Dark Promises (Dark #29) (9 page)

She covered her face with her hands as realization dawned. She loved Gary with all of her heart because he would have given her exactly what she wanted. Not what she needed. What she wanted. She wanted to hide away. Be safe. Be happy. No bumps. No scares. Just a sweet, easy journey through life.

Joie and Jubal could easily handle their mother's intense meltdowns. Her father just shook his head and grinned. When she was young, Gabrielle hid under the bed, her fist jammed in her mouth, her heart beating hard. When she was a teenager, she learned not to say a word. She would disappear in her mind. When she was an adult she hid herself in work. She hid. Period. From everything and everyone. Including herself.

Hiding had led her to this moment. To the possible death of two good
men. She was a researcher, and yet she hadn't asked any questions about life as a Carpathian. She hadn't lifted a finger to acquire knowledge when knowledge was her world. Why? That alone should have raised a red flag for her.

Gabrielle wrapped her arms around herself and began to rock back and forth, trying to soothe herself. Trying to think what to do. She was intelligent. Highly intelligent. She couldn't save Gary, and that tore at her. Ate her up. Left her grief-stricken with that terrible weight of guilt pressing squarely down on her. But what about Aleksei?

Truthfully, he terrified her. He was violent. Dangerous. Definitely domineering. He would expect her obedience. Her loyalty. Her participation in blood exchanging. In—well—
everything
. Her body did another shiver, almost of anticipation. Her mouth craved his taste. Her body craved his touch. What did that make her when she loved Gary? How could she want another man when her heart belonged to someone else?

Nothing made sense to her anymore. She'd never talked to her mother about anything that was important to her. There was
always
drama with her mother. She knew her mother loved her children—loved them so much she wanted to run their lives. She had no problem with tantrums in public and that had always humiliated Gabrielle. Like their father, Joie and Jubal had found their mother amusing.

She had shut down as a child. Refused to live life. Afraid. She was still metaphorically under that bed, shaking, her fist jammed in her mouth to keep from making a sound. Holding herself still. She'd locked herself in a laboratory because she would rather face a hot virus than live her life. Gary was safe. He saw how fragile she was. How afraid of life she was. She wanted a controlled environment, and he was willing to give that to her. She loved him for that. She loved him because he was a kind, gentle,
protective
man. But she couldn't have him. She couldn't save Aleksei if she clung to her safe world. If she clung to loving Gary.

She took another deep breath. “I'm sorry, Gary,” she whispered. She had to let him go if she was going to save Aleksei and herself. She didn't mind dying, but she couldn't live with Aleksei's death on her conscience. She couldn't. That meant she had to let Gary go to his own fate, and she had to try to figure out her own.

Gabrielle stood up slowly and followed Aleksei out into the center of
the monastery grounds. She didn't hurry. There was no point. She knew he would be waiting out there for the sun, and it would be a long wait. The sun wouldn't rise for several hours.

She felt the other ancients watching. She couldn't see them, but she knew they were there. Her stomach clenched. Knots formed. Terror kept her from breathing, but she forced her body forward. She knew the ancients had surrounded Aleksei—from a distance—but they were there to destroy him if the dawn didn't. He had been telling her the strict truth.

She walked straight to him and sank onto the ground beside him. Close. Her thigh touching his. Just that small brush of her leg against his sent a shiver of awareness through her. She saw his body jerk and knew he was just as aware of her.

“What are you doing?” he demanded. “Get back inside and put yourself in the ground.”

His voice was scary. The look on his face was even scarier. She shook her head and stayed.

“I will not allow this, Gabrielle. I am capable of forcing your obedience, as you well know.”

She lifted her chin and looked at him, really allowing herself to see him for the first time. Up close, he was all male. All hard edges. In a way, a very scary way, he was striking. She couldn't imagine anyone fighting this man and coming out on top. He appeared extremely lethal, and she was very certain he was every bit as deadly as he appeared. Still, she looked him straight in the eye.

