Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul
If you have not read the first book of the series, "Reborn", it is advisable you do so before reading "Renewal" or you will be lost. This link will provide you with a series summary as well as all sixty-eight chapters of Reborn
Chapter Three
Over the next few days the males spent a good portion of their time looking for leads on Tyros but came up empty handed. On the fifth day, the day that should’ve marked Jess’s completion of the transition, a hush came over the household as if they all held their breath in unison. Every time a phone rang they would answer it with trepidation and anticipation.
By the sixth day despair had begun to set in and then Harriet had another vision.
Jenna was shaking her head emphatically. “We can’t leave Europe,” she declared.
Harriet looked at her with sympathy and spoke to her gently. “We can’t even be certain she’s still on this continent.”
“But….you…is that why you see us going back?”
“I’m not certain, I’m sorry honey, but I’m not seeing anything pertaining to her right now. Except that I sense her living still, as do you.”
“So you dreamt the three of us were on a plane to New Jersey….and that’s it?” Anna furrowed her brows. What kind of vision was that? It sounded like an ordinary dream to her.
“There’s a little more but it’s something I need to explain when we get there.”
“Aunt Harri! Don’t do that to us, we need to know now!” Jenna could feel her temper rising. Make her leave Jess behind and not explain why?
Harriet sighed. “I’m sorry, I always follow my intuition, and in this instance it’s strong. We return to my house and I explain the rest. From there I can’t say.”
Anna wanted to refuse for more than just Jess. Jared factored in as well. All week she’d been too busy worrying and waiting to dwell on him, but the idea of being separated by an entire ocean made her nervous. What if he couldn’t sense her that far away?
Who was she kidding, if he had sensed her over the past week and hadn’t come, than why would he ever? The day her friends had been abducted she had fully expected him to make an appearance due to her terror and grief and yet he hadn’t. It was as if he’d found another way to break the bond though the males had assured her it was impossible, that only she was capable of doing so. Which left her where exactly? With the strong desire to find a corner and curl up in a ball, that’s where.
Harriet read her thoughts. “He may not be here either, Anna,” she said gently. “Perhaps that’s why he hasn’t come for you. You know enough distance could prevent him from feeling your emotions. And if he does come back these males will point him in the right direction.”
She met the older woman’s eyes and nodded slowly. Maybe Harri was right. Who knew, maybe he’d gone to America and she would bring herself closer to him by returning there. Besides, London had become a dangerous place for her now that her existence was no longer a secret. And the prospect of being under house arrest again was not particularly appealing. If she went back to the states she could reunite with the Josh and Will.
She thought about Josh’s big warm arms surrounding her with comfort and nodded again with a bit more force.
“I’ll make the arrangements,” Harriet stated and pulled out her phone.
**
On the morning of their impending departure Anna awoke to Jenna tugging on her arm and groggily opened her eyes. She sat straight up when she saw the look of excitement on her friend’s face.
“Jess?” she inquired hopefully.
“I dreamt of her Anna, I dreamt of her and she had eyes like yours, all flashing and light filled! She’s gonna be okay, I know it now!” She was breathless and a silly grin was plastered across her face.
“Was she with Ty?” Anna asked, smiling back happily.
“Well…I can’t recall anything more, but that’s okay, isn’t it? I mean it’s good enough to know she made it through, right?”
Anna nodded enthusiastically feeling as if an immense weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Then the reality of the situation sank in. Scared of her own shadow, flighty, boy crazy Jess-was a vampire. She was overcome with two strong emotions—jubilation at the thought that she would no longer be alone, that one of her well loved people would walk through the ages with her, and fear that fallen vampires would be hunting her friend down and they couldn’t help her because they didn’t know where she was. And even if Tyros did have her they couldn’t trust him at this point.
Her myriad expressions must have shown on her face.
“What? What’s wrong?” Jenna asked anxiously.
“Nothing, I’m just…worried, I mean who is she with? If it’s Tyros will he keep her safe?”
Jenna’s smile slipped a bit. “I know. But there’s no sense dwelling on that. All we can do is have faith that God won’t forsake her, right? She’ll be okay,” she said this with a quiet confidence punctuating it with a sharp nod.
“You’re right. There’s a reason for her just like there is for me…wow, it’s hard to picture Jess with fangs!” She giggled.
Jenna laughed, “Definitely! Actually it’s a little scary to think of her with so much power, let’s hope that her hormones are a bit more stable now!”
“A vampire with perpetual PMS, oh god we’re in trouble!” Anna laughed out loud.
Harriet cleared her throat from the doorway her own eyes sparkling.
“Did you hear?” Jenna asked.
She nodded with a smile.
“Well, we packed everything yesterday,” Jenna stood, “so we’re ready whenever it’s time.”
“Good, that’s good. We’ll be leaving shortly,” Harri looked around the room and something in the older woman’s expression made Anna ask if she was alright.
Her gaze snapped back, “Oh yes, everything is fine, don’t worry girls we’re doing the right thing.”
The three of them gathered up their belongings and went downstairs to the foyer. Mathias, Coderin, and Seth were waiting for them near the front door with a mixture of concern and resignation on their faces.
“Where’s Michael?” Anna asked.
Mathias frowned slightly. “He didn’t come home last night and he isn’t answering his phone.”
Anna bit her lip. “That’s not like him.”
He sighed heavily. “No. But then you know he’s against you leaving here. After you went to bed…well let’s just say he expressed his unhappiness with your decision.” He exchanged looks with the others.
“No need to be cryptic,” Jenna stated irritably, “spit it out.”
He shook his head and ran a hand through his blond spiky hair. He looked down at the floor seeming to consider what to say. After a moment he turned towards Anna, his light green eyes filled with regret. “He said some things that led us to believe he’d been convinced you were supposed to be his.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I hope I did the right thing by discouraging you from breaking the bond with LeJarien…”
Anna put up a hand to stop him. “You have nothing to do with that decision. I’m truly sorry Michael’s upset, but even if I were to ever break the bond it would not be with him. I just don’t have feelings for him in that way.”
Mathias nodded and Seth put a hand on his shoulder giving him a look that clearly stated enough had been said.
Seth stepped forward and clasped Harriet’s hand to his mouth then smiled tenderly. She smiled back and nodded as he said, “If you ever get back to London…”
Meanwhile Coderin gave both younger girls a great big hug. Anna kissed his cheek affectionately then turned to Mathias and held out her arms. He pulled her into his broad chest briefly and patted her head affectionately. “You take care of yourself, our race depends on it you know.”
She nodded and turned to Seth who squeezed her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing one another, maybe sooner than we think,” he told her.
Jenna wasn’t big on the huggy scene so after Coderin released her she picked up a suitcase to ward off any more attacks. She was purposely avoiding Mathias’s gaze and Anna watched his eyes flash with some kind of emotion that once again made her curious about the two of them.
“We’ll continue searching for your sister,” he said, forcing Jenna to look at him.
“Thanks,” she answered shifting uncomfortably.
The sound of a car horn broke up the moment. The cab was there, it was time to go.
The males escorted them out and put their bags in the trunk. As they were climbing in the backseat Mathias grabbed Jenna’s hand and grasped her chin, kissing her firmly on the mouth.
“You’re sexy as hell Jenna Richmond,” he whispered. He grinned as he shut the door and backed away from the car.
Jenna tried to glare at him but a small smile appeared instead. His grin widened as he raised his hand in goodbye.
Generously created for me by @son-of-satire