Andre drew her gently to her feet and let go of her, making certain she was a little distance from him so she would feel safe. She wasn't, but she didn't need to know that.
"Perhaps I can help in your search."
She glanced at him from under her long lashes, a small frown on her face. She gave a little shrug accompanied by a sigh. "Actually, if I tell you, you'll think I'm totally crazy. Everyone does."
He waited in silence for her to continue, but she didn't, forcing him to have to pry the information out of her. "Tell me." He did his best not to make it sound like an order, but even his softest voice appeared to be a command.
Her frown deepened. "I came here looking for a certain item. A stone. Or a gem. I'll know it when I 'feel' it. I know that sounds crazy, but it's what led me up here. My body tunes itself to the precise stone, gem or crystal I need for my work in healing. I knew it was here in the Carpathian Mountains and I had to come. I knew the general location and what part of the range to search because I was drawn to it on the map." She waited for him to laugh. To make fun of her.
He studied her face. She didn't know it of course, but he was already in her mind. She could do exactly what she said she could.
"Why would I not believe you? You are a gifted healer."
"I didn't get the chance to heal you. How would you know that?" she countered.
He hadn't talked so much in ages. It was rather wearing. "I feel your power. Why do you need this particular stone?"
Her face crumpled. She looked almost as if she might cry. Her look did strange things to his insides. His belly formed hard, protesting knots and his chest ached in the region of his heart.
"My grandmother. Grandma Trixie. She raised me, and she's the kindest, most thoughtful, wonderful person you can imagine. She raised my three older sisters as well. It wasn't easy. She had to work all the time but she never complained. She even helped us out with school when she didn't have to. She's incredible."
"Is she ill?"
Teagan looked down, studying the toe of her boot as she scuffed it in the dirt. "She's gone a little crazy. Her mind isn't right. A while back she began to mutter under her breath about this mythical man named Gary. She despised him. I asked her about him numerous times, but she just said he was a man who had betrayed everyone. He was a spy and he needed to die. That's totally not like my grandmother."
He held out his hand to her. "Keep talking. We should go back to your campsite and start a fire. You are beginning to shiver a little. That is the only chamber with a decent chimney."
She took his hand without hesitation, more because she wasn't paying as close attention than because she was no longer leery of him.
"About two months ago, she began talking about Gary to my sisters. She's become totally obsessed with him. She said he runs with vampires and he has to be stopped. My sisters took her to a psychiatrist. He said she was slowly losing her mind. She wouldn't back down. She swore vampires exist and that this Gary is a traitor to the human race and needs to die."
Andre knew a man named Gary Jansen. He was highly respected among the Carpathian people. He had fought beside them in battle, led the way in research to find the cause of why their women couldn't produce babies and worked to find a way to save the children who were born. He was also instrumental in finding the flower needed for their fertility. Gary was fully Carpathian now and a brother to Gregori Daratrazanoff. He was a little alarmed that his lifemate's grandmother might actually know something about Gary.
He remained silent. Teagan sent him a hesitant look. He nodded at her, making certain he looked interested.
"I found a vampire-hunting kit she bought off the Internet stashed in her closet. I wasn't snooping. She'd asked me to get her yarn and knitting needles. I didn't even know she knitted. I think she plans on using her needles to stab someone through the heart if she can't use her vampire-hunting kit."
"What's in a vampire-hunting kit?" he asked, genuinely intrigued.
"She has some gun that shoots wooden stakes. A rosary. A bible. A silver cross and holy water. There are all kinds of bottles filled with stuff, but I don't know what's in them." She sighed. "My grandmother wouldn't hurt a fly. Seriously, we had to put spiders outside rather than kill them, and now she's going to hunt vampires, specifically a man who I can't find out about anywhere, and shoot them with a wooden stake. It's scary that her mind is going so fast."
"What else does she talk about? Why has she fixated on this Gary person? Surely you must have asked her."
