She retreated the way she always did, trying to pull her hand away, but he closed his fingers firmly around hers and sank down beside her, every bit as graceful as she was although he was a big man.
Isai ignored the warning Blue gave him. The male cat snarled and showed his teeth, drawing back from them once again. Instead, he brought Julija’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss into the center of her palm. “I felt the pain, little mage. It is impossible to go back. We can only go forward. Your family is not just your problem.”
“I know.” She did know. She’d been conditioned to keep all things mage private, not to mention, it was embarrassing to have a family like hers. They conducted brutal experiments on animals. They casually murdered when someone got in their way. They plotted to kill off entire species for their own gain. Hers wasn’t exactly the kind of family you invited your friends to come and meet.
“You cannot possibly survive if you attempt to fight them alone. They will eventually find you, although I do not believe they will kill you. I think they need you alive for your blood.”
“That reminds me, you need to feed.”
His blue eyes met hers and she felt a jolt of awareness go through her body. His intense gaze drifted over her and she felt as if he left blue flames licking at her skin everywhere his attention touched.
He reached out and gently caught the nape of her neck, pulling her close to him. She turned her head to give him better access, lowering her lashes to savor his touch. She all but forgot the two shadow cats until both pressed closer, watching intently with their wide, amber eyes.
Isai stroked her neck right over her pounding pulse with his tongue. The lightest of touches, but it felt like the burn of a brand. The flash of pain, although expected, did the unexpected. The sensation felt like an erotic arrow straight to her sex. Her feminine sheath clenched, and her nipples peaked. His arms drew her closer to him as he drank. The sensation was intimate, sensual and possessive. She wanted to drown in the feeling, just stay there forever with him.
The cats moved closer, Blue pressing into her so that his nose could nearly touch Isai. Julija knew the ancient Carpathian was aware of the cats, especially the big male. She felt his heightened alert, but he finished feeding before running his tongue over the twin piercings in her neck to stop the bleeding.
“I think your pets are looking for a meal.”
She stroked a caress over the male’s head. The cat didn’t take his eyes off Isai.
He leaned toward the animal. “Are you hungry, friend? Didn’t they feed you?”
His tone was smooth, soft, even gentle. Very friendly. A shiver of awareness crept down her spine. She found, in spite of their very rocky beginning, there were quite a few things she liked about Isai. He treated animals with respect and compassion.
“My brothers liked to keep the cats hungry. They sometimes fed them human flesh.”
Isai frowned. “The cats are natural predators and they clearly tried to make them even more vicious, yet they aren’t nearly as ferocious as one would think. Why aren’t they attacking me? If they are hungry, by rights, they should be looking at me as if I am their next meal.”
“I think, because I gave them my blood on a regular basis—”
“Wait,” he interrupted. “Did you take their blood at any time?”
“I had to. I wanted to be able to control them if needed or know if they were hurt. I didn’t want my brothers to kill them.”
He regarded her for a long moment and then casually bit into his wrist and offered the blood to the male cat. Blue nearly leapt forward and hungrily lapped at the drops of blood.
“What are you doing?” Julija’s breath caught in her throat. “You could make it worse. Your blood is far more powerful than mine. My brothers still control the cats with pain. If they command them to kill us, if they find out the cats are with us, they’ll hurt them until the animals comply with their commands.”
Fear for Isai nearly swamped her. Normally she would have been afraid for the shadow cats, but now, all she could think about was Blue tearing into Isai.
Isai calmly swept his free arm around her. “We are going to prevent that from happening. You are from a lineage known as Dragonseeker. That particular line is legendary.”
“Elisabeta was telling me something about it.”
“Although you have the mark of the high mage, straight from Xavier’s line, you have more Carpathian blood in you than mage. You have converted these shadow cats to Carpathian and they need blood to survive, but they also have taken on the traits of a Carpathian. Your brothers bred them for intelligence, and they have that. It is very evident, even the way they work in pairs. He sent her forward to check me out, but he was waiting to kill me if need be.”
“You can’t know all that.”
“I feel their blood calling to mine. If you are still and you know what to look for in your mind, you will feel it as well. When they are both fed, we will first work on the shield in your mind to prevent your father or brothers from harming you and then together, we will do the same in theirs.”
Julija wasn’t certain what to think. Could it be true that she was far more Carpathian than mage? She was extremely good at casting illusions. “Isai,” she said in protest.
“Think about what you do and how fast you became good at it. Your father is not going to let on to you that you hold the power of both the high mage and Dragonseeker. He keeps you in line with pain because he has no other way. You have dared to break away from him and he has to get you back. You are too valuable to them.”
Calmly he instructed the male cat to stop drinking from his wrist. The cat snarled at him but backed up to allow the female to take his place.
“Let me, Isai. You’ll be too weak for us to build shields or fight enemies. We still have to find the book and get it somewhere safe.”
“They both need to recognize that I am head of the family. I will give the orders to them the same as you do. If we keep these animals alive, they have to recognize the authority and obey all laws of the Carpathian people. Turning animals is strictly forbidden, although I have heard that was done with wolves, and now, clearly with these cats as well.”
