waiting for a reply.
Haden started to walk away as well, but Joseph stopped him. “I should’ve listened to you. I’m sorry I
pushed the issue of going to your brother with you. I don’t trust Demetri. You shouldn’t either. But I also
hope he is right. No matter what happens Nikolas’ place is with Brianna. Let me know if you hear from
him.”
“I will. Right now I need to figure out what to do about Megan. I can’t believe she is able to shift.”
“Earlier today while you were all at the coffee shop, she sent me a very interesting image of Nikolas
standing next to Demetri holding one of the dolls I gave her. She was very upset with him for ruining it
and suspects he might have ruined some more.”
“That’s funny. And naughty. Mostly naughty. But it’s great to hear. I was a bit jealous over Nikolas’
ability to get her to agree to a rule so quickly.”
“She’s a handful.”
“That’s for sure. I am worried she will get herself into trouble thanks to her ability to shift. I have no
idea what to do about it.”
“I’ll look into it. There must be a way for you to limit her ability to utilize her powers.”
“When we first noticed she was developing supernatural powers I checked it out. I cannot find
anything to block her abilities without weakening her immortality to point of making her susceptible to
death through injuries and diseases. I am not willing to risk her life. My best option seems to be netting
spells to prevent her from shifting, but they only work if I catch her attempting to do it. Anything more
powerful and permanent could hurt her.”
Mia burst through the doorway and glanced around. “Where is she?”
“Nikolas took her home,” Joseph explained.
“Let’s go.” Mia grabbed Joseph’s arm and stared to pull him out of the room.
“We can’t go to her right now.”
“He’s right,” Haden said before Mia had a chance to protest. “They need to be alone. Her mortal
body will not survive the injuries she sustained. She will only make it if Nikolas gives his immortality to
her. I will see you later.” He left Joseph alone to deal with Mia. He needed to get back to Caylee and
Megan.
~Twenty Three~
COMPELLING BRIANNA TO take each breath into her lungs and release it along with monitoring and
strengthening every beat of her heart, Nikolas stared down at her as he poured his healing power into her
body. Her human flesh was broken beyond repair. As long as she remained mortal he would never be
able heal her brain an adequate amount to restore its ability to process even the simplest thought.
It was a devastating reality. Every single memory she had created or destiny had decreed, regardless
of it being good or bad, no longer inhabited her mind. Despite his enormous power and strength he could
not bring her back. She was slipping away from him because he left her in a fragile state. He had no
business tempting fate by allowing her to remain vulnerable to death. He faced the ruthless likelihood of
the most devastating finale, but he couldn’t afford to allow doubt or fear to paralyze him.
His goal was to mend what he could and strengthen her to give her a better chance of surviving the
ritual. If her soul believed in his love for her, if her soul trusted him, she would receive his eternal breath
and she would survive. It was the only way the damage to her brain would ever be repaired. It was the
only she would wake up again.
The opened wounds on the back of her head were completely closed. The bruising and swelling on
her face was barely visible. He made sure to clean the blood from her body and her hair. He removed her
clothing and covered her with the softest blanket he could find to keep her warm. He wanted to make sure
that when she woke up all signs of the assault and abduction were removed from her body.
He was just as aware of the potential danger as he was of the security he hoped to give her. It would
go one way or the other. His kind had to face the odds of this ritual since the beginning of time. He was
not the first male to know he would kill his mate or give her eternal life. He would not be the last. Many
thoughts entered his mind as he looked down at her, but what stuck with him the most was the image of
her in the photo. What had happened to him that he would force her to remain in a coma for so long?
It had to be for his benefit. It was just another excuse to avoid taking a risk. Another example of him
making sure he was protected. In the last few years he had put her through hell because he was afraid to
take a chance. To think that he would have even considered doing the same to her when she was in a
coma blew his mind.
He had ten thousand years on her, but she opened his eyes as they have never been before. She
taught him, by proving it to him, that to gain anything worth having you must first be willing to risk
something.
When she had been taken away and he couldn’t find her it was the most horrific experience ever. The
moment he found her and realized how close she was to dying,
The last memory she kept was not a matter of chance. She had put up one hell of a fight to make sure
it stayed in her mind until he got to her and retrieve it. During what she knew was her final moments of
life she was doing all that she could to make sure he had what he needed to survive. The second he found
it she allowed herself to slip away. She was right. It was what he needed, but not for the reason she
thought. She was letting him know that it was okay to let go of her and embrace a new future. That was
wrong. He would make sure she understood that later. He needed the words to find the courage to perform
the ritual.
“The struggle is never about the change. You have to be willing to risk something to gain
something. The struggle is holding on to something that makes you feel comfortable rather than letting go
of it to take hold of the change. When you don’t take hold of the change it will take hold of while you’re
cuddling up to good old comfortable.”
