by Mina Carter
“Yes.”
“Are you saying you were humoring me by playing dumb?” She turned her head to look up at him. “That sounds ridiculous even for you.”
“Yeah.” He lifted his head to kiss her cheek. “I guess it does. But it’s the truth.”
She rolled over on top of him. With her elbows on his chest and her palms supporting her head, she stared into his eyes. “It’s your lucky day, Joseph. I believe you, so I won’t kick your ass for keeping something of such great importance from me.”
“In that case,” he said, grinning and winking, “I lied, and you should spank me for it. It’s the only way I’ll ever learn to behave.”
“I know you’re telling me the truth about the werewolf thing, but I know you’re keeping something from me. As tempting as it is, I don’t think I’ll reward you for keeping secrets from me with a spanking.” Frowning, she stared at him for a moment. “The werewolf thing is weird, but I’m not completely shocked. I’ve always known something was off with me,” she said. “Even without the morphine in my body, I feel edgy sometimes. I always feel something volatile and unpredictable inside me when I’m afraid or mad.” She smiled. “Or, as I’ve recently learned, when overly excited. But I’d always believed it had something to do with the treatment I received for this cancer when I was a child.”
“Why would you assume it had something to do with the treatment?”
“I lost track of a lot of time while I was at the hospital.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ve no real memory of it other than the last few months I was there. I was told that I was in a coma. But I never really believed it.”
“Why?”
She started to get up off him, but he wrapped his strong arms around her and held her. “It’s nothing.” She was saying too much, revealing too much to him. He didn’t need to know what had happened to her. She didn’t want anyone to know. It was embarrassing.
“If it has anything to do with you it means everything to me.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Well then, there’ll be no harm in telling me what happened.”
“Fine. I’ll show you. Let me up.” She moved off him and the bed. She hesitated for a few seconds and then turned her back to him as she lifted her shirt. “For years I had horrible nightmares of turning into a monstrous animal and being operated on while I was awake.” She paused. “I assume the scar is proof that it was more than a nightmare.”
* * *
Joseph moved to the edge of the bed. For a long moment he stared at her back, and then he looped his finger in her belt and pulled. “Come a little closer, Mia.” He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He’d seen the same scars before, but never on a living person. It wasn’t a single scar. Her back had two scars creating the Christian cross. Heart sinking, he started to trace the scars with his fingers. “Why didn’t you tell me? Wait.” He lifted his head to look up at her. “Why haven’t I seen any of this in your memories?”
“Why didn’t you confront me about being in denial?” she asked.
“For that, I was wrong. I apologize. Tell me why I haven’t seen it.”
“You’re not as clever at sneaking around in my head as you think.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’m perfectly capable of keeping certain things from you.”
That brought his eyebrows up. “Really?
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I got over it. I forgot about it. I guess I just haven’t had any reason to think about it in a very long time.”
“Do you have the same doctor now?” He planned to kill the son of a bitch slowly, painfully.
“No. Of course not. I was a child the last time I saw him. In fact, I haven’t seen him since I ran away from the last group home I was placed in when I was fifteen.”
“Do you remember the doctor’s name?” Joseph asked.
“No.”
“Do you remember anything about the hospital?”
“It was dark and cold.” As she talked Joseph merged his mind deeply with her so while she was recalling it he would see it all in detail. “I remember a lot of pain. Also, there was a priest of some sort. I didn’t like him at all. He was a cruel man. During the last few months I was there he read scriptures and performed exorcism rituals while I was strapped to a hospital bed. Other people were there. I couldn’t see them because of bright lights. I know it wasn’t a normal hospital, Joseph.”
“Why?” He knew why. He asked to coax her into continuing to recall the memory. He wanted as much detail from her as possible. Hopefully, he was wrong. But if he was right he wanted to make sure there were no survivors when he went after the people responsible for torturing her.
“It looked like an underground laboratory. There weren’t any windows. And there were bars instead of doors. The walls were stone. Rough stone. You’re going to think this is crazy, but I always thought it was a cave.”
Joseph’s heart sank. His assumption was right. She had been a victim of the religious brutality that had nearly annihilated her kind hundreds of years ago. She’d been severely tortured. It was why she’d never connected with her wolf and why he’d never been able to make any progress defeating the cancer. It wasn’t cancer. They’d attempted to destroy the lycan in her.
“What’s wrong? It was such a long time ago, Joseph.” She lowered her shirt. “Why do you look sad?”
“You don’t have cancer, Mia.”
Her swallow was audible. “Then shouldn’t you be just a little bit happy?” The anguish in her voice ripped at him.
“I should’ve known.” It was the worst revelation he’d ever had. Coming to terms with it was tearing his heart to shreds. “I don’t know why I didn’t consider this before. I should’ve realized what was happening. You’re dying because your wolf is dying. They used poison to try to separate your wolf from you, but it’s not possible to kill one and not the other. You’re one with your wolf, just as I am one with my dragon. My people joined with yours and stopped the practice hundreds of years before you were born. It shouldn’t have happened during your lifetime.”
“There’s no cure, is there?” Her voice cracked.
“I will find one,” he promised.
