by L. E. Wilson
She could feel herself starting to go into a full-blown panic. “Aiden!”
“I’m just going to get us some light. I would imagine you can’t see very well in here.”
He didn’t sound very far away, and she took a halting step toward him before remembering he’d told her to stay where she was.
“Don’t fret Em, I’m just right here. Your heart sounds like a bloody freight train, love. Calm down. We vampires only have so much control, mind you.”
“Sorry.” She didn’t really think Aiden would actually hurt her, but took a long, calming breath just the same. There was a rustling sound, and then a flashlight beam.
“You had a flashlight this entire time?” she hissed as she held up a hand in front of her face. “Is there any particular reason you didn’t use it until now?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t need it until now.” Shining the light around, he found what he was looking for—an old fashioned torch. “Wouldn’t want to waste the batteries,” he explained.
Taking the torch down from its holder, he dipped it into some kind of noxious smelling liquid in a barrel along the wall, then took a lighter from his pocket and lit it. Placing it back in its holder, he turned off his flashlight.
“There we go!” He disappeared into the shadows, reappearing again when he lit another torch.
Emma looked around in awe as she slowly walked further inside. They had traveled down a narrow tunnel through the rock to a natural underground cavern. Smooth limestone walls, swirled with lighter and darker browns, led up to a soaring ceiling at least thirty feet above her head. Under her feet, dirt had been packed down to make an even floor. She could still hear the water dripping off to her right, but didn’t see its source.
Her gaze came back to Aiden, who was putting his flashlight away, and she glowered at him.
Nik silently entered the room just then. His gaze went back and forth between her and Aiden. He raised an eyebrow. “Did I miss something?”
Rolling her eyes, Emma walked into the middle of the room where a circle of stones surrounded a fire pit. “Just Aiden…being Aiden.” She plopped down on one of the large, flat-topped rocks surrounding it for seating, threw down her backpack, and pulled out a bottled water and a protein bar.
Taking a closer look around, she saw the remnants of past visitors. “So I take it you guys have been here before?” she ventured.
Aiden puffed out his chest. “I found this place years ago. Quite the thing, isn’t it? We use it as our meet up area whenever we feel the need to come up here and check on our sweet Leeha.”
Emma was confused. “So you’ve known all along she’s in this area?”
They both nodded.
“Then why not come up here until now? If you knew all this time where your brother—and my sister—were, why were they not rescued seven years ago??”
“We did come here,” Aiden hastened to reassure her. “But the place was deserted. Not a sign of anyone to be found for years. But, we have scouts come up occasionally to keep an eye out for her, and we just recently found out she was back.” He held up his index finger. “The question is: why come back now? She has to know we’d be watching for her.” He gave Emma a wink. “Perhaps she missed me.” With a secretive smile, Aiden headed to the back of the room where some wood was already cut and stacked up against the wall.
Nik sat down on the rock next to her, and gestured to the water bottle she held stuck halfway to her mouth while she blinked, speechless, at Aiden. “Go easy on that stuff, sweetheart.” He took a peek into her bag. “Just in case.”
She turned back to Nik and lowered her arm. “How long do you expect us to be here?” She’d been under the impression it wouldn’t be more than a day or two at most.
“Not long, hopefully, but it’s always good to be prepared. I can’t have you starving to death on me.” He smirked at her, looking a bit like the carefree Nik she’d first met, but she wasn’t in the mood.
“No, we can’t have that, can we? Because if I die, so do you.”
His smile faded as quickly as it had appeared, and he glared over at his best friend, who was suddenly very busy counting the pieces of wood stacked up in the far corner of the cavern.
“What the fuck, Aiden? I told you to keep your fucking mouth shut about all that shit.”
Aiden’s face was the picture of innocence as he pushed off his hood and scratched his head. “You did? Are you quite certain? I don’t exactly recall…”
Nik shot up off of the rock he was sitting on. “You’re a son of a bitch, you know that?”
