Read Online Odyssey (The Vampire Destiny Series Companion Book 1) by Alexandra Anthony - Free Book Online Page B

from the table.
“Stefan!  You can’t just go into this half-cocked.  You need a plan…at least some idea on how to approach this woman.  You can’t just waltz in and proclaim your undying love for a mortal.  Let me come and we’ll figure it out,” Lukas wheedled with a whine to his voice.  He had followed close behind me and now reminded me of a small child begging for a new toy.
Sadly, I shook my head and placed my hand on his shoulder.  “I have to do this alone.  We stand out, Lukas.  It would be overwhelming for her to encounter two immortal creatures.  Not to mention your realtor friend might be suspicious if you just happened to show up at the very place they were planning their…their GN…”
“ O, ” Lukas supplied sullenly.  His normally jovial face appeared as if I had struck him.  “You’re going to deny me this?  For all of these years, I’ve helped you.  Stefan…”
“Lukas, I want nothing more than for you to join me.  You have to understand.  It is too risky.”  My fingers combed through my thick hair again.  “If this is my Josephine, I assure you, you will have every opportunity to meet her.”
“And you’ll call me.  Or at least text me.”  Lukas bounced on the balls of his feet.  “You have to at least give me that.”
Shaking my head, I shoved my wallet and cell phone in my pocket.  “See?  I assure you.  If it is her, you will be the first to find out.”
I did not want to waste another moment.  I hurried through the house until Lukas’ voice stopped me again.  “Don’t do anything rash.”
“I am nearly a thousand years old.  I assure you, I have never been rash.”  I rolled the keys around my finger and clutched them in my fist.  “Are we finished?”
Lukas approached me and for one of the few times in the 150 years together, he was somber.  “You aren’t rational when it comes to her.  You’re in love with her, Stefan.  Or at least the image you have of her.  You don’t know how she’s going to react…it might take work to win her over.  Just go slow with her.  Maybe romance her a bit.  I’ve read that human women love that.”
Now I was receiving love advice from my gay child?  This situation was rapidly growing more surreal as our conversation continued.  “I have never had to ‘romance’ a woman, Lukas.  I doubt I will need to start now.”
“I’m sure that’s true.  But this isn’t any woman.  This is the woman you envisioned 200 years ago.  Not to mention that the last ten years of our lives have been spent tracking her.  You can’t blow this, Stefan.  She’s different.  You know it and I know it.  Just admit I’m right already.”
With his biting words resting heavy in my mind, I blurred from the room into the garage.  As I shut the door to the car, I gripped the steering wheel and prayed to any god that was listening that this was my woman from my vision and my search was over.

Chapter Four-Just Rewards
Pulling into the small parking lot of the restaurant, I parked a short distance from the entrance.  I sat behind the wheel, hiding behind the privacy of the tinted windows for a moment and drew in an unnecessary breath.  During the relatively short drive here, my mind was a whirlwind of both optimism and uneasiness.  Would this be the time that I found her, the enchantress that had graced my thoughts and dreams for two centuries?  Or was I setting myself up to fail yet again, only to be a step behind the woman that continued to elude me?
No.   Now was not the time for second thoughts and worry.  I was astounded at the strength of my anxiety.  This was the opportunity I had been waiting for, yet I sat in my vehicle questioning myself.  I had never backed away from a challenge, and I was not going to begin tonight.  Gathering the remains of my frazzled nerves, I slid out of the car and quietly closed the door behind me.  Each footstep brought me closer to the door, and if I had a beating heart, it