Destined (Vampire Awakenings) by Brenda K. Davies Page B

surprised by what they were telling him.
       Ethan shrugged as Isabelle shifted uncomfortably. She knew that Ethan feared the same thing that she did, but she didn’t know if he was going to tell Stefan that , or not. She sure as hell wasn’t going too. “We’re content here,” he replied nonchalantly. “What about you, how old are you exactly?”
       Stefan lifted a brow as he looked questioningly at the two of them. Isabelle was sitting silently, her dark head bent as she refused to meet his gaze. He knew that there was something more to Ethan’s simple explanation, but it was obvious that neither of them was going to elaborate further.
       “Two hundred and sixty seven,” he answered, leaning back, and folding his hands behind his head.
       Isabelle’s head shot up, her eyes were wide as they landed on him. He stiffened as that gaze shot a bolt of lust straight through him. “What exactly can you do?” Ethan asked.
       He shrugged, his gaze still locked on Isabelle’s. Biting nervously on her bottom lip she turned away from him, her long lashes flutter ed down to cast shadows over her delicate cheeks. He had to fight against the overwhelming urge t o touch her cheek, to see if it was as soft as it looked. He scowled as he tore his attention away from her, and back to Ethan’s curious gaze. He was beginning to act like a boy in the throes of his first love, he realized. And he didn’t like it one bit.
       “Lots of things,” he replied absently.
       “Such as?”
       “Such as I can move faster than you ever dreamed, my strength is ten times yours, my hearing, eye sight, and other senses are ten times yours. My powers of persuasion, memory erasing, and cloaking my presence could make you look like a new born baby.” He knew he sounded arrogant and hostile, but the growing tension in his jeans was becoming almost unbearable, and making him edgy. “I can make humans, and you, see something that isn’t really there,” he continued in a lighter tone. “That’s what I’ve done to Kathleen, Delia, and Jess.”
       “Why didn’t you cloak your presence from us that first day then ?” Ethan asked.
   “I didn’t expect to step out of the car, and into a nest of vampires.”
       “If your powers are so strong, th e n how come you didn’t sense us before you got here?” Ethan demanded, obviously a little annoyed by Stefan’s arrogance. Stefan tried to lighten his tone, and stance, even more. He liked Ethan, and he didn’t want Ethan angry because he sounded like a condescending ass.
       “Because I wasn’t searching for it, and I was busy arguing with Jess over the damn radio. I knew you were here a few miles down the road, I just didn’t expect that this was the place that we were heading too. Even if we hadn’t come here, I would have on my own .”
       They both looked at him in surprise. “Why?”
       Stefan shrugged casually as he folded his hands before him. “Because our kind usually doesn’t group together like you have. In fact, the most I’ve ever come across is five together. Usually, we’re too territorial to be grouped so tightly together . We prefer to be alone. I was curious about the amount of presence’s I sensed here. I would have come here simply to investigate, and discover why there were so many in one place.”
       Isabelle frowned at him; her eyes darkened as she hesitantly met his gaze. He smiled back at her as he unfolded his hands and leaned forward. “We’re happy here,” she whispered. “It’s why we all stay.”
       “I can see that, all I said was that it was unusual. I’m surprised that everyone has stayed for as long as they have.”
       “Where else would they go?” Isabelle asked, her face reflecting her innocence and confusion. “David, Jack, Mike, Doug, and my dad have been friends since childhood. They were all changed around the same time, and by the same person. They’ve always been together, helping each