"We all did. She just told us that he had once hunted vampires but now he's in collusion with them. When I asked her if she'd really kill him, she said she didn't want to kill anyone, but he deserved to die for what he'd done. She'd heard of a monastery in these parts and hoped he was there already asking for forgiveness and then she wouldn't have to lead justice to him, he'd spend the rest of his life doing penance for his sins. Seriously. That's how she talks. Penance for his sins."
Andre's alarm rose. He'd heard of a few individuals who had a specific psychic gift. If her grandmother were one of those gifted who could follow the path of a Carpathian or vampire, it would answer the question as to how her granddaughter had unraveled his safeguards. She had the same gift. The difference was, Teagan had never been told about vampires. Her grandmother obviously had.
If he had to guess, he would say that Trixie Joanes belonged to the human vampire-hunting society. The same society killed Carpathians and vampires alike, without distinguishing between the two. They also occasionally targeted humans they didn't like, or had grudges against, such as Gary Jansen.
Andre had run across them a time or two, but they'd never had anyone who could actually follow the trail of a Carpathian or vampire. It was difficult to do. And he was more difficult than most. He had never understood how it was done, but after seeing how Teagan had unraveled his safeguards, he realized it had something to do with the way their bodies "felt" or "sang" when near their quarry.
"Where is your grandmother now, Teagan?"
"She's at home. In the United States. We live in California. My sisters are watching over her while I try to find the specific stone or crystal that will help me heal her mind."
"Will they be able to stop her if she tries to get on a plane and follow you here?"
They were back in the chamber where her sleeping bag and backpack were stashed. He waited until she had her back turned and was rummaging through her pack before he waved at the fire. Instantly flames leapt. When she turned, shocked, he was dumping a load of wood next to the ring of rocks.
"Where did you get the wood?" she asked, her eyes wide.
He gestured toward the darker shadows where the cave curved deeply and a small amount of water trickled to the floor and seeped under the dirt. There was a large pile of wood neatly stacked.
"I have used this cave many times," he said. Again, it was strictly the truth. His statement was misleading, but it wasn't a lie. He had just acquired the wood for her fire, but he had, in the past, often used the cave for his retreat when he was wounded.
"I didn't even see it. I guess I was so obsessed with finding the stone I need, I didn't really look around."
"Teagan." He used his most gentle voice, to counteract the tightening of the knots in his belly. "This mountain is not safe. You should not be unaware at any time. There are wild animals as well as poisonous insects and snakes that could harm you. And that is not even mentioning the men who hunt you."
She shuddered and threw a blanket down over the dirt beside the fire. "When you went out, did you come across Armend's trail? Did you see him? I was worried he might attack you if he thought you'd spoken to me, or helped me. He told me things he wouldn't want the world to know." She frowned. "He's a dangerous man. I don't know how I couldn't have seen that."
"You were afraid for me?" Andre wasn't certain how to take that. He'd never had anyone, let alone a beautiful woman, be concerned for his safety. On the other hand, did she think that puny Armend coul
d possibly best him? That might be a bit of an insult.
"Of course I was afraid for you. He admitted killing several women. If it was true, he wouldn't think twice about killing you as well."
He was silent. Had it occurred to her, even once, that he could be one of Armend's unknown friends? She was too friendly by far. Too trusting and open with strangers. He couldn't tell her that either because he didn't want her fearing him. She was nervous enough as it was.
"You're really a nice man, Andre. Very thoughtful and kind. Men like Armend are very dangerous. I wouldn't want to think of you meeting up with him," Teagan continued, in a worried tone.
Andre's heart fluttered. It was a physical reaction to her concern for him. Clearly, Teagan perceived him as nonthreatening for the most part--at least until she remembered she was alone with a stranger, which didn't seem nearly often enough to him--but she thought Jashari was dangerous. She made him want to laugh out loud. She also conveniently forgot that Andre had warned her that he was a dangerous man.
"I do not think you will have to be afraid that Armend Jashari will ever harm another living soul."