Aiden pulled his hood back up over his short, dark hair and calmly met Nik look for look. “What the bloody hell did you expect me to do, mate? Let you kill yourself over your misguided belief you can never be happy because of what you think happened with Eliana?” He suddenly appeared in front of his friend, moving too fast for Emma to track. “You’re my best friend. More importantly, I’m your Guardian. As such, I am required to do everything in my power to keep you healthy and alive. It’s bad enough I already let you get away with drinking that fucking bagged blood. I cannot—I WILL NOT—let you commit suicide because of an unfortunate accident that happened in the past.”
“It’s not your choice, Aiden.”
“Sod off, Nikulas. It IS my choice. And I choose to not stand idly by and let you do this.” Grabbing Emma by the arm, he hauled her up to stand next to him, ignoring Nik’s immediate warning growl at the sight of his hands on her. “This is a good woman right here. This is a strong woman. She would be a brilliant mate. I like her. And she cares about you, you bloody arse.”
Emma glowered at him and his manhandling, and yanked her arm from his grasp. “Look,” she told Nikulas. “If you don’t want to be with me,” Her face began to heat, but she forced the words out. “For whatever the reason. That’s okay.”
Nik dropped his head back, looking heavenward. He didn’t seem to find any help there, so he thrust both hands into his hair in exasperation. “Emma—”
“We can figure something else out, Nik.” She grabbed his hands as she looked up at him imploringly. “You don’t have to die! I can just donate into a bag or something.”
Turning his hands, he carefully gripped her small fingers in his. “You don’t get it. I would rather die, than hurt you.”
“You’re not listening! I could donate, like blood donors. That would work, right?”
Neither of them noticed Aiden quietly slip away and leave the cave.
“You drink out of those gross bags, anyway. It could work!” Why was he still arguing with her?
“No, sweetheart, it wouldn’t. Your blood weakens once it’s left your body. It would be nearly the same as drinking the stuff I do now, only lacking what I need to survive. You wouldn’t be able to give enough. It would barely prolong the inevitable, and in the end would have the same result as not drinking it. Please, just let it be,” he begged.
But Emma wasn’t finished yet. “Well, so, what if you did the same thing then? Would that help? We can swap blood without ever having to be anywhere near each other. I can…I don’t know, put it in a smoothie or something.” She grimaced at the thought, but if it would keep him alive, she would do it.
“No, Emma.”
“Yes! I’d be able to give more. It would work.”
Sadly, insistently, he shook his head. “No.”
“Would you please stop being so damn stubborn, and—”
“Emma, I said no.”
“Why the hell not, Nikulas!” Yanking her hands from his, she stomped a few feet away from him, swiping at the angry tears on her cheeks.
Chapter 28
The cave rumbled, and Nik glanced around with a frown. But this was no earthquake.
Large rocks and hunks of wood vibrated throughout the cavern. Some were even hovering a few inches above the floor. His little witch was losing her temper, and was probably about to bash him in the head with it all. The air was heavy with magic. It filled the room until he
felt it crawl across his skin like it was alive.
Now would probably be a good time to try to calm her down. “Em…sweetheart…”
“No! No, Nik!” She swiped at her face before she turned around, but he could still see the moisture from her tears. “How can you ask me to just walk away from this? Do you think I would be able to live with myself, knowing I was the cause of your death? You’re being an obstinate ass!”
She threw her arms up in the air. “There! I said it. You’re being an ass, Nikulas! I actually agree with Aiden on this one point.” A rock the size of a soccer ball hit the opposite wall with a crash, and her head whipped around to stare at the smashed pieces in shock.
Nik ignored it, all of his attention on Emma. “Emma, listen to me. Please.”
She turned back to him, and opened her mouth to yell at him some more. The physical display of her rage hovered higher off the ground now. The objects buzzed with so much power, it sounded like a large swarm of bees.
Nik fought his way through her magic, reaching out to her with his ravaged emotions. He understood her frustration. But if she thought this was easy for him, she was wrong.
