For a second, she was all he could see, all he could sense. Then, the man next to her moved. Stefan's eyes shot to him as his instincts kicked into high gear. He knew what they all were, and he knew they were going to defend their home and each other.
He’d sensed them miles down the road, but he hadn't known he was heading straight into their lair. He still couldn't believe it. Never had he seen so many of his kind in one place, and he knew there were more of them in the house, and he could sense even more close by.
He also knew they weren’t killers, but they could attack him. He had come into their territory, after all, and he knew how territorial his kind could be. A strangled cry brought his gaze back to the woman as she turned and fled. Startled looks came over the faces of the two she shoved past, but they didn't make a move to stop her. The other one stepped forward, his body rigid as his hands clenched into fists at his side.
"I don't think you should be here," the man said coldly.
Stefan didn't think he should be here either, but he wasn't going to tell him that. He was stronger than most of his kind, but with so many of them here he knew he would be in for a grueling battle. One he wouldn’t walk away from unscathed, especially if he had to protect Jess and Delia from them.
"You are the creepiest people I’ve ever met!" Delia cried. "I want to see my mother!"
"Delia, shut up!" Stefan commanded.
His gaze darted to the young girl by the porch, Delia was easily within their reach, and if they wanted to kill her, they could in seconds. The last thing he needed was for her to draw even more attention to herself. He needed all his senses right now, and Delia's yelling was not helping.
"Stefan!" Jess cried at the same time Delia started shouting.
He purposely shut them out as he tuned his senses to the air around him. Detecting the approach of others, he turned, so his body was halfway between the porch and the shadows at the edge of the house. He knew immediately there were four of them.
They ran around the corner and skidded to a halt as their eyes landed on him. He half crouched prepared to fight to the death as a hiss escaped him. The three on the porch took a step toward him, hostility radiated from every inch of them. Stefan's muscles bunched in anticipation of a fight.
Jess and Delia took a frightened step back. Delia began to scream hysterically, causing Stefan to wince at the harsh sound of her grating voice.
"Stefan Corelli!"
Disbelief shot through him as one of the newcomers called his name and stepped forward. The animosity surrounding the man seconds before vanished instantly. Stefan remained rigid as he slowly straightened. His eyes focused on the tall, blond man who spoke his name. At first, he couldn't recall who he was, then recognition sprang forth, and a small laugh escaped him.
"David?" Stefan asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, what are you doing here?" David grinned as he strode forward and extended his hand. Stefan accepted it and shook it briskly.
"What is going on?" Jess planted her hands on her hips as she glared at them.
"That's what we'd like to know," one of the other newcomers muttered.
David peered over his shoulder and finally noticed the two humans gathered behind Stefan. "Who are you?" David demanded.
"Kathleen's kids," the tall man at the front of the porch answered.
David spun toward him. "What?"
"Yeah, don't ask. Who is that?" he inquired nodding toward Stefan.
David blinked in surprise as he glanced between Stefan and the group gathered on the porch. "This is Stefan. I met him when I went to college in Pennsylvania. He's the one who told me about what was going on with Liam and Sera."
"Are these their kids?" Stefan blurted.
"Some of them. That's Ethan, Aiden, and Ian Byrne," David nodded to the group still gathered on the porch. "Those are my friends Mike, Doug, and Jack. I told you about them before."
"Yeah, I remember," Stefan replied. He'd heard of vampire children, been told they were normal looking, but he'd never actually seen one. It was incredible. "Who was the girl?" he inquired.
"The girl was our sister, Isabelle," Ethan replied coldly.
Stefan's eyebrows rose at the aggressive tone of the boy's voice, but he refrained from saying anything.
"What is going on?" Delia asked shrilly.
"Someone's going to have to take care of them," Stefan said, waving a hand dismissively at the humans behind him.
"Not me," Jack announced. "I had enough of doing that with Kathleen years ago."
"What did you do to my mother?" Jess nearly shrieked.
"What are you going to do to us?" Delia cried as she backed away from the porch.
"That's all you guys. It's a perfect training session for honing your powers of persuasion," David said to the men on the porch. "Why don't we go somewhere a little less chaotic and catch up?" he asked Stefan.
"Good idea," Stefan replied.
Chapter Four
Isabelle woke with a groan to the endless pounding of a hammer, and the annoying buzz of a saw ringing in her ears. Moaning miserably, she grabbed her pillow and pulled it over her head. She had barely slept last night, and this was not the way she wanted to be awakened. Why were they working on the new house so early in the morning? She wondered angrily.
Then she realized she was ridiculous. If they’d started later, she would have been dragging them out of bed to get them moving. She was just annoyed because she hadn't fallen asleep until the sun started to peek over the horizon. She
