Are you my woman?
Her breath hissed out between her teeth. I didn't say I would obey.
Are you my peje woman?
"Gabrielle?" Trixie said, drawing her attention. "Are you all right?"
Gabrielle nodded. Yes, I am. But I'm the biggest mess in the world right now and I need to sort things out. You just make me crazy. I can't talk to you about what I'm feeling because my feelings make you crazy. Both of us can't be crazy.
Get. Rid. Of. Her. This is between us. I warn you, Gabrielle. You do not want to test me over this. Abruptly he was gone.
Gabrielle took a deep breath and let it out. Okay. That was scary. Beyond scary. But he wasn't going to dictate friendships to her. Trixie was making sense. Helping her. Listening to her when she needed it.
"I'm okay, Trixie. I'm trying to figure out how to explain what a lifemate is to you. It's rather complicated. Fane isn't human. He's a Carpathian. Just as Andre is and Aleksei. They live very long lives. Very long," Gabrielle emphasized.
Trixie took a deep breath and stared into Gabrielle's eyes. She believed every word she was saying. Knots began to gather in Trixie's stomach. Fane had used the word centuries more than once. She'd overlooked it because quite frankly, he was gorgeous and she was already so far under his spell she didn't want to hear anything that might bring her out of it. But if that was true along with sleeping in the ground . . .
"He's a vampire," she whispered.
"No." Gabrielle said it sharply. "Absolutely not. He hunts vampires. He's devoted his life to hunting them. Carpathian males live very difficult lives, Trixie. They lose their ability to feel emotion or see in color after so many years have gone by. There is only one woman for them. One. She can restore those things to him. Without her, he has only two choices. He can give in to the darkness, lose his honor and become vampire, or he can walk out into the sun and die a hideous death. His lifemate is everything to him. He binds her soul to his and he is safe."
Trixie was beginning to get a really bad feeling. "How does he do that?"
Gabrielle hesitated.
Trixie shook her head. "That doesn't bode well, you looking at me like that. You know something I need to know."
"You have a psychic gift, don't you?" Gabrielle said softly. "Like Teagan. Like me. You have a gift."
Trixie couldn't deny that. She heard songs in people. Gabrielle's song was sad. Fearful. Fane's song was beautiful and every single cell in her body responded to it. "Yes. Why?"
"The Carpathians are nearly extinct. They began to have fewer and fewer female children born. And then those children died before they were much more than toddlers, or the women miscarried. Soon, there were too few women and a child that lived was rare. I was helping to research along with Gary in order to help them. Their prince discovered a human woman with psychic abilities could not only be a lifemate to a Carpathian, but she could become Carpathian. She could be converted."
Trixie didn't like the sound of that. "Is that what happened to you? Is that why you didn't realize you have a lifemate? You weren't Carpathian? You were human?"
"I was human. I was nearly killed, and the Carpathians saved me by converting me. That didn't stop me from thinking like a human or clinging to human ways. I didn't want to consider that because I had psychic gifts a male Carpathian who had suffered centuries of darkness might be looking for me to save him."
Trixie tasted fear in her mouth. Whatever was happening here was much bigger than she expected. She was prepared to have a short fling with a very hot man. One she knew would eventually burn her, but she thought it would be worth it. No. She knew it would be worth it in the end. He had already replaced those terrible memories of that scared, innocent fifteen-year-old girl.
Fane had made her feel beautiful and sexy. He'd made her feel like a desirable woman. She wasn't a woman to kid herself. She was too old. She lived far away, a completely different life, but she could hold Fane in her memories. She didn't have to share those memories with anyone else. She'd given and given her entire life. So many pieces of her had gone missing along the way. No dreams. She knew better than to dream for herself, but she'd dreamt big for her girls and saw to it that they had the chance to make those dreams come true. She had no regrets. None. But Fane would be hers alone, and she deserved every memory she could make with him.
She took a deep breath. Now, she feared the price was far, far higher than she ever thought possible.
