Fated (6 page)

The living area contained a couch and huge hearth. To the left, the kitchen held avocado-colored appliances and a large, quilt-covered bed sat in the far corner. The rain continued to drum outside as Talen placed Cara on the dark leather sofa and grabbed an old towel to wipe the blood off his face.

He lit a fire, and once the logs crackled, he crouched down to her eye level and stroked the hair away from her face. “Stay here and warm up, baby. I’ll be back shortly.” Spicy pine and the dark, earthy scent of man washed over her.

“Wait.” Cara clutched his arm, her gaze on the now calm features of his face.

His eyes gentled. “I need to take the SUV back to the
cabin. They’ll send reinforcements when the kidnappers don’t check in. While I’ve already left a few surprises for them, I’ll add a couple more on the car. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

“Where’s Janie?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“With my brother, Dage. She’s safe.”

“Wait. Shouldn’t we keep the SUV, just in case?” She couldn’t outrun him if necessary, she needed a vehicle.

Talen shook his head. “No. They’ll have GPS and the last thing we need is for them to track us if we run.” And, with a final kiss to her brow, he disappeared into the drilling rain.

Cara sat up wearily, her gaze on the fire. Talen had saved her life, without question—even as he sprayed blood, she’d been thankful he’d come for her. But his eyes burned brighter with brutality when he killed, which he did without a second thought, without hesitation. The last man begged for his life. Part of her wanted to run, but Talen, whatever or whoever he was, had her daughter, and she had no choice but to stay until she had Janie back.

Then she could run.

She looked around the cabin. The quaint space was entirely too secluded and with the rain drumming outside, it was entirely too intimate. Since it was late fall, there was no chance anyone else would be around. She had to find safety.

She moved toward the window, peering into the drizzly grey. The rain peppered the front porch, and a tiny green pot sitting on the railing caught her eye. Sucking in air, she threw open the door and lunged across the wooden planks to grab the plant. An ox-eyed daisy. Left outside to survive when his owners had left for the season. Ass hats.

“It’s okay,” she crooned, carrying the plant inside the now warm cabin. The daisy hadn’t flowered and its dark leaves drooped, but the nights hadn’t been cold enough yet to do any real damage. “I’ll call you Henry.” She grinned, putting the plant in the center of the table.

Her stomach rumbled. When had she last eaten? What
time was it now? How she could be hungry? To get away from Talen and find Janie, she needed her strength. She began pulling open cupboards to search for food.

As Talen returned, she stirred an aromatic stew on the old stove. Maybe she wouldn’t have to kill him. He did save her after all. He walked in, and she turned from the stove, taking in his size, the raw strength swirling around him. She’d never be able to kill him—not a chance in hell. Realization settled like a boulder in her stomach, and she clenched her hands together. What should she do?

He sniffed the savory air and then grinned. “Yes, mate?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as he closed the door behind him, muffling the sound of pelting rain.

“Mate? Sounds different than wife.”

“Both apply to you, darlin’.” He removed his vest and placed his weapons on the mantel above the hearth.

“You washed the blood off,” she murmured, her spine straightening, her stance challenging. This man had her child. Did that made them allies or enemies? Either way she had to get Janie as far away from him as possible.

“The rain did that.” His eyes flared in response as he squeezed water out of his dark hair.

“Are you hungry?” She retreated from the battle, trying to add some normalcy to the situation.

“Starving.” His eyes flashed fire as they ran over her, claimed her.

“Sit.” Cara ignored his double meaning, gesturing him to the table, and ladled out two bowls of stew from a can left by the owner. “Um, how do we know more of those guys aren’t coming? Do we even have time to eat?”

He nodded. “I just talked to Dage and had him pull up a satellite for the area. No one is within hundreds of miles. We’re also monitoring enemy camps—we’ll hear when they’re informed about the failed kidnapping.” Talen dropped into a chair, which squeaked against his weight. “We’ll leave when dawn lights, so no worries.”

She sat across from him and unfolded her napkin on her lap, relaxing her shoulders now that she was safe. For the night at least.

He raised an eyebrow. “Where’d you get the sad plant?”

Really. “He’s not sad. He just needed some warmth.”

“He?”

