Bella Vita (56 page)

“
Before I go and spill everything to you, I want to know
about you, Leland.” My stare was hard- I wouldn't endanger my
people anymore.

“
You could easily look into my mind and see everything.” He
raised his brows at me.

“
True, but that would violate you in a way that I don't
like.” I looked him in the eyes.

“
Welp, I'm the only child of two Australian vampires. We
raise horses. Well, raise 'em and more. I grew up knowing myself
and I came into my abilities very quickly after my change. You know
my special skills... some I didn't even know I have until I met
you.” He smiled at me. “ I waited for the change to be like my
folks, darl. Life was nothing hard. Our place is obviously in the
outback. Oh, I once saw a friend get ripped to shreds by a boomer-
that's a big ol' buck of a roo. I don't know what to tell you.” He
shrugged.

“
I don't either. I just feel like you know a lot about me
because of who I am and I don't know enough about you.” I
frowned.

“
Well, time will allow us to learn more about each other. I
mean, shit, you're my best mate's lady- I'm bound to learn
aboutcha.” He smiled.

“
Yeah, I suppose.” I wasn't thrilled that this was how
things would be, but my mind was too scattered to try and piece
something together to tell him or ask him.

I broke down and told him everything I knew-
a lot I hadn't even had a chance to tell Dom and I wasn't sure if
it mattered at this point. He listened with an expressionless
face.

“
Darl, you've done all you can for now. I'm not sure what to
make about the witch thing. Your friend might be sworn to protect
her family secrets or somethin'. I just can't say. Maybe she's just
being an ankle biter. Try not to focus on it, sweet thing. I hear
that the doctors for Issy have made it here too.” I could tell he
hoped this would cheer me.

“
What do you think about her and all of this?”

“
She'll be apples. Everything will turn out right.” He
winked at me.

“
Well, I better go and take her out of the funky state I put
her in.” I sighed.

“
Probably for the best.” He held the door for me.

Isabella DeDominico was the spitting image
of Dominic, only female. Her beautiful blonde hair had been
arranged on the pillow like Sleeping Beauty awaiting true love's
first kiss. I knew that once I unspelled her mind that her eyes
would pop open and I would see that beautiful shade of green that
could change depending on her mood- just as Dom's did. They were
both the same height, but Issy's frame was smaller and petite.

When I went into her new room, several
doctors stood by her bedside taking readings from their machines. I
wasn't exactly sure what they were reading- but I knew that these
readings would be useless once she was awake. Her bed seemed to
swallow her and hold her in its tender embrace.

Time to wake up, Issy.
I thought to her as I unweaved my form of
magic doing to her- it wasn't really magic, rather a manipulation
of the mind.

“
Where's Jack?” She sat up calmly, her eyes a gentle jade
for the moment.

“
I believe you already know, dear sister.” Dom came and took
her hand.

Her eyes unfocused for a minute as she tried
to remember what had been locked away from her, and then they
turned a sharp beer bottle green.

“
You...” She pointed her finger at me.

“
Whatever you think I've done, I haven't.” Leland came to
stand behind me in case she decided to attack me.

“
You did this, Emma Hutchinson. I know you didn't kill him,
but it's your fault!” She howled at me.

“
That doesn't seem exactly fair there, darl.” Leland's
causal term seemed to spark more anger.

“
You shouldn't even be in here. My brother has taken our
throne. You're not royalty and shouldn't be allowed into such
personal matters.” She could've slapped him just as easily, instead
of implying that he was less than us because we were royal
now.

“
Now you hold your damn tongue, Isabella!” I snarled at my
once best friend.

“
You probably only married my brother for the position of
power it gave you. All the wolves know you're in love with Michael
O'Shanold.” She sneered at me.

My lips curled back in disgust, my fist
clenched and I socked her in the face as hard as I could.

Serves you right!
My mind sent a jolt along with the
words.

“
Emma!” Dom practically shrieked at me.

“
Ahem, Your Majesty, I don't think that will help the
patient mend. I also have a feeling that this isn't just misguided
anger, rather her mind has been spelled to see you as the enemy.” A
brave young vampire doctor with a clipboard stepped
forward.

“
How do you know that she just hasn't become a bitch?” My
eyes were slits and I desperately wanted to hit something
else.

“
Mia bella
, you know my sister. At the very least you know her core.
She would never be this cruel or hurtful.” Dom's words struck true
as he held a handkerchief to her bleeding nose.

“
You're right. I
am
sorry to the Issy I once knew. I'll do my best to get rid
of the spell binding her, but I'll have to think about how to go
about this.” I turned and sat in the corner chair.

The doctors fussed about her. Leland came
and stood by my side, physically letting me know that he would take
my side over his best mate's and his evil sister. I tried not to
laugh at his hurt pride, the gesture was kind enough.

I watched Issy and the doctors for several
hours, Leland remained at my side throughout the entire episode.
Dom helped his sister try to remember herself while dealing with
the staff. I mentally warned anyone that walked into the room that
they shouldn't take what she said to heart and to try their best to
make the most of the situation. I also promised a bonus for anyone
dealing directly with Issy. I knew that Dominic would make a fuss
over this once he found out, but there was no reason why our people
should have to deal with his sister's royal bitchiness without a
damn good reason- and money provided it.