“Didn’t you look for a cure before?” she prompted.
He wasn’t going to tell her about the many failed attempts. “I will find it because you need it.”
Even as they were talking, Joseph was coming up with a plan. If he tried to alter the past she would likely suffer a worse fate. What was done was done. Healing her was his only option. It didn’t take long before he knew what he needed to do. It was simple—he needed to go back in time to take the very same poison she had been forced to take. His dragon, much stronger and more developed than her wolf, could fight it and possibly create a cure. It hadn’t been tried before because of the possible consequences. But with her life at stake, the effects meant nothing to him. Nothing meant anything without her, and this was the best possible way to save her.
“There is none.” He felt her need to touch him, to comfort him an instant before he turned around. She reached out and pulled him close to cradle his head against her belly. She massaged his scalp with the tips of her fingers. “It’s okay. It really is okay, Joseph. I’ve accepted it.”
“No.” The thought of her giving up brought him to his feet. “It’s the pain.” He framed her face between his hands and bent his head to press his lips against her forehead. “It’s wearing you down.” He pushed her down onto the bed and followed her. “You should start taking the morphine more regularly again.”
“But I … Joseph, you know I can’t.” She laughed out loud. “You know better than anyone else how it affects me.”
“It makes you a little feisty.” Using his elbow to prop his head up, he looked down at her. “Feisty is a good thing. Feisty is fun.” He traced her lips with the pad of his finger.
“Stop it.” She swatted his hand. “You’re tickling me.”
&nb
sp; Laughing softly, he continued to tickle her lips with his finger. She bit his finger and held it there between her teeth as she smiled up at him. “I like feisty.” He growled the words. “A lot. And you should know that I consider biting to be very stimulating foreplay.”
She released his finger. “I tried to shoot you.” Yawning, she covered her mouth.
He rolled onto his back and gathered her into his arms. Caressing her arm and shoulder, he started to swamp her mind and body with fatigue so she would sleep. “But you didn’t.” She turned her head to look up at him. He looked down at her and smiled as if her not blowing his brains out was some type of victory.
She laughed. “Why didn’t I shoot you?” He knew she’d laughed because the question would take the smile right off his face. And it did.
“It doesn’t matter.” Using his hand, he guided her to rest her head on his chest. He continued to fill her mind and body with fatigue, hoping to gently force her into a deep state of sleep. He had a lot to do, and he couldn’t take her with him when he did it. He hated leaving her alone, though it would only be for a short time. She had a habit of getting into trouble, but he didn’t have a choice. The best way to ensure her safety while he was away was to make sure she was asleep the entire time.
“There were no bullets in the gun. I could’ve killed you.” She yawned again. “And I can’t even remember why I was mad. I mean, I remember you were being annoying. Luckily, I’m used to it now. Well … it could’ve been because you allowed me to believe you were a vampire.”
“A bullet can’t kill me. I was helping you with the clasp on your bracelet. And I never told you I was a vampire. It’s not my fault you decided to assume the worst of me.”
“You made it easy.”
“You have a good point. That’s why I think you should take the morphine regardless of how feisty it makes you. When I’m around you usually direct your anger on me.” He smiled. “And I’m not easily killed.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re not easy to kill. I’m not taking morphine at all anymore. What about Emily? I need to get her away from Mary. I won’t be able to do it if my head isn’t clear.”
“Not just you. We will get her away from Mary.” It was a fact he wasn’t going to argue. “Well then, since you’re refusing to be rational, you will just have to spend more time with me.”
“No way. People are already starting to talk.” She paused for a few seconds, and he knew she was drifting off. “I keep having the same dream, Joseph.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s strange. It’s more like a nightmare. I try to take a breath, but I can’t. I know I need to take a breath before it’s too late. I feel desperate and afraid. The more I struggle to take a breath the more desperate and afraid I get. And then you give me …”
He knew she’d fallen asleep, so he used their mental link in hopes of getting her to continue the conversation. What do I give to you, Mia?
Your breath.
When? He waited for her to respond for a few moments, but she didn’t. When do I give my breath to you, Mia?
I feel like I’m drifting away, like I’m flying. It feels good. I have no pain. I’m free. And then I realize I can’t breathe. I’m dying. I try, but I can’t wake up. I can’t breathe. I see you holding me. You want me to come back to you. I want to come back to you, but I know it’s too late. So do you. Your sadness runs as deep as mine. I reach out to you. I need to touch you, but I start to move further away from you. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I fight to get closer to you, I just keep moving further and further away from you until you give your breath to me.
He was taken aback. She couldn’t possibly know about a male demon’s ability to give the gift of perfect immortality to his mate. He figured she’d unconsciously retrieved the information from his mind. If that was the case, their connection was much stronger and deeper than he thought. If she’d been his true mate, the inner knowledge would’ve ensured her ability to receive his immortal breath without fear.
As he had done in the past he had to fight the urge to give his breath to her at that moment. The temptation was almost more than he could handle, but even though he would follow her, he wouldn’t be the cause of her dying. I will never allow anything to take you away from me. You will remain asleep until I return and wake you up. He held her in his arms for an hour as he created a deadly hedge around the bedroom to keep her protected during his absence. He also sorted through her painful childhood memories until he found the path that would take him to her toward the end of the time she was being poisoned as a child.
