Once we met, my love, we both knew our connection could never be undone. I want this with all my heart. I want you with all my heart. I know I’m ready. I would follow you anywhere, Dimitri. I would walk on fire to get to you.
How can you be so certain?
Skyler crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at the branches above her head. The forest was preparing for nightfall and the birds were returning to their roosts. She was fully prepared to take the next step in her life—her biggest step.
Today I met a stranger in the forest. I was alone with a man I didn’t know. He was big and strong and looked very tough. Before I actually saw him, I felt his presence and knew he watched me. For a moment, I was that terrified child again, helpless and hopeless and wanting to slip deep into my mind where no one could harm me.
Sívamet, I am so sorry.
Dimitri wanted to shake down the very trees holding him prisoner to get to her. His Skyler. She deserved to always feel safe.
No, it was a good thing. I knew who I was. I’m Skyler, lifemate to Dimitri. I knew then that I could brave anything—even my past—in order to get to you. I am your lifemate, and I will be all things you need as you already are to me.
She knew she was committing to a physical relationship with him—that was part of being a lifemate. She meant what she said, she would brave anything for him, learn anything for him. He was already part of her. She had found on this journey of awakening that she was beginning to know the signs of physical attraction.
When he spoke to her, his voice was like thick molasses moving slowly through her body, touching nerve endings she’d never known she had. That attraction had been building over time. Sometimes she found she just waited for that one note in his voice her entire body reacted to.
Dimitri turned her argument over and over in is mind. Everything she said was true. They were already connected. No other pair of Carpathians could span the distances they could. They already needed to touch one another’s minds continually. He tried to block out the pain, to think clearly, so in this, he could do the right thing. Explain everything to her. Let her see the truth of what their life together could be before she made the ultimate decision.
You have to be certain, and before you make up your mind, there are other things you need to know, reasons the Lycans have condemned me. Those reasons will affect you as my lifemate. I am no longer Carpathian. I have become more. Something different.
Whatever you are, I will be.
That is your loyalty to me as well as your youth talking. You need to know the consequences. You need to have all the facts before you make up your mind. Please. Listen to me and then really give it thought.
Skyler watched a leaf floating to the ground. A journey. The leaf had lived out its existence one way and now was free-falling, trusting the next journey would be the right one.
I am listening, my love, with an open mind. Please keep your mind open as well.
The Lycans call what I am the Sange rau. The literal translation is “bad blood.” One such as me is very difficult to stop—or kill. The thing about this transition, Skyler, is that it continues to mutate. I don’t know what will happen if I try to convert you. I doubt I will take that chance. Someone else may have to bring you fully into my world.
Skyler frowned, her fingers idly drumming on her thigh as she turned the information he’d given her over and over in her mind. She could see why Dimitri would be reluctant. He had no idea of the future or what he was offering her. Male Carpathians didn’t like other males around their women much, but their relationship was different and had been different almost from the beginning. Dimitri accepted her friends, Josef and Paul, treating them as younger brothers. He knew how she felt about them; she held nothing away from him when she opened her mind to his.
I know many Carpathians, Dimitri. I’ve been given two blood exchanges. One more will be enough for a conversion. Gabriel and Francesca feared, because our presence drew the vampire, that I would need to be saved in an emergency. I’m not afraid of the conversion,
she assured him with absolute confidence.
Lifemates exchange blood. It is part of our physical relationship and one we cannot deny. Eventually, over time, you would become as I am.
Do you really think that frightens me?
No, because you do not yet know what can happen. The Lycans all believe that the Sange rau must be destroyed. They very well could be planning a war right now over this issue. You will be hunted and hated. The Carpathians call us Hän ku pesäk kaikak. The actual translation is “Guardian of all.” That distinguishes the Carpathian/Lycan from the vampire/wolf. The Lycans refuse to acknowledge a difference. They believe that no chances should be taken and anyone with mixed blood should be destroyed.
Why?
A single Sange rau nearly wiped out their entire species, centuries ago.
Skyler studied the leaf as the wind gusted, taking it first one direction and then spinning it in a different one. The leaf appeared to be dancing. She lifted her hand idly and began to direct the dance rather absently, the sound of the breeze playing through the leaves creating music.
Xavier, the most hated and yet powerful of all mages, nearly did the same to the Carpathian species,
she reminded him.
And yet, do you know what I found out, Dimitri? I feared that side of me. I often tried to deny that he was related to me in any way. In fact, so much so that I have avoided any real relationship with my birth father, Razvan, because I couldn’t bear the knowledge that mage blood ran in my veins. But I found, through this entire event, that being mage is a good thing. Having those gifts to be used for good is a gift. What you are is a gift to the entire world.
It is my Lycan blood that allows them to torture me.
It is your mixed blood that has kept you alive when no one else could have possibly survived this long. They expected you to die long ago, Dimitri, you know that’s the truth. They would have done better to kill you outright. What you are is a testimony to what can be used for good.
There is uncertainty of the future.
Skyler laughed softly, sharing her amusement with him. The leaf still continued on its journey, its brief dance only delaying the inevitable—as Dimitri was simply delaying the inevitable.
The future is always uncertain, my love. Especially now. I want this, Dimitri, now, before whatever happens tonight, whether we succeed or not. I will follow you wherever you go. We cannot be undone. Please make me yours.
She meant every single word. She was certain. Absolutely certain that this was the right time for her—for him. And if they were killed in this rescue attempt, their souls would be bound.