She wasn’t certain how to feel when he made himself head of the family, but the fact that turning an animal was against the laws of the Carpathian people and he hadn’t killed the two cats outright made her like him even more. On some level, she knew that if he took these cats under his protection, he would fight to the death for them.
“What happened to the leopards, Isai? The ones that slept above you and most likely hindered your ability to hide from your enemies.”
He gave her another one of those priceless grins. It was faint, but amusement climbed into his eyes, lighting them, turning them into those gleaming jewels that managed to send a wealth of butterflies winging their way through her stomach. He reached out almost lazily and scratched the top of Belle’s head.
“They lived out their lives and I buried the last one right before I lost my emotions. They stayed with me for years and yes, they did give away my resting places and mostly hindered my ability to use flight, but it was worth it.” Again, he was gentle in pulling his wrist from the cat.
Julija liked watching his fingers stroke the cat’s fur. She found herself mesmerized by the way he murmured softly and reassuringly to the animals.
“You do have a few good traits, lifemate,” she said, trying to sound casual. She was opening a can of worms and she knew it. She wasn’t certain she could ever accept him and his authority. She had been on her own and there was no way she would ever be able to make herself into a “yes” woman. She liked who she was, other than coming from her murderous family. She laughed at that thought.
He quirked an eyebrow, and she decided to be honest.
“I was just thinking that I like who I am right now. It took me a long time to come to terms with who I am, but then I realized I liked myself in spite of coming from a murderous family. They are not nice
people and introducing them to you won’t go very smoothly.”
His lips did that fascinating quirk that gave away that he was feeling amused. She couldn’t help but stare in fascination at the way just that curve to his mouth softened the harsh lines in his face.
“You are just buttering me up so I will tell you what my tattoo says.” He held out his hand and pulled her to her feet, once more waving his hand toward the center of the chamber so the two chairs were back. “It will not happen . . .”
Her heart dropped.
“Yet. Go sit in one of the chairs and call the cats to you. I will connect with you first and help you build an impenetrable shield so Anatolie cannot get in your head. You will have to give your consent, little mage, to allow me into your mind. I will not force you.”
“This is going to weaken you.” She turned away from him quickly, hurrying across the chamber to the comfortable chairs. She didn’t want to look at him because she wasn’t certain how she felt about letting him into her mind. She was very, very confused when it came to the entire lifemate custom.
She was his lifemate. She was certain she was. The pull between them was too strong. It was just that she had lost her ability to trust and he would see . . . She closed her eyes as she sank into the luxury of the chair. He would see into her past. She didn’t want to go there. Not ever. She couldn’t face that particular betrayal, nor did she want Isai to see how naïve and silly she’d been. How deeply her humiliation had gone.
“Julija?”
Could his voice be any more patient? Any gentler? Why couldn’t he sound like the dictator from hell? She tried to conjure up the feel of his hand hitting her bottom, but even that eluded her when his voice stroked over her skin like a velvet rasp.
She touched her tongue to her lips. “There are things in my past I’m ashamed of. If I open my mind to yours and give my permission, you can see the things I don’t want to remember or think about ever again.”
“I can erase these memories from your mind.”
Her gaze jumped to his. She only saw his compassion. There wasn’t morbid curiosity. She couldn’t imagine him taunting her with her stupidity. She couldn’t stop the little shake of her head. “You would still remember.”
“I would not care.”
“How could you not?”
“You still do not entirely understand the concept of lifemates, Julija. I would protect you from anything, including these memories that make you sad. Right now, the most important thing to do is protect you from your father. He is bound to strike again soon.”
“When my brothers get close to this place, he’ll do so then to distract me.”
“Then let me help you, sívamet, before he strikes at you.”
Julija had to make up her mind immediately. Either she trusted him, or she didn’t. Isai was pale after giving both cats blood. He’d been careful not to take too much of hers because he didn’t want her weak. He needed to feed. It would be easy enough to find a camper and then return to her, but she knew he wouldn’t until all of them were protected.
“Will I be able to see into your mind?” Her heart beat far too fast and for the first time since she was a young child, she couldn’t seem to command it to a steady rhythm.
He heard, of course. He stepped close to the chair, in between the two cats, and very gently used his hands on the inside of her thighs to open them to him. He knelt down between her legs and suddenly, fear and apprehension mixed with erotic hunger and a sense of urgency.
He took her hand and pressed it to his chest over his heart. “Feel that. Let your heart follow the beat of mine. Breathe with me.”
His eyes held hers captive and she found air moving through her lungs in time to his. Her heart found the exact rhythm of his and beat simultaneously. She had no idea what to expect, but it wasn’t his mind pouring slowly into hers. Nothing had ever felt so intimate. Nothing had ever been so sensual. He found places in her mind, those torn, ugly memories that she couldn’t fix in herself and somehow, he just filled those cracks, the shredded places that kept her apart from everyone else.
