His voice seemed slow to her ears, a growling rumble that reminded her of demons she’d seen in movies, as if the sound was being played far too slow. Fear beat at her, rage filled her and confusion reigned. The counselor in her stepped back to try to make sense of the jumble of emotions pouring in.
“MaryAnn,” Juliette spoke gently. “I know you’re puzzled by the things that you’re feeling, but we think we have an explanation. We think that Manolito bound you to him in the way of our people. Riordan has reached out to him on their shared path and yet Manolito resists him, fearing him to be vampire, just as you are afraid of us. He claims he has a lifemate, and here you are, in despair, grieving for a man you say you’ve never met. Does that make sense to you? Something is happening here, and for both of your sakes we need to figure out what it is.”
Riordan rubbed his temples as if they ached. There was worry in his eyes. “I fear for my brother’s safety as well as his life. He seems confused, and one cannot be confused in the rain forest. We have powerful enemies. He is in terrible danger. He trusts no one but his life-mate. If you are that woman, you are the only one who can save him.”
He stared at her with the unblinking eyes of a wild animal, shrewd and cunning and terrifying. MaryAnn shuddered and backed up until she was against the windowsill. A part of her thought they were crazy, deliberately trying to baffle her, but the counselor in her was always seeking information and adding it all up. She knew enough about life-mates from Destiny. She’d been around the Carpathian people for a while, and although she didn’t understand the bond, she knew it was strong and unbreakable.
Juliette held out her hand. “Come back into the other room and let’s try to sort this out. You don’t remember at all being alone with Manolito?”
She would remember, wouldn’t she? She’d dreamt of him coming to her. A daydream once—only a dream. He’d pulled her into his strong arms and his mouth had slid over her skin down to the swell of her breast. The spot throbbed and burned. Without thinking, she put her palm over the pulsing strawberry that wouldn’t quite heal and held the warmth to her.
She shook her head. “It wasn’t real. He was across the room at the Inn in the Carpathian Mountains, but I didn’t ever really talk to him.” He had looked at her. She’d expected his eyes to be flat and cold and empty like so many of the hunters’, but he looked…dangerous, as if he might be hunting her. Instead of being frightened as she was now, she had been secretly thrilled, because, after all, it was a fantasy.
MaryAnn followed Juliette out of the room, aware of Riordan prowling behind her like a great jungle cat. He moved in silence, as his brother had moved. She needed air; the room seemed so hot and oppressive, much like the rain forest. That didn’t make sense either. The house was well insulated and air-conditioned to comfortable coolness.
“I don’t see how I could be his lifemate. I didn’t even meet him. Wouldn’t I know? Wouldn’t he know?”
“He would know,” Riordan said. “He would be drawn to his life-mate, and if you were the one, the moment you spoke, he would see in colors and his emotions would have been restored. He would not have been able to get very far from you.” He frowned. “But he would have told us. You would have to be placed immediately under the protection of our family.”
“She was already under the protection of Gregori as well as Nicolae and Destiny,” Juliette reminded him. “He might not have thought it necessary.”
He would have thought it imperative…unless…
Riordan broke off his thought and studied MaryAnn’s face. “You said it wasn’t real. What did you mean by that?”
Color slid under her flawless skin. “I dreamt of him.”
Juliette took a deep breath. “Oh, Riordan. What’s happening? Something terrible is going on or he would be here.”
Riordan immediately was at her side, gliding so fast he was a blur, his arm slipping around her waist as he pressed kisses to her temple. “MaryAnn is here. The three of us can figure this out and we’ll find him.”
For some reason, the fact that Riordan had included her, as if she could help find a solution, eased some of the tension in MaryAnn. She blinked several times, breathing deeply to try to see past the strange image of the vampire superimposed over the couple. The incisors receded a little, leaving them with normal white teeth.
“Is he really alive?” she asked, not daring to believe.
Riordan nodded. “We all tried to hold him to us, but he was dead, by our measures as well as human, his soul already leaving his body. No one believed we could bring him back, even with the healer and the rich soil and everyone working to keep him in this world, when suddenly he was back with us. If you are his lifemate, you could be the explanation. You may have kept a piece of his soul safe with you unknowingly.”