"Trixie." Gabrielle whispered her name. "I shouldn't be the one explaining this to you. Fane should be. Or Teagan and Andre. Teagan's happy. I'm too confused and mixed up to be a good example of how wonderful it is to find a lifemate. And my lifemate is different. Very different."
"Does he have a tattoo on his back?" Trixie guessed.
Gabrielle's eyes widened. Her lashes fluttered. She nodded slowly.
"So does Fane. If your man is different, then Fane must be like him. How is he different?"
Gabrielle shook her head. "I'm absolutely not doing this with you. It's scary to find out you're a lifemate, but my sister is so happy. You have no idea how happy she is. You will be, too."
Gabrielle didn't look happy at all to Trixie. She was certainly anxious, her gaze sliding toward the door over and over again as if she expected something terrible to happen at any moment.
"I'm in my sixties, Gabrielle. I've lived my entire life without a man. Making my decisions. Expressing my opinions. Doing what I wanted to do. I've worked hard, and I have a family I love above all else. I am well past child-bearing years if they're looking to repopulate. I would never put up with any nonsense from a man, and I can tell you right now, any man who is a man would find me a pain. We would clash every minute. You're sweet and you want to find a way to please your man. Me, I'd just as soon hit him over the head with a frying pan."
That earned her a smile from Gabrielle. A first. When Gabrielle smiled, her beautiful face nearly glowed.
"You are breathtaking, child. Like my Teagan. No wonder these men both had their eyes on you. Your Aleksei is lucky to have you. You think about that when he's with you. He should make you feel beautiful and special. Not undermine your confidence in yourself."
"He does make me feel beautiful," Gabrielle admitted. "The way he looks at me, as if he would never see another woman the way he sees me."
Trixie closed her eyes briefly. She knew that look. Fane's entire focus had been on her. She'd felt that exact way. As if he would never see another woman like he saw her. This was getting more and more complicated by the minute.
"I've got me a stake gun. It fires little tiny stakes. It didn't do me much good when I shot at Fane and hit him. He just laughed and pulled them out. But you're welcome to it if you think it would do you any good," she offered. Because she wasn't going to need it. She was leaving. Right now. Fast.
She scrambled to her feet. "I'm heading down the mountain, Gabrielle. I would invite you to come along, although I might have to hike out in my altogether. I have to find my pack because I have extra clothes in it and I can put them on when these disappear. He hid it, but I can find it."
"Fane threatened to take your clothes?" Gabrielle guessed.
"He did. I didn't think he could really do it, but he's done quite a few things that looked impossible, so I'm not taking any chances."
Gabrielle felt a smile rising. That was two smiles Trixie had given her in the space of a couple of minutes when she had believed she'd never smile again. She really liked the older woman. Really liked her. She stood up as well.
The door didn't open. Not at all. The hinges didn't creak. But he was there. Filling the room until it vibrated with fury. The air was so heavy Gabrielle choked. Coughed. She froze, afraid to move in any direction. Her gaze slid to Trixie. The woman had frozen as well. Gabrielle wasn't the only one who felt that anger like a blow.
He materialized close to her. So close Gabrielle felt his heat. He smelled of forest. Of the mountains. Of rain. His hair was a wild fall around his face, and hi
s eyes blazed a pure green at her. His jaw was set. His mouth as well. He looked so menacing, Trixie instinctively took a step toward her, as if she might put her body between Gabrielle and Aleksei.
He didn't look at Trixie, his fury-filled gaze focused completely on Gabrielle. He waved a casual hand toward Trixie and she stopped moving, her body going still, her mouth partway open, but no sound emerged. Gabrielle knew instantly Aleksei had frozen her there, and that was even scarier than the four walls filled with his wrath.
"Would you like to explain yourself to me?" He bit each word out between strong white teeth.
Gabrielle straightened her spine. Tears still clung to her lashes, she could feel them, making her lashes wet and spiky. Fat lot of sympathy she was getting from her lifemate. She moistened her lips, her heart pounding like a drum. "Not really, no."
