“No, you’re fine.”
She took the box from him, her shy smile still in place. “Well, see you around.”
Dimitri followed her with his eyes as she went around him, walking away toward the other side of the house. “Hope so,” he murmured with a sigh.
Shaking off the school boy feeling, he headed for the office. They’d brought everything they could think of that they might need for the clinic down in the tunnels.
Once the clinic was complete, they went to work on setting up Ambrose’s office and Shadow’s workshop and computer center.
He knocked once before opening the door. Dark furniture with leather upholstery, the smell of a pipe, and dome lights filled the room. The people in the room, he hadn’t expected to see, Julian and Lucian, as well as Shadow. All of them seemed to be waiting for him.
“How is she?” Ambrose asked from behind his desk.
Dimitri closed the door and took a deep breath. “Bullet in the shoulder. Hasn’t fed in a few days, so she should be sleeping at the moment.”
Ambrose nodded. “I’ll have a talk with her again. She has to take better care of herself, or I’m taking her out of the field.”
Shadow snorted. “Good luck with that. Didn’t you try that last time?”
Dimitri glanced at Shadow before turning his attention to Julian and Lucian, asking,
“Why are they here?”
Ambrose cleared his throat, which meant Dimitri wasn’t going to like whatever he was about hear. “Julian wants to join the Guardians.”
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Dimitri frowned, looking at Ambrose. “Excuse me?
“You heard me,” Ambrose said.
“He’s not strong enough, and he’s too old for the training.” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “How can he expect to keep up with us? Lucian refused when you asked him, and so should Julian.”
“That’s what I told him, mate,” Shadow added. “Boy’s too old.”
“Shouldn’t I have a say in this?” Julian asked. “I mean my daughter is out there with a nut!”
“This is our job, Julian,” Dimitri shook his head. Going over to one of the chairs, he sighed as he sat down. “You’re not strong enough to keep pace with us for one thing.
Besides, you have a daughter here who needs to be cared for.”
Ambrose cleared his throat. “I hate to remind you both, but we need men at the moment, and Julian is willing.”
“He has ties.” Dimitri tried again to make them see reason. “Ties that will jeopardize his judgment.”
“Hello, I’m standing right here,” Julian remarked.
Dimitri stared Julian in the eye. “Lucian talk some sense into him.”
“I’ve tried,” Lucian stated. “It’s like talking to a wall.”
Dimitri stood back up and went right up to Julian. He stood close, his brows drawn down in a scowl. “You think you’re strong like she is? You’re weak. Your grief for your bloodmate holds you back, preventing you from taking the next step.” He sniffed at Julian. “I can smell your grief. Think about your daughters and what will happen to them when you get yourself killed.”
“I’m doing this for them.” Julian spoke low, but didn’t back down. “I want my other little girl. This is the only way I can do that.”
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The strength of his attitude impressed Dimitri, but didn’t change his mind. Dimitri shook his head. “You’re not strong enough.” He backed up before turning his back on Julian and took his seat again. “It’s a mistake. Let us do this our way, Ambrose.”
“Then make me stronger!” Julian snapped. “Stop fucking preaching and do something about it.”
Dimitri closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Damn he was tired. Tired of this war, the fighting and killing, and damn tired of being alone. Where the hell did that last thought come from?
“Julian, Lucian, if you will excuse us,” Ambrose said.
“Don’t deny me,” Julian said as he stormed out, Lucian behind him.
“Ambrose, this isn’t a good idea.” Dimitri looked at his elder. “And it’s the wrong time to be having this conversation.”
“I have to agree,” Shadow added. “He’s a civy for Christ’s sakes, not to mention the other thing.”
Ambrose held his hands open. “Enough! Both of you ask yourselves what else can we do? We need men, and we need them desperately. If things don’t pick up soon then I’m going to be forced to declare the Manorial Rights. I really don’t want to go there again.”
The Manorial Rights was an ancient custom involving the taking of sons born after the first, those usually cast off by the Noble families. Any illegitimate son would be taken first without question or debate. Depending on their abilities, the sons could either end up as a servant or as a trainee to be a Guardian. One never knew what the child would become until the elders looked them over, picking the strongest to do the Crossover.
Ironically, even though Nobles denied them a home, they would rather see them die trying to survive alone in the world than have them become Guardians. Simple reason—a bastard or rejected child could still come back as an adult and demand rights as a Noble Guardians 2: Forgotten Soul
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or to seek revenge. With the power and strength of a Guardian, the Noble would be easy prey.
As a second son, Dimitri remembered the law very well. The law was enforced whenever the Guardian numbers were down. His father objected when they came for Dimitri, others may have thought for reasons of love but it was because his father didn’t want to see Dimitri become powerful and strong. Even at the tender age of ten, Dimitri knew differently. He was more than aware of his father’s hatred for him and that as soon as he reached transition he would be cast out of their home. After that day, he never saw his family again. Even after the recent killings, he hadn’t gone back to see if they had survived the breed massacres.
