Dax brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. “I found you.”
“Because you bound me to you, our becoming lifemates would prevent you from turning,” she reiterated.
“So I thought it would. Now”—he shook his head—“I don’t know. Mitro knew Arabejila was his lifemate and still, he turned.”
That was one fact she couldn’t dispute. “But,” she felt compelled to point out, “Mitro bound Arabejila to his lost soul
after
he became vampire. They were lifemates, but he never truly claimed her until he’d deliberately chosen to give up his soul. He was already the undead. He couldn’t bring himself to kill her, that bond at least transcended his need to kill, but he wanted her to suffer. Perhaps she could have saved him if he’d claimed her before he turned.”
Dax leaned forward for a moment, and still holding her hand, he covered his face briefly. “I don’t think there was any hope of that. He was so black, Riley. So dark.”
“Did you see darkness in Riordan?” she asked. Very gently she put her hand in his hair, all those soft, thick spiked strands she loved to stroke caresses in. “He seems so devoted to his
päläfertiilam
.” His word for lifemate rolled off her tongue. She was beginning to like the sound and fuller meaning of the Carpathian description even better than the translation of “wife.” Somehow it seemed so much more.
Dax shook his head. “Still, we’re in his home. He shares these places with all of his brothers. I’m hunting Mitro, an extremely powerful vampire. He’s evolved into something I don’t understand, and that makes him even more dangerous. If I have to divide my attention between Mitro and one of these hunters we could be in trouble.”
The way he was touching her was making it difficult to think straight. His voice was hypnotic, a blend of smoke and velvet. She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You have a way of making me forget about danger, Dax. Do you really think Riordan is an enemy to us?”
“That’s good. I don’t want you to worry.”
You worry enough for all of us
, the Old One contributed.
If you’d like I can burn down the house and kill them all.
“Don’t you dare,” Riley said.
“He wouldn’t,” Dax assured her. “He’s teasing you. Riordan appears to be a good man, and very devoted to his lifemate, but that sliver of a shadow is in him. Nowhere like his eldest brother, but it’s there. He’s capable of great …”
“Violence?” Riley smiled at him. “Like you? Do you have a shadow in you?”
“Once, before all this started, Mitro said I did. He told the elders the reason I could ‘see’ into other hunters was because I carried the curse of darkness myself.”
The Old One snorted, the sound reverberating through both of their skulls.
“I don’t think he’s taking anything Mitro said very seriously,” Riley confided in a whisper, as if that would keep the dragon from hearing.
“We have company,” Dax said, his face totally expressionless, as if it had been carved in stone. Emotions could be shared with her, but no one else.
Movement caught her eye. Dax shifted subtly, putting his body slightly in front of hers, his arm sweeping across her to pin her in the deeper shadows. Jubal held the door of the terrace open for a small, very pregnant woman to precede him.
Jasmine Sangria sent them a tentative smile. “Are we intruding?”
“No, of course not,” Riley said hastily. “This is your home, and you’re very kind to share it with us.”
Jasmine, Riley had learned upon their arrival, was Riordan De La Cruz’s sister-in-law. Her sister, Juliette, was fully Carpathian, brought into the Carpathian world by her lifemate. Jasmine was not. She was jaguar, as Juliette had been before her conversion, and she’d been kidnapped and raped before her cousin and Juliette with Riordan had been able to rescue her. Juliette admitted to being overprotective of her.
Jubal pulled a chair from the patio dining set and gestured for her to sit. Jasmine made a face at him, but slipped into the chair. Jubal covered her with a quilt. It was quite beautiful, woven of special material. Jasmine bunched the material in her hands, obviously finding the quilt soothing.
She took a deep breath and sent them another shy smile. “I’ve never spent much time in a city and sometimes it feels as if I can’t breathe here.”
Juliette had informed them that Jasmine had spent her life in the rain forest.
Jubal pulled up a chair beside hers and sank into it, leaning a little toward her, looking almost protective. “That’s understandable.”
Dax threaded his fingers through Riley’s hand and held it tight against his chest. “You’re going to have that baby very soon.”
Jasmine nodded. “I certainly hope so. I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever.” She gave a little laugh, and for the first time, she sounded young instead of tense. “She kicks all the time.”
