity as undeniable as it was unbelievable.

“Elijah?”

He paled, staring at her in shock. “Yes, how did you—?”

“Isaac. He told me about you. I still have no idea how I’ve been dreaming of you. This all just seems to be out of a novel. A story I would write. It can’t be real. It isn’t possible.” She shook her head, reeling from shock.

“Feel me.” He brought her hand to his face and kissed the inside of her wrist. The combination of the smoothness of his cheek and the coolness of his lips caused her to shiver. “Touch me. Do I feel real?” he whispered roughly.

“Yes. But this is a dream.” She ran her thumb over his soft lip and caught her breath. “I just had a weird sense of déjà vu. As if I’ve done this before. Why?”

“Because you have. I can’t explain it right now. You have to trust me. I’ll be over tomorrow, once Isaac leaves. Let me in, and I will tell you everything I can. Please?”

Not giving her a chance to protest, he kissed her aggressively. Her body came to life, and she clung to his arms. She’d surely burst into flames, and he was her refreshing bucket of water. Lifting her weight into his arms, he pressed every inch of her body to his, in all the right places. He fit her like a glove, a glove meant just for her.

A small voice whispered in her head, told her though he might look like Isaac, but it wasn’t him. This man who kissed her had killed Isaac’s fiancée. She betrayed Isaac in the worst way possible. She ripped herself free from her passion-filled daze, pulling away from his grasp to covered her mouth in dismay.

What had she done?

“Sabrina, what’s—” He stopped mid-sentence and growled as his eyes scanned the forest behind her.

Sabrina recoiled and jumped out of his arms. She knew what the sound meant. Danger skulked near.

She yelped when a woman landed in front of them. Her beauty made Sabrina feel dowdy in comparison. Though certain she’d never seen her before, she looked somehow familiar. The hair rose on the back of her neck in recognition. Of fear, or of the woman, Sabrina had no clue.

But this woman was bad news.

“Again, dear? You seem to be a bit dim-witted, don’t you?” she taunted. Meeting Sabrina’s wide eyes, the woman bared sharp, tiny teeth in a mockery of a smile.

Elijah growled, seeming to read the woman’s intentions. They leapt into action, colliding in mid-air. The crash produced an ear-shattering bang, echoing through the night ten times louder than the boom of thunder on a dark, stormy night. She covered her ears in pain and watched the pair in a mixture of horror and astonishment.

Elijah ended up on top of the woman, but that didn’t stop her from snapping her sharp teeth at him before flinging him through the air. He connected with the same resounding boom, and Sabrina, horrified, watched the tree crash to the ground, Elijah under it. He leapt to his feet. He met her eyes, almost apologetically, and she wondered what he planned to do next.

She didn’t wonder long, though. For in a split second, he picked up the tree he had knocked down and threw it at the stranger, who was sprinting toward Sabrina at the same speed Elijah possessed.

Sabrina stumbled backward, both at the gesture and from the advancing woman who glowered at her as hatred curled her lip and filled her eyes. She didn’t get far, because she was scooped into Elijah’s arms as he sped away from the crazy woman. Elijah slid to a halt when a figure appeared before them. Sabrina screamed in terror and clung even tighter to his strong arms.

Chapter Five

“Sabrina. Sabrina! Wake up, please wake up
now!
” Isaac shook Sabrina in panic, terrified he wouldn’t be able to pull her out of her dream. Damn Elijah and his sick hold on her. He’d taken Sabrina from her own body, and now he very well might kill her. Removing humans from their bodies was
never
a good idea. Sometimes, unable to return, they were forever stuck in a dream-like state.

Otherwise known as a coma.

A rarity, but still a risk he could not allow.

Couldn’t he see the harm he caused her? The danger he put her in? Elijah could never be with Sabrina. Surely even he could see it?

Sabrina jerked in his arms, and he watched in horror as her eyes rolled to the back of her head.

Shit
.

He shook her and hoarsely called her name. “Sabrina, please. Wake up! I
need
you to wake up.
Please
.” The last word came out as no more than whisper. He froze when he saw her stare transfixed on him. She gulped for air, her eyes wide and her face ghostly pale, as she struggled to breathe. He sat her up in his arms and pounded her back in an attempt to help.

When her arms flew out to the side in shock, he realized he had maybe pounded a little
too
hard. But…she was breathing. He could hear her gasping breath, see her shoulders heaving at the effort. Pulling her back into his arms, he hugged her to his chest.

Dude, don’t suffocate her now that she’s breathing.

Dumbass
.

He forced himself to loosen his grip and whispered soft words into her hair. He had no idea what he even said, but they seemed to help. In no time at all, she lay limp in his arms, curled into his body.

Where she damn well belonged, thank you
.

“Isaac?” she asked.

Anger swelled over him when he realized she asked if he was Elijah or Isaac. God, he hated his brother. He should make it clear to her, right here and now, that her soul mate held her in his arms. Life by Elijah’s side would
never
be possible.

But if he came on too strong, too fast, he might scare her away. By now she had to know something unearthly surrounded her. But she didn’t know
what
. And he suspected she couldn’t handle the truth tonight. She’d been through too much already.

Hoping she would confide in him, he forced himself to take a calm breath before pasting a smile on his face. He schooled his features into an easygoing appearance, determined to look as non-threatening as possible.

Act clueless
.

“Yes, who else?” He raised an eyebrow in question. With bated breath, he awaited her answer. Maybe, just
maybe
she would trust him. If she showed just a small sign of being ready, he would tell her all about his life. And all about Elijah—and why he posed such danger to her. He was a vampire, for the love of God. They tore pretty little girls like her apart—literally.

Those hopes were dashed when she waved a dismissive hand in front of her face.