“If you enforce the Manorial Rights, you’ll start another war within our own people,” Dimitri said softly. “The times have changed.”
“Which is why I’m not going to unless I have no choice in the matter.” Ambrose stood up. “If I have a willing man who wants to join and learn, I’m going to take him.”
“He went through transition too long ago.”
“He’s still young enough for the Crossover.” He walked around the desk while he spoke, came up behind Dimitri to place his hands on his shoulders, effectively stopping any further arguments from him. “I know your concerns, but we must put them aside and do what is best for our people.” He gave Dimitri’s shoulders a squeeze. “Now, Shadow, if you would please excuse us, I need to have a moment alone with Dimitri.”
The second the door closed behind Shadow, Dimitri stood and faced Ambrose. “You know what will happen if you let Julian do this. His father will come down on all our heads. He’s already looking for a reason to disband us.”
“Julian has free choice. If this is the path he wants to take, who are we to tell him no?”
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Dimitri rubbed the back of his neck. The stress was building again. He was hungry for more than blood. “And what do we do when Gavino Marino finds out you’re training his son to be Guardian? He’s a fucking first born son for Christ’s sakes!”
“Julian turned his back on that life long before this war broke out.” Ambrose went back around the desk to his chair, waving his hand in the air as he sat down with a weary sigh.
“But it doesn’t change his birth, any more than mine changes now.” Dimitri couldn’t keep the desperation from his voice. “Julian is his heir. It doesn’t matter if he turned his back on Gavino or not. The man will come down on us all once he finds out what his son is doing. You can’t let him join us.”
“Dimitri, we have to put some of this past behind us in order to go forward. Besides, he might be able to handle the training and not even need the Crossover. So let’s not jum
p the gun. Let us worry about the here and now. Teach him a few things, see if he can handle it or not. He might decide for himself to go no further.” Ambrose cleared his throat, pulling over a piece of paper. “Now on to the other things I need to talk with you about. We have bloodmates in our house and unbonded vampires. Not a good combination. In case you didn’t notice, I’ve given the running of the house over to Corbin. He seems willing and able to keep up with the household needs. But here…” He picked up a paper while Dimitri waited. “…is what I need to discuss with you at the moment. It’s important. I need you and Shadow to do the test to see if one of the women here might be your bloodmate.”
“What?” He couldn’t keep the shock out of his voice.
Ambrose lowered the paper. “Times have changed, as you’ve stated. The old rules no longer apply in my opinion. I think you and Shadow should be bonded. Take some happiness if you can find it in this gloomy world we’re dealing with.” He tossed the paper to the side, opened a side drawer, and brought out six small tubes of blood. He put each one on the desk in front of Dimitri.
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“And just what are we supposed to do if one of them ends up being our bloodmate?”
Ambrose shrugged. “If I need to tell you what the next step is we have a real problem.” He chuckled. Getting serious again he nodded to the tubes. “Please do it.”
“Guardians don’t bond.”
“I say they do now.”
Dimitri rolled his eyes. “How the hell are we to bond and deal with a bloodmate and fight. It’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible.”
“Didn’t I just preach to Julian about ties?”
Ambrose held his hand up and shook his head. “I don’t want an argument over this one either. I’ve made up my mind.” Again he nodded to the tubes. “Take the test.”
“Ambrose, you are turning out to be a big pain in my ass,” Dimitri grumbled. He’d take the test to appease the old man. That didn’t mean he’d bond if by some quirk of faith one did turn out to be a matching bloodmate.
“I’m an old man.” Ambrose smiled, but as quickly as that smile appeared it faded.
“I’m also alone, and I don’t want to see you two end up the same way. Find someone and be happy if just for a little time. Now drink and tell me which one.”
Dimitri’s hand shook as he reached for the first tube of blood. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and drank down the small amount of blood, shook his head, and reached for the next.
“This is a major waste of time,” he stated before drinking the second.
* * * *
The fact was confirmed before Dimitri left the office; he had a bloodmate. Ambrose refused to tell him who she was. He decided at the last moment to let Dimitri figure it out for himself. He had her blood in his system to help him identify her. Hell, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t able to get over the fact one of the girls in the house 30
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matched him in the first place. Talk about a shock. He gave up on the idea of ever having a bloodmate when he became a Guardian and focused all his energy on the war. He had bloodmate! Who?
As if there wasn’t enough going on already, he just learned a boy would soon be joining the household. A young boy, about the age of Lucan, who by the luck of the draw, had been given over by his father who didn’t want a second born son. Every time he heard about something like that it made his stomach roll. No child should ever be unwanted. Ever!
Dimitri headed back down to the clinic. He needed to find out when Carissa was going to be back up on her feet. With the new boy coming, they were going to need to start his training and Lucan’s. Lucan had a lot of work ahead of him, work that would be very physically draining. Carissa would be the one to take over that area. Training the young boys was her area of expertise, and she liked being around the young. Then there was him. Dimitri wasn’t going to let Julian being back in her life or a bullet in the shoulder keep her from doing her job. They were too short-handed to begin with, and he’d be damned if Julian would become a big distraction. Period!