Juliette, Jasmine’s sister, came out onto the terrace carrying two glasses. She handed one to Jubal and one to her sister. “You need to stay hydrated, Jasmine.”
Jasmine made a face at her when she continued to stand over her, frowning. “I’m all right, Juliette. At this point, if I go into labor, it’s all good, right? I couldn’t stand staying indoors another minute. Jubal came with me and Dax is out here so I am perfectly safe.”
Something in Juliette’s manner alerted Dax that Juliette didn’t think Jasmine was safe in the least, but she merely shrugged, pulled out another chair and sat down. The terrace was filling up fast. Something was going on here, and that added to his uneasiness. Riordan had greeted them and left in haste. He obviously knew Gary and Jubal, but what Carpathian male would leave his lifemate and sister-in-law unprotected with an unknown hunter so close to his family? Times had certainly changed. And what emergency had drawn him from the residence?
Juliette smiled at Dax and Riley, but her smile didn’t light her eyes. “Riordan will be home any minute. I’m so sorry he had to leave abruptly.”
“Jubal, how long have you known Jasmine and Juliette?” Riley asked. He seemed so comfortable with the family, and they’d greeted both Gary and Jubal as old friends.
“We’ve made a few trips here,” Jubal said, “and they’ve always put us up in one of their homes.”
“We enjoy their company,” Jasmine said. “Speaking of, where is Gary?”
“On the phone,” Jubal answered with a little grin. “He and my sister Gabrielle talk endlessly and they’re very excited about a flower Dax found for us up on the mountain.”
“A flower?” Juliette leaned forward. “Gary and Gabrielle have been working hard to discover why we can’t carry our children. I thought it was the microbes …”
“In part,” Jubal agreed, “but Gary says that doesn’t explain everything. Both he and Gabby think there’s a combination of things that have led up to the reason infants can’t go to ground, mothers can’t carry or breast-feed and only male children were being born.”
Riley’s heart jumped. She had known the Carpathian species was on the verge of extinction, Gary had given her a brief overview, but she hadn’t considered what that would mean to her and Dax when they chose to have a baby. She wanted children. Lots of them. She had been an only child, just as her mother had been. She’d been lonely at times and envied her friends who had siblings.
We will have many children if that is your desire
, Dax assured. He brought her hand to his mouth and nibbled on her fingers, sending little darts of fire racing through her bloodstream.
You are very fertile. I am capable of having children. If there is a problem, as I understand, with the soil, I’ve been in a volcano, and the earth would let you know not to rest where there is anything that would harm you.
He had a way of speaking so matter-of-fact, with absolute calm, that she couldn’t help but believe him, the tension instantly fading away.
“The worst is carrying to term and having the child for a few months only to lose it,” Juliette said. “So many of our women had to suffer miscarriages, stillborns or losing their children in that first year.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I could bear that.”
Jasmine placed her hands protectively over her baby. “That would be so awful.”
“It isn’t going to happen to you,” Jubal assured, putting his hand on her arm, a gentle, reassuring gesture.
Jasmine remained relaxed, even with Jubal’s touch.
I saw her in his memories,
Dax told Riley.
She didn’t even like to be around men after what happened to her, but both he and Gary made a point of building a friendship with her. Jubal has two sisters, and he hated that she was so alone all the time. He’s really made an effort to spend time with her.
He’s a good man,
Riley said.
I don’t know what I would have done without the two of them, Gary and Jubal.
“I didn’t have a chance to tell you how sorry I am about your mother,” Juliette said. “A terrible loss. Gary and Jubal told us what happened.”
Meaning they knew the truth. Riley’s fingers curled in Dax’s hand. She was glad he was there beside her giving her comfort. Without being surrounded by plants and the soil, Riley felt her mother’s loss acutely. Dax slipped his arm around her, pulling her beneath his shoulder.
“Sometimes I feel like our world has been turned into a killing ground,” Jasmine said. “I dread going back there with my baby, but I don’t like the city.”
“Why don’t you recoup in the Carpathian Mountains?” Jubal suggested. “Solange is there right now with Dominic. We could take good care of you there. And your cousin would be thrilled to see the new baby.”