His head jerked up. If it was possible, his eyes went pure green, no other color. Glittering green. Like a green flame. He took her breath away. She was terrified, but he was still the hottest man she'd ever seen in her life. She bit her lip and tilted her head to one side, sweeping her hair over one shoulder, a nervous gesture she hoped Aleksei didn't interpret that way.
"Not. Really. No." He repeated each word as if he couldn't believe what just came out of her mouth.
Gabrielle bit harder at her lower lip and once more shoved at her long, flowing hair, getting it off her neck because she was suddenly very hot.
Aleksei stared at his woman with unblinking eyes. That small gesture, that sweep of her hair, revealed her delicate neck, her throat, revealed her vulnerability. Looking at her neck made him want to sink his teeth deep, to taste her. Claim her. Her hair was everywhere, cascading around her like a waterfall. So much of it, wild and untamed and so peje soft he could barely breathe when he buried his fingers in it, just as she was when he touched her. She always withdrew from him after, but he knew, one touch, and he could ignite that fire. Turn her into the wildcat he knew she was.
"Aleksei," Fane hissed, striding through the door. He didn't slow down, moving swiftly into Aleksei's dwelling.
Aleksei waved his hand to free the other woman--the one who had dared to invade his space and interfere in his relationship. "Your lifemate had no right to enter my resting place." There was a definite threat in those words--and rightly so. To enter any of the ancients' space was a violation of the monastery rules.
"I take back every single thing I said, Gabrielle," Trixie snapped. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath, glared at Aleksei and opened her mouth again, clearly outraged at his behavior. Fane was there instantly, standing solidly between her and Aleksei. He grabbed her arm in a viselike grip.
"I am certain my lifemate, out of respect for you and for me, will apologize to you later, Aleksei. We will leave you to your lifemate."
A single sound of protest escaped Trixie's throat, but it was muffled and cut off as Fane marched her out of Aleksei's designated resting place, leaving him alone with his very disobedient woman.
Gabrielle looked very pale, the heavy fall of her dark, gleaming hair emphasizing her soft skin. The sweep of her very dark lashes did the same with her soft gray eyes. He resisted reaching out and curling his fingers around the nape of her neck as he wanted to do. He waited until he was certain they were alone and then his raw fury vibrated through the dwelling.
"Repeat what you just said to me," he snapped, making it clear that if she did, there would be hell to pay.
Her gaze jumped to his. Held there. He could see the trepidation. Her hands shook. Her body trembled. She leaned close to him, not away, surprising him. Her gaze remained steady on his.
"I've had enough and I don't really care much what you do to me. I was trying--working through things for you. It wasn't easy and I was terrified, but I was trying to find my way to you."
He waited. Holding himself still. Locking his gaze with hers. Using a predatory, possessive stare he knew intimidated her. Still, she leaned even closer.
"I have a suggestion for you, Aleksei," she bit out softly, her mouth inches from his.
"Be very careful," he warned her. "You're already in trouble."
Her eyebrow shot up. "Then it won't matter when I give you my honest suggestion one way or the other. So here it is. Why don't you go to one of the cemeteries, you know, the really old ones, like say from the sixteenth century or even earlier. Dig yourself up another lifemate. There should be a lot of women to choose from. Breathe some life into her, or hey, maybe not. Maybe you should just prop her up in the middle of the carpet where she can't give you any lip. In any case, dead or alive, she might actually obey you like a trained idiot far better than the lifemate you've got now, because I can assure you, I will not."
Before she could pull back, he curled his hand around the nape of her neck and held her in place. Through his palm he could feel the tremors running through her body. She totally intrigued him. Terrified, she still stood up to him. And she was terrified. She was also a natural submissive, which was a good thing given his dominant nature. She didn't even try to look away. She meant what she said. She'd hit a wall.
She more than intrigued him. Amused him. Amused. He had forgotten there was such an emotion. He fought the impulse to pull her close, but truthfully, her small rebellion captivated him. She knew he was powerful, far more powerful than she would ever become, even as his lifemate. He was enormously strong. Yet she stood up to him, giving him attitude in the face of his anger.
The blood rushed hotly through his veins. The dominant in him rose fast. Along with all of that, he wanted to smile. Dig up a dead body? Really? She wasn't nearly as afraid of him as she thought she was.