So fucking wrong.
She must have felt him, for the cavern became quiet as her temper—and her weapons—settled down. “Fine,” she snapped at him. “Talk.”
Now that he had her undivided attention, Nik found himself at a loss for words. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he looked around for some help from Aiden. Where the hell was that loud-mouthed Brit when he needed him?
“Well?” Emma’s voice brought him back to her.
Nik took a deep inhale and braced himself. It scared the hell out of him to open up to her, but she had the right to know. “It won’t work because…because I’m fucking crazy about you Emma. I was crazy about you from the first moment I saw you, puttering around your house in that hideous, blue robe.”
Her forehead scrunched up and she rubbed at her temples. “Then what’s the problem? I don’t understand.”
“I can’t do that to you, Em. I can’t ask you to rearrange your life for me. I won’t. I won’t use you like that.”
Both hands yanked at his hair as he paced back and forth, trying to think of something that would convince her to see things his way. But he instinctively knew she wouldn’t believe anything but raw honesty from him. So, that’s exactly what he would give her.
Nik became perfectly still, strong in his resolve. “To me, you are the most utterly perfect female I’ve ever seen, or talked to, or touched. The things you’ve been through, your bravery, your attitude in spite of it all…they leave me in awe of you. I’m not worthy of a female such as you.”
He paced away and back again. “I’ve seen things…done things…in my life that weren’t exactly honorable. I’m not a good male.”
The more he spoke, the more he felt the lingering anger in her dissipate. She dropped her eyes, hiding from him as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I think you’re exaggerating. I’m not anything special.” Her jaw set and she looked up at him. “And I have to disagree with that last statement.”
Her modesty only endeared her to him more. “I’m not worthy, sweetheart. I’m not.” He speared her with his gaze. “But, when I tasted you—” His voice broke at the memory. “I tasted you, and it was all over for me. It doesn’t have to be for you.”
He held himself stiffly before her with his heart and soul outside of his body, raw and exposed. “I would never be able to have any kind of ‘arrangement’ with you, even if it were possible. I would never be able to watch you go through your life from the sidelines. Watch you have other lovers.” His lips pulled back in a snarl at the thought, and his fangs slid down in aggression. “Watch you laugh, and cry, and not be there with you. Not be able to hold you, to comfort you. You’re MINE, Emma. But I can’t have you. I don’t trust myself not to hurt you. Or worse.”
“Nik—” she faltered.
His heart pounded like it was about to jump out of his chest, but he kept going. “In a way, I’m afraid of you, Em.” Shaking his head, he denied the obvious reason why before it could be spoken. “Not because I’m dependent on your blood now. Not because I’m afraid to die. I’ve lived more than my share of lifetimes.”
She scoffed playfully at him, and he smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood. “I’m like, half your size, and human. What is there to be afraid of?”
“Exactly. You’re too fragile. I couldn’t be there all the time to protect you. What if something happened? What if it happened because of me? What if I…” He stopped, unable to finish the thought. “I wouldn’t be able to take it, Emma. I feel more for you, in these few days I’ve known you, than I’ve ever felt for any other female. Or anyone, for that matter. I’m afraid, Em.” Then he shook his head again. “No, not afraid. I’m terrified of the pain of losing you. I would rather bring an end to myself and leave you to live a long, healthy, natural life than make you into my own personal feeding bag. I’ve lived a long time, had more than my share of lives. It is enough.”
“You don’t have to lose me, Nik.” Emma’s eyes glinted with frustration.
“It would happen someday. You’re too fragile. Too…human.” His voice broke with the emotions rolling through him. “And then what would I do, Em? What would I do without you? Without your smile to light up my nights? Without being able to hold you? To talk to you?” He tried for a smile, but couldn’t keep it there. “Death wouldn’t come for me soon enough.”
Emma closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his lean waist. She hugged him hard and buried her face in his chest. He barely heard her confession.
