Dark Challenge

Chapter Four

Desari slipped out of the bus dressed in soft, faded blue jeans. Her shirt was ribbed cotton, V-necked, and form fitting. Deliberately she had not fed this night and kept hunger uppermost in her mind, knowing Darius might scan her. He had gone off to feed and might occasionally check on her.

His lecture had been long and severe. Desari was feeling especially defiant and a little bit desperate. She had promised Julian she would meet him, and she knew if she didn’t show up, he would come for her.

This is very dangerous.

She searched for him, sending out her exasperated distress.

Darius and the others will be watching me.

There was a moment of silence, just long enough that she thought perhaps she hadn’t connected on the correct path with him. Completely unperturbed, totally arrogant, Julian responded.

If you prefer, Desari, I will be more than happy to meet with them and discuss this rationally. You belong with me. They cannot interfere. And just who are those other two clowns? Do not try to convince me that they are also your brothers. I do not think I know you well enough to tell you my family’s business,

she replied haughtily.

Do not deliberately provoke me,

cara mia.

I will admit to being a jealous man. Our males have never been famous for allowing their women to associate with other men. I do not belong to you. I belong to myself.

Desari sighed as she made her way from the motor home down the street toward the tavern where she had promised Julian she would meet him. She shook her head. This was so ridiculous. Darius could track her at will. Men were beyond her understanding, even after centuries of trying to figure them out. Not one of them made any real sense.

Darius does not have the right to rule your life any longer,

piccola.

That is the right of your lifemate, not your brother.

Desari stopped dead in her tracks. He sounded so complacent, so insolent. Conceited. Overbearing. Arrogant. What was she doing?

His laughter echoed softly in her head and brushed little flames over her skin.

You want to come to me. You know you have to come to me. Nothing can stop you. It is inevitable, like the tide. There can be no turning back.

Her feet were moving of their own volition, pulled inexorably toward the bar. She moved several yards, reaching the corner before she realized she was under compulsion. His voice was low and beautifully pitched, a blend of the night and seduction itself. He was using his voice alone as his weapon, and she, like a rank fledgling, was responding. Desari forced herself to stop moving by grabbing a lamppost and hanging on.

His laughter was low and taunting.

Desire is more powerful than I realized. And it is the same for you. You wish it were,

she responded, her chin up, eyes flashing.

I refuse to play these childish games with you. Go away, and do not come back.

He was right, though. She had never felt this way before. Every cell in her body was hot and heavy and aching for release. She wanted him. Pure and simple. But that was all. It was just sex. Hot, steamy sex. Absolutely nothing else. Who would want such an arrogant jerk?

“You.” The single word was breathed against her neck, against the pulse beating so strongly there. His body was suddenly so close, she could feel the heat emanating from his skin. Although she was tall, his large frame seemed to tower over her. Up close, she could feel his power, the intensity of his emotions. His gaze drifted over her with stark possessiveness.

Desari stood perfectly still, afraid to move. There was something about him she couldn’t seem to resist. It was his eyes. The way his eyes burned a molten gold. So intense. So hungry. How could she resist his eyes? It was in his mind. He had been so alone. He

needed

and only she could provide. His hand moved down her shoulder to rest on her slender waist. His touch was possessive. His palm was burning a hole through the thin material of her shirt.

Julian exerted a little pressure, taking her with him as he moved toward the tavern. She was still uncertain, her brain at war with her instincts, her emotions, the chemistry of her body. He was well aware, having now shared her mind, that Desari was no one to trifle with. She had lived centuries, had acquired tremendous knowledge and strength. This was a situation that required more than a little finesse—not his strongest point. Julian was used to having his way in all things. More than anything he believed it was his duty, his right, to protect and care for his lifemate. But Desari did not seem to follow the path of the women of his race in temperament.

“I heard your brother refer to you as Dara. How did you come by such a name?” he asked, his straightforward curiosity completely throwing her off the track.

“I have long been called Dara. It is a nickname. Darius said my mother often called me that,” she answered, moving with him automatically. His body was very close to hers, so that she felt the brush of his thigh, his chest, the heavy muscles coming into brief contact with her, then moving away. Her tongue touched her lips, moistening their sudden dryness. She was intrigued by the way Julian could make her feel so aware of herself as a woman.

