Chapter Nine
Rana awoke to the smell of bacon. Her stomach growled in response to the strong aroma. She slid out of bed, careful not to wake Lucian.
Once she’d showered and dressed in casual black slacks, a white tank top and a royal blue cardigan, she quietly made her way downstairs. As she descended the curved staircase, Rana noted it was almost dusk outside. Wow, she had been exhausted. She’d slept almost twenty-four hours. No wonder she was starving. She wished she hadn’t slept what little time she had left away, but she must’ve needed it.
A young girl, who looked to be about sixteen was play-wrestling with Jet at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hello,” Rana said in a friendly voice when she reached the bottom step.
The girl jerked her head around, her chin-length, flame-red hair bobbing with her movement. Her smile disappeared as if she was ashamed to be caught enjoying herself. She eyed Rana up and down, sniffing the air. “You’re not one of them, are you?”
Rana laughed. “A vampire? No, I’m not. I’m just here visiting. My name’s Rana.”
The girl nodded, then glanced back at the front door as she rubbed Jet’s head. “Yeah, me too. I’m busting out of this loony bin as soon as I’m old enough.”
Rana started to ask her name when Sabryn came down the stairs and stopped beside her.
“Good evening, Trish. Did you sleep well, dear?”
Trish shot Sabryn a cutting look. “How can you ask me that? You weirdoes have my body all messed up. Making me sleep during the day, keeping me awake all hours of the night. Bunch of freaks,” she muttered under her breath as she turned back to Jet.
Sabryn ignored her snappy comment, saying in an upbeat tone, “I believe Uncle Vlad is setting up the chess board in the study.”
Trish was up and running before Sabryn finished the last word. “See ya later, Rana,” she called behind her.
Rana’s heart went with her. She missed her chess games with Jack.
“Trish’s parents both died due to a car accident. Her mother, who was one quarter vampire, died instantly. Her father, who was half werewolf, couldn’t bear losing his mate. He died from his injuries a few days after her mother,” Sabryn explained, shaking her head. “Trish doesn’t realize how special she is. She hasn’t come to the age of awareness yet.”
Rana looked at Sabryn in surprise. “You mean she doesn’t know she’s from two very distinct races?”
“Yes. Because her parents were neither a full vampire nor werewolf, their lives were very much like humans.” Sabryn sighed. “We aren’t sure what powers she’ll develop, but we don’t want a rogue vampire or werewolf trying to take her for his own. So, we brought her here.” She gave a brief smile. “For some reason, she’s taken to Uncle Vlad.”
Rana laughed. “It’s the chess games. My grandfather had me addicted.”
“Good evening, Rana,” Lucian said from behind her. He placed his warm hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed.
Rana couldn’t keep herself from inhaling. He smelled woodsy and clean at the same time, his skin still warm from his shower. She turned to look at him as Sabryn stepped onto the foyer and addressed her brother with an amused expression.
“You’re looking quite rested this evening, Lucian.”
He grinned and slipped his hand around Rana’s waist as he moved to stand beside her. His silver eyes twinkled as he looked at her while he addressed his sister. “I think a whole day of sleep was just what we needed.”
Rana’s embarrassed blush spread all over her body. If his sister wondered if they’d slept together, now she knew for sure. She wished she had the ability to speak in his mind, because right now he’d be getting an earful. Instead, she stiffened and excused herself to follow her nose toward the wonderful smell of bacon.
Just before she walked into the dining room, she felt Lucian’s hands on her shoulders. Without any effort at all…as if she were as light as a feather, he quickly turned her around. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?” She gave him an incredulous look and glanced behind him to make sure no one was about before she spoke in a lowered voice, “You basically just told your sister that we’d slept together.”
Lucian laughed and rubbed her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “You’re my mate, Rana. It’s expected.”
The deep baritone of his laughter was easy and pleasant and she would’ve enjoyed seeing him so happy if she weren’t so miserable—by the end of the evening, he’d be Vité and she’d be dead. “Lucian, I told you. I’m not here to become your mate.”