"I think I will forgo the dead body," he said softly, his mouth against hers, "and put in a little time with the lifemate standing in front of me, seeing as how she is the only one."
He moved with blinding speed, one arm sliding behind her back, the other behind her knees; before she could protest or try to fight him, he was in the air, taking her away from the monastery, away from any possible interference.
You want to sort things out, Gabrielle, you sort them out with me, not some stranger. A stranger, by the way, who was leading a group of assassins straight to our monastery. Those men all have weapons and the intention to kill us. All of us. You included.
She gave a little shocked gasp and clung to him, her arms circling his neck as he took her into the mist. Her body shivered against his and he automatically regulated her temperature for her.
They travel with a puppet of a vampire. The vampire calls himself Aron Mazur and he is an ancient, very dangerous. Andre is tracking Aron. The puppet is capable of walking in the sun and was created to aid Aron in finding and destroying us.
Gabrielle pushed her face against his throat, burying it there.
Fane and I met up with Andre. We destroyed the camp using natural means, but we were not able to kill the four hunters because Aron sent his pawns after us. There was a battle . . .
Her breath left her in a gasp and she raised her eyes to his. He read anxiety there. Her hands went to his shoulders, his arms, smoothed down his chest, looking for evidence of wounds. He nearly stopped her, but then it hit him. She was worried about him. That anxiety was for him. The concern was for him. He'd never had that. At least if he did, he didn't remember it.
I am fine. A few lacerations easily healed. Do not be upset.
He liked that she was concerned about him--maybe a little too much. He dropped his head over hers and nuzzled the top of her head with his chin as he took her a good distance away from vampires and hunters, to a place he had marked a hundred years earlier. It was high enough in the mountains and deep enough in the forest that he knew it would still be there, in spite of all the changes.
He was a dinosaur from ancient times caught in a modern world. He knew that. He knew he would have to come to terms with that now that he had a lifemate and couldn't lock himself away from the encroaching modern values and changes. He knew those changes started with t
he woman in his arms. Still, he couldn't change his nature. He was a predator and he was a dominant. He was filled with darkness. He battled demons, and even with the finding of his lifemate, those demons still haunted him, haunted his soul.
He dropped down into the deeper forest, finding the cave he'd closed so many years earlier. It had everything for a perfect lair and he'd marked it well. He moved the large boulder away, took her inside and repositioned the boulder, adding both cover and safeguards to ensure Aron Mazur or his underlings wouldn't be able to accidently stumble across them.
In spite of the fact that he could see perfectly in the dark, he waved his hand to send sconces blazing along the narrow hall leading to the deep chamber. He had been in his woman's mind, if briefly, and she wasn't in the least bit as used to the sterile environment as he was.
Before they reached the chamber, he fixed that as well. The ceiling was high, the room long with a series of pools toward the back. One was large, the other two small, all of them hot and natural. He added a wide bed, one he had plans for, one just the right height. He hadn't taken her in a bed, but he knew humans used them, and she had been human.
Overhead he scattered stars across the ceiling, and he sent a light breeze to clear the air so that the sconces on the walls inside the chamber danced and flickered as they entered. He had added two chairs and a small fire as well. He'd seen rooms in houses and he created one similar to one he'd liked.
As he set her on her feet, Gabrielle looked around her. He caught a glimpse of her face and knew he'd done the right thing. She looked as if she could hardly believe her eyes.
"What is this place?"
"Our home for the moment. A safe one. We cannot leave the others too long. I will have to help Fane defend the ancients from the assassins, but there is no way those hunting us will be able to recover from our attack tonight. So, kessake, we have this night to continue our discussion without interruption." Deliberately he kept his voice low. Neutral.
She raised her chin and went to step away from him. His hand snaked out and his fingers shackled her wrist, preventing movement.
"Dig up an old grave?" he repeated.
Her large gray eyes softened and he caught a hint of amusement. "Seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe not so much now. I think the corpse would have been really happy with that carpet in your old place. I like this." She looked around her again.