“Do you know what Dara means?” Julian asked softly.

Desari shrugged. “It is old Persian. It means, of the dark one.”

Julian nodded. “Do you remember where you came from? Where you were born?”

Desari moved away from him, a subtle retreat from the heat of his body. What she really needed to do was run from the heat in his eyes. No one had ever looked at her as he was doing. Julian slid his arm around her waist and gathered her under his shoulder.

She put her hand on his rib cage to push him away, but somehow her palm lingered against his thin shirt, savoring the heat of him. It drew her like a magnet, in the same way his eyes drew her. She lowered her lashes. This was insanity. But for a few brief hours tonight she would indulge her dreams, allow herself a fantasy that might have to last her for all time.

Julian’s larger frame urged her into the small tavern. The band was playing something soft and dreamy, al lowing him to step around and take her into his arms. The moment he enclosed her against him, he knew it was right. Her body fit into his perfectly. They moved with the same rhythm, matching heartbeats, matching gliding, swaying steps. Her head fit in the niche of his shoulder; her hand belonged in his.

“We should not be doing this,” Desari said. In spite of her determination not to allow him to control her, she couldn’t stop herself from moving in the erotic dance. His thighs were hard columns against her softer ones. He smelled woodsy, mysterious, dangerous. She inhaled, taking in the scent of his blood.

His mouth touched her neck, just a feather-light caress, but the jolt sent shock waves through both of them. Hunger flared in her, hot and erotic, like nothing she had ever known. She felt the warmth of his breath fanning over the pulse throbbing so frantically beneath her skin.

“This is exactly what we should be doing. I have no other choice,

cara.

I need to hold you in my arms.” His lips were velvet soft, his tongue a rasp of heat stroking her pulse. His fingers enveloped hers, curling her wrist so that he could hold her hand tightly against his heart. “Do you have any idea of how beautiful you really are, Desari?” His teeth scraped a gentle rhythm back and forth over her pulse, sending flames dancing through her body.

Desari closed her eyes and gave herself up to the sheer physical pleasure of the moment. His skin was hot and rough against the softness of hers. She could feel his strength, his muscles like steel. They moved together in such perfect rhythm. She wanted it to go on for all time. His arms made her feel protected and cherished. The burning hunger in his eyes made her feel desirable. His words made her feel beautiful. But most of all, the way his body moved, hot and hard and aggressive as he held her to him, turned her own body into a living, breathing flame.

“It is the way you are inside, Desari, not just the outside package, that makes you so beautiful.” His tongue tasted her throat, his lips sliding up to her chin, to the corner of her mouth.

“You cannot possibly know what I am like,” she protested, even as she turned her mouth blindly to his. She had to taste him, had to know if this was real, this black magic spell he was weaving so effortlessly around her.

Desari expected a savage ravishment, his hunger ran so deep and strong. The first touch of his lips was incredibly tender, his mouth moving over hers, memorizing the feel and shape of her, as if he were being swept away, as if he loved the taste of her. It disarmed her as nothing else could. Her legs went rubbery, but he simply gathered her tightly against him, protectively, as if sheltering her with his heart. His hand encircled her throat lovingly, his fingertips moving in a tender caress that sent heat pooling low and a wave of weakness flowing through her body. She made a sound, a low moan of alarm. He was stealing her soul, taking her heart with his gentleness. Desari found his thick mane of golden hair with her fists, clung to him for support. He was ensnaring her for all time, and she was giving herself to him without a fight.

He was a dangerous, violent predator, yet he held her protectively, kissed her as if she were the most precious thing in the world. It was as if he needed the taste and feel of her just to breathe. How could she not fall under his spell? His voice was low and seductive, a murmur of Italian that took possession of her heart, stole it right out of her body. The world was dissolving into a strange mist around her, the earth shifting beneath her feet. Their bodies were swaying to the music, the shadows hiding them from prying eyes. Desari had the strange feeling he was making love to her. Not sex, but making love to the one woman in the world who mattered to him. Everything in her rose in response to the gentleness of his possession.

His kiss deepened so that he was feeding on the sweetness of her mouth, his hand spanning her throat, his body trapping hers against a wall, holding her still while he ignited the fire in her blood and turned her body into a living flame.