She went still, her hands freezing around the sweater she was pulling on over her arms. She tilted her head to look up at him. He felt her fear, the sudden jump of her heart. "What do you mean?"
"I came across his trail a few miles down the mountain. He pitched his tent right in the middle of a territory belonging to a wolf pack. There was not much left."
Her breath hitched. Her long eyelashes fluttered. She sank slowly back on her heels, all the while looking up at him, straight into his eyes. "Are you certain it was him?"
He couldn't help but admire her. She was definitely afraid, but still, she was fearless in her questions and in her attempt to hide it from him. He nodded. "There is no doubt at all. I did not, however, see any evidence of anyone else around his tent, or even within a few miles of it."
"I didn't want him to die." She chewed on her bottom lip. "Well, unless you count the fact that I did want to bash him over the head with my cooking pot with every step I took. Hard. Really hard. Do you think I put that out into the universe and I'm responsible for his death? Because I believe in karma. I don't want wolves to come hunting me." She blinked rapidly, and he thought he caught the sheen of tears, but if he had, they were gone when she looked at him again. "Are you really certain it was him? I did hit him pretty hard. Maybe I killed him and the wolves came later."
"I have hunted in these mountains for many years, Teagan," he reassured her. He sent a small push to soothe her. "He had moved his camp from where he attacked you to this place."
"How do you know?"
"I backtracked him looking for his friends and found the original campsite. He was very much alive when you left him."
"Thank God I didn't kill him. I wanted to bash him one but, you know, without the consequences of him dying."
He hid a smile. She was different from the other humans he'd met. Intriguing. But then she was his lifemate, and everything about her, down to the smallest detail, was captivating and fascinating to him.
"Do you often bash men over the head with your cooking pot?" he asked, amusement in his voice. He barely recognized the emotion. He didn't know what humor was until that moment. She made him want to smile. She made him happy just by being in the same space with him.
She grinned at him a little mischievously. "Only if they deserve it. Well, once I hit Jimmy Baker over the head with my book bag and nearly knocked him out. I was in kindergarten and he was in first grade, and he was picking on me. I was always really small so I was an easy target. I learned to pick up equalizers." She bit her lip. "Um. I put a couple of really heavy books in my bag. I took them off the teacher's desk. It's important to be totally prepared, but the school didn't see it that way and I got in trouble."
He didn't like that she'd been picked on, but he liked that she defended herself. Where the hell was her family when some boy was being mean to her? He pushed down the need to go find Jimmy Baker and have a little talk with him.
"That was very intelligent of you. What would you like for your dinner?"
She pressed a hand to her stomach. "Actually, I'm not really that hungry. I'm thirsty, but I think I'm too tired to eat. It's the middle of the night already, and I spent too much time being a tuning fork."
He raised an eyebrow and walked over to the darkened corner of the room, keeping his body solidly in the way, even going so far as to blur the chamber enough that she couldn't see him as he created a small cupboard with human supplies such as herb tea and a kettle. She needed to eat and drink something. She was feeling the effects of the first blood exchange between them.
To bring his human lifemate fully into his world, he needed three blood exchanges with her and she had to have psychic abilities, which clearly she did. It seemed a little ironic to him that her grandmother--a vampire hunter who clearly didn't have the good sense to discriminate between her victims--could have been a lifemate to a Carpathian male in need. She probably was. He had the urge to find the woman and shake her.
"I will make some herbal tea," he announced, returning with the kettle and the tea.
She shook her head. "Thank you, Andre, but really, my stomach is a little upset. Maybe it was the news about Armend. He deserved to be arrested and should have gone to jail, but being eaten by wolves . . ." she trailed off.
"That is probably justice if he really killed other women as he boasted to you," Andre pointed out as gently as possible.
She nodded before she could stop herself and then looked guilty. "Well, I hope he didn't suffer."