“Nikulas, I feel the same way about you, as impossible as it should be.”
His eyes fell to the top of her bright head. Allowing himself this moment to enjoy, Nik wrapped his arms around her and lovingly returning her embrace. “That’s impossible. You barely know me.” His smile was as fragile as his emotions as he teased her.
She smiled back at him. “I’m a sucker for pretty boys with cocky attitudes.”
A look of hope briefly lit up inside of him, but it fluttered out again almost immediately. “You’d have to give up your life to be with me.”
“I’m good with that,” she promised.
“What about your sister?”
“She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself. And I’d be able to visit once we get her home.”
He set her away from him. “I can’t take the chance, Em. You’ll be okay. This whole mating thing, it doesn’t affect you the way it does me. You can go on to live a long, happy, and normal life.”
“Why is this only your choice? Don’t I get a say in any of this?” She stepped back into his arms, and he didn’t have the heart or the willpower to push her away again. “I choose you, Nikulas. You’re just going to have to deal with it.”
“Emma.” A noise came from the tunnel and he cocked his head, listening. Pulling Emma behind him, he placed himself between her and the entrance, his body suddenly tense. But after a moment, he relaxed. “It’s Aiden.” With one last, longing look at her, he went over to get the wood Aiden had abandoned from the corner and set about making a small fire.
Dammit, Aiden. The guy had perfect fucking timing.
Aiden came around the corner into the cavern, whistling an energetic tune. “Hey, you two! Get things worked out, did we?”
No one answered him as Nik broke logs over his knee and Emma crossed her arms in front of her with a huff. “No? Still? Pity, that.” Looking back and forth between the two of them, he must have astutely deemed Emma to be the safer choice, and wandered over her way.
Nik watching his every move.
“No luck, huh?”
Sliding down the wall behind her, she sat cross-legged on the dirt packed floor. “Nope.”
Joining her, Aiden asked hopefully, “Not even just a little?”
“Your friend, Aiden, is a bloody Estonian bastard.”
“Yes. Yes, h
e is,” he commiserated with her.
Nik glared at the two of them sitting there with their heads together. When the hell had they gotten so chummy? “I can hear you! I’m right fucking here!”
They stared back at him in stony silence.
“Un-fucking believable.” Throwing the last log into the circle, he sat on his haunches to start the fire.
Aiden patted Emma on the hand and got up to come over to help, adding more kindling under the logs.
“So where did you go anyway?” Nik asked after a moment.
“Oh! Yes, that. Well, I went outside to give you two some privacy. But then I thought as long as I was out there, I may as well look around a bit.” He paused to blow on the small flames. “Someone else is in the area.”
Nik left the fire to Aiden, who was much better at it than he was, and took a seat on one of the stones. “Who? Dante?”
Aiden didn’t answer until the fire was licking merrily at the logs. “No, I don’t think so.” He sat next to Nik and watched the flames. “If it is, he’s gathered more fighters. I found their tracks just a little ways north of here. Then they suddenly disappear after about two miles.”
Nik thought a moment. “Wolves?”
Aiden shrugged.
“All right, I’ll go check it out. See what I can find. I need to get out of here for a while.” Nik grabbed his backpack.
Aiden carefully fanned the flames. “Nope. Can’t let you do that. I’ll go back out there and scope it out. I just wanted to check in with you. You stay here with Emma.”
Taking out a couple of wicked-looking blades from the bag he’d brought, Nik strapped them around his thighs. “I’m going. I need the air. You stay here.” He tore open a blood bag and chugged it down before he could taste it, then took a water bottle out to bring with him. Those things were getting nastier and nastier. With a sideways glance at Emma, he sauntered toward the tunnel, waving away Aiden’s protests.
“I don’t know why Luukas ever appointed me to you,” Aiden said. “You completely ignore all of my endeavors to keep you safe.”
Nik flipped him off and paused to tighten one his knife straps.