“Come with me away from here,” he whispered, his beautiful voice raw with need, a sorcerer’s seduction.

Desari rested her head on his shoulder, confused and vulnerable. She wanted him, wanted to be with him. The need was so strong, it was almost a compulsion. She couldn’t understand it. Nothing in all her long centuries had prepared her for the force of his magnetism. “I do not even know you.”

Julian’s fingers stroked her silky hair, a small, masculine smile softening the hard edge to his mouth. “You insist on believing that, Desari, but you have been in my mind as I have been in yours. I know you are beautiful from the inside out because I hear it in your voice, see it so clearly in your heart and mind. You are a little troublemaker, but you would never hurt a single soul. You are the light to my darkness, my lifemate.”

She shook her head. “I do not know what you mean.”

“You feel it. Do not try to deny it.” His thumbs were rubbing silky strands of her hair against his fingers. His burning eyes were molten gold, alive with hunger, relentless need, fierce possessiveness.

“What is a lifemate? I have not heard such a term.”

Julian studied her upturned face, shaped her classic bone structure with his palms. “How is it that you are Carpathian and you do not know this? We have much to learn about one another. Tonight I will explain to you what lifemates are to the people of our homeland.” His hand slipped to her throat, then glided down her shoulders and the length of her arm to lace his fingers through hers. “But we are hunted,

piccola.

Let us leave this place and go elsewhere to talk.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Darius? My brother? He is hunting us?” He had not yet called to her, demanding her return, as she had expected him to do when he found her gone. She thought she would have time to lay a false trail away from Julian. “I must leave you. He can track me straight to you.”

Julian pulled her toward the door of the tavern, and Desari felt almost helpless under his spell. It was insanity to defy Darius like this. He would find this man, and there would be a terrible battle.

“Come with me, Desari. There will be no battle unless you choose to force the issue by staying here. I have a need to talk with you. You promised me this night, and I will not release you from your word.”

They were moving quickly now, out the door and into the darkness of the night. Had she promised him? He had her so bemused, she couldn’t remember exactly what she had said. “There is no way to deceive Darius,” she pointed out. “My blood flows in his veins. He can track me at will, and he is very powerful.”

Julian slipped an arm around her slender shoulders. “It is true he presents an interesting challenge, but we can give ourselves time if you wish it, Desari.”

Despite herself, the possibility intrigued her. She had never really tasted freedom. Darius and the others watched over her as if she were a mere fledgling. At times it was galling. “I do not wish to put you in danger.” Her large velvet eyes didn’t meet his hot gaze as she made the admission. She felt she was giving away her true feelings.

Julian’s hard mouth curved in satisfaction. “I am pleased you worry for my safety,

cara”

he said, a seductive caress in the deep timbre of his voice, his Italian accent very much in evidence. “But there is no need. I am not without power of my own. I know this man is someone you love. There will be no real confrontation between us. Perhaps a game of cat and mouse.”

Desari shivered, the cool of the night wreaking havoc with her heated skin. It had to be the air; his voice alone couldn’t possibly cause the fever in her blood. And it wasn’t just the strong chemistry between them drawing her, she decided, her chin going up, it was the knowledge he could impart to her. This was a true Carpathian, raised in their homeland. He knew things she desperately wanted to know, things that could be important to her family.

“Tell me how we can do this.”

There was a natural haughtiness in her voice, a note of imperious demand. Desari was used to getting her way when she chose to push it. Julian’s arms circled her small waist. Electricity sizzled and crackled between them. She might try to deny it to herself, but he could see her response in her eyes, feel it in her body, in her scent calling to him. “Merge your mind fully with mine, so that there is nothing of you he can find.”

She tried to jerk out of his arms. “No! I cannot.”

That infuriating smile was curving his mouth, taunting her. “What are you afraid of,

piccola?

My resolve? I have made no attempt to hide my intentions from you. I want you in every way. I am relentless when something is important to me, and you are the most important thing in my life, in all the centuries of my existence. Merge with me. We will fly far from here and talk of important things.”

It was a dare of sorts. He was making no secret of his amusement. Desari’s dark eyes flashed at him. “I do not fear you,” she snapped. “I am powerful in my own right. You cannot seduce me if I do not give my consent. I will go with you to learn from you.” She sounded like a princess bestowing a favor on a peasant.

