Authors: Gabrielle Bisset
The
idea to read their thoughts crossed Terek's mind, but he quickly dismissed that
with embarrassment as a betrayal to his friendship with Sasa and his respect
for Thane. Ashamed, he turned away from the scene and ran headlong into someone.
Vasilije.
"Taking
to being a Peeping Tom, my friend?"
"Vasilije?
You're back? Were you able to save your vampires once Saint found you?"
Vasilije
raised one eyebrow and looked at Terek suspiciously. "Terek, you're full
of questions. Very unlike you. Yes, we did, but if you don't mind, I'd like to
relax. If you'd like to sit and talk, I'll tell you how we did."
As
Vasilije moved past him to open the study door, he stopped dead in his tracks.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Then what happened next occurred in a
flash. Vasilije let out a deep groan and in a heartbeat was on top of Thane,
fangs bared. Thane stared up at him stunned, as if he'd been abruptly awakened
from a dream, and Sasa stood watching it all as Thane's blood slowly dripped
out of her open mouth.
Terek
raced to pull the two men apart, sure Vasilije was just seconds away from
tearing out Thane's jugular. Stronger than Vasilije, he pulled him back and
held him as Thane jumped to his feet holding his hands in front of him as if to
surrender.
From
behind them, Sasa said quietly, "Don't do this. He did nothing
wrong."
Vasilije
spun in his arms to face her and growled again. "I'll deal with you in a
minute, love."
Sasa's
eyes grew wide. "You'll deal with me?"
Vasilije's
voice was like ice when he spoke to her. "Yes. Deal with you."
Turning
back toward Thane, his cold demeanor faded away instantly. "You realize by
vampire law I can have you punished for this."
Terek
prepared to hold Vasilije back from lunging at Thane again. Something in his look
told him what he intended to say wasn't going to help the situation. And when
he spoke, Terek knew his gut was right.
"Assuming
there was anyone to dole out that sentence, I doubt they'd punish me for
helping a vampire saddled with a negligent sire."
For
one of the few times in all the years he'd known his Romanian friend, Terek
feared he wouldn't be able to control his temper. To harm Thane would be a
mistake all of them would dearly pay for.
"Thane,
leave now. Vasilije, you need to calm down."
Thane
made the mistake of first looking past them toward Sasa before he left.
"What
the fuck are you looking at her for?" Vasilije said in a voice full of
venom.
"Thane,
go," Terek ordered as he tightened his hold on Vasilije. He pushed against
his arms a few times, but Terek held him fast. "Vasilije, I need you to
calm down."
Turning
to face him, Vasilije's expression was one of betrayal. "And you knew
about this, my old friend?"
"You
left Sasa in a difficult position. What was she...?"
"Don't
talk about me as if I wasn't here!" Sasa screamed.
Both
men looked at her, and Terek saw the hurt to match the pain he'd heard in her
voice.
"I'm
not a fucking child! Speak to me!"
"You
don't want to know what I have to say, love."
"Why
not? What did you expect me to do? You left without a thought for how I would
find blood. Terek offered to give me his. Would you have attacked him if I said
yes?"
Vasilije
said nothing and sat down in his chair. As Sasa stood her ground, he stared
straight ahead, silent.
"Thane
is my friend. He wanted to help someone who he believed was important to a
fellow Son. And you treat him like he's an enemy."
Finally,
after a long, uncomfortable silence, Vasilije said flatly, "You're my
vampire, Sasa."
"So
I'm supposed to do without because you can't be bothered to remember me when
your other vampires need you?"
Still
staring straight ahead, he answered, "I'm not going to debate this with
you, pet."
Sasa
picked up a frosted glass globe and threw it across the room. It hit the corner
of a bookcase and shattered into pieces. Stunned, Terek looked at her and saw
in her face just how angry she was.
"I
will not apologize for your treatment of me! I needed blood and someone who
cares about both of us helped me."
Terek
waited for Vasilije to say something—anything—but he stayed silent. Sasa stood
still as a statue, but tears welled up in her eyes. Her sire's icy demeanor was
even more hurtful than his rage from just minutes earlier.