He didn’t feel in the least triumphant, but more a part of her. More as if he wholly belonged right there. Once he was in her mind, she knew it would be difficult to be alone again.
He had left his mark on you. A mage mark, not a sliver of himself. He cannot see through your eyes, but he can reach for this mark. It is uniquely his.
Alarms went off in her head. Don’t try to get rid of it. He will know.
Kislány hän ku meke sarnaakmet minan, I have been dealing with mages from nearly the time I was born. I am well aware that your father will eventually strike at us. First, we will build your shield so when I remove his mark, he cannot retaliate.
Isai, Anatolie is a very powerful mage. In his own right, he might actually equal Xavier in power. He will not tolerate interference. I had no idea he had put his mark on me. He’ll find out about you.
You are not thinking straight. He has taught you to fear him. He already knows about me. The cat returned to your brothers with my blood in its claws.
That was on her. She jammed her fist into her mouth and tried not to rock back and forth like a child. Fear of Anatolie often did that to her, although she’d always kept her terror private and didn’t allow it to stop her from her plans to break away. By choosing not to try to kill the shadow cat, she had put Isai directly into Anatolie’s path.
He has your blood. Do you know what a mage can do with someone’s blood? The thought was terrifying to her.
Yes. Work with me. You are of that lineage, too, Julija.
She knew he could see the chaos and fear in her mind. The cats sensed it and became mere shadows, slinking through the chamber, red eyes gleaming as they tried to ferret out the threat.
You said yourself I am mostly Carpathian.
That does not make you less, sívamet, it makes you more. You are the best of both worlds. You hold the power of both. You do not need me to do this for you or even with you, but you have me, and I am willing to be your protector.
She pressed her lips together and signaled for Belle and Blue to return to her. She didn’t want them to become so agitated that they struck out in fear or aggression.
I would much rather we work together. She knew he was an ancient and a Carpathian male. It was ingrained in them to protect their women and children at all times. She had been raised mage and she would always want to stand by his side to aid in the way she could. She was very aware he could see that in her mind. Another strike against her with a man born and bred centuries earlier in a culture where the men took care of their women.
Soft amusement slid into her mind. That was the ideal in a man’s mind, but all does not go the way of the male. Some women aided their partners.
He didn’t have to tell her that. He could have kept that admission to himself. Elation swept through her. She forced her mind and body under control.
I built that shield myself using spells I created without the foundation of any known mage invocation. I don’t know how he was able to mark me.
He put the mark on you at birth. He took no chances. Remember, he bred you for your blood, not to be a mage to help him with his plans. He needs you alive. That cat was meant to return you, not kill you.
She knew that, but she hadn’t considered just how much her father and brothers needed her. He knows I’m after the book. He’ll think we want to use it against him. I want it destroyed.
Is there a way to destroy it?
She was silent for a moment, feeling him in her, waiting. Filling her. Making her feel as if she wasn’t so alone. I think it is possible. I’m still working it out in my head.
Then let’s find a way to keep him out. Show me the spell you used for your shield. We will weave safeguards around what is in place. The weave needs to come from both of us, so that each safeguard is intertwined. I will cover the mark while we work and then once it is done, destroy his hold on you.
It sounded so simple
. Do you want me to again invoke the spell to shield me from any intruder I don’t wish to give consent to?
Yes. When you reach the end, you will add to your weave one line and then I will until it is done.
Mirror reflect all hostile intent
Black salt repels that which is negative sent.
I sweep away that which would bind
I call to the directions to wall off my mind.
As air is to earth, fire is to water
None may enter, nor shall they bother.
Together, Julija, he said softly, I will weave a strand then you. He didn’t wait for her response.
Mind to body
Reflective mirror shall hold.
She didn’t hesitate.
Through pain and darkness
Seek to unfold.
He wove the next strand.
That which is pure
Shall remain untouched.
Julija finished the last strand.
Allowing no illusion or falseness to touch.
With her magic he wove his own, so together they were twice as strong.
Isai didn’t wait, he shed his body and entered her mind as spirit only. She felt the intense heat. At once he poured everything he was into pure light, concentrating the beam on the tiny dark stain her father had placed in her at birth. The light burned right through the darkness.
The moment the brilliant ray hit the mark, Julija felt Anatolie strike at her. He slashed at her mind with what felt like razor blades. She cried out, but the mark was already burned away and with it went the pain.
The last thing she heard was the shriek of fury her father gave just before the last of the mark was gone. There was a moment of absolute silence as if the earth was holding its breath. Isai returned to his body but didn’t leave her mind. They waited. Isai took her hand, remaining kneeling in front of her.
Anatolie struck at her. It was a decisive blow, trying to get into her mind. She felt the contact, as if there was a punch aimed toward her outer temple, but she countered it with a brush of her hand as if she could brush him away. He hit from every angle, over and over. Around them, the bluffs shook, sending boulders crashing down. The cats leapt to their feet with terrified yowls, going from black substance to shadow.
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