Julian knew better than to allow his triumph to show on his face. He caught both her hands in his. “Now,

cara mia,

come with me, merge with me.” His voice was a caress that sent flames moving through her, flames she had no way of dousing.

His blood ran in her veins. She reached out with her mind and immersed it completely, decisively into his so that she could not panic and change her mind. At once she knew she was lost. He had enticed her into an erotic world of heat and hunger and fierce need. And he was every bit as ruthless as Darius. A loner. A great warrior with centuries of battles behind him. He appeared to hide nothing from her. Nothing, not even the terrible, relentless darkness. He had always been alone, even in his own world. Always alone. Until now. Desari moved into that darkness, suddenly uneasy.

Shape-shift, piccola. Use the image I give you.

His words held an urgency she couldn’t ignore. Darius was close.

They launched themselves skyward simultaneously, their hearts beating as one, feathers iridescent even in the night sky. Wings beat strongly, lifting them quickly up and away. They wheeled in the air in perfect synchronization, flying toward the distant mountains.

Julian shared the beauty of the night with her. He had not seen color in centuries, so it was all new and wonderful to him. The silvery leaves of the trees glittering below them, the sheen of water from the large lake nearby, the haunting shriek of an owl as it missed its prey, and the rustle of gray mice scurrying through vegetation on the forest floor.

Darius would be unable to track Desari while they were merged so fully together. The moment they were apart again, he could find her. The trick was to take her far away, set up as many blinds as time would allow, so that Darius would have no choice but to turn back, seeking safety before the dawn broke upon them.

Desari faltered for a moment when she read Julian’s intentions. She had not considered being away from her family during the day, when she would be completely vulnerable. At once Julian sent her waves of warmth and reassurance, the implacable resolve of the Carpathian male to protect his mate above all else. While she was with him, nothing would happen to her; he would never allow it.

And what of you? Am I safe from you?

She asked it softly, well aware of the fierce needs of his body, her body. The terrible, insatiable hunger he had for her alone. No one else would ever be able to fulfill the demands his body was making on him. No one else could ever assuage the fire burning deep within him. The knowledge only served to weaken her resistance to him. His need was a terrible thing.

Always, Desari. I would protect you with my life. You feel it, I know you do. I can do nothing other than ensure your safety.

Julian felt the disturbance in the air, waves of power echoing through the sky, seeking the prey the hunter was determined to find. In the raptor’s body he smiled. Darius was very dangerous, a true ancient with a will of iron. Merged as she was with Julian, Desari was masked from her brother. Still, Darius was a brilliant adversary, and he was not so arrogant that he discounted his enemy. He knew he faced one his equal, or very nearly so.

The waves of seeking power receded, and the air was quiet and fresh. Then, without warning, Darius struck again. Julian felt the pain slam into his head, into Desari’s head. She made a noise, just a soft cry in her throat, but Julian instantly took the full brunt of the sound wave, blocking it from her.

Hear me, stranger. I know you feel me, you know what Jam. If you hurt her in any way, there will be nowhere on this earth you will be able to hide. I will find you, and you will die—a long and painful death.

The voice came on the wings of the night, broadcast on every possible wavelength so there could be no doubt it was heard and clearly understood.

Julian was astonished at the power the bodyguard had. He seemed as adept as Gregori, every bit as dangerous. Perhaps Darius did not have Gregori’s elegant grace—he seemed more earthy and raw—but he held very real power. Few could accomplish what he was doing, holding a painful note in Julian’s head even though they had never exchanged blood and Darius had no real idea of where he was. And he meant what he said. He was determined and ruthless and without an iota of mercy.

Julian inhaled sharply and brought Desari out of the sky with him to the small snug cabin nestled high in the mountain peaks. As he landed, shape-shifting, he held Desari’s mind merge so that she did not inadvertently give their position away, but he changed the tone of the sound so that it no longer raked at him with such sharp edges.

It took a little doing, to turn the trap back on its master, especially since he was shielding Desari from the battle between the two Carpathians. She didn’t need to know they were posturing at one another. He turned the note around, reshaped it, and sent it slamming back through the night sky. There was a certain satisfaction in knowing that he had scored on the powerful Carpathian. Only then did he release Desari from his mind, allowing her to withdraw completely.