When she had first said those words she had been trying to get him to see the truth. He didn’t want to
even try to see it. He had been alone for a long time. He had been comfortable. She had been the change.
She held onto his dumb ass while he cuddled up to good old comfortable. He had been holding onto to
himself, refusing to risk letting go.
He gently took her hand pressed her palm against his cheek and held it. “I am so very thankful for
every moment we have shared, little one. I have never wanted to share my mind with anyone before you
came along. You worked your way right into my mind. No one has ever done that before. No one could.
You know my mind was considered completely restricted. I can’t stand it when I don’t feel you touch my
mind for too long. You made me want to live again. I know you can’t quite grasp the thought of living for
ten thousand years, but I was so tired before you came into my life. You zapped those ten thousand years
into nothing.”
Knowing it was time to see what fate had in store for them he kissed her hand and then placed it on
her belly. “You have no idea what is about to happen. It isn’t permitted. That’s the scariest part for me.”
He knew there was a possibility she might wake up suddenly before it was complete and panic.
Positioning her head, slightly tilted back in the ce
nter of a soft pillow so that if needed he could restrain
her without hurting her. The ritual had to be completed or it wouldn’t work. He could not allow her to
pull away. On his knees he knelt over her with one hand near her head holding his weight and the other
cupping her chin. He kissed her once. “I love you, little one.”
He worked her mouth open with his fingers. When he knew her airway was free he sealed his mouth
over hers and he started to take her last mortal breath into his body. She didn’t fight. He didn’t really
expect it. Not yet. But it scared him. Normally there would be some natural struggle that eventually
stopped. That was the faith, the faith in the love of a mate.
He felt a stirring in his soul. It was her. He felt a dark sense of confusion. A terrible pain of rejection.
A glimpse of her watching him pace across the bedroom floor. His anger. His accusations.
He stopped and looked down at her. He instantly realized she wasn’t breathing. He couldn’t
complete the ritual if she wasn’t breathing. No! Come back to me, Brianna! It’s up to you now. You must
come to me to receive my eternal breath.
Realizing that he couldn’t support her life with his powers anymore, he decided to physically sustain
her life. He took a deep breath as he tilted her head back, and then he filled her lungs. Forgive me, little
one. Don’t let my most terrible mistake decide our fate. Forgive me. I love you so much. I will spend the
rest of eternity making that mistake up to you. Let me show you that I can be worthy of you. Come back to
me, Brianna. Let me love you. Let me be loved by you.
She was not responding to him at all. Something was horribly wrong. He breathed for her again
while moving his hand to her neck to check for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there. Forgive me for
hurting you. I swear that I will never do anything to cause you so much pain again. Give me one more
chance. Realizing he had lost her, but not willing to give up he stared down at her. I don’t deserve you,
but I can’t go on without you.
He filled her lungs once more. Come back to me. I will not allow your body to die. I will not give up
until you tell me that you don’t want to be with me. I will not accept your silence. Again, he checked her
pulse and it was still faint.
***
Brianna began to wake up slowly. She had the strangest sensation of being. The grass beneath her body
was cold and damp. She stayed absolutely still for a few minutes because she felt disoriented and
nauseous. She started to sit up, but stopped when her head started spinning.
“Don’t move just yet.” She recognized Demetri's voice.
“Where are we? I don’t feel right. My body doesn’t feel real. Why is it so cold? Am I in your head?”
“You have lots of questions. Unfortunately, I don’t possess the answers. I have been trying to sort
your motives out.”
“My motives?”
“You shouldn’t be here. Why did you come to me?”
“I didn’t.”
“Let’s backtrack. What do you remember going on before this moment?”
The answer came to her suddenly. She reached up and, expecting to discover a wound, she touched
the back of her head. “My head hurt. The pressure was awful. I was hit by something from behind. My
skull felt as if it had split opened. It doesn’t hurt anymore. I am not really here, am I?”
“Your spirit is present, but your body is in another place.”
“Oh, no, that’s right. I was dying. In the beginning, I was scared. I didn’t know what expect. In time
I was fine with it. I don’t know why. I just wasn’t afraid anymore. I was ready to die, but I needed to wait
until I...oh, dang. I don’t understand. It was so important. Now I can’t remember what I was waiting for?”
Feeling more stable she sat up. Demetri was sitting next to her. His head was bowed and his shoulders
were slumped. He looked utterly defeated. She placed her hand on his shoulder. “You look more
depressed than me and I am dead. What happened? Is something wrong with Sara? Is that why you
brought me here, to find her? Can I still connect to her?”
