Awakened (Vampire Awakenings) by Brenda K. Davies Page B

her.
    Harnessing his will power he slowly regained control of his rapidly swaying emotions. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to move out of the stairwell and back down the hall. There seemed to be even more people than before and the smell of alcohol and sweat permeated the air. People bounced into him as he shoved his way forward, heedless of their cries of protest. He had left Sera by the dance floor, but she was no longer there.
    He turned around and started shoving his way back through the crowd. He found Kathleen and Danielle at the doorway of the kitchen. “Where’s Sera?” he yelled above the noise.
    “She went to get another drink!” Danielle shouted.
    Liam glanced at the keg by the front door but she wasn’t there. He turned and headed toward the back rooms. There were at least three kegs there. He stepped through the double doors and spotted her talking to a tall guy with dark brown hair. She was smiling softly, but she looked more than a little uncomfortable as she nodded, said something, and turned to leave. The guys hand shot out, grasping her arm to halt her. Sera stiffened, and he could see the tremor that rocked her as she turned back to him.
    For a moment, Liam saw nothing but red. Then, he was moving rapidly across the floor. “I have to go,” Sera said softly.
    “Can I get your number?”
    “I have a boyfriend.”
    “So?”
    Sera blinked in surprise, unsure of how to respond to that. “So that means back off.”
    Liam seized hold of the guys arm and squeezed. The guy turned to Liam in surprise, his mouth compressed. “No one asked you pal,” he said coldly.
    “Let her go!” Liam hissed.
    Sera gaped in astonishment, unable to believe what was going on. The guys hand fell from her arm, but anger radiated from every inch of him. However, it was nothing compared to the fury that seemed to blaze from Liam. For a moment, she was truly frightened as she gazed at his hard face, and dark, fiery eyes. He looked like he was about ready to kill the guy.
    “Hey, what’s going on?”
    Sera let out a sigh of relief as Mike appeared at Liam’s side with Doug and Jack behind him. “Nothing,” Liam grated.
    “I was just talking to the girl,” the guy said coldly. “If you have a problem with that, then we can solve it.”
    “Yes we can,” Liam growled.
    “I don’t think so,” Mike interjected, shooting a pointed look at Liam before stepping between them. “There will be no fighting, right Liam?”
    Liam’s gaze was still locked upon the guy before him. His whole body was rigid with anger, and he knew that he was close to snapping, close to a place that he had never been before. But seeing the guy touch Sera, and hearing what he’d said had unleashed something inside of him that he hadn’t even known existed.
    “Liam.” Sera’s soft voice, and her small hand on his arm helped to pull him from the fiery haze that was encompassing his vision. He glanced down at her. She was staring at him with wide, pleading, frightened eyes. Her lower lip trembled as she looked quickly over at the guy and then back at Liam. “Please don’t.”
    He stared at her for a moment longer, his jaw clenched as he released the guys arm. “I think you’d better go,” Mike told the guy.
    The guy looked at Mike and then at Liam as his eyes narrowed angrily. “Assholes,” he muttered as he walked away.
    Liam’s jaw clenched, but he managed to refrain from going after him and beating him into a bloody pulp. He sighed wearily as his shoulders slumped and he turned to look at Sera. “You okay?” he asked quietly.
    Her eyes rapidly scanned his face. She could still see the anger that clenched his jaw, which caused the muscle in his cheek to twitch. His eyes were still dark with fury, but it was beginning to ease as the warmth that she was familiar with started to seep into them. She hadn’t seen anyone look as wild as he had, not since Jacob, and for a moment he had terrified her. It had been a new side of