He wore a dusty old black leather trench coat with no shirt underneath. I tried not to look, but couldn’t help but notice how muscular his chest was, though not as scarred as I would have imagined.
“Yes,” Trajan admitted. His attention never left the sleeping angel. “It is important that she know because you feel that she must be given a choice.”
A hidden pain lay quiet in his face.
I spoke up:
“She...Aramei, I mean, didn’t have a choice, did she?”
Trajan looked at me. Another seemingly normal movement, but it meant so much more coming from him. Either I had offended him by speaking of Aramei, or I was worthy of the gesture.
“No, Adria,” he said, still composed. “I was selfish. I took everything from her. Death would have been kinder.”
“That’s not true,” I said, pulling out of Isaac’s embrace. “She would’ve wanted you to do it, because she loved you that much.”
Trajan and Isaac locked eyes.
“And how would you know that?” Trajan said to me.
Isaac moved to stand behind me, resting his hands around my arms.
“Because I love Isaac, and because I don’t want to be without him, or him without me, ever.”
Silent words passed between them.
Trajan turned away. I could feel Isaac’s hands get warmer against my skin. He kissed my hair.
“As long as I am the Alpha,” said Trajan, now approaching Aramei on the bed, “there will be no Blood Bonds. If my son goes against me, you will both regret it.”
I said nothing in response and Isaac knew better.
Aramei’s eyes opened carefully and she gazed up at Trajan. She reached out a delicate hand to him. Trajan leaned over, placing his arms underneath her small body and lifting her into them. He held her like a child. She draped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his naked chest.
Like in the previous room, Trajan whispered something to her, which I could not hear. I knew they had to be words of love and affection.
He sat upon the bed with her in his arms.
“Onto other matters,” Trajan announced. “Seems our skittish little visitor out there told me something quite interesting.” He turned to see Isaac and then me. “You both should know.”
“What is it, Father?”
Aramei lifted slightly and turned her body to sit upright facing Trajan. She wrapped her bare legs around his waist and laid her head back down against his chest.
I was just glad that was all she wanted to do.
Trajan’s giant arms enveloped her tiny frame.
“Viktor Vargas has found a potentially strong female in which to make his mate,” said Trajan.
“I feel sorry for her,” said Isaac, “whoever she is. Why does that matter, anyway?”
“Because your girl there,” Trajan said nodding once toward me, “is the one he wants.”
Isaac’s body jerked around; eyes already churning black like oil. It felt like the oxygen had been sucked right out of the room.
“What?” Isaac’s voice growled and echoed.
“Calm,” demanded Trajan. His voice sent a ripple through me. “Never here, Isaac. Never in front of her.”
I knew he meant Aramei. I thought Trajan would come off the bed with churning black eyes, too.
Isaac calmed, as much as he could.
I, however, was as far away from calm as I could be.
“No...Why?” I said absently.
“Because your sister survived,” Trajan revealed, “and because siblings are almost always alike in that way.”
“That’s why they haven’t harmed you,” Isaac growled, pacing. “It’s why Viktor called Sibyl off the night in the barn. Why didn’t I see this?”
I was in shock.
“But he could’ve done it already,” Isaac said to his father. “He’s had opportunities. The barn, even one night at The Cove, Viktor was there, feet from her.” Isaac was utterly enraged.
I stayed far away from him. I let him pace furiously back and forth.
“He wants her to be willing,” said Trajan. “Her sister was supposed to bring her first and when that didn’t work, he sent others to scare her.”
“Oh no...The bastard used my uncle to threaten me.” The realization hit me hard. I was even more the reason Uncle Carl was in the hospital than I knew.
Remembering I had my phone on me, I reached inside my pocket and yanked it out. No signal. That was no surprise, considering.
Trajan looked at me. “Adria,” he said, “your family is safer without you there.”
“But Father,” said Isaac, “what am I supposed to do? I will kill every last one of them.”
“And I don’t doubt that you’re capable,” Trajan said, “but Viktor is the one who wants her and he is also the one you cannot defeat.”
Isaac raised his fist and sent it crashing down upon the desk against the wall, breaking it in half. Splintered wood, papers and other items flew up and around him before scattering about the floor.
My breath caught and I froze, only my eyes moving to see if Trajan was going to get up from the bed with reprimand.
As calm as ever, Trajan remained; holding Aramei as if she was all that mattered. “Viktor Vargas will soon be dealt with.”
Isaac turned swiftly. “I’m sure you said that to your men three hundred years ago.”
I never even saw Trajan place Aramei onto the bed.
He was kneeling over Isaac, gripping Isaac’s throat and crushing him against the rock floor. A picture of the man I watched die earlier in an eerily similar predicament flashed through my head.
I screamed. “Please! Please don’t....”
I rushed over and knelt, my knees touching Isaac’s head. I didn’t care if it would be the last thing I did. One hand held Isaac around the chin, the other I put up in front of Trajan pleadingly. “Please....” More tears streamed down my face.
Slowly, Trajan’s haunting figure rose and stood tall over us.
With his back to us now, Trajan said to Isaac, “One day you yourself will know the perils of being an Alpha.”