“Yes, he,” she said, tossing her head. “So, you’re really a vampire?” Damn. She had meant to ease into the discussion.

Talen’s chuckle relieved some of the tension in the room. “Not like you think.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’ve seen my fangs. Sometimes I take in blood.” He took a bite of the stew and closed his eyes, his pleasure dancing along her own skin until she pulled mental shields into place. “But only in extreme situations like during battle or sex. We don’t drink blood to survive, and we don’t melt in the sun. A wooden stake through the heart would kill anybody but us.”

“You’re faster and stronger than most men I’ve known. And I’ve never seen metallic eyes before.” Plus, he’d killed four dangerous men without breaking a sweat, without receiving one tiny scratch in return.

“Yeah, I assume that’s just a difference in our races.” He shrugged, shoveling in another mouthful of the fragrant stew.

“But”—Cara sat back as the thoughts raced through her mind—”don’t you think it’s odd we have these legends about vampires and it turns out you actually exist?”

“No. Like I said, our mates have always been human.” His emphasis on the word
mate
brought a flush to her skin and a tingle to her belly.

“Why?” she asked, focusing on his words and not her internal reaction.

Talen shrugged. “Basic genetics. Human females have two X chromosomes and males have an X and a Y, right?”

Cara nodded.

“In humans, the woman always passes an X chromosome, and if the man passes an X, you create a girl, XX. If he passes a Y, you get a baby boy, XY.” Talen took another bite. “Chromosome-wise, vampires have a V and an X.”

“You have a different chromosome?” Cara thought for a moment. “So a human female will pass on an X chromosome to a baby, and you either pass a V or an X?”

“No. We can only pass on a V, thus creating an XV baby, which is a male vampire. Nobody knows why.”

“Never, in all of your history, have you created a female vampire?”

“Never.”

Wow. Emma was the geneticist in the family—she’d be fascinated by this. “So, somehow the word got out. About you guys, I mean.” Someone somewhere had to have noticed their odd eyes and fangs.

A dull flush worked its way over his face. “There was another reason.” Talen spooned himself more stew from the pot in the middle of the table. “About a century and a half ago, we had a group of nut jobs who thought they lived to suck blood. You’d call them a cult. They interacted with your people and acted like the vampires of your legends. We took care of them. But, we’re not proud of it.”

“My people? You mean the United States or all humans?” Cara asked. “And why didn’t you reach out to us before? I mean, if you are so advanced and everything, why didn’t you become allies with us earlier? Let all of us know about you?”

“You hadn’t advanced to a point that made you beneficial to us, so we protected you from afar.”

“Beneficial? Weapon-wise?”

“No. Science-wise.”

“You need our scientists?”

Talen took another bite of stew before shaking his head. “We don’t. The Kurjans do.”

“So you saw no reason to interact with us before now.” Truly, it was a bit insulting.

“Nope.” He shrugged. “Individual contact was one thing, but as a race, you didn’t have anything we wanted. Until now.” His gaze raked over her face, and she squirmed in her seat.

A braver woman might have asked what he wanted now. Cara accepted that she wasn’t as brave as she hoped. “Amazing.” She shook her head as the world changed around her. “Wait a minute. My daughter is with vampires? Right now?” Her gaze darted to the door, nerve endings flaring to life along her skin.

“She’s safe, Cara. My brother will protect her with his life.”

She didn’t think so, and her mind scrambled to keep up. “The Kurjans, evil vampires from somewhere I’ve never heard of, want my daughter.” A red haze wavered across her vision. “Does that fucking sum it up? Vampire?”

“Pretty damn close.” His eyes narrowed. “Though you probably
have
heard of it. They’re based in Minnesota.”

“Minnesota?” She breathed out in almost a laugh. This couldn’t be happening.

“Yeah.”

“How long have they been based there?” Her mind reeled.

“I think they moved there maybe three hundred years ago,” he said, as if discussing simple historical facts.

“Oh.” Sarcasm came easy to her now. “And we humans didn’t notice?”

“Nope. You humans don’t notice anything you don’t want to, Cara.” He took another bite of stew.

She asked her questions in rapid fire. “How have vampires lived among us for three centuries? Do they kill? Do I know any vampires? Do they pay taxes like everyone else?”