Dimitri had envisioned an entirely different scenario. He would have held her in his arms, in front of her parents and best friends. He wanted a celebration for her, a moment in her life that transcended every traumatic event. He wanted elegant clothes and her favorite flowers, a party of dancing and laughter, their joy shared with their families. It was more of the human tradition, but she talked of such things with her school friends.
He didn’t want to be hanging in some tree like a criminal, his body torn and starved. God only knew what he looked like—or would look like if she managed to get the chains off of him. He would never again be that elegant, handsome man she had grown so used to. He didn’t want to be far away from her with Lycans surrounding him or have her in danger while sneaking through the woods in a rescue attempt, certainly not when he bound them together.
He searched her mind. There were no doubts there. No regrets. She was different—a grown woman—and she was coming to him as a woman. This was her choice. He had promised her long ago that it would always be her choice.
Skyler knew the exact moment he capitulated. She felt his heart race. Swell with love and pride. The warmth of his love surrounded her, swamped her, filled even that dark space in her mind where she hid when she couldn’t stop what was being done to her body. He was there, seeing it all, healing her. Sharing her worst moments and holding her in his arms while he did. He was Dimitri, her private phenomenon.
You have always been mine, Skyler Rose. Always. Te avio päläfertiilam.
He translated the ancient words for her.
You are my lifemate.
Éntölam kuulua, avio päläfertiilam.
I claim you as my lifemate.
Her heart gave a leap of joy. She placed her hand over her chest, directly over her heart.
Did you feel that, Dimitri? Even my heart is aware of you.
She knew those ancient words were the words she had pleaded for. She felt them, tiny little threads weaving her soul to his.
Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed.
I belong to you. I do belong to you, Skyler. From the moment I saw you, you were not simply the lifemate I had waited centuries to find, but you became my world as well. I love and respect you.
She felt the truth of that each time his mind merged with hers. Even now, when he was so tortured, his first thoughts were always of her and her well-being.
Élidamet andam.
I offer my life for you.
She loved that part of the vow, because she would offer her life for his. She knew each word to be the absolute truth.
Pesämet andam.
I give you my protection.
His amusement was warm in her mind.
At this very moment, csitri, I think you are giving me protection rather than the other way around.
Isn’t that how the whole thing works?
she asked.
We love and protect one another.
Because she knew he felt a fierce desire to ensure her health and safety and she felt that same tigress-like need to take care of him.
Uskolfertiilamet andam.
I give you my allegiance. You have always had my allegiance, but we’re making it official.
She had known she had his loyalty and faithfulness from the moment their eyes met. She couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Sívamet andam.
I give you my heart.
Her heart changed rhythm, matching his. A steady, strong beat in spite of the fact that he was still nearly starving.
Sielamet andam. I give you my soul.
There it was, that tie she had been waiting for. He had her heart. He gave her his. Now he tied his soul to hers.
Ainamet andam.
I give you my body.
Sívamet kuuluak kaik että a ted.
I take into my keeping the same that is yours.
She took a deep breath and let it out. There was that, his body. So strong. So much stronger than she was. She would never be able to stop him if anything he did frightened her. For a moment, one terrible moment, she felt her heart go out of rhythm and her breath exploded from her lungs. He waited as he held his breath, but he said nothing, letting her absorb what he said, what that commitment actually meant. It was a vow, like all the others.
She let her breath out. Felt her heart settle. Dimitri was a man of honor. He loved her, and she always had to trust in that love, just as this night, he would be trusting in her love.
I have no doubts, Dimitri. You are my other half and together we’ll get through anything.
Again there was that burst of heat, bathing her mind in his love. It surrounded her and lifted her up as nothing else could.
Ainaak olenszal sívambin.
Your life will be cherished by me for all my time.
Skyler, you know I have cherished you always, but this means so much more. Te élidet ainaak pide minan.
Your life will be placed above my own for all time. I would never hurt you, or frighten you or ask you to do something you are uncomfortable with. Do you understand?
Of course she understood. She’d always known, on some level, that Dimitri was a man above men. He allowed her to work her way to him on her own. He never once had tried to make her feel guilty or to push her toward him faster. He gave her room, and yet he was always there when she needed him. How often had she leaned on him in the middle of the night when the nightmares were too close? He’d never asked for anything in return.
I understand.
His loyalty to her, his complete regard for her past and her feelings made her want to be what he needed all the more.
Te avio päläfertiilam.
You are my lifemate.
She loved that word. This binding ritual was the equivalent of a human marriage, but more. The vows could not be broken.
Ainaak sívamet jutta oleny. You are bound to me for all eternity
.
They could follow one another from one life to the next. They were bound, heart and soul. She felt even closer to him. She knew those threads weaving their souls together had done their job.
Ainaak terád vigyázak. You are always in my care.
It was done; they were tied together for all eternity. Dimitri sent her one last burst of love before he allowed the connection to fade.
I love you, Skyler, with all my heart. Be safe for me.
Stay alive no matter what, Dimitri,
she responded.
I am coming for you.
7
S
kyler had done everything she could to prepare for the night, other than the most important one—their fall back plan. Josef was definitely a strategist. He believed in backup plans. His backup plans had backup plans. She and Paul liked to tease him about it, but it was the meticulous care he paid to detail that always made everything work—like the swelling and bruising on her ankle. A Lycan such as Zev would never have bought her story if she hadn’t been truly injured.
“It’s almost time, Sky,” Josef pointed out. “It’s now or never. Can you do it? We need a safe place to retreat to, one the Lycans can’t enter. This is their territory. They know every cave, every rock. I can go to ground, so could Dimitri, but you and Paul can’t, so in the event of an emergency, we have to have a safety zone.”