She wanted to chase after him. Call him back. Her lungs seized and her heart stuttered. She knew she didn't want a Carpathian male. All of her life she had known what people really felt, really thought-and most of it wasn't good. Gabriel and Francesca gave her respite, provided a safe haven, but Dimitri would take that from her. She took a deep breath and turned away from the path he'd taken.
«I want to go home, Francesca,» she said softly, feeling a coward. «Please take me home.»
«Of course, honey.» Francesca gathered her close, cape and all, and took to the sky, leaving it to Gabriel to shield them from prying eyes.
«Far away,» Skyler murmured, «back to Paris.» She turned her face up to the snow floating down in endless silence. The world seemed filled with sparkling gems as the moonlight glinted off the ice crystals and snowflakes. She focused on the treetops and the pristine surfaces as they flew to the house, Gabriel close behind them.
«The baby always soothes you,» Gabriel said. «Why don't you go see how she's doing?» Their trusted housekeeper-nanny had come with them and was with the children during the day. He kept his hand on Francesca to keep her from stealing away from him.
Skyler kissed them both and, still wrapped in the hooded cape, went to pick up Tamara and hold her close. The minute she was out of the room, he turned to his lifemate with a deep scowl of impatience.
«Did you see that? Did you see him kiss her? Touch her? He did not simply touch her skin, he left his mark on her. I will not stand for this, Francesca.»
«Gabriel.» She rubbed his arm gently. «He walked away.»
«He didn't walk away. He marked her, he gave her blood, he took hers. It may not have been an exchange, but you and I both know he has imparted a warning to every other male to leave her be.»
«As he should. As you or any other male would have done with your lifemate.»
Gabriel frowned. «She should have a full childhood. He can wait two hundred years just
as all Carpathians did in the past. Sixteen. Who ever heard of such a thing?»
«Savannah was but twenty-three when Gregori claimed her,» Francesca reminded him. «It is a different world and Skyler is not fully Carpathian. If he waits two hundred years, she might be dead.»
Gabriel scowled. «She will be brought fully into our world. She is our daughter.»
«We said it was her decision. The blood exchanges were to help her overcome the trauma, not to take away her choice. You're sounding as bad as Dimitri.»
«She is our daughter. I am not about to let her be foolish out of fear. I refuse to lose her to human aging or that inconsiderate lout, who, by the way, is not nearly good enough for her. She is ours, Francesca. I love her as much as I love Tamara, and she is under my protection. All this freedom you keep talking about is ridiculous. We all live under certain rules, and Skyler does as well.»
«Dimitri showed great restraint in not doing a full blood exchange with her. He could have taken advantage and did not. Our women, until Savannah, do not become sexually mature so quickly. She is, Gabriel, whether you like it or not.» Francesca held up her hand when he would have protested. «Of course she's too young to be bound to him, but that doesn't mean that technically it couldn't happen. She has to overcome her past and who knows if she is going to be able to do that. She has scars in her mind that even I can't erase. I can't even find her memories of her childhood before the atrocities started. He has to know that. He has to be prepared to be gentle and kind and patient with her. It's inevitable that they will be together, Gabriel.»
He turned away from her, fists clenched. As he turned, she caught the flash of fangs and he suddenly opened his hands-his fingers curling into lethal claws. Gabriel threw back his head and roared with rage. The sound shook the house and in the next room, Tamara began to cry. He whirled back to face Francesca. «She is not going to be forced by this-this werewolf into anything.»
Francesca gasped at the insult. «You're acting like a crazy man, Gabriel. Is this how it will be with all of our daughters?»
«No daughter of mine is going to be forced into anything.» He turned back to her, black eyes blazing with anger.
«Like I was?» Francesca pinned him with her gaze.
«That is entirely different.»
«Why? Because it was you? Gabriel, you have to be reasonable about this. We have to handle this right for both of them. Skyler isn't going to be able to accept him, especially if you act like a crazy father sharpening your fangs.»
«Gabriel? Francesca? Is everything all right?» Skyler stepped into the room carrying the baby. «Tamara is distressed. She's never heard her father upset like this before-and neither have I.» She looked about to cry. «Are you fighting over me? You never fight. Never. I'll do whatever you want me to do.»
Francesca went to her immediately and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders, baby and all. «Of course we argue, Skyler. Just not out loud. I'm sorry we upset you. Adults often have differences of opinions.»
«We wouldn't if you'd agree with everything I say,» Gabriel groused.
Francesca rolled her eyes at Skyler and flashed a small half smile. «Ignore him. I'm always right and we both know it. And right now, we have things to do that are fun. Fun, Gabriel.» She flashed him a small warning look. «Skyler, come help me make these gingerbread houses for tonight's dinner. Gabriel is going to help us.»
Gabriel took a deep, calming breath, forcing the air to move through his lungs, to remove the swirling rage that seemed to boil in his veins and churn in his gut. He breathed it away and tried to find his center. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Skyler further or get the baby crying.