Juliette stirred, scowling at Jubal, obviously not caring for the idea.
Jasmine’s face lit up. “That’s a good idea. I never thought about going somewhere altogether different, but I’d love to visit that area. It looks so beautiful, and it’s remote enough that I think I could breathe there.”
“Riordan won’t be able to get away from here for a while,” Juliette cautioned. “Months maybe. We’ll take you as soon as we can though, if that’s what you want.”
Jasmine reached out her hand to her sister. “I’m quite capable of going by myself, Juliette. You can’t spend your entire life worried about me. You’ve already spent far too many years doing just that. I’m all grown up.”
“You’re my family, Jasmine,” Juliette said. “I like being close to you. It’s important to me. If you think for one moment you’re a burden, you’re not and never have been. I’d hoped you and Luiz …” Her voice trailed off.
Jubal scowled darkly, sitting up straight, all that languid cool dissipating. “Luiz? Who the hell is Luiz?”
Uh oh. I think Jubal has a thing for little Miss Jasmine
, Riley confided, amusement spilling into Dax’s mind.
Mr. Calm, Cool and Collected has been hiding a secret, biding his time and getting ready to swoop in and get the girl when she isn’t looking
.
“Luiz is just a friend,” Jasmine said. “He and Manolito are friends,” she added in explanation to Jubal. “He was jaguar, like Juliette and me. He did his best to help us, and the other males had turned on him. He’s Carpathian now.”
“You could be Carpathian,” Juliette insisted. “Anytime you want …”
Jasmine was already shaking her head. “I just want to be me for a little while. So much has happened and I’d just like to have a little peace and enjoy my baby.”
“Luiz would be so perfect,” Juliette said. “Are you certain? He understands the jaguar in you and he knows our past. He’d be good to you.”
“I don’t love him,” Jasmine returned gently. Firmly. “I’m sorry, Juliette. I know I must frustrate you, but when I settle down with a man, I want what you have. Real love. Real commitment.”
“Then you need a Carpathian.”
“Are you saying human males aren’t capable of real love for their women? Because I’m going to tell you right now, that isn’t so,” Jubal demanded, an edge to his voice. “My father is totally devoted to my mother and he always has been.”
“I have to admit,” Riley chimed in, “my father was devoted to my mother as well. We knew several couples who had been together well over fifty years. That should count for something.”
“I’m sorry,” Juliette apologized immediately. “I know that sounded very wrong. I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that the idea of me outliving Jasmine is upsetting to me.” She ducked her head, looking down at her hands. “We both have lost so much. There’s only Solange and Jasmine on my side of the family.”
Jasmine held out her hand to her sister. “It’s always been the three of us. Now we’ll be four. I haven’t ruled out converting yet, but I want to know if my baby is capable of converting before I even consider it.”
Jubal sank back in his chair, looking for all the world as if he hadn’t a care. Jasmine glanced at him and then down at her hands.
There’s trouble right there,
Dax predicted.
He doesn’t like the idea of her converting.
Both of his sisters have,
Riley pointed out.
Couldn’t he? He must have the same ability. Can’t a male be converted?
I would assume so. Obviously this Luiz was. I caught impressions of him as a jaguar.
Dax turned his head just as Juliette did. Riley felt him frown.
Riordan is back and he is very unhappy. He’s asking Gary to get Jasmine inside.
Riley glanced at Juliette. She blinked back tears and kept her face carefully averted from her sister. Definitely something was wrong.
Gary emerged from the house. “Jasmine,” he called, waving at the others. “I’ve been without a worthy chess opponent for a long time. Come put me out of my misery.”
“Hey!” Jubal objected.
Jasmine smirked at Jubal. “You haven’t been holding up your end of the chess matches?”
“Watch yourself, woman,” Jubal cautioned. “Don’t be throwing out challenges you aren’t going to be able to win.”
“Any time, any place,” Jasmine offered. She laughed and held out her hand to him. “Stop being lazy and help me up. I’m a beached whale.”
“You’re beautiful and you know it. Stop fishing for compliments,” Jubal said, lazily coming to his feet. He drew her up, not moving back so that when she stood, her body was up against his. He rested his palm on her swollen belly. “You’re not even very big.”