The Awakening: A Witch-Vampire Romance: Feel the Heat. (10 page)

Chapter 8.

When we pull up to Jaxx’s house I am taken back again at how massive it is. Even though I have been here once before, I am still dazzled by the size. It is a two-story colonial, red brick home with white windows and trimmings. Two large pillars sit in front to support the roof of the massive porch. There are several hanging baskets hanging from the eves. The yard and the flower garden out front are well tended. You would never guess that it is a house for just two men. Around the back of the house I know there is a full tennis court and an in-ground pool that takes up a lot of space, but there is also a labyrinth of flowers and shrubbery to get lost in.

Jaxx
walks around the car to get my door, then hands me out. As we stroll up the front, I notice a Harley Davidson V-Rod parked on the other side of what has to be his uncle’s black Lexus. I turn to Jaxx.

“Does your uncle have a thing for Harleys also?”

“Umm, no. He is much too contained to ride any sort of bike. Let alone that monster.”

That ma
kes me giggle. How could anyone related to Jaxx be tucked in? When we get to the front door, Jaxx walks right in, but I lag back out of nervousness. I’ve never had the “meet the parents’” moment.

“Come on
, little raven. He won’t bite. Well, not much.” He rolls his eyes at my confused look.

“I’ll let him explain.”

We move through the house and Jaxx twines his fingers with mine. At his touch I relax instantly.

“You are my instant Xanax,” I laugh.

When we reach
the front room, I notice a tall, slender-muscled man who is probably in his mid-twenties leaning against the main book case. He has dark hair and even darker eyes.
You could get sucked into those eyes and never escape,
I think to myself, then quickly divert my gaze to take in the room. Instantly my eyes catch eyes that are mirrors of my own. I feel Jaxx go still beside me as I stiffen with confusion.

“Seb
, what’s going on? Who is this,” Jaxx is seething. I have a feeling that he has some idea what is going on and he doesn’t like it one bit.

I t
ake in the one I know that must be the stranger in the room. He is tall, but still an inch or so shorter than Jaxx. I would say he hits about six foot one at least. He stares at me like I should know him.
His eyes are the same as mine. His hair color matches mine, even his well-defined cheek bones and full lips are mine,
I think, my heart racing.

“Gavin,” I whisper
in awe.

He jerk
s as if electrocuted by an unknown source.

Jaxx
bristles beside me and I can feel the anger and confusion radiating off of him.

“Who-”he start
s to say, but his uncle cuts him off.

“Let it be
, Jaxxsane. Watch and listen, but for goddess sake let this play out,” his uncle says with so much authority I don’t think anyone could deny him.

“Who are you
,” I ask my twin just to be sure.

“You know who
I am. Just as I know you, soul deep. We might not share the same soul as you and your destined,” he looks to Jaxx then.

“But
we are of the same blood and womb,” Gavin says softly, regarding me carefully.

As my thoughts
are confirmed I latch onto Jaxx for dear life. I never thought I would meet my twin two days after learning he even existed. Jaxx looks at me and I am sure he notices the pain twisting my face and my heart.

“I don’t care who this
is,” Jaxx snarls.

“
This is my home Sebastian. I let you stay here because we are family, but you have stepped too far with this, and you’ve upset Ella intentionally just to feed your curiosity.”

“I
do apologize, dear nephew, but as you can see there is a reason for my bringing dear Gavin into your home. The reason just hasn’t opened itself to me as of yet.”

Jaxx looks
at me, telling me silently with that look that he will explain yet another thing in time. Then he turns to Gavin and narrows his eyes. He seems to be sizing him up as prey.

“What
is your reason for being here? If you wanted to find your sister, you could have done it without pushing yourself upon her unexpectedly,” Jaxx asks harshly.

“You’
re right, of course. I ran into your uncle at the conclave and he told me that he’d seen someone that could be my mirror image. I’ve been looking for my sister for months, ever since I found the letter from our mother that was kept from me.”

I stifle
a gasp, knowing I have the same letter tucked away at my uncle’s house.

“Yes, Arabella,
I see that you know of which I speak. Our mother abandoned me as well. I was raised by some very unsavory characters. Until I found the letter I thought I was stuck with them. I was ashamed of where I came from. Until I found out I had other family. A twin. You.”

“I need to sit,
” I say, squeezing Jaxx’s hand.

“Come,” Jaxx murmur
s as he leads me to the nearest sofa and seats me beside him, as close to his side as possible.

I look up and notice
that although the conversation is happening around him, Jaxx’s uncle has been listening and absorbing.

“I see why you are the historian of our people,” I tell him as I stare at him.

“Why
is that my dear?”

“You absorb everything around you as if it’s a part of your nature to
do so. But I have to tell you, what you just did to me, springing this on me when I’ve just found out what and who I am is fucked,” my voice is seething with sudden rage.

I fe
el my anger rise, the darkness peeking over the pit within me. Jaxx and Gavin both give great belly laughs at my talking to his uncle as I had, which only serves to piss me off all the more. I am confused, hurting, and fucking livid and they are laughing at me.

Fuck this noise
,
I think.