«That's blackmail,» he grumbled, but winked at Skyler. He held out his arms for the baby, took her and bent to kiss the top of Skyler's head. «We were not fighting over you, little human chickie, only over what is best for you. And it was not a fight, simply a heated discussion. We are both in agreement. No man is ever going to be good enough for you and you need to stay with us forever.»
Skyler's look of alarm faded and she burst into laughter. «Forever?! think by the time I'm eight hundred you would want to throw me out.»
«Never, baby,» Francesca assured her, brushing back strands of hair from Skyler's face. She touched one of the crescent shaped scars that had failed, even with Carpathian blood, to heal. And Skyler's worst scars were where no one would ever see. «You will always be our beloved daughter.»
«You want to lick the frosting bowl instead of giving it to me, don't you?» Skyler teased.
«Too much sugar for you,» Francesca said, laughing. «Come on, we don't have a lot of time to put this together. I hope the instructions are easy. I've never actually constructed a gingerbread house before and Raven wanted several to use as the centerpieces for the tables.»
«The pressure is on,» Gabriel taunted. He kissed Tamara and winked. «Let's see how the female members of the household do.»
«Like you're going to get out of helping us,» Skyler said, grabbing his hand and tugging. «I'm going to paint your face with frosting while I'm at it. Tamara will love that, won't you,
baby girl?»
The anger was gone, but apprehension at the future had taken its place. Gabriel pretended reluctance as his lifemate and daughters dragged him into the kitchen, laughter bubbling around them and driving away a little bit of the fear of losing them.
Skyler entered the kitchen, inhaling the aroma of gingerbread. The pieces were already shaped into the walls and roof of the houses. They just had to put them together.
There was no warning at all. As she pulled the various colored frostings from the refrigerator, devastating sorrow nearly drove her to her knees. She kept the door open to prevent Francesca and Gabriel from seeing the tears welling in her eyes. Grief was sharp and painful-a blade cutting into her heart. Her throat swelled as the sorrow seemed to expand and take over every cell in her body until she wanted to weep uncontrollably. Rage crept in, dark and terrible, a savage need for ve
ngeance, a need to strike back-to kill. The feeling was so strong, her hands shook and she dropped one of the bowls, shattering it.
«Skyler?» Francesca was there in a moment, wrapping her arm around Skyler's waist and pulling her away from the glass.
The frosting was white, but the bowl had been red and with the shards embedded in the icing, it looked to Skyler like bloodstained snow. She felt the urge to run to the window and check that no one was hurt outside. Her breath caught in her throat and she pressed a hand to her aching heart. Not just anyone-Dimitri. She had connected to him-she was certain of it-and he was suffering.
«Francesca? I have to find him. I have to find Dimitri.» Her voice was barely a whisper. She had no idea tears streamed down her face until Francesca touched her cheeks. «He's– it's so terrible. I can't explain it. I have to go to him. You have to go to him and ease his suffering.»
«I'm sorry, baby, I can only ease your suffering. He has to find a way to live with the emotions he is now feeling. He had knowledge before, but could not feel emotion.» She leaned close to Skyler to murmur softly, to ease her burden, «I can provide distance for you and it will help.»
Skyler abruptly pulled away. «No.» She shook her head. «You and Gabriel always shield me. Not this time. If I did this to him, I want to be able to feel it as well. I need to know these things, Francesca. I am already Carpathian in my heart. I need knowledge as well as emotion.»
Chapter 5
Mikhail streamed through the forest-a white vapor trail concealed by the snow– staying high up in the trees as he tracked the wolf loping across the ground beneath him. Mikhail could see that, in spite of taking the form of the wolf, Dimitri was in trouble. The
wolf paused every now in then, shuddering in pain, the shaggy fur, usually so shiny with health and strength, dull and wet with sweat. In spite of the animal form, waves of grief poured off the man, and to Mikhail's horror, small beads of blood were left behind in the paw prints in the stark white snow.
Mikhail dropped down through the canopy to fall more gently with the drift of the snowflakes as he approached the Carpathian male cautiously. Dimitri had gone through hell in the forests of Russia with his beloved wolves. Hunted by vampire and mortals alike, pursued by poachers and superstitious people, he had faced endless centuries of protecting both humans and wolves alone without the comfort of his homeland-the soil-or its people.
The wolf stopped running and stood with sides heaving, head hanging and blood-red tears dripping into the snow. He suddenly threw his head back and howled his unrelenting sorrow to the heavens and whatever deities might hear him. As the mournful notes faded into the night, he resumed his own shape, the wolf falling away to reveal the man. Dimitri covered his face as he sank down onto a boulder.
«You are feeling her pain,» Mikhail said softly. «It is both a miracle and a curse for you.»
Dimitri sprang up, whirling to face the prince, his fangs exposed in a snarl, his eyes glowing with red flickers of flame. He stood in a fighters stance, hands up, the air around them charged with electricity-with danger. «I had no idea I was not alone,» Dimitri said. «I would not have displayed such emotion.»