As
the seconds ticked by, Terek felt like an intruder but a part of him somewhere
deep inside feared what might happen if he left. Vasilije adored Sasa. Of this,
he was sure. But he was a possessive sire and man who'd just caught the woman
he loved drinking from another man. He didn't need to read his mind to know
underneath the anger was jealousy and a lot of it.
"Please
don't act like I'm not here, Vasilije," Sasa said breaking the silence.
Vasilije
looked up at her and for a long moment said nothing. When he finally spoke, the
chill was gone from his voice and the Vasilije who loved her had returned.
"Sasa,
you're mine. My vampire. My woman. That means you only have my blood."
Tears
began to flow down her cheeks. "And if you forget me and leave me like you
did?"
Vasilije
took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. "Then I'm a bad sire who doesn't
deserve the loyalty I expect."
Terek
stood stunned at his friend's answer. Never had he heard Vasilije so contrite
with anyone, not even Brandon and Teagan. As she cried, Sasa smiled at his
words, and when he held out his hand, she placed hers in his and looked down as
he gently squeezed it.
"But
that doesn't mean the male is okay with what the sire may have to accept."
Taking
her chin in his hand, he pulled her mouth to his and kissed her. "I love
you, Sasa. I'm sorry. Wait for me upstairs. I'll be up as soon as I finish
talking to Terek."
As
the door closed leaving the two men alone, Vasilije sighed deeply and turned to
face Terek. "I'm sorry, my friend. I don't know how you handle all your
women. I only have Sasa and I make a mess of it. What's your secret?"
"No
secret. I don't love any of them like you love Sasa."
Vasilije
laughed. "Nearly four hundred years I lived without it, and now after a
few months, I'm so lost I can't help myself but forgive her."
"And
Thane?"
A
darkness came over Vasilije's expression. "He doesn't get the benefit of
me being in love with him."
"I
understand, but he meant no harm. She's really his only friend here. He wanted
to help."
Nodding,
Vasilije grunted and then seemed to move on from the night's excitement.
"Sit down and let me tell you how Saint and I did. He really came
through."
"I'm
happy to hear you saved your vampires. I wish I could stay, but I need to get
back to Spain. I've got to deal with an issue with one of my own
vampires."
"You?
When was the last time you sired? Christ, if you're having problems with one of
yours, there's no hope for the rest of us."
"She's
a new one. I need to get home to take care of things."
Vasilije
sat back in his chair and grinned. "You've seen what happens when you love
them, my friend. Don't say I didn't warn you."
Chapter Twelve
The
villa was bustling with activity when Terek arrived, the sights and sounds of a
happy household surrounding him. The fragrant smell of lamb roasting filled his
nose, and the warm feeling of home filled him. As he looked around his house,
he was happy. This was what life should be like.
A
good meal and the comforts of home would have to wait, however. He was a man
with a plan, a man on a mission. Whatever it took, he'd find the answer to why
he couldn't read Ilona's thoughts. Once that problem was solved, figuring out
how to deal with her would be so much easier, and they could move on to far
more pleasurable times together.
"Terek,
when did you get back?"
Jasmine
pressed a kiss onto his cheek and smiled. "You look happier than I've seen
you in far too long. Good news with the Sons?"
"Yes,
but that's not only what's improved my mood. I'm taking Ilona to Morocco. I think it will do her good."
Terek
and Jasmine walked arm and arm toward the family room as he explained his plan
to turn things around with his newest vampire. Not only would his efforts
reveal what was in her mind that was blocking him, but he'd keep her out of
reach of the hunters tracking Sampson's vampires. If they thought he'd
succeeded in turning her, they'd be looking for her.
"It
sounds as if you've thought this all out, Terek."
He'd
seen the skeptical look on her face before. "You don't believe I
have?"
"Oh,
I do. But if she's the one meant for you, as I suspect she is, reading her
thoughts will be little more than a way to stroke your ego."
"Why
is it everyone keeps referring to her as 'the one' as if you can see it but I
can't?"
