The Amulet (25 page)

"He is a good man. I hope he doesn't hate me." The words slipped from her mouth before she had thought about them.

There was understanding in his eyes and he seemed to hold her just a little closer. "He doesn't hate you, 'Lyss. He is upset with himself. He blamed himself when his family died and now he feels like he failed you."

"How do you know?"

"I can read him pretty well. He had to turn his back when you were crying because he blamed himself."

She hadn't thought of it that way. She thought he just couldn't stand the sight of her. "Thank you, by the way, for being there to dry my tears," she told him. It only just occurred to her that she had not said it before.

Because you didn't have to say a word.

The thought whispered in her mind like a gentle breeze through autumn leaves. "Oh, Xander," she sighed. Before she could say more, her knees buckled beneath her and she swooned.

Xander caught her in his arms and scowled at her chest. "Take that damn necklace off now!" he ordered her.

She had never heard such ferocity in his tone before. Her fingers trembled as she set to do as he told her. The dragon protested and seemed to hiss in her mind, but she lifted the chain over her head and dropped it to the floor. The dragon still called to her, but it was faint now. Without the amulet around her neck, she felt weaker than ever. She wanted to put it back on, but she didn't dare fight with Xander on the matter.

He kissed her forehead, then her lips. She tasted blood and it enticed her hunger. He had bitten his tongue, assumably on purpose. A hint of the fire that flowed through his veins was in his kiss and she couldn't get enough. He knew what he was doing to her and rejoiced in it.

When he finally ended their kiss, the taste of his blood lingered on her lips like an agonizing reminder. "Are you hungry now?" he asked with a tantalizing smile.

"Starving," she whispered.

"Mmm, good. What would you like? We could go out, or maybe you prefer I bring it to you?"

His candor made her laugh, but it was an attempt at normalcy, and she loved it. "I'm afraid I'm too tired to go out just yet, although your kiss certainly helped."

"
Your lips deserve the sweet caress only I can offer," he said to her, the words ringing a bell of recognition in her mind.

"I've heard you say those words before," she told him.

He looked at her curiously for a moment, clearly not following her train of thought. "I don't believe I've ever said that to you," he ventured.

"No, you didn't say them to me. You said them to my mother in my dream." She caught a flash of a memory in his head before the walls slammed shut. She assumed it was a defense mechanism. "It wasn't a dream, was it? I was seeing a memory."

"No, it wasn't a dream." His tone was cold, but it was not reflected in his eyes when they looked at her. "I should really get some new material, eh?"

She knew the joke was meant to end the discussion, so she gave him a polite smile and didn't press him on it. "Should we put the amulet away somewhere?"

"If you ask me, Alyssa, the thing guards itself pretty well. I'm afraid to touch it after what it did to Nevar." Before he finished speaking, he lifted her in his arms and started to leave the room.  She certainly saw his point. There was part of her that did not want to part from it, and another that wanted to be as far as possible from it. She wondered which voice she should listen to this time? It seemed she would always be split down the center: the woman and the wolf.

"As time goes on, you will find that your two halves will agree more and more, mainly because you learn to trust the instinct of the wolf."

"I keep forgetting that you can read my thoughts," she chuckled. "That amulet has a strange effect on me. The longer I'm around it, the harder it is to walk away from it. It's no wonder Gabriel wants it back so desperately."

"I'd love nothing better than to give it back to him," he muttered.

"I don't think it will go back to him willingly. He threatened to kill me, and that little trap he set up was meant for me. Nevar threw a wrench in his plans when he showed up instead of me. For that, I suppose I owe him my life."

At that very moment, Nevar came around a corner to meet them. "You are most welcome, milady, but since it was I who dragged you into this mess to begin with, no thanks was necessary."

"Nevar, when are you gonna learn to shut up and take a damn compliment once in a decade?" Xander shot back at him.

There was a note of surprise written on his face. "Forgive me, Alyssa. I hope I did not offend?"

She wasn't sure she could answer that truthfully without being offensive herself. There was a bitterness growing in the pit of her stomach at the sudden properness he was exhibiting towards her, as though they were strangers. She had shared his bed and had opened herself to him intimately and now she felt he was betraying her in the deepest way.

He sighed heavily, and his shoulders sagged visibly. His military posture had disintegrated. "It seems I have much to atone for," he said. "Xander, allow me to take Alyssa out to hunt. We both need it, and I have some explaining to do."

Alyssa felt Xander's muscles tense before he lowered her reluctantly to the floor. "She needs to eat well, Nevar. See that she does."

"You'll take care of Jessie, won't you, Xander?" It seemed she had barely gotten to see her friend since she arrived and she was afraid to leave her side again.

"Go, 'Lyss, I got this," he winked at her.

She gave him a small smile and reached out for Nevar. It was harder than it should have been, she realized, to leave Xander. The wolf had won over after all. Once Nevar had an arm around her, Xander pulled away and headed towards the end of the hall. His thoughts were clouded, but she could see the storm brewing in his mind.

"I am truly sorry, Alyssa. I have hurt you, and that was not my intent at all."

"What was your intention, Nevar? It certainly seemed like you were purposely trying to hurt me," she sobbed. "All your propriety and your cold demeanor. I opened my heart to you. Everything I had, I gave to you and you threw it back in my face!" The tears were flowing freely now, but she still had enough anger to keep her voice from cracking.

It was the rebuking he had anticipated. He deserved it, and he knew it, but he wanted to tell her why, more than that, he needed to tell her. Her beautiful green eyes were rimmed in red and stained with tears, and still, she was as beautiful and alluring as always. It was in her blood. He waited for her to give him an opening to speak.