MaryAnn opened her mouth to protest and then closed it abruptly. She knew the Carpathians weren’t human. The same rules didn’t apply to their species. She had seen things she would have thought impossible only a few short weeks ago. “But why wouldn’t I know if I was his lifemate?”
“It is our men who are imprinted with the ritual binding words,” Juliette explained. “As a precaution for the species to continue.”
“You mean so the woman can’t refuse him.”
“It is the same thing,” Riordan said. “And I doubt if he has bound you to him with the ritual words. It is more likely he has tied you together through a blood exchange.”
Her heart leapt again, then settled down to a steady drumming. She had allowed Nicolae to take her blood in order to better protect Destiny, but she had never,
never
, contemplated exchanging blood. She shook her head. “I didn’t. It wasn’t real. I wouldn’t have done that. I’m still struggling to understand and believe your world. I would never have voluntarily taken his blood.”
Juliette and Riordan exchanged another long look. “You used the words ‘it wasn’t real.’ What was this dream you spoke of?” Riordan asked.
MaryAnn pressed her hand tighter to her breast. She could still feel his mouth against her skin. She’d been outside and it had been snowing. Then later, when she’d gone back to the house and she’d been alone…Her skin felt cool and he had pushed aside her clothing. His lips had been warm and soft and so very sensuous. She hadn’t thought to push him away, only cradle his head while he drank and then…and then…
MaryAnn gasped and covered her face with both hands, shaking her head. “It wasn’t real. I wouldn’t have done something like that. It was only a dream.”
“Do you have his mark on you?” Juliette asked, her voice gentle.
“No. It’s not that. It’s not his mark. I wouldn’t exchange blood with him. Or lead him to believe I’m something I’m not. I don’t flirt. And I don’t make promises I wouldn’t keep.” That’s why she was there when she should be…somewhere else. Anywhere else.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, you know. Let me see the mark.”
MaryAnn swallowed hard, her hands reluctantly going to her blouse. She didn’t want to show Juliette. The mark was private. Right now it pulsed with heat. She moistened her lips and summoned up all of her courage, pushing the material down to reveal the large strawberry, much like a love bite, but more intense and raw. Two telltale punctures were ringed with red.
Her stomach did a funny flip. “He bit me, didn’t he? It wasn’t a dream at all.” And if he had, why did she feel more excited than betrayed?
“You are what kept my brother alive,” Riordan said, his black eyes on the mark. “As his lifemate you are under the protection of my family, a sister to be loved and cherished. You did what no other could have done.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” MaryAnn protested. “I never even spoke to the man.”
“That marks says you’re his lifemate,” Riordan reiterated.
She shook her head. “It could mean he took my blood and I was allergic to the anticoagulant. It could be a bug bite.” She almost groaned at the desperate, all too absurd suggestion, but this couldn’t be happening, not for real.
“Of course it’s frightening,” Juliette said. “It’s unexpected to all of us, but at least you know why you’ve been so upset. Lifemates cannot be away from one another long without touching minds. Reach for him.”
“I’m nobody’s lifemate, Juliette,” MaryAnn said. “I don’t even like men all that much. The ones I see and hear about on a daily basis aren’t very nice. I’m not lifemate material, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but especially not to one of the De La Cruz brothers. They’re far too difficult.”
Riordan flashed a brief smile at her. “We make up for it in other ways.”
MaryAnn couldn’t find it in her to smile back. The entire idea was absurd, but she was beginning to believe it. “In order for us to be feeling the same emotions, wouldn’t the bond have to be incredibly strong? Your brother never even really spoke to me. If I were his lifemate, wouldn’t he at least introduce himself?”
“Not if he thought you would refuse his claim,” Riordan said, ignoring Juliette’s warning look. “He might hide his intentions.”
MaryAnn frowned. “I would have refused. I have a life that’s important to me in Seattle. This isn’t my environment, nor would I want to be with a man as demanding as your brother obviously is. Of course I would have refused.”
“Which explains why he would have said nothing. Manolito would never have accepted your refusal, but you are under the protection of the prince and his second. You also are best friends with Destiny. Not only would Mikhail and Gregori stand for you, but so would Destiny’s lifemate, Nicolae, and his brother Vikirnoff as well as his lifemate, Natalya. Manolito would bide his time, stay close and wait until you were no longer surrounded by your protectors.”