His fingers tightened on her shoulders. “You can so easily dismiss last night?” The hurt look in his eyes was almost more than she could bear. She had to be strong. But she couldn’t lie to him either.
“Last night was spectacular, but becoming a vampire would change my entire life. I’m not ready for that.” Apparently she could lie, when necessary. Before he could reply, she twisted out of his hold and entered the dining room.
A woman in a maid’s uniform came out of the kitchen with a carafe of coffee and set it on the table with a friendly smile. Her short gray hair brushed against her cheeks as she turned and said, “The food’s on the sideboard, dear,” before returning to the kitchen.
Rana felt Lucian enter the dining room. She didn’t even have to look to know he was there. Her heart leapt at the realization while her stomach plummeted. She did her best to ignore him as she filled her plate with bacon, eggs and hash browns. He sat across from her as she set her plate down. She’d never been so hungry in her life. She’d taken several bites when Lucian said quietly, “Now that I’ve found you, I can’t imagine my life without you, Rana.”
Rana paused the fork midway to her mouth and met his steely gaze. “Lucian…” she began.
His eyes burned with intensity as he continued in a husky voice, “I want to fall asleep with you in my arms every morning for the rest of our lives.”
Her heart ached at his words. He was saying all the right things. God, make him stop, please—“Stop.”
Rana felt a set of hands lay heavily on her shoulders. She immediately turned, but no one stood behind her. She shifted her gaze back to Lucian and narrowed her eyes.
He spoke in her mind instead. I want to taste your sweet flavor again, feel your body wrap around mine, hear you screaming in pleasure.
The hands slid past her arms to touch the sides of her breasts before skimming down her waist and hips. Slowly his fingers slid across the crease of her legs before they touched the juncture between her thighs. Tiny shivers started in her chest and shot down to her stomach before settling into an aching, burning need. For him. Only him.
Rana dropped the fork and jumped up. Slamming her hands on the table between them, rattling the plate and silverware, she leaned forward. “Stop it, Lucian!”
Lucian stood and leaned across the table. His hands bracketed hers, the lines in his face were taut with fury, his silver eyes sparking in anger. “I will not! You are my mate, Rana.”
His commanding presence was back. The dominance he exuded shot down to her stomach and sizzled right back up her spine, leaving her weak and breathless. She wanted to punch him square in the nose and kiss him at the same time. How could he make her feel so much at once? She tensed her shoulders and set her jaw. “You’re just going to have to…”
“Lucian…” Sabryn entered the dining room. His sister’s gaze darted back and forth between them. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but the clan leaders want to meet with you to discuss Kraid before the ceremony.”
“Now?” Lucian snapped.
“Yes, they’re gathered in the library.” She turned to walk out, but glanced back, eyeing them. “I’ll tell them you’ll be a minute.”
Lucian’s gaze returned to Rana’s. “Finish your breakfast. I want you to come, too.”
“Why do I need to come?” she asked, truly surprised he wanted her there. “It sounds like a private vampire matter.”
He straightened an
d rubbed his hand on the back of his neck with a sigh. “You’re my mate, Rana. You go where I go.”
He said that as if it were a foregone conclusion. Had he not been listening to a word she said? When she opened her mouth to object, he continued, “I need you to tell them what Kraid tried to do to you. Do you think you’ll be up to it?”
Straightening, she nodded then sat down to finish her meal.
*
After she’d told her story about Kraid, Rana sat in a cushioned chair next to the door, listening to the clan leaders talk. She felt out of place among them, being the only woman. Well, Sabryn was there, but she was a vampire and the sister to the man about to become Vité, so she had her own station of importance.
At least she knew the names of the five clans now. Lot of good it would do her, Rana thought wryly. But she let her gaze follow the men around the table nonetheless. There were the Kantrés, who were led by Lucian, the Rueans, normally led by Kraid, were represented by Ian tonight, the Arryns were represented by a blond man with a strong jaw, the Norridens leader had pitch black hair and olive-toned skin, and the Sythens, whose bald leader had piercing black eyes.