After she calmed down, Talen answered. “We’ve lived among you to protect you from the Kurjus nation. Our treaty has protected you.”

“And now they’ve broken it?”

“Yes and they kill, or used to before the treaty. You might
know vampires, but definitely not the Kurjans. They don’t look like us and can’t go out in the sun, which is where your science is coming in. And of course, everybody pays taxes. You don’t mess with the IRS, no matter which race you belong to.” He gave a wry grin.

“How many people know you exist?”

“Not many. A couple of key people in your government, that’s all.”

“Are you immortal?”

“Close enough.” He sat back and studied her. “I’ve lived long enough to have lost loved ones.” Rubbing a hand across his chin, he cleared his throat. “Your file mentioned Janie’s father—I’m sorry you lost Simon. Is the wound still fresh?”

Cara’s breath caught in her throat, and she shrugged. “I miss him. We were good friends, and I think Janie would’ve loved him.”

Talen cocked his head to the side. “You were mere friends?”

Smoothing her napkin on her lap, Cara nodded. “Yes. We dated for a bit, but I never expected love or marriage in my life.” Her mind scrambled for anything else to talk about. “You said earlier you were a protector for your kind.”

“I am. As are my brothers.” Talen crossed his arms across his chest, a thoughtful expression sliding across the strong planes of his face.

“What does that mean?” She needed to find Janie.

“I guess you’d call us the ruling family. My eldest brother Dage would be considered a king in many civilizations.”

“If you’re in the so-called royal family, how are you a protector?” She placed her napkin on her bowl. “I mean, if your title means what it implies?”

“It does. Even when protecting impossible humans.” Talen snorted in amusement. “But as the royal family, we’re the first to fight when necessary. The five of us have trained since childhood. It’s our duty as the royal family to be the first to defend. The first to die, if need be.”

Cara took in his solemn gaze with a puzzled frown.

“I know.” Talen agreed with her look. “Your people wouldn’t fight with each other so often if the ones deciding to fight were the first ones to bleed. Your society has a ways to go, if you don’t blow yourselves up first.”

The superior look on his face rankled her temper. Her baby was with the protectors. The first to die, if necessary. It was unacceptable. “And where are you based?”

“You’ll learn all about our home when we get there, Cara.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” The absurd reality hit her like a wrecking ball. The man before her was pure danger and every survival instinct she had screeched for her to run. “Get my daughter here, now.” She rose to her feet, her eyes darting to the knife block on the counter and back.

“T
ry it.” His voice softened dangerously as he relaxed back in his chair. The rain beat a soft hum against the cozy cabin in direct opposition to the now tense energy swirling around.

She thought about it, she really did—the image of the blade piercing his immortal chest, the absolute surprise on his face as one of his prey plunged the knife deep, wiping that infuriating arrogance away. But the man still had Janie.

Cara took a full breath and used her most reasonable tone. “This isn’t going to work, Talen. I’ve changed my mind. Janie and I will be fine on our own.”

“We’re married, Cara. You and Janie will never be on your own again.” He spoke slowly, as if making sure she heard and understood each word.

“We’ll get unmarried, Talen. I’m not joking. Even your barbaric race must have some sort of annulment process. I want one.”

“Barbaric?” Talen raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Maybe. But only those who haven’t mated are granted what you’d call an annulment, Cara.”

“Good. We haven’t mated.” She blushed until her cheeks ached.

“We will mate tonight, wife.” His eyes flared hot and golden.

“No.” She lifted her chin and ignored the skittering in her lower stomach.

“Cara,” he leaned forward in his chair, “before this night has ended you will have no doubt you’ve been mated.” Intent surrounded him. Then it slammed into her. Damn those faulty empathic shields—maybe she should’ve been working on the damn skill instead of pretending it didn’t exist.

“Not a chance.” Her body hummed to agree while her mind screamed run. “Besides, you said
you bite
during battle or sex. You don’t mean you would, I mean—”

“Oh yeah, darlin’.” Glowing golden eyes met hers. “I will bite you. And you’ll like it.”

“No.” Cara tried to shove force into the words even as need scampered through her stomach and danced up her spine. “None of that’s going to happen, Talen.” A longing tingled inside her veins and called her a liar.