“Hey, mate.” Shadow stopped him from going into the clinic. “Did you take the test?”
“Yeah, I took it. Why?”
“Any luck?”
Dimitri crossed his arms over his wide chest and narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
Shadow shrugged. “Thought you might have better luck than me.”
“Shadow, if by chance I did discover her, I sure as hell wouldn’t tell you.” He slapped him on the back with a smile. “Now get your ass back to work.”
“You’re all heart, Dimitri, you know that.” Shadow snickered, leaving him at the doors.
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He pushed through the doors and headed right to Carissa. She was awake, sitting on the side of the bed with her back to him.
“Don’t say it,” she said.
“Wasn’t going to this time.” He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s pointless anymore. Don’t like to waste my breath.”
“Okay, you’re ready to go.” Ivy couldn’t seem to resist mentioning Carissa’s poor judgment. “If you had fed properly, your wound would have healed. There would have been no need for you to be seen by me for the bullet you took today.”
Carissa stood up, grabbed her coat from the foot of the bed and quickly walked away, brushing past Dimitri. He took a deep breath, turned, and went after her. “So, how long is this going to go on?”
“What?” she snapped.
“This chip on your shoulder.”
“I don’t have a chip.”
He quickly closed the distance between them, grabbed her arm once they were out of the clinic, and shoved her up against the wall. Leaning in, he planted one hand on the wall above her head, the other on his hip.
“Stop trying to bullshit me, Carissa. Remember, I do know you better than you would like to remember,” he hissed. “I can see it. Just like I saw it the day you came here.
Let it go or it’ll consume you again.”
Her bright eyes looked up at him. The knowledge in them along with her pain and loneliness tore at him most of the time. Not this time. He hardened himself against feeling sorry for her.
“I told you I’ll be fine with this,” she said.
“And I see it differently.”
She snorted and made to move away, but he pushed her up against the wall again.
“Don’t push me, Dimitri,” she said through her teeth. “This doesn’t concern you at all.”
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“The hell it doesn’t. I’m just as involved in this shit as I was eight fucking years ago.
You can’t hide from it any longer. He’s here to stay, and it’s a big distraction for you.”
“What about you?” She pushed at his chest, and Dimitri took a step back. “You don’t think I can smell it?” He turned his head away from her, but she took hold of his face, making him look back. “Whose blood lingers on you? Did Ambrose test you to see if one of the bloodmates is yours?”
He wasn’t at all surprised she could sense another’s blood in him. Years ago, they were each others’ comfort, in more ways than just feeding from each other. They had a special connection, one which made working together easy, since they had been lovers for a short period of time. A couple of years ago it all stopped, even the feeding from each other, once Carissa got wind of the fact that Julian was close to finding her.
Surprisingly, Dimitri didn’t miss the physical comfort they had shared. They were still close, but it was now strictly on a professional level.
“Ambrose made Shadow and me drink from the bloodmates who were brought in,”
he admitted, looking her in the eye. “And yes, one is a match.”
He half-expected her to smile, but Carissa rarely ever smiled. Her eyes did light up, and she lounged up against the wall with her hand
s behind her back. “So the Dimitri de Fiammetta has a bloodmate. Congratulations.”
“Really?”
She shrugged, glancing down at the floor. “Why not.” He opened his mouth to say more, but she cut him off. “Look I’m going to take a swim to try and get this stiffness worked out of my shoulder. I’ll talk to you later.”
“We need to work out soon.”
She ducked under his arm and walked away. She waved her hand in acknowledgement she’d heard and agreed.
* * * *
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Exploring the underground rooms, Julian was amazed to find a large pool there, hidden under a house he had spent so many summers in. But then, he was learning a lot about things from the past he’d never known. Ambrose was not only an Elder, but was also in charge of the Guardians. The mystery to him was how all of this could have been right here under his nose all the time and he never suspected anything.
The poolroom was very impressive. Enter on the second level, which had an iron balcony wrapped around the entire room. At opposite ends of the room, spiral staircases led down to the pool. Even though underground, the room wasn’t dark or gloomy. The walls were covered in white marble, and lights in the floor all around the pool inside and out, made the room very bright and cheerful. Lounge chairs with separate footrests lined the walls, and in the far corner, they even had a hot tub.
The pool was as long as a football field and just as wide, perfect for doing laps. He was ready to leave when he heard the soft sound of water moving, followed by a splash.
Someone was taking a swim.
Julian turned back and started a slow, lazy walk to the middle of the balcony for a perfect view of the pool. A towel lay in a crumpled mess on the floor. He didn’t have long to wait before whoever it was to come into view. The blur of a naked body under the water’s surface glided down the center. Carissa.
Julian kept his eyes on her, amazed at how long she could hold her breath. The ripples of the water moved, making a long tattoo shaped like a crack going from under her neck all the way down the back to her ass. The ripples of water made the crack look like it was breaking over and over again.
Chapter One Page 3