Décor and knick knac
ks around the room start to rattle, but Gavin and Jaxx are too busy laughing their asses off to notice. Jaxx is turned on his side, clutching his stomach guffawing, but I know that Seb has noticed. The windows start to bend inward as I stand. Books from the built-in mahogany case start to slip from the shelves to swirl around me like a vortex. A literary bubble.

I glance
at the pair of them laughing and the books fly as fast as missiles in their direction. When they start to hit Gavin and Jaxx, one or two of them pinging them in the head, they immediately stop laughing and start looking around, finally catching a clue.

“
Stop fucking laughing at me,”
I boom. My voice sounds like a waterfall inside the enclosed room.

Jaxx braves
the books swirling around me as they move faster and faster to wrap me in his warm embrace.

“Baby, breathe. We weren’t laughing at you. We were laughing because no one ever talks to Seb like you just did,” he whispers into my ear.

I start to take deep
, calming breaths.

“Telekinetic. Strong, s
o very, very strong,” Seb says almost to himself.

“Untrained. Yet still so focused. I wonder what her other gifts are?”

“Hey, douche! I’m right here! Stop talking about me like I’m some kind of experiment!”

Seb flashes me a smile full of fangs.

Well that’s different
,
I think to myself, but I’m not really surprised. What is one more surprise added to this cluster fuck?

“A little
respect is warranted,” Seb snarls at me.

I guess
he doesn’t like the word ‘douche’.
I wonder if he knows what it means,
I chuckle at the thought.

“If you come near me with those shiny little teeth, I’ll twist your innards until they melt out your nose. You get me, fang?”

With that Gavin and Jaxx
are rolling again. This time I don’t feel the least bit angry. I smirk at them.

Seb even chuckles a bit
after his shock at my words wears off.

“Jaxx, I think she is a keeper.”

I groan at t
he chauvinist shit going on. I walk over to the side bar and open the mini fridge.

“May I
,” I ask Jaxx.

“Sure
, baby, whatever you want. You know that.”

I grab
myself and Jaxx a soda, and toss him his. I rejoin him on the sofa and snuggle into his side.

“So maybe we can get this over
with? I’m drained from the day I’ve had,” I pitch my voice low, addressing everyone and no one at the same time.

Seb comes
to attention at that. He takes a seat on the arm chair closest to me.

“What
do you mean with the day you’ve had? Why are you drained?” I have a feeling that inquisitive is a weak word to explain this man.

Jaxx explains
about the drain of energy that we both had been experiencing every time we were away from each other. Then he goes on to tell everyone about the bathroom experience. Gavin looks baffled by what I’d done, but Seb just looks as if he is soaking everything in and categorizing it for later.

“So
, shitty day, to say the least,” Seb says while looking at me with his fathomless eyes.

I start to squirm in my seat
, but I don’t break contact. I just stare at him.

“Seb
,” Jaxx says in warning.

I turn
to look at Jaxx, hearing the warning in his tone and raise one brow in question.

“Seb
can mesmerize most Trues, Sups, and Norms with his stare. Not all Vampires can, but Seb is rustic.”

I laugh at that.

“Well he may be rustic, but he obviously can’t trap me. But don’t worry Seb, your eyes are very pretty,” I tease him once more.

He turn
s slightly pink at my compliment, but doesn’t respond.

“So now can you explain why my long lost twin
is here and why you decided to spring it on me all of a sudden?”

“For your reaction
, of course. What other reason could there be?”

“Prick
,” I mutter and Seb chuckles.

“The truth
is that he was lost without you, Ella. He has been wounded and wandering aimlessly far from his chosen path for years. He needs you. That is why I decided to bring him to you.”

I look at Gavin as Seb
speaks and I notice the sadness in his eyes. He seems so alone. Like I had been until I found Jaxx. I get up off the couch, move to him and pull him into my arms. “I know I don’t know your story brother,” I whisper for his ears alone.

“But as you said, we are blood. You are a part of me. I love you already. You will never be alone again.”
I hug him to me tighter, not caring if he likes it or not. I feel the need to be close to him.

Gavin squeezes
me to him and I feel him shudder against me. He might be crying, but I don’t pull back to see.

Jaxx clears
his throat behind me, shattering the moment.

“Ella
, we still don’t know what kind of person he is. We don’t know what kind of life he has led.”

I pull
away from Gavin and spin around to confront him.

“He
is my brother, Jaxx! He could murder thousands and I would welcome him. Will you turn him away when I need him almost as much as I need you?”

He s
hakes his head in defeat at my words.

No of course he wouldn’t
,
I think.
Of course he realizes how serious I am about welcoming my brother into my life and how determined I am to keep him here, at any costs.
I can see it on his face as he watches me, his eyes full of love and understanding.

“Can we at least get a little back story from him? I would feel better knowing something about him at the very least.”

I look back at Gavin and he nods his head.

“I was raised by the very worst of our kind. They use their gifts
to fleece the Norms, Causing harm and chaos everywhere they go. I was left with them when our mother split us up. They were our father’s family,” he utters, hanging his head as if in shame.