MaryAnn rubbed her pounding temples. “I feel sick and dizzy. Everything burns. Is that him? Or is it me?”
“I think he is the one feeling ill. He’s still feeling the effects of the wound and the poison. He needs help fast. I touched his mind and he is very confused. He cannot tell where he is or what is real or not. He does not believe I am his brother because I did not know about his lifemate. That means he does not remember what he did or how he tied the two of you together without your consent. He’s probably wondering what happened to you and why you haven’t come to help him.”
MaryAnn sank down onto the mattress and took another deep breath. She was a practical woman; at least she liked to think so. Everything was a big mess, but if it was all true, then Manolito De La Cruz was alive and in trouble. He needed her. Lifemates aside, she couldn’t leave him alone and hurt in the rain forest any more than she could have Juliette’s sister. “Tell me what to do.”
“Reach out to him.”
She didn’t know what she had expected, but that wasn’t it. Action. Soft words. A Jeep. “Reach out to him?” she repeated. “Are you crazy? I don’t have any telepathic ability. None whatsoever. I’m not even psychic. You’ll have to do the reaching and I’ll try talking to him.”
Juliette shook her head. “You can’t be a lifemate without being psychic, MaryAnn. Gregori and Destiny both recognized your potential. With a blood exchange, Manolito would have established a private path for communication.”
“Whoa. Back up. What do you mean my potential?” Suddenly she was furious. Shaking with it. Betrayal was bitter in her mouth. “Are you telling me they manipulated me into going with them to the Carpathian Mountains because they thought I was possibly a lifemate to one of the men? Destiny? Gregori?”
Juliette sent her lifemate a silent plea for aid. She felt like she was walking through a minefield and stumbling often.
He shrugged his broad shoulders matter-of-factly.
I doubt that Destiny had any idea, but Gregori has shared MaryAnn’s blood. He would have known. We cannot afford to lose any more of our males. You know the situation is desperate. Of course Gregori would bring her to a gathering hoping she was someone’s salvation.
Juliette resisted the urge to take umbrage at his casual admission.
She will grow to love him if she is destined to be with him. That is our way of life. You certainly resisted being with me. As I recall, you hid yourself deep within your jaguar and tried to escape your fate. You are happy and content with me, Juliette, as she will be with Manolito. Time takes care of many things.
It is still unfair that a man can dictate a woman’s destiny.
It is equally unfair on the man. He has no choice either,
Riordan reminded her.
And far more to lose.
“I feel so betrayed,” MaryAnn said. “I thought Destiny knew me, understood me. You don’t do this to friends.” Hurt colored her voice, but she couldn’t help it. She had trusted Destiny, helped her to overcome her past so she could find a new life with her chosen lifemate. She had even left the excitement and sophistication of her beloved city of Seattle and headed to the remote, uncivilized forests of the Carpathian Mountains just to make certain Destiny would find happiness.
Juliette shook her head. “Destiny is new to the Carpathian society. I doubt she would have known, let alone allowed you to be placed in such a position. Gregori would have felt his protection would ensure you would not be bothered against your will. Most males believe a woman will fall in love with her lifemate. The pull between them is strong and the physical attraction is tremendous.”
“Has there ever been a man or woman who didn’t fall in love with their lifemate?” Because if Manolito was hers, she could see herself wanting to go to bed with him, but living with him was an altogether different matter.
“Like any species, we have some born not quite right. No one knows why or how it happens, but yes, there have been aberrations,” Riordan admitted. “Manolito is dedicated to his lifemate. He would never dishonor her with another woman. We have waited far longer than you could ever comprehend for our women, and, although you may think us overbearing and arrogant, we cherish and hold our women above all else.”
The sincerity in his voice made her feel a little better. And Juliette was no pushover. It was just that MaryAnn found all that testosterone a little annoying. The De La Cruz brothers would demand full surrender in all things. She couldn’t see them compromising all that much. Even the very tone of their voices put her on edge. She couldn’t imagine herself with one of them as a husband. They might be easy on the eyes, but she’d probably develop ulcers trying to be with one.