I sat in the room on and off for days trying
to get a fix on what was wrong inside her. But I couldn't pick it
up from a distance. After the third day of listening to her
degrading the people that came into her room, I decided that I
needed to touch her and really dig into the depths of her mental
state. Leland and Dom came to assist me. I knew that I couldn't put
her in the blank state because then I wouldn't be able to get into
her mind and locate the spell. I didn't try to explain to Issy what
we were going to do.

Leland stood on one side of her and Dominic
on the other. A grim set of determination was arranged on each
face. Dom's bright green eyes were hard and cold. I knew he was
upset that this was what I had chosen to do. My attempt to please
him by removing the staff from the surrounding rooms, did nothing
for him. Leland's hazel eyes shifted with his emotions. The green
leaked out more as the room filled with tension.

“
What
are
you two apes doing in here? And what do
you
want?” Issy's tone was not
flattering.

“
We're here to help you, and hopefully restore you to
yourself, Isabella.” I kept my face blank and nodded to each of the
boys- they took her arms and held her to the bed.

“
What the fuck do you think you're doing?” She shrieked at
them, her legs shot out and one clipped me.

“
Issy, you need to be quiet otherwise things might be more
uncomfortable for you than I would like to see.” Dom's voice was
calm, like he was talking to a scared animal.

“
If you don't calm yourself down, darl, I'll have to knock
you out.” Leland's smile was that of a hunter.

I watched Issy gulp and nod, her cries
became silent.

“
Issy, I'm just going to hold your hand. You might feel some
pressure in your mind, don't fight me as it'll only hurt you and I
won't stop.” I stared her in the eyes with my face as blank and
cold as possible.

“
I understand.” She looked away from me as I took her
hand.

Most minds are kinda like a house, there are
rooms for everything- sorta. When I finally managed to break into
Issy's mind, it looked like someone had broke in and thrown
everything around. I wasn't sure how to fix the mess besides
cleaning it up, but I didn't know if that would make the problem
worse for her or break the spell.

I broke contact from her and told the boys
that I had to make a phone call before I continued.

I stepped out of the room.

Mike?
I didn't know who else to turn to.

Sup, my love?
His warm voice was like a large comforting blanket
thrown over me to protect me.

I'm trying to heal Issy, but I have a problem.
I sent him the
mental images and tried to describe what happened in her
mind.

Well, it sounds like the mess is an illusion. This sounds
familiar. I think you need to look over or through the mess to see
the real problem. It was really good that you didn't go trying to
put things right, I've got a feeling that it would've made things
worse.
I
could feel him trying to find the best way to help me.

Don't worry, I'm going to go back in there and try to find
the spell buried in that mess of a head. I just don't understand
why anyone would do that to another person.
I felt disappointed in other
people.

Maybe it was done to make sure you didn't have another
ally, and to draw a line between you and Dom.
I knew then that Mike knew what
I was going through- even though I had tried to mask it all from
him.

I think you're right. Well, soon we should have the same
old Issy back. Anything new with Jack's murder?
I really wanted something good
to tell her once I brought her back to normal.

Nope. The scent is masked, the vamps you sent can't find
anything, and my people are crying out for justice. I don't really
know what to do, Em. I feel like this is only going to end
poorly.
I
could really use a bit of sunshine and it seemed like Mike needed
it too.

Thanks, Mike. Let me know if you find out anything new.
I'll let you know how she's doing.
I broke away from our
connection.

As I walked back to Issy's room, I felt like
I had been submerged in ice water. Bad things were coming, but I
couldn't see what they were. I really needed a way to get my head
together and to figure out how to save Issy and us.

The door opened silently, the scene before me utterly
shocked me. Dom was on the floor- he clearly had been knocked out.
Leland was trying to fight Issy off, but having a very hard time at
it as she was latched onto him like a leech.
Ew, gross.

“
That's enough of that!” My voice boomed in the empty space
as I shocked Issy into unconsciousness.

“
Leland, you okay, mate?” I was standing over him trying to
apply pressure to his wound.

“
Fuckin' aye, what the hell was that?” His eyes were
confused and glazed.

“
I was hoping you could tell me. I'll send for some blood
for you.” I mentally asked Yasmin to have some blood sent up as we
had a little accident.

“
Well, it's like this, you walked out, Dom was talking to
her, she turned to talk to me and then she swung- like full on as
hard as she could- Dom into me. Our heads collided and he went
down. I was shocked and she grabbed me and bit me. She bit me! And
then you came in. Thanks for that.” I could feel his gratitude was
clearly mixed with his anger for being taken by
Isabella.

“
Let me check on Dom, you gonna be okay?” I didn't want to
take my eyes off him in case he went down or something.

“
Yeah, yeah. Check on him.” He gestured to Dom.

Dom?
I was trying to prod him for any injuries I could
find.

Mia bella
?
Even his mental voice seemed to be confused.

Your sister knocked you out. Are you okay?
He still hadn't
opened his eyes.

Yes, my body is healing. She got us good. Is Leland
alright?
I
watched him like a hawk, his body still wasn't showing signs of
life.

He's fine. She bit him. I'm going to give you blood. Your
body isn't showing any signs of real life. She injured you worse
than I thought, but it's healing slowly. My blood will help the
healing, then I'll be able to assess the extent of the damage that
I'll need to heal with my gift.
I wasn't sure what was wrong with him as I
couldn't find any direct damage.

“Leland, can you hand me the wicked sharp letter opener
from the top drawer of the desk? Here's the key.” I tossed him the
key without looking.

“Is he okay?” I listened to him shuffle over to the desk,
open it, and search for a second for the opener, before he closed
and relocked it.