For the very first time Desari found she was really afraid. What had she done? Followed a complete stranger away from the protection of her family, and for what? Sex. Pure and simple. She was so attracted to Julian Savage, she had willingly thrown away her values and rules and placed Darius in an untenable position. He would worry about her. She had trusted Julian because she had never once in all her existence felt so deeply about anyone, yet now she knew he was manipulating her. And he was a master at it. Perhaps he was manipulating all her other emotions as well.

Julian moved away from her, giving her space, his body fluid and powerful. He shoved a hand through his thick mane of golden hair, his eyes drifting over her possessively. “You would have me allow you to feel pain when it is not necessary?” His voice was strictly neutral.

She knew he was making a point. He was not compelling her. She either trusted him or she didn’t. It was that simple.

Julian folded his arms across his broad chest and leaned one hip lazily against a porch column. “I know you felt it.”

“For a moment,” she conceded, knowing he meant the blast of pain that had blossomed so suddenly in his head. It had been gone in an instant.

“And I removed it immediately. It was your brother. A warning.”

“I heard his warning. I have worried him unnecessarily. I intend to tell him I am coming home this night.”

She said it defiantly, more for her own benefit than his. She didn’t want to go. Julian was so enticing, with his hungry molten eyes. The intensity he felt for her was overwhelming, exhilarating.

“Then we will both return. But do you really believe we can get to know one another in the company of your protectors? It will be unnecessarily difficult.” He waved to a chair on the porch. “Sit for a while and talk to me.”

It was a soft purr of menace. He fully intended to go with her if she left, walk casually into the den of those who would seek to destroy him. His voice was so beautiful. Pure and gentle. It held a hint of tenderness, a trace of arrogance, and more than a little masculine amusement.

It felt like a dare. As if she were a small child, a fledging, afraid of her shadow and of being away from her big brother. Desari tilted her chin and glided regally up the stairs to the chair on the porch. She seated herself, her dark eyes remaining on his face.

He grinned at her, suddenly dispelling the dark danger that clung to him like a second skin. For one moment he looked almost boyish. “I am not going to hold you prisoner, Desari. There is no need to look at me as if I were a monster.”

Desari found herself relaxing. A slow, answering smile lit her face. “Is that what I was doing? I am feeling guilty for defying my brother and making him worry. Perhaps I was taking it out on you. It is so much easier to blame someone other than oneself.”

Julian shook his head. “Do not worry for your brother. He knows in his heart I will not harm you. It is more that he must relinquish his control over you.”

“What is a lifemate?” Desari asked, knowing it was important. She had been in his mind, knew he believed her to be his lifemate.

“Every Carpathian male is born a predator, dark and deadly. True, we have strong instincts to protect those we love, but there is a darkness in us that grows stronger with each passing century. Without a lifemate we lose all emotion, even the ability to see colors. It is an empty existence. Every day the beast within grows stronger, and the darkness inches across our souls. You have not observed this in the males of your group?”

Desari tapped a long fingernail against her cheek. “Actually, yes. At least with Darius and Dayan. Barack was always filled with joy until recently. He is quieter now. And there was another, Savon, who turned into someone none of us recognized.”

“If we males do not find our true lifemate, the other half of our souls, the light to our darkness, disappears. We cannot regain our emotions. We are lost.” Julian sighed softly, watching the gathering dismay on her face. “We have two choices. We can walk into the sun and end our barren existence, or we can choose to lose our soul. We can become the undead, vampires preying on the human race for the ultimate rush, the power of the kill. It is the only feeling left to us.”

Desari knew he spoke the truth. Savon had chosen to become vampire. Darius had destroyed many such undead over the centuries. She swallowed hard and looked up at him. “How do people know for certain when they find their lifemate?”

Julian’s smile was like a physical touch, a soft caress. “I have lived centuries without seeing color or feeling emotion. And then I found you. The world is now beautiful again and filled with life, with color, with so much intense emotion I can barely process it. When I look at you my body is alive. My heart is overwhelmed. You are the one.”

“What happens if the woman does not feel it also?”