"I do not regret one second of our time together, Alyssa, but if I could trade it all for your happiness, I would do so without hesitation. I only withdrew because I cannot protect you. I have failed miserably since bringing you into this world, but where I have failed, Xander has succeeded. I have seen the way the two of you think. Your minds work in unison, like two parts of the same whole. I cannot compete with that, to me, your thoughts are a puzzle that I am unable to solve, though I wanted to."

She was silent, and the seemingly random patterns of color that were so mysterious to him faded from her mind and, for the first time in a long while, he saw a clear picture of her thoughts.

Nevar, I have to accept that I am different. I am vampire and werewolf, and yet, I am neither. I walk a delicate balancing act between my two halves, and I am nowhere near mastering the art. If you do not love me, I can accept that, but do not make excuses. I never asked you to protect me, so you have not failed me. Xander and I share the mind of the wolf, as does Jessie, but I have never meant to keep my thoughts a puzzle.

"Alyssa," he whispered hoarsely. "I cannot say that I do not love you, but there is more I have not told you. It is quite a long story, so I insist we eat first, but I promise to explain everything." He pulled her close, feeling a note of sorrow in his chest. He transformed them both to mist and together they soared away from the manor.

It seemed to her a long time since she had traveled by mist. The feeling of weightlessness gave her a sense of freedom. She felt Nevar's presence woven tightly around her as if he was trying to shield her. Still seething with anger, she retreated as far from him as she was able without returning to her physical form. They soon approached the glittering lights of the city and Nevar guided them down into one of the buildings, finding a darkened apartment.

As they converted into a solid state, the effects of gravity once again pulled at her. The room was dark, but it was warm and inviting. It reminded her so much of her penthouse that she became homesick. The warm aromas of flowers and spices stirred memories of days when life seemed so much simpler. That was, until she smelled a new scent.

She heard the soft beating of their hearts now. They were lying in bed, asleep. A couple lay wrapped in each other's arms, dreaming peacefully. The female caught her interest, in particular. There was an undetermined element in her blood that provoked her appetite.

She let the rich scent of blood fill her nostrils. Her hunger took over. She and Nevar moved in unison. Alyssa felt their minds and twisted the strings to prevent them from waking up before her teeth met their mark. She felt the vein release as the blood began to flow. There was an edge of fire hidden beneath the iron tang and she finally recognized what she had detected earlier. The woman had a hint of werewolf blood in her. It was higher in her family tree, but she still carried a trace of the gene.

Once she had her fill, she closed the wound and backed away. She was not the only Were offspring out there, though somehow she felt like she was. How many more were out there? How many of them lived out their lives blissfully unaware? She had managed only twenty-five years without knowing, but she was grateful she had been able to enjoy a normal life for at least that long.

When Nevar's hand lighted on her shoulder, she jumped under his touch. Her mind had been far away and had not been expecting him. There was knowing in his eyes and his thoughts were sympathetic. He opened his arms to her. Slowly, she stepped into them and he pulled her into his chest. Once there, they vanished into mist.

I'm not the only one out there.
It wasn't a question anymore. She had tasted the proof.

No, Alyssa, you are not the only one of your kind. More than that, you and Jessie share a much stronger bond than you know.

Jessie? What do you mean, Nevar?

She is your sister. I am sure of it. Katarina is her mother, also. It occurred to me that she was unusual when I tracked her back to Gabriel.

What was so unusual about her?

Well, there are a few things, but what I noticed first was that she left a mist trail behind, which is a trait specific to vampires.

Xander said that werewolves can't travel by mist, but when Katarina disappeared on us that night, I was so sure that was what she had done.

Their bodies aren't designed to sustain that kind of transformation the way ours are. Our bodies are essentially dead. We have no heart beat and no need to breathe, so it doesn't affect us to exist in a suspended state. Werewolves are still very much alive. They need their blood, organs, and tissues intact to survive. Jessie has enough vampire in her that she can survive such a transformation, which makes me wonder who her father is, really, because the man who raised her was not a vampire.

We have always been so close. It should surprise me, but I don't think anything can anymore. If she really is my sister, then her father must be Matthias.

Matthias? Who told you he was her father?

Well, I'm guessing, but he told me that he was my father, and something he almost said kept nagging at the back of my mind. When I mentioned Jessie, he hesitated before calling her my 'friend', like he was going to call her something else instead and stopped himself.

You met Matthias?

I walked the planes after we fought the cougar and found him. He was waiting for me, said he knew I was coming. I wanted to learn to control it, to walk the planes only when I wanted.

That explains a great deal. I apologize that I was so little help in finding him for you.

Your memory of him was the only clue I had to go on. Without you, I never would have found out who my parents were.

You give me far too much credit, but I am flattered.

They were about halfway to the manor, and Alyssa noticed the streaks of pink coloring the sky. The flow of time seemed so irrelevant now. The dawn of a new day no longer seemed to hold the same meaning. It was beautiful and brought with it the promise of a new day, but some of the mystery seemed missing.

We need to hurry, Nevar. The sun is about to rise.

It won't affect you in this form, but we're nearly there.

As the estate came into view, she got a bird's eye view of the property in the daylight. The vineyard was heavy with ripening fruit and sweetened the air with their fragrance. She saw the horses grazing lazily in the pasture beyond, except for Brush Fire, who was prancing along the fence with his tail held high. He looked so majestic, like a model on a runway.

Closer to the manor, Xander and Jessie stood on the veranda idly watching Zukko romp and play on the lawn. Nevar took them down closer and she felt the pull of gravity returning more gradually this time. When her feet touched solid ground again, Nevar released his hold on her, but he still held her with his gaze.