“No. It’s highly unlikely you’ll ever be able to reach her now. I told you that I didn’t bring you here.
You came to me.” He shook his head. “You weren’t supposed to come to me. What caused you to do it?”
“I don’t have a clue.”
“You’re a lot like Sara.”
“What do you mean?”
“She also lacked the good sense to stay away from me.”
“Prepare yourself for a major disappointment. I know you’ve worked hard to create a dark
impression of yourself to everyone, but no matter how deep I look I can’t find any evil in you. You will
never convince me that you hurt Sara.”
“We all have evil in us,” he said.
“Maybe a little.”
He looked up at her and frowned. “I don’t know what to do to help you now.”
“It’s kind of late for rescuing me since I’m dead, don’t you think?”
“Some individuals would be inclined to think so. Not me.”
“Don’t worry about it. I am fine. If this is what it’s like to be dead it’s not that bad. Oh, wow.
Maybe it’s better than not bad. I’m seeing with my own eyes.” she said.
“It’s the worst thing that could’ve come about. You haven’t even mentioned Nikolas. Doesn’t it
bother you to know he can’t go on without you? Don’t you feel his desperation? What about his pain?
Tell me what took place so I can figure out how to fix it. Why did you abandon Nikolas?”
“I didn’t leave him. He brought me to his home to watch over me after I had too much to drink. I had
sex with him. As soon as it was over he blew up. He accused me of betraying him by taking advantage of
his kindness. He banished me from his bed and his life with a wave of his hand. Don’t worry about him.
He will get over my death just fine. He said that being with me was his greatest mistake.”
Demetri chuckled. “Now I understand what’s going on.”
“It’s not that funny.”
“You’re stuck on an old memory. It must have something to do with your brain injury. He groveled
until you caved in and decided to take him back. You two made up.”
“Don’t lie to me” she said. “He wouldn’t have begged me for anything. He said it was my fault.”
“Nope. It’s the truth, Brianna. You were getting along real good until Carl bashed you head in.”
“Carl did it?” she asked.
“It turns out he was a serial killer. He was living with dismembered body parts.”
“That’s gross. I’m glad I was unconscious. Did he cut me up?”
“No. Nikolas got to you in time.”
“You have a weird definition for being on time. I’m dead. He was obviously running a little late.”
“So are you.”
“For what?”
“Nikolas brought you to his home. You’re in his bed now. You were in rough shape when he first
found you. He was able to use his power to breathe for you until you decided to leave him. He has been
physically breathing for you and attempting to revive you for a while now. He does not know that you
have chosen to walk away from him. He won’t give up on saving you. He will keep breathing for you.
The only way he would even stop is if you tell him you don’t want to come back to be with him. He
might let you die, but he would follow.”
“I told you t
hat…” She was suddenly overwhelmed by a flood of desperation and sadness. It was
Nikolas. He was reaching out to her.
“You hear him now don’t you?”
“No. I feel him. I think…it was true? We made up after I tried to help you find Sara. We did.” Her
heart filled up with a combination of joy and sorrow. “We really made up, but it’s too late. Is it too late?”
“No. He has kept your body alive. Go to him right now. He’s your mate. You need him as much as
he needs you.”
“I do need him. Everything feels strange. Our connection is off. How do I get to him?”
“That’s easy.” He tapped her forehead. “Close your eyes and picture him. Just think about how much
you love him and want to be with him.”
Brianna nodded. “Thank you, Demetri.” The instant she closed her eyes and conjured up an image of
Nikolas, she felt herself moving toward him. How could she forget that they had made up? She needed to
be with him. She felt a jerking sensation and a spasm in her back. The pain was horrible. Her chest was so
heavy. Something was crushing it. Every muscle in her entire body was cramping up.
~Twenty Four~
BRIANNA GASPED AS she struggled to suck air into her lungs. Her breaths were unsteady short spurts.
She wouldn’t last long. Each breath was a violent struggle. Nikolas didn’t wait. He closed his mouth over
hers and drew her breath into his lungs.
She didn’t fear him at all, but she was confused. Her soul called out to him. Nikolas!
She wouldn’t feel him touching her body, so he sent her the sensation of his arms holding her, his
love filling her. Take it easy, little one. I have you. I won’t let go. Not ever. He felt a sense of calm wash
over her. I have finally discovered true love–you. I will not give you up. He hesitated until she went
perfectly still and then he filled her lungs. Return to me and receive my eternal breath, Brianna. I belong
to you until the end of time. You belong to me. You own you my heart, my body, and my soul.
She accepted it without any indecisiveness at all. Then, she took one long-drawn-out breath on her
own, and then several slow and steady deep breaths.
I don’t understand, Nikolas. I am already with you, aren’t I?
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