“I'm your lifemate, Aleksei, whether or not you or I like it. That means you don't get to sit here and wait for the sun without me. Whatever happens to you, happens to me. I'm willing to do this if it's what you want to do. With the mistakes I've made, I think you deserve to make that call—but know, whatever you decide, it's for both of us, not just for you. As your lifemate, it's my right to make the decision to follow you, wherever you lead.”

She made the statement quietly. Firmly. In a low tone, so that he had to listen to hear her speak. She meant what she said and she knew he could hear it in her voice. It was the first time in her life, outside the laboratory, that she had ever been confrontational, scared out of her mind, but
determined.

H
ave you got him?” Andre asked. “We cannot lose him. What happened? How could this happen? She was not his lifemate. This is not supposed to happen.”

“Gary lost everything all at once, just as if he had lost his true lifemate,” Mikhail explained. “Colors and emotions are gone. All. At. Once.”

“Do you have him?” Andre asked again.

Gregori jerked his head. “Not without Mikhail. He's strong. I did not expect this.”

“We did not factor in the possibility that a human's love can be as strong as that of a lifemate. We do not see it that often,” Mikhail said. “But this loss is from the ancients, not from the loss of a lifemate. It happened far too quickly. We were saved such an event because we lost emotions and color over a long period of time, so we barely realized they were fading over those two hundred years. To have everything wiped away in a moment would send a man insane.”

Gregori shook his head. “That is not going to happen. We have to get him out of here. We are vulnerable here.”

“I felt them, too,” Mikhail said grimly. “Human hunters. The society is on this mountain, trailing after someone. Still, they are miles away.”

“I can stay behind and hunt them,” Andre offered. “You take Gary home and put him in the ground. Try to heal him, Gregori. We cannot lose him.”

“There is greatness in him,” Mikhail said softly. “He is destined to do great things for our people. I should have sat Gabrielle down after I converted her and explained her duties as a Carpathian woman. I did not. I thought her sister would. I thought others would aid her in learning, but ultimately it was my responsibility and my failure.”

“None of us could have foreseen this,” Gregori said, reaching down to pull Gary to his feet. Gary's eyes burned with dark fury. He could hold his brother in check with Mikhail's help because they shared the same bloodline.

“No, but we could have helped Gabrielle adjust to our way of life so she would not have felt so dependent on Gary. We practically threw them together. From the beginning, I was uneasy over their relationship, but still, I did not interfere,” Mikhail admitted. “I thought, once Gary became fully Carpathian, they would understand they were not destined for each other. I did not factor in human love, which is very real.”

“Mikhail,” Gregori warned. “We have to leave now.”

“They are a distance away.” Mikhail glanced toward the gates of the monastery, a frown on his face. “I do not like leaving her to her lifemate. Aleksei did not understand what was happening, and he is very close to turning.”

“None of those inhabiting the monastery have sworn allegiance to you,” Gregori said. “You cannot risk going in there. Gabrielle has a lifemate, and how they choose to fix this mess is on them, not you. We have to leave. Right. Now.”

A stirring in Gregori's mind startled both of them. The thrall was there, a killing frenzy brought on by the sudden loss of all emotion and the pouring in of centuries of too many battles, too many deaths far too fast for one mind to cope with.

I feel them. Down below us. Eager to kill. Leave me behind and I will keep them from the prince.
Gary used the more common telepathic path of all Carpathians, so that not only could both Mikhail and Gregori hear him, but so could any other Carpathians in the area, including the ancients.

Gregori heard his brother quite distinctly. He was still there. Different. But his mind was there. Gary's intelligent mind was quick and fearless.

It is too dangerous for you, right now,
Gregori responded.
Andre can take care of this threat. You come with me back to our home to guard Mikhail.

They have new weapons. Weapons Andre has not yet seen. I have been researching the society and found some of their schematics. They could kill him or those inside the monastery.

They knew Gary spoke of Gabrielle. Already, his memories would be fading fast. She would be the last for him. The memory of love that most Carpathians tried to hold on to. Love of family. Of siblings and friends. He would lose even that, and if it was anywhere as fast as the loss of color and emotion, his memories of those emotions could go at any time. He would be left with only his honor to sustain him. And he would hold the darkness of all the ancients that had gone before him.

