“But Stefan did!” she cried, unable to stop herself.
Her mother clenched her jaw as she took a deep breath. “He killed our kind Isabelle, not ones like us, but thewrongones, the ones that you met at the club. Didn’t he tell you this?” Isabelle wasn’t going to admit that he had told her, but that she hadn’t seen the difference, so she remained silent. “I’m going to take your silence to mean that he did tell you, and you didn’t want to hear it, or that you never gave him a chance to tell you.”
“He said something like that,” she muttered reluctantly.
Her mother sniffed softly and shook her head. “Your father and the stooges have killed our kind, and they did it for me. Were they wrong?”
“Did they do it just for power?” Isabelle retorted.
“No, they didn’t. Are you so sure that is the only reason that Stefan did it?”
Isabelle’s jaw clenched as she met her mother’s cloudy eyes. “That’s what Brian said.”
“Yeah, and I’m sure that he always tells the truth. Brian isn’t like Stefan, and you know it.”
She raised aneyebrow as she stared at her mother. “And how would you know that?” she demanded.
“Stefan told me that you and Ethan can sense that there is something wrong with him, just like you could sense it about the ones outside the club. I can’t do that,neither can your father,or the stooges. The only thingwecan figure is that because the two of you were born vampires, your inherent abilities are stronger than ours. You can detect them somehow, yet you sensed nothing about Stefan.”
“And how do you know that?” she snapped.
Her mother frowned at her.“Because you would have said something to one of us, or Ethan would have, or one of the others would have told us.Everyone of your siblings can sense something wrong with Brian. None of them felt it about Stefan, did you know that?”
Isabelle was beginning to feel like a chastised child, and she wasn’t relishing the feeling. “No,” she mumbled petulantly.
“You judged him too quicklyIsabelle;you’re much too harsh on people sometimes.”
“He killed a man!” she yelled.
Her mother sighed softly as she clasped her hands tiredly before her. “Your father killed aman;does that make you dislike him?”
“He did it to protect you!”
“Stefan killed a hunter Isabelle. It was either him, or that man. Who would you ratherwasalive?”
Isabelle closed her eyes as tears of self disgust and anguish welled up in her eyes. Was her mother right, had she judgedStefantoo harshly? “Why would he kill our own kind if it wasn’t for power?” she asked in a strangled voice.
“You’ll have to ask him.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
She knew that her mother wasn’t going to tell her anymore than that. She opened her eyes and wiped the tears from them. “If you were satisfied with his answer, than why did you tell him thathe had to leave?”
“I didn’t, and neither did your father, or the stooges.”
“Then why does he want to leave?” she demanded.
Her mother smiled softly as she shook her head. “I have two sets of twins Isabelle, but neither of themisas alike as you and Ethan. Both of you are very set in your ways, and your judgments ofpeople.Both of you will do anything to make sure that the other isn’t hurt. Your anger also gets the best ofboth ofyou on many occasions.”
“Oh,” Isabelle said softly. “But he brought these people to our home!” she cried, unwilling to get rid of her anger, and convictions yet.Unable to be so completely wrong.“He has driven us out of our homes and placed all of us in danger!”
“Brian did that.”
“Brian is his friend!”
“Washis friend Isabelle, they haven’t been friends in awhile, but you probably didn’t take the time to learn that either.”