Desari asked, curious. This was an entirely new concept to her, one she had never considered.

“There is only one true lifemate for each of us. If the male feels it, so does his mate.” His white teeth flashed at her. “Perhaps she might wish to be stubborn and not admit it right away, not wanting her freedom curtailed for all time. Because there are so few of our women, they are guarded carefully from birth and given into the care of their lifemate as soon as they are of age.”

“What do you mean, her freedom is curtailed for all time?” Desari suddenly felt restless. Just watching the easy way his body moved could make her feel hot and achy. She didn’t like the sound of his voice, soft and arrogant, faintly amused when he’d said those words. It sounded as if the woman had no choice in the matter.

He grinned at her, then moved suddenly with astounding speed, fluid and graceful, looming over her when she thought herself safe. “You have no need to worry, Desari. I could do nothing other than see to your happiness.” He held out his hand. “You hunger. I feel your need inside me as if it were my own. There is no need for you to be uncomfortable.”

Her hand was enveloped in his before she could think, an instinctive reaction to the allure of sex that surrounded him. He was drawing her to her feet, his arm circling her small waist before she had a chance to protest. His body was hard and hot, the scent of him filling her mind. When she inhaled, she took him into her lungs so that he rushed through her body like a strong drug. Whatever the chemistry was between them, she could not deny to herself it was hot, inflammatory, and instant.

“I cannot take your blood,” she whispered, afraid if she tasted him she would be lost for all time.

Julian’s white teeth gleamed for an instant above her head; then he bent slowly, almost languidly toward her soft throat. His golden eyes were hot with desire, holding hers for a long moment before his lashes descended and she felt his mouth move against her skin.

Desari’s entire body clenched in reaction. His arms tightened like steel bands around her, yet his hold was oddly protective. His body swelled against hers with need, a raging demand he made no attempt to hide. His lips were firm and soft as they nuzzled her pulse. His teeth nipped gently; his tongue provided a rougher rasping that teased and enticed. “Would you deny me then?” he asked softly, his mouth against her satin skin.

She could deny him nothing. Her body was no longer her own, but his other half. Desari pressed closer, needing to give him whatever it was he needed so desperately. There was no room for thought. She felt his breath, so warm and enticing, his tongue stroking her skin so that heat pooled low within her and she ached for him. She closed her eyes, her arms sliding up to cradle his head. White-hot heat pierced her throat, a pleasure so intense it was almost pain. She heard herself moan, felt his mouth feeding on her, taking the essence of her life into his body, sealing them together in some erotic way she didn’t understand.

She had fed every night for centuries; she had given blood numerous times when it was needed. It had never been like this. Fire racing through her body, hot, leaping flames demanding relief. She felt like a living flame burning in his arms, her body moving restlessly, aching and impatient for the hard aggression of his.

Julian sealed the marks on her throat with a caress of his tongue, at the same time opening the buttons on his shirt with one hand while the other palmed her nape. He murmured something to her in Italian, something soft and aching and sexy, and the smoky need touched off a wildness in her she had never known. He pressed her to his heavy muscles, reached down to gather her small, jeans-clad bottom into his hand so he could urge her more closely into the thick evidence of his arousal.

He smelled fresh and masculine. Her body was on fire for him, her skin so sensitive her breasts ached, her nipples chafing in the thin, lacy bra that confined her. Hunger was swamping her, sexual as well as physical. She couldn’t begin to tell where she began and he left off. His heart beat strong and fast, waiting for her, needing her, wanting her. Hunger was a raw ache between her legs, in her stomach, her breasts, gnawing mercilessly at her until she felt her teeth pierce his skin.

At once pleasure beat at her; it took hold and rushed through her body like a wall of flame, a firestorm of beauty and ecstasy. Sweet and hot. Immeasurable. Like nothing she had ever known. It was addictive, consuming, eternal. There would never be a Desari without Julian. Never a Julian without Desari. She would need his body, his blood, and his soul for all the rest of her days. He would need hers.

Gasping, terrified, Desari closed the tiny pinpricks and held on to him, the only solid anchor in a world that seemed to be disintegrating around her. At once his arms were there, real and strong, his chin nuzzling the top of her head so that silken strands of her hair were caught in the golden shadow on his jaw, weaving them together like threads. “Do not fear this,

piccola.