He chose the end because it was possible the formula for the poison had changed during the time she’d been forced to take it. He needed to make sure his body worked out the right cure for her as soon as possible. He didn’t have time to waste on a second try. She didn’t have time for it.
~ Eight ~
THE SOUND OF the phone ringing woke Mia up. “Hello.” She felt unusually drowsy. She remembered Joseph carrying her to the bed, holding her in his arms, and talking to her, but she didn’t remember him leaving.
“Emily called, but I didn’t answer in time! She’s in trouble! I need to find her!”
Mia, fully alert now, sat up. “No. She’ll call back, Julie.”
“She needs me. I’m not abandoning her.” Julie was sobbing uncontrollably. “I’m going to the club.”
Mia jumped out of the bed. “Wait for me!”
“I can’t.”
“Damn it, Julie.” Mia pulled her shoes on and quickly got her jacket on. “Do not go there alone. I’m on my way.”
“I’m already here. I’m going inside.”
“You can’t do her any good if you get yourself killed.” Mia’s heart pounded against her chest as she ran out the door. “Don’t go inside. Wait for me! Do you hear me? Wait for me, Julie!” There was no response. Mia looked down at the phone and realized Julie had ended the call. Getting onto her motorcycle, she called Julie.
“Hello.”
Julie sounded as if she’d been sleeping. “Julie, honey, where are you?”
“In bed.”
“Fuck.” Expanding her mind, she scanned her surroundings. She knew it was a trick. But she had been certain it was Julie on the phone. Perhaps it was Eli.
“What’s wrong, Mia?”
“Nothing,” she lied.
“Do you need me to come over?”
“No. Sorry. Go back to sleep. I butt dialed. I’ll see you in the morning.” Mia ended the call and got off the bike.
Hopefully it was just Eli. He was dangerous but not in a deadly way. A sudden and drastic drop in the temperature caused Mia to shiver. “Damn it.” It wasn’t Eli. She was about to be attacked by a vampire.
The stench of decayed flesh rose from out of nowhere. All senses on heightened alert, she waited for a few minutes, trying to figure out why the damn thing hadn’t attacked yet. She felt the vampire attempt to breach the barrier in her mind. It was obviously unlearned in the art of being discreet when stalking its prey. She studied its brain patterns and realized it was Jeremy Lang, the vampire she’d been helping Joseph hunt down for several weeks.
She was tempted to make a run for it. Who wouldn’t be? But she didn’t. Not only would it let Jeremy know she was aware of his presence, it would be a waste of time and energy. And she didn’t have either to spare. She needed to draw him out of hiding as soon as possible.
She figured it was good the vampire believed she was clueless about its presence. He wasn’t an average vampire; he was more powerful than most. She should be afraid—most anyone else would be terrified—but she wasn’t. She just wanted to get it over with. For a second, she once again considered making a run for it. It had been a long day. She was tired and not at her best. But she knew it was useless.
A vampire could be on her and rip her apart before she took two steps. She’d learned the hard way that they moved with preternatural speed. She forced herself to remain calm, watchi
ng and waiting.
As always she chose fight rather than flight, though at least she was smart enough to reach for Joseph. But it was odd—just like when Demetri came to her boutique, she couldn’t feel Joseph’s presence. All she felt was a swirling mass of dark, ugly rage.
She reached for the knife from inside her jacket. “Oh, damn it,” she whispered between clenched teeth. How the hell had she forgotten it? The better question was how the hell was she going to get the upper hand without a weapon? Vampires were far stronger than the average man. She was strong, but she was slightly smaller than the average woman.
She stopped, took a deep breath, and then released it with a sigh. The odds didn’t matter. Fighting was the only way she would survive the night. And it just so happened that surviving the night was on her to do list.
She heard a rustling sound and turned around just in time to see a dark shadow in the shape of a large dog duck behind a car. It felt vampire, but something was off with the creature’s thought patterns. It was as if it had no intelligence. Its mind was consumed with rage. It was insane. She didn’t know what she was dealing with, but she didn’t panic.
Keeping her arms at her side and knees slightly bent, she prepared to attack. “Are you seriously going to hide from me?”
At the same time, she reached for Joseph again. She didn’t even realize she was doing it until it occurred to her she still couldn’t feel him. She needed to focus. She believed he could hear her just like before when Demetri had entered her boutique. She studied her surroundings. She waited. Nothing. But it was there. Watching her. Stalking her. Why was it hiding?
She shrugged. The reason didn’t matter. She needed to get it over with. She decided to provoke the vampire. Easily done. Vampires had nasty tempers. “Stop acting like a little wimp. I know you’re here. If you want to get your ass kicked, come out and let’s get it done.”
Sensing its sudden surge of anger, she smiled. Insulting a vampire was the best way to draw one out from hiding. Remaining absolutely silent and still, she waited for several seconds. But something was wrong. The vampire didn’t make any move to reveal itself. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid of a woman?”