“Sorry, Isaac. I think my brain is a little confused. I had a nightmare. It’s all very humiliating.”

She blushed, avoiding his eyes. He knew why she would look away. She lied through her teeth, but why the hell would she
blush
?

“Um, just out of curiosity, how did you know I had a nightmare? I hope I didn’t scream and wake you.” She bit her lip and studied her clenched hands, and he tensed as he realized she felt mortified to have been frightened.

Embarrassed
.

Jesus, she should be bloody scared.

He smiled tensely and forced a chuckle as he fought the anger washing over him. “I’d like to be a gentleman and say no. But how would I explain my presence in your bedroom? Voyeurism? Sorry, lass, but yes, you screamed. What did you dream about?”

“Oh, nothing. A shadow chased me in the woods. Someone called my name, and I tried to escape them, but it kept getting closer. Then, you woke me up. Thanks for pulling me out of it.”

He closed his eyes in an attempt to conceal the fury coursing over him.

One, two, three
.

He sighed and opened his eyes to focus on her once more.

“You must think I’m such a wimp. Terrified of shadows.”

“On the contrary, I don’t think you are enough of a wimp, as you call it,” he countered. He held her gaze intently, silently pleading for her trust. For her love. Her eyes widened, showing she saw all the emotion he wished her to see, and more. She bit her lip, and he watched the movement curiously. What was she thinking?
Feeling?

Damn it all, if he couldn’t get her to trust him, he’d damn well make her need him. He growled and pressed his lips to hers, offering the things he felt not aloud, but in action. Passion, love, need: they were all there. And not just on his side.

No, it was just pure imagining on his part. Obviously, he loved her. He’d be an idiot to deny it. He always had, and always would. He’d loved her since the first time he met her in the countryside by their houses, and he’d loved her when he was still a human. Love like that didn’t just go away.

But for her to love him so soon? When she didn’t remember those moments? Not bloody likely.

A loud bang of thunder shook the house, and she shrieked. Isaac pushed her away in frustration to glare out the window at the storm raging outside. Bloody storms. Already, the absence of her arms around him left him cold. He wanted her to writhe against him, to hear her breathy moans fill his ears.

Instead, he had, well,
emptiness
. Where there had been fire, there was now cool air.

He might as well have left.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her reach out to him, her face showing her pain at his rejection. Yet she stopped halfway, her hand hovering in the air. She chewed on her lower lip and laid back against the pillow, her scrutiny focused on his back.

He ignored her scrutiny and indecision. He needed to get outside, before he made a fool of himself even more. He rose to his feet and murmured a hasty good night, before striding from the room. He hoped it looked more like an exit than a panicked retreat. If he stayed even one more second, she’d either be flat on her back, or he’d be shaking her in frustration.

Maybe both.

He headed outside in search of Connor, the man he’d assigned to protect Sabrina. Apparently, he’d failed. It appeared Elijah had grown stronger than Isaac suspected.

Connor normally kept unwanted guests away adeptly; it was one of his talents. His gifts, so to speak. In this life, they all had gifts. And there were the creatures like Isaac. The Enforcers. Enforcers were capable of becoming
any
of the monsters in order to defeat them. They used their powers for good—to save humans from the monsters roaming the world. Monsters like Elijah.

Damn it.

Connor’s gift consisted of being able to block
guests
from trying to enter any property he protected with his mind. And if they came in person, he handled them as well. His record remained—or had been, anyway—undefeated. No one could get around him; he was infallible.

The key word being
was
.

Isaac had a very powerful gift as well. He could, in essence, control the weather. A sunny day could turn into a turbulent tornado at the blink of an eye. When he got too emotional, or out of control, the weather matched. The first few years of this life had been quite disastrous. Many villages had been destroyed by his anger. It took years for him to manage it, but he had gotten to the point where he could easily stay under control.

Or he had been, until Sabrina walked into his life a few weeks ago. Now, nothing felt under his control.

The ground shook from the force of the thunder overhead as he contemplated Elijah’s growing power. His brother’s gift had always been his speed and strength. But…now he disguised himself as well.

So he was not only up against an unarguably superior opponent in speed and strength, but also one immune to his defenses?

Shit, shit, shit
.

Kicking a tree, he stalked into the dark woods. Sabrina’s screams from her nightmare echoed in his head, no matter how far he walked.

Come on, man
.

“Connor? Get over here.” His voice came out so soft a human would not hear it.

Sensing Connor’s presence, he swung to face him and scowled. Connor smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry about earlier. I ran into the side of the house. I thought I had more room, but obviously calculated wrong. Did she see me?”

“Yes, but it’s okay. I took care of it.” He snapped as he waved his hands. “What I
really
want to know is how Elijah managed to get to Sabrina. Didn’t you sense him? Try to block him? What happened?”

Isaac
knew
he sounded like an ass. He didn’t care.

“Wait, what? Elijah has been nowhere near here, I’m sure of it. I would have known.” Isaac watched as anger, disbelief, and finally shock crossed his friend’s face. “No. No way he came here. Even now I can’t sense his presence. You’ve gotta be wrong. It’s not possible,” he whispered.

It was as bad as he’d feared. Connor couldn’t even sense Elijah had been here, yet alone whether or not he
remained
here? The world would go to hell in a freaking hand basket.

Lovely
.

Lightning and thunder crashed overhead.

***

The next day, Sabrina yawned for the fifth time in one minute before giving up and heading into the kitchen. Time for another cup of coffee.

A damn storm had killed any chance she had of getting any sleep last night. Where the hell had it come from, anyway? As she inhaled the hazelnut aroma steaming from her mug, she contemplated her dilemma. Isaac had left this morning after an admonishment to be careful, which she knew translated to
do not let Elijah in
.