I know what to do. I am ancient and powerful and know the ways of our people. This is natural for us.”

She shook her head, her heart pounding. “Not for me. You do not understand at all, Julian. I cannot leave my family. I have been in your mind and know your intentions for us. You are a loner, even a bit of a renegade. You like to set your own rules and go your own way. You follow your Prince, but rather loosely.”

Julian’s hand again came up to caress the nape of her neck, easing the tension out of her. “We have time to get used to one another.”

“I sing, Julian. I love to sing. I like the crowds, the sharing, the excitement in the audience, the connection with them. And I love my family. If we have a prince, a leader, it is Darius. He had dedicated his life to us, lived for us, protected us. You do not know what he has done for us. I cannot leave him at this time, when he is so close to the edge of destruction.”

The night whispered to them, enfolding them in its dark cloak. Julian lifted his face skyward, staring at the stars spread above them like a glittering blanket. “Tell me about him. Tell me how it is possible that no other Carpathians know of your existence. If you managed to escape notice, perhaps there are others, also. This could be very important to the continuation of our species.”

His voice was so gentle and tender, it turned her heart over. Yet she could sense his implacable resolve. Like Darius, he had a strong and relentless will. He chose to follow his own path, make his own rules. He coaxed the entire long-ago story out of her. The terrible massacre. The precariousness of the ship. The terror of the children in a savage, lawless land surrounded by predatory animals.

Julian soon realized that Darius and Desari were indeed living relatives of the healer, the Dark One. They had to be Gregori’s younger brother and sister, presumed murdered by the Turks. Perhaps others had escaped as well. The moment he knew the truth, he reached across time and space.

Gregori! I have found what I long sought. There are others. Your bloodline. They survived the massacres and escaped far away.

It was no wonder that Darius reminded him so much of the healer. Darius was every bit as resourceful and powerful as his older brother. He would make a bitter, relentless enemy, dangerous beyond imagination. He would make a loyal, protective friend despite his inability to feel emotions. His word was his law. He recognized no other. Julian found himself respecting Darius where he respected few others.

I thank you for sending me word of Darius and Dara, Julian. I also feel your need, Julian. Desari is your lifemate. Attend to her.

There was great satisfaction evident in the healer’s voice even over the distance.

Have you need of me at this time? No, healer. I welcome the challenge your male kin provides.

And Julian did. The wonder and beauty of the world was within his grasp.

I will contact Mikhail and inform Savannah. We will come if you have need of us; otherwise, we will all meet at a later date. I have no need,

Julian assured the healer. He had faith in his own abilities. He didn’t want or need the healer’s interference or presence. Gregori doubtless knew the exact nature of the darkness crouching in Julian’s soul, a fact Julian had successfully kept even from his own twin. Gregori believed in his honor, but he also knew Julian was shadowed, and might decide such a one had no right to Desari, no right to her atal

Julian had no intention of giving up Desari. It would be impossible even if he were inclined to do so. They were tied together for all eternity. The ritual words had been spoken. Although they had not completed the entire cycle of the ritual, the ancient words themselves were binding, and Julian knew the consequences. They would be unable to be apart without intense grief, without dire physical discomfort. And the waves of Carpathian heat would eventually overcome them, demanding they unite.

It was a protection for the male’s sanity, for his soul, that he could bind his mate to him for all time regardless of her fears. Fears could be dealt with; the destruction of one’s soul was for all eternity. Desari believed she could control her destiny, that she had a choice, but Julian knew better. She belonged to him, was a part of him. Not even Darius could change that without destroying her. And if his own honor demanded he do the right thing, release her from one such as him, it was already too late. He had tied them together in the heat of their first meeting. It was done.

Julian sighed softly and held her close to him. “Your brother is Carpathian and blood kin to you. I would not wish harm to him. If it is necessary that we remain with him to ensure that he does not allow harm to come to himself, then that is what we will do.”

Desari knew Julian believed he was making a great concession for her, but he wasn’t doing her any favors. Darius would not accept him easily into their circle. Neither would Dayan or Barack. The males were difficult at best. For hundreds of years they had depended upon one another, interacted with one another. They would not willingly allow a stranger into their midst.