They will not kill me,
Andre assured.
Nor will they kill the ancients.

“We need to get word to the De La Cruz brothers. They need to watch over Luiz. The same thing will happen to him,” Mikhail said.

“I'll call them on my cell.” Andre flashed a faint smirk. “Imagine Zacarias with a cell phone. His brothers call him just to make him crazy. And Josef texts him. How do I know this? Zacarias had a few words to say about it to me the last time I saw him.”

Even Gregori gave pause at the idea of anyone calling Zacarias De La Cruz on a cell phone.

We need to get the prince out of here.
Gary clearly was pulling it back, taking control back.

Gregori was a little shocked that he was already strong enough to do that. He exchanged a long look with Mikhail. He had taken hold of his brother with the prince's help, keeping him from moving, preventing him from killing anyone. It had taken both of them, and both together were exceedingly strong. Still, it was a struggle. Now, Gary was exhibiting signs of that strength by thinking clearly when his brain shouldn't be able to process anything but killing.

“Gary's right, Mikhail,” he agreed. “We need to get you out of here. Andre, no trace of us left behind.”

Mikhail sighed. “You will never change, Gregori.”

“Not when it comes to your safety.”

“And Gary is going to be just as bad.”

Release me.

Not with a threat so close to the prince. Not with Gabrielle trapped in the monastery.
Mikhail answered Gary, sparing Gregori.

I can do nothing to help Gabrielle. I can help to guard our prince.

Mikhail raised an eyebrow at Gregori and shook his head slightly. It was there, that clarity, but Gary was also an extremely intelligent individual. He worked out many of their battle strategies. He could so easily, even in his present state, lull them all into a false sense of security. He was thinking and that was a good sign, but they were too near Gabrielle, and if those starting up the mountain truly were members of the society hunting them, Gary could easily be tipped over the edge into permanent darkness should he kill, even to save the prince.

“We are leaving.” Gregori jerked his chin toward Mikhail, and the prince shook his head, a small smile softening his hard features.

“Andre. Good to see you. I hope to meet your lifemate soon. Raven was very pleased when word came down that you had found Teagan. She is very fond of you.”

“Mikhail.”
Gregori growled his name, patience gone. “Your enemies are everywhere. We have no idea how close any of those in the monastery are. And we need to get Gary into the ground.” He played his trump card, knowing Mikhail was fond of Gary. Fortunately, Gary understood what he was doing and remained silent.

Mikhail shifted immediately and took to the sky. Gregori waited for Gary's body to shift, staying in his mind, just as Mikhail was. Gary did so with such speed and precision, Gregori found himself wondering just how much of the information the ancients in the Daratrazanoff line had given him the man had already processed. He was “getting it” at an alarming rate of speed.

Mikhail is correct, Gary,
Gregori said.
You will do great things for our people, more than you've already done. Hold to your honor, brother. Hold to it and when there is nothing else for you, you will have that.

I will.

Two words, but Gregori felt the truth of them. The sincerity. He'd always known. From the moment he'd met Gary, when they walked down the street together in New Orleans, he had known then that this man was connected
to him. He shifted and took to the sky, the two Daratrazanoffs doing what they always did, positioning themselves on either side of their prince for the long flight home. They were many, many miles from Romania, where they all resided, and it would take a good part of the night to return.

Far off, they heard the sound of a rifle. They were too high, in the mist, and the shooter was closer to the lower part of the mountain, but still, all of them knew that was no hunter, but one of the society members eager to make a kill.

How would they know we are not anything but what we appear?
Mikhail asked Andre through their common telepathic path, suddenly worried about the ancients in the monastery.

Teagan can tune herself to vampires and follow that path straight to their lair,
Andre admitted, if a little reluctantly.
I believe that is her grandmother with those men and she has the same talent.

Andre.
Teagan breathed his name. Filled it with anguish. A sense that he had betrayed her.
You do not know that.