The leaders argued among themselves as to how to punish Kraid—whether or not to make an example of him before they killed him. The vampire law, she learned, was not like humans’. They took care of their own rogue vamps. Their due process and court system was happening in this room right now. The argument had turned so heated, Sabryn stepped in to calm the men down. Rune moved over to sit beside Rana, leaning against her leg. Rana rubbed his head to calm her worries.
Suddenly, the wolf’s entire body tensed. He looked at her as a low growl escaped, but then the sound changed to a whimper.
Are you ready for me, Rana? A voice entered her mind. Kraid.
She stiffened and looked at Lucian who was debating with the Arryn clan leader.
What, no answer? That must mean Lucian hasn’t made you a vampire yet. Maybe he’s having second thoughts, since you don’t look anything like his fiancée, Elizabeth.
Lucian’s eyes met hers for a brief second, but she looked away before he could see the pain and confusion Kraid’s words brought.
Kraid made a tsking sound. So tragic, Elizabeth’s demise. Lucian mourned her death forever until he decided to foolishly believe in reincarnation. His harsh laugh grated on her nerves. What cockamamie bullshit! Can you believe he thought that ring would bring her back to him? He’s waited decades and now he thinks you’re Elizabeth reincarnated.
Rana looked down at the ring on her hand. God, now it all made sense. Elizabeth’s grave had to have been the one Lucian was visiting that day she saw him in the cemetery.
She closed her eyes as the hurt and betrayal washed over her. So what if she’d be dead before sunrise. The knowledge didn’t stop the anguish that tightened her chest. Rana covered her mouth with a trembling hand as she bolted from the room. Lucian called to her, but she ignored him and headed straight for the front door. She had to get away. She thought she was strong, but she wasn’t strong enough to handle this.
Rana didn’t make it past the water fountain before something knocked her roughly to the ground. Her clothes were little protection from the cement as she skidded on her side across the unforgiving surface.
Kraid was on her before she could move. He pinned her to the ground and grabbed a fistful of her hair. Yanking her head back, he exposed her throat for his impending bite. The look on his face said he intended to tear her to shreds. Eyes blazing bright red and fangs extended, he hissed out, “You’re the reason I’m not being voted Vité tonight.”
“Me?” she yelped.
“Lucian had lost interest in the Vité position. He wouldn’t have challenged me. Would’ve just let it all slip by…until you showed up.” Kraid lowered his head closer to her neck.
As scared as Rana was, Kraid’s arrogance and cowardice infuriated her. He reminded her of her father. She refused to be a victim. If she’d learned nothing else from her mother, that trait had apparently been ingrained in her psyche. Drawing on her respect for her mother’s bravery, Rana fought Kraid with the only power she could wield over him. Casting doubt. “You’re not the sharpest fangs in the clan, are you?”
Kraid jerked his head up, sneering, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You may kill me, but Lucian will hunt you down. He won’t let my death go unavenged.”
“No, he wouldn’t.” Lucian’s cold voice sounded above them right before he yanked Kraid off of her. With a deep roar, he swiped a clawed hand across Kraid’s chest, ripping tendons and flesh, before he sent the man’s body flying twenty-five feet across the yard.
As Rana scrambled to her feet, her shoes slipped on a wet surface. She looked down. Her clothes and body were spattered with Kraid’s blood. She glanced up in time to see Lucian leap the distance between he and Kraid, landing hard on top of the vamp.
Kraid wasn’t done. He slashed at Lucian’s chest, shredding his clothes and skin. Lucian roared in anger and with a show a strength that made her gulp back a cry of shock, he shoved his hand right through Kraid’s chest, past the muscle and bone.
Lucian’s shoulders were taut, his face hard as granite. “The difference between you and me is that I control my urges.” Lucian leaned close, ignoring Kraid’s spastic jerk and yelp of pain. “But if you harm what’s precious to me, then I’m the worst kind of beast.” Rana almost fainted at the sight and the sound of Kraid’s ear-rending scream as Lucian ripped his heart right out of his chest. Then nothing but eerie silence greeted her.