"Like he would have made you suffer?" he asked as he filled the kettle with water from the small trickle of water coming out of the side of the mountain. "As he made those other women suffer?" Again, he kept his body blocking her sight of what he was doing so he could just wave his hand and fill it.
Keeping the fact that he was a different species from her was going to be difficult. Other Carpathians lived among humans and had perfected the art of blending in. Andre had perfected the art of avoiding contact with them. This woman was his lifemate, and she would have to know, sooner or later, that she was his and belonged in his world, but she'd already suffered a trauma and he didn't want to compound that, especially after she'd confided in him about her grandmother.
"Well, I didn't suffer so much as I was scared," Teagan admitted reluctantly. She watched him set the kettle in the flames. She winced. "Andre, you're going to get burned doing it like that. It's hard to believe you camped out before."
He hadn't felt the heat of the flames. He could call down lightning and not get burned, fire wasn't going to do anything to him, not unless he was in the paralyzed sleeping state of his people. "I will be more careful."
She studied his face. "You don't like to be around people, do you?"
Andre turned his gaze to her face. She was definitely a natural empath. He had been intrigued with her gentle nature and the unexpected strengths that suddenly rushed to the forefront. Her very nature had to always be at war. She was a fierce little warrior who definitely had a clear line of justice she didn't want crossed and would fight if necessary. She was also a healer and protector, one who would face her greatest fears in order to help others.
"I find I like being around you," he admitted. He wasn't certain if that was something he should say, but she was his lifemate and he didn't want to lie to her. "Ordinarily, I find people trying, but you are very soothing. You also make me want to smile. I had forgotten what that is like." That also was the truth. He had forgotten emotion.
Like every Carpathian, he had clung to his memories of emotion after feelings had faded, leaving him in a bleak world of gray. Unfortunately, as the centuries went by, he had even forgotten the memories--at least any good ones, if there had been any. He found he couldn't relive them through the minds of others. Emotions had receded too far for him to recapture them. Now, feelings were so vivid and alive, pouring through him, he was n
early overwhelmed, and most centered around this woman.
She sent him one look from under her lashes. Her features were so beautiful to him, he had to keep himself from staring, so he busied himself making certain the water in the kettle boiled fast. He couldn't resist touching her mind to see what that look meant. He found wariness. She wasn't used to compliments and it made her a little nervous that he gave her one. But she was pleased. Secretly she hugged his words to her. That made him want to smile as well.
She didn't see herself at all the way he saw her. In her mind, she had an image of what beauty in a woman was. Her sisters. Taller. Curvy bodies. Long legs. Lots of curly hair and makeup. He supposed they were beautiful in their own way, probably by human standards as well.
Teagan was so much more to him. He would never be able to explain it to her. He liked that she was petite and slight. He liked that she had the spirit of a warrior. It didn't mean she didn't have fears, but she faced them head-on. He especially liked that she loved her grandmother with the same fierce protection she would have for their children.
Teagan shifted back and he could see immediately she was uncomfortable.
"Is your leg hurting again?"
She shook her head. "No. I climb." At his raised eyebrow, she gave him a faint smile. "You know. Boulders. Cliffs. Rock. I love climbing, especially bouldering, but I took a pretty bad fall right before I came here. I was working on this problem and I was literally on the last move before I topped out and I knew I should have pushed off from the boulder and let it go when my foot slipped, but I was so close to victory that I could taste it, so I hung on like an idiot."
He had scanned her body for injuries, but he had concentrated on injuries she'd suffered from the attack on her by Jashari, not older ones. He cursed silently. He would have to be much more thorough in the future with her.
She shot him a small grin. "Grandma Trixie says I have a stubborn streak with a dash of crazy."
"What happened?"
"I fell, of course. First I tore the skin off my fingers and when I fell, it wasn't the graceful falls I'm so known for. I hurt my shoulder." She rubbed her hand along her right shoulder. "It was my fault, but it still hurts. Funny that I can heal everyone's injuries but not my own."
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