«Allow me to summon Gregori to you,» Mikhail offered. «He could help to ease this suffering.»
«No one eased it for her,» Dimitri growled. «I knew when they laid their filthy hands on her and I knew when they hurt her, and beat her and cut her. I even knew when they burned her, but I never felt it. Not the pain, not the rage, not her despair. When I touched her, drew her into my arms and merged my spirit with hers, it was there, behind the wall Francesca and Gabriel built to distance her from it, but it was all there and this time-God help me, Mikhail-this time I felt it all. Every agony, every humiliation, every depravity. The rage and guilt and I heard her begging-pleading-for someone to save her. Where was I?»
«You were doing your duty, Dimitri, as all of us must. Skyler is strong and grows stronger every day. I do not pretend to understand why some men brutalize women and children, I will never be able to comprehend such a thing, but I do know it is common. She is safe now, and happy. Gabriel and Francesca are seeing to her education, and eventually they will bring her wholly into our world.»
Dimitri rubbed his hand over his face. «When I saw her, she looked an angel, Mikhail. I never knew what that meant when I heard the description, but there is purity there and goodness. I need her. The darkness is closing in on me and I fear my ability to do the honorable thing.»
«Every one of us has moments of weakness, Dimitri. Skyler is your lifemate and as such, you must do what is right for her. Survive and maintain until such time as she is able to come to you. Work with Gabriel and Francesca, not against them. Kidnapping her or binding her will only hurt you both in the end, and I think you know that. At least you have hope where so many others have nothing.»
«Hope? When she is a child and I must return to the emptiness of my existence? When I know if I stay I will claim her? When I can feel every brutality inflicted on her and am helpless to take it away?» Dimitri sank once more down onto the boulder and shook his head. «I am lost, Mikhail.»
Mikhail crouched down beside him. «You cannot be lost. She must live with what happened to her and as her lifemate, so must you.»
«Shamed for all eternity that I could not protect her?»
«You are feeling rage-impotent rage-on your behalf, not hers. You should be able to extract vengeance, mete out justice, and because there is only the aftermath, the burden and scars of these terrible crimes, you rail to the heavens for your inability to protect her. She was a child and you were a thousand miles away. You did not know of her existence. You are a hunter of the vampire and you know duty and honor. Behave in an honorable manner. Court her as she deserves. Allow her to heal with Francesca and Gabriel that she might come to you wholly and of her own free will. That is the gift that you can give her-and it is much more than most of us have given our lifemates.»
Dimitri dragged in a deep breath. «I used to stare up at the stars each night and imagine that she was somewhere in the world looking at the same stars. I tried to picture her, to build an image in my head, but she was so elusive. And then I looked at her with her soft skin and her beautiful eyes and knew I could never have conjured her up, no matter how vivid my imagination.»
«Will you allow Gregori to aid you?» Mikhail repeated.
Dimitri ran both hands through his dark, sweat-damp hair. «I have to work this out in my own way, Mikhail. I have been alone many centuries now and it is difficult for me to interact with anyone-even my own people. I spend much time in the form of a wolf, running free with my pack.»
«There is danger in that-taking on the wild ways.»
Dimitri nodded. «If it becomes too big a burden, I will seek the Dark One. I cannot stay away from her while I am here.»
«Do not provoke Gabriel.»
«He should not provoke me. I am no longer the shy boy he thinks me. That boy is long gone from this world.» Dimitri spread out his hands and curled his fingers into two tight
fists. «I am a killer and damned for all time. She saw that in me, you know. She sensed the darkness and retreated.»
«You are a hunter. One of my best,» Mikhail corrected. «Never think any different. Skyler is now your responsibility and she is tied to your fate. You cannot meet the dawn nor can you embrace evil. You must endure until she is old enough-and strong enough to accept your claim on her.» He straightened and looked up at the sky. «I am going to see Julian Savage. He was your boyhood friend. Perhaps you would care to accompany me?» His teeth flashed white, but the smile never reached his eyes. He could feel sorrow for Dimitri and try to aid him, but he could never forget that Dimitri was a danger and always would be until he had bound his lifemate to him. «I thought he, of all Carpathians, would most enjoy knowing I intend to see that Gregori wears the ridiculous red Santa Claus suit.»
«Julian always loved a good prank,» Dimitri admitted, «but I will visit him later whe
n I am in more control. Isn't his lifemate kin to Gregori?»
Mikhail nodded. «Desari is Gregori's younger sister. She's very talented.»
«Have you met the man who kept them all alive when we thought they were lost to us?» Dimitri asked. «He must be a powerful Carpathian.»
Mikhail nodded. «Ah, Darius. Elusive. Quiet. Says what he means. Few would ever think to cross him. He is much like his brothers. Confident in his abilities and powers. It is interesting to witness the Daratrazanoff brothers together. There is no jostling for leadership. Each is his own man, yet blends well with the others. It is a strong lineage.»
«I heard Dominic of the Dragonseekers had returned.»
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