Jasmine
smiled knowingly. "You can't see it? How your eyes are so much brighter since
you brought her here? Don't tell me you haven't felt something different with
her. I know you have."
"It's
called frustration. I don't think I've ever met anyone who fought me like she
does."
Jasmine
pulled him to her side. "It's called she's the one you've waited for all
these years. I feel it in my bones, and admit it, you do too."
"If
only she was like you, Jasmine, I wouldn't need to read her mind."
"You
rely too much on that gift, Terek, and now you've run into a woman whose
thoughts you can't use to your advantage. Has it occurred to you that this is a
good thing?"
Jasmine
and Terek stopped in the hall outside the family room, but before he could
argue his point that his gift, as she called it, was a good and not a bad, he
was bombarded with another's thoughts. Looking left and right, he searched for
Carlie, whose thoughts flooded into his mind. She appeared at the far end of
the hallway for a moment and quickly vanished from sight when she saw him.
By
the time he caught up with her, her expression was riddled with guilt. Even if
it wasn't, he'd know what was bothering her. It was as if she was screaming it
at the top of her lungs.
"I'm
sorry, Terek. She's my friend and I couldn't stand by and watch her be
sick."
Carlie
hung her head and stared down at the floor. The similarity to what he'd just
been through in Romania wasn't lost on him, and he pulled her close to him in
an embrace. Carlie hadn't done anything truly wrong in helping Ilona any more
than Thane had in helping Sasa.
Brushing
the hair away from her face, he said, "Don't worry. You did nothing
wrong."
Looking
up at him, she smiled broadly. "She just needs some time to get used to
us. She's a sweet girl."
"Just
like you."
Carlie
hugged him tightly to her, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you,
Terek. You're the best sire!"
When
she left him, he was happy to know that's what she really believed. If he could
be that to her, he could be that for Ilona.
Hoping
to begin that transformation, he went to Ilona's room, but she wasn't there. He
checked the kitchen, the courtyard, but there was no sign of her. As he raced
from room to room, he searched for any sense that she was still in the house,
but there was none.
Ilona
was gone.
Because
she was such a new vampire, he had little chance of knowing exactly where she
was. Storming out into the night, he began to search Cocentaina for her, hoping
that Sampson had found her somewhere nearby that night.
Up
streets and down alley ways he walked, but she wasn't anywhere. When he'd
searched every place in Cocentaina, he moved out to the countryside. His mind
was flooded with panic. She was alone, a vampire new to his world and without
her sire. If she grew hungry again, she might innocently attack a human to
slake her need for blood. Worse, she might be found by the hunter who killed
Sampson and taken from him.
Damn
it!
If
only he could hear her thoughts, he might be able to find her. His eyes scanned
the fields and hills looking for any sign of a blond woman. Each time he saw
anything that appeared to resemble her, he raced toward it only to find it
wasn't her.
He
knew this countryside like the back of his hand, but as the minutes slipped by,
he began to lose faith he'd ever find her. Whatever happened to her was his
fault, and the real fear that she'd been taken from this world settled into his
heart now. It made him sick to think his carelessness had led to her being hurt
or killed by the hunter.
Terek
stopped and closed his eyes. Looking up to the heavens above, he silently
prayed for something, anything to help him. A sign that she was alive was all
he needed. Opening his eyes, he saw a shooting star streak across the sky. It
was superstitious, but he'd take it if it allowed him even the tiniest hope
that she was safe.
As
he marched through the countryside, he thought about why she'd leave. The fact
was no matter what he'd done, she wasn't happy. Maybe she'd never be happy as a
vampire. But he had to try to show her the life she had now was more than she
believed.
That
she was more than she believed.
He
crested a grassy hill and in the glen below he saw a cluster of houses. As he
walked closer, he saw a singular figure standing outside the window of one.
They hid in the shadows watching the family inside.
It
was Ilona.
Quietly
padding up behind her, he stopped next to her and saw the sadness in her face.
This was her house. Her family she'd been forced to leave behind.