Reclaimed

“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 bi

t 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.