Teagan, our first duty, always, is to the prince. Without him, our people are lost. His son is still too young to assume the mantle. He is too small to be a vessel for our people. The prince must stay alive or all of us will die and our species will be extinct.
Andre did his best to explain to his lifemate.

Teagan was young. She had been human and he had very recently converted her. She had come to the Carpathian Mountains in search of a particular stone that would help her to “cure” her grandmother's growing insanity. Her grandmother believed in vampires and had gone so far as to order a vampire-hunting kit off the Internet. Her family had tried to convince her to stop talking about them and then sent her to professionals. In the end, Teagan, afraid for her grandmother's sanity, took matters into her own hands and made the trip to the Carpathian Mountains, only to find her grandmother was right and everyone else was wrong.

The problem was, her grandmother didn't discriminate between a vampire and a Carpathian. She had no idea the dangerous, ruthless people she traveled with.

Teagan came out of the mist, walking toward him, taking his breath away like she always did when he laid eyes on her. She was beautiful, no doubt about that, but more, she was alive as in
alive
. She lived life large. Right
now, she was very unhappy with him, and there was no misreading that look on her face. With Teagan, what you saw was what you got. She adored her grandmother. Family was all-important to her.

The danger, Andre decided, of bringing humans into their world, was that it would take a long time for them to realize the importance of protecting the prince and his children. They couldn't understand that one man held the entire future of their species, which made him vulnerable to outside attacks.

Her grandmother was being used as a pawn, or she was just plain fanatical. If it was the latter, Andre knew he would have to kill her. If he killed her, Teagan would have a difficult time forgiving him. Still, it would have to be done, and lifemates didn't lie to each other.

“She isn't vicious,” Teagan greeted. “She's misled.”

“Regardless, she's with four men, Teagan. Four men who have come here determined to kill us. You. Me. The men in the monastery. She's leading them right to them. We are going to have to stop them.”

“I didn't know you were different when I met you, Andre, and she won't, either. We can casually meet them on the trail and say we've been camping for our honeymoon. Because we've just gotten married, it will seem natural for us to want to be alone, even in the daylight hours.” Teagan stepped close, putting her hand on his chest and looking up at him.

His heart did a slow somersault when he looked down into her eyes. He would give her the world if he could. He wanted to give her this. They'd be walking right into the enemy's camp. He had no doubt that he would have done that on his own, but to bring Teagan along was sheer madness.

“It is dangerous,
sívamet
. These people have killed many of us. They find our sleeping places and murder us when we have no way to fight them. They kill the innocent. I doubt they've ever killed a real vampire in their lives. Your grandmother is the one leading them to us, abusing a special gift.”

“But she doesn't know that's what she's doing,” Teagan insisted. “She's funny and smart and loves to be snarky, but she wouldn't kill an innocent person. She just doesn't know.”

“Teagan.” He said her name gently. Lovingly.

She shook her head. “Don't. She's my grandmother, Andre.”

She blinked up at him with her dark, chocolate eyes and those luscious
eyelashes that never failed to catch his notice. She was pulling out all the stops, and because she was the world to him, he knew he was susceptible. Still. It was dangerous.

“Even if you were to convince her, Teagan—and I am not saying I will allow you to take that risk—her friends will not care one way or the other. I have seen their kind many times. They will not tolerate different. I am different. You are different. The ancients up in the monastery are different. And they will not come at us at night. They know better. They will strike during the day, when we are vulnerable.”

Andre knew he wasn't convincing her. She loved her Grandma Trixie and she wasn't going to back down over the issue. He took her hand and brought the tips of her fingers to the warmth of his mouth.

“Csitri.”
Again he used his voice on her. Soft. Mesmerizing. Loving. Pure silk and velvet with the rasp that always shook her. She wasn't immune to his voice.

“She's my grandmother. She raised me. Imagine how you would feel, Andre, if you had to even think about killing someone you loved.”

He closed his eyes briefly. He had destroyed several people he cared for. Friends he'd grown up with. Friends who had lost the fight against the darkness in them—darkness Teagan had saved him from.