Isaac got up from the floor. If he was in any pain, he wasn’t showing it.
“Forgive me, Father,” he said. “I’m—”
“You are your father’s son,” Trajan said proudly. He inspected Aramei once more and then turned around to face Isaac again. “Adria is strong,” he said. “I can smell it on her; the control, the impending power.” His voice got lower. It was as if he didn’t want me to hear, yet it wasn’t entirely a whisper.
“You might have to do it yourself, before Viktor does.”
Isaac shook his head and stepped back, letting his father’s hand fall away from his shoulder.
Aramei lifted from the bed, the silk sheet barely covering her. “Vukašin,” she called him by his real name, but the rest I could not make out. She was speaking in a different language.
Trajan went over to her, cradling her head in his giant hands and kissing her eyelids.
“Until I go back to Serbia,” Trajan said as Isaac led me toward the door, “I will be staying here with Aramei. I won’t risk her with Viktor and his vendetta.”
“And what about Adria?” Isaac said stopping at the exit.
“My men and I will do with Viktor what is decided when that time comes,” he began, “but as Aramei is to me, Adria must be to you. An Alpha protects his own. It is the way it has always been.”
~~~
As promised, Isaac had me back in Hallowell by morning. I had fallen asleep during the long drive. All that had happened, emotionally and physically exhausted me.
I saw someone die. I couldn’t decide if it was affecting me the way it was supposed to. It worried me.
When we arrived back at the Mayfair house the shrouded sun was just barely rising over the vast blanket of white. Cold and gray would be this day too, even with sunlight; I knew because I could feel it, like when you know it’s about to rain.
Isaa
c guided me up to his room. He straightened and fluffed his bedding for me so that I could go back to sleep. I felt him cover me gently, just to my waist.
He went to leave; his footsteps quiet across the floor.
“Isaac,” I said, holding out my hand, “Stay with me.”
He paused, but only long enough to know that I meant it. I wasn’t ready for anything more, but having him next to me already felt natural. I needed him. We needed each other.
I fell fast asleep curled up in his arms and I never slept as soundly as I had that day. And that’s when you know you feel totally safe, undeniably loved. I was in more danger than most humans could imagine, yet in Isaac’s arms, I was completely at peace.
THE CELL PHONE VIBRATING against my leg woke me. I crept awake, a little disoriented. 1:42 p.m. showed next to Beverlee’s name. I answered quickly.
“Carl is doing better,” she said. “You can visit him this evening. Are you with Harry?”
“That’s so great,” I said, relieved. “I was so worried. No, ummm...” I glanced down at Isaac lying next to me. He was beautiful when he slept. “No, I stayed at Zia’s place.”
“That’s okay,” she said. “In Zia’s room, right?” she added skeptically.
“Uhhh, yeah. Definitely.”
“Alright, hon, if you need me to come pick you up to bring you to the hospital, just call me.”
“I will. I love you, Aunt Bev.”
I knew she was smiling on the other end.
“I love you too.”
Isaac opened his eyes as I reached over and laid my phone on the nightstand. I had a feeling maybe he wasn’t sleeping after all.
“Uncle Carl is going to be fine.”
He smiled softly at me and then brought me back into the fold of his arms.
“That’s awesome,” he said. Then he sighed heavily and pulled me closer. I buried my head under his chin. “Now we just have to figure out how to keep you away from them without making it seem like you’re abandoning them.”
There was a tiny knock at the door.
“Yeah?” Isaac said.
Zia peeked her white-blond head around the corner.
“Safe to come in?”
“It is,” Isaac answered.
She practically tiptoed inside as if still unsure whether she was intruding upon something.
I smiled across at her. “It’s alright,” I said. “Don’t get any ideas.”
Zia snickered and plopped down on the end of the bed.
“You two have been asleep all day,” she said. “What’d you do last night?”
Isaac sat up straight. I stayed curled up next to him.
“I took Adria to see my father.”
“Oh,” Zia replied, her smile replaced by a more serious expression. “You mean Aramei?”
I felt Isaac nod next to me.
Zia looked at me then. “Tragic, isn’t it?”
I didn’t want to answer, but my face did it for me.
“Well,” Zia slapped her palms against her jeans, “that’s none of my business. I guess you’re both too tired then to go skiing with us, huh?”
I rose finally. “I’d love to,” I said, “but I need to go see my uncle later.”
“I’ll be taking her to the hospital,” said Isaac. “She’ll be forced to endure me looming over her pretty much everywhere from now on.”
Forced? Hardly.
“I’ll need to talk to Nathan, Seth and Xavier, too,” he added. “Father told me that Viktor wants Adria as his mate.”
Zia’s body went rigid, pushing her instantly to her feet. Her mouth formed the letter O.
“It’s true,” Isaac said, “but I won’t go into it right now. Not again.” He combed his fingers through my hair. “Just tell my brothers if you see them before I do, that the circumstances have changed.”
“Okay, I will,” Zia agreed.
She lightened up then, though her bright smile seemed forced. I sort of felt like a little girl shielded from all the bad words and bad people. But that was okay. For now.