Shaking all over, she cast her gaze down. Anywhere but at Kraid. Her clothes were covered in blood. Its iron-like scent clung to her as if she’d rolled in a pile of metal filings. She touched the sticky, warm moisture and her stomach turned when she wondered what it tasted like. Why did Lucian’s people find it so appealing?
No! Shaking all over, she fled back into the house, up the stairs, then into her room. Tearing at the offending clothes, she couldn’t get them off fast enough. Rana shivered as she stood beside the shower, waiting for the water to turn warm. Blood caked her hands and neck. Another person’s blood.
As soon as she stepped into the shower, she grabbed the soap. Her hands trembling and heart pounding, she rubbed the lather vigorously over her body. Off, off. She wanted the red stain gone. The smell of death and now the appealing smell of life assailed her nostrils, frightening her beyond measure. Life and death. Death and life. So much spilt blood usually meant death, but to vampires it represented life. These shouldn’t be my last thoughts before I die.
Lucian materialized in the shower next to her. Grasping her wrists, he stopped her frantic movements. Rana met his unwavering pale gaze, while steam curled around them, wrapping them in a blanket of moist warmth.
Droplets of water glistened on his pitch-black hair as he took the soap from her hand, then began to bathe her body. Rana initially stiffened, but closed her eyes and gave in, tears streaking down her cheeks. His gentle touch along her neck, shoulders and chest soothed her frazzled nerves.
Opening her eyes, she ran a soapy hand over his chest, careful to avoid his wounds. She touched his neck and shoulders, covering all the firm planes of his body, appreciating his sculpted form. Never again to see him like this, to feel the hard, raw power underneath my hands. The thought tore at her heart. She committed his body to memory. Do we get to keep memories when we die?
Warm water sluiced over her skin, washing away the blood and soap. Rana reveled in Lucian’s fingers sliding over her. His large hands touched the curve of her hip, the indentation of her waist, then trailed upward to her breasts. When he bent so he could kiss the pink tips one at a time, she held back a whimper. But she couldn’t hold back her gasp as he sucked one taut nipple into his mouth, nipped at the tip, and then did the same to the other.
Moaning at his magical touch, Rana set her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. When Lucian wrapped his hands around her waist, she opened he
r eyes. As soon as her gaze landed on the ring on her finger, she was yanked out of the seductive spell.
“I’m not Elizabeth, Lucian,” she said stiffly. Dropping her hands, she backed up and looked away.
He tensed, gaze narrowed. “Who told you—” A pause. “Kraid.”
Lucian cupped her face and turned her head so she had to meet his forceful gaze. “I know you’re not Elizabeth. She may have been the reason I sought you, but you’re my true mate, Rana.”
She heard his words, but unbidden thoughts of the many times he could’ve told her about the ring and Elizabeth, but didn’t, bombarded her mind. Her stomach churned with nausea and her chest tightened.
“Here, take her ring…” She tried to pull the ring off, but even in the shower, with soapy hands, the ring wouldn’t budge.
“Damn it all!” she yelled her frustration.
Lucian’s hand wrapped around her fingers, closing them into a fist. “No,” he said angrily and set her back against the shower wall.
Rana sucked in a breath as the cold tile quickly lowered her body temperature. Lifting her chin, she glared at him.
“I know the difference, Rana.” His infuriated silver gaze locked with hers. “I admire your courage and your compassion. I love your quick humor and strong sense of self.” When she didn’t respond, his jaw tightened and he shook her gently. “Elizabeth wasn’t near as stubborn as you are. And I didn’t have this all-consuming need to have her like I do you. You are my true mate. Get used to it.”
Lucian didn’t wait for a response. He pulled her to him, crushing her lips in a bruising, dominating kiss. As his tongue invaded her mouth, Lucian’s intemperate desire fueled her own. Rana wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, needing his touch, his connection. Her heart sang. His actions, even more than his words, told her he truly cared for her, not a woman from a lifetime ago.
His hand slid between them, cupping her breast, rubbing her nipple before sliding lower between her legs. When his fingers found their mark, Rana pressed against him, wanting their connection to soar to new heights. Lucian didn’t hesitate. He slid two fingers inside her, tested her readiness, then groaned against her mouth.
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