“I probably should tell you,” Zia said to me, “Daisy and Harry really hit it off. He’s still here; passed out on the sofa in the den.”
“Wow, seriously?”
“Yep,” Zia said. “I was almost jealous!”
I laughed.
Isaac eased his way out of our ‘girly’ conversation and went to change his shirt. I couldn’t help but watch. He was so perfect. Sculpted, scarred chest. Dark, messy hair. I even noticed a large birthmark along his ribs. He had ‘flaws’ and that’s why he was so perfect to me.
“Girl, you’re not even listening to me!” Her mouth and eyes were wide with over exaggerated shock and then she winked at me.
I shook myself attentive. Isaac secretly smiled across at me. He knew I had been watching him instead of listening to Zia. It wasn’t a conceited smile; just an innocent, knowing look.
Blushing, I turned back to her. “Sorry, I was just—”
“Distracted?” She grinned like she was hiding something behind her back.
“I’m glad your uncle is doing better,” she said, changing the subject from whatever she had been going on about before.
“Thanks,” I said as she hugged me.
“Who all is going skiing?” Isaac said to Zia.
“Sebastian, my brothers, Harry and Daisy,” she said. “That’s all I know so far. You know, I’ve never been skiing before. I kind of like Maine. Except for the trouble that came shortly before us.”
“Don’t get too comfortable here,” said Isaac. He slipped on a pair of socks and slid his feet down into a pair of black Doc Martens. “Depending on how this all turns out, we may be moving again.”
Zia’s face fell somberly, but when she placed her hand on the door and looked back at me one last time, she was smiling again. “See yah later, Dria,” she said before slipping out of the room. She called me Dria. Like my sister used to. It kind of made me feel good.
“What was that supposed to mean, about moving?” I was still on the center of the bed, sitting with my knees drawn up to my chest.
Isaac leaned over me, easily lifting me into his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist. I draped my hands on his shoulders; he kissed one arm and then the other.
“I don’t know how any of this is going to turn out. I have no idea what we’re going to do about Viktor and that worries me. It’s why a meeting with my brothers is imperative.”
“But if you move?”
“If I move?” he said, with extra emphasis on the word to indicate it was incorrect. “If we move, Adria. I would never leave you here, or anywhere.”
I started to speak, but he hushed me with a peck on the jaw line.
“I know you don’t want to leave your family,” he said, “and I would never in a hundred years ask you to do that, not even for me. But in this situation, it may be the only thing that saves them.”
My head fell in despondency.
“I know,” he whispered, trying to console me. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I know we will,” I said, raising my chin.
We rode around for a while to waste time before visiting hours at the hospital. Spent an hour at Harvey’s Coffee Shop and drove into Augusta. I wanted to get something nice for Uncle Carl and flowers just seemed weird. We ended up at Barnes and Noble where I bought a book titled On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy by Stephen Hawking. Uncle Carl loved his Science. I just knew that it would be the best gift ever.
When I saw him lying in the bed, I tried not to think of how he looked last night. It was hard not to. All the same machines were still hooked up to him, even an extra one that I refused to ask Aunt Bev about.
I didn’t come here for that. I came to see my uncle getting better and to make him smile seeing my awesome gift-picking abilities.
He couldn’t smile when he saw it. He couldn’t even hold it and flip through the pages. I guess I hadn’t thought about any of that. I imagined
him ripping open the bag, lifting it out and turning it this and that way. I imagined the biggest grin across his face as he read the book details.
None of that happened.
His car had been totaled by a monster bigger than his car was. He almost died when at first he seemed to be stable.
And I would never forget that it was all because of me.
Even he being in his car at that very moment was because of me. If only he hadn’t gone to Augusta to adopt a dog for me, he wouldn’t have been on that road. And even if the dog was out of the picture, Uncle Carl was still in his car to check on me at Finch’s.
Me, me, me.
I sat quietly in a chair, farthest corner of the hospital room. He fell asleep again.
“I know he loves the book, Adria.”
Beverlee came over and stood beside me.
“The doctor said Carl’s going to be here for a while,” she began. “I’ll be home as much as I can. I’ve even talked to my sister about coming to stay with us so you won’t be by yourself so much.”
I just let her talk. I didn’t have it in me to say much about anything in return. Nothing mattered really.
She knelt in front of me, placing her hand on top of mine. “He’s going to be okay.”
I smiled weakly, giving her the okay to stop worrying about me and my feelings. The smile was totally fake, of course, but as long as she didn’t know that.
Isaac had waited for me out in the waiting room.
“Let’s go to your house and get some of your things,” he said.
The sun had set sometime while I was with Beverlee. I recalled it getting darker outside from the hospital room window. It was also snowing again, but only light flurries. The ride to my house was quiet. All I could think about were things that required every bit of my attention. Things that sucked any happiness from me that might have been there. Isaac left me alone; I guess he felt I needed the time to think, to grieve. If he knew I was using any part of it to blame myself for anything, he would’ve tried to put a stop to it.
Pulling up into my driveway, I saw that the porch light wasn’t on. I never noticed before how eerie that old Victorian-style house was in the dark even though I’d seen it a hundred times just like that.
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