He sighed. He had come here knowing that Mikhail would be intelligent enough to ask the right questions. He’d seen it in him. They all had to know the truth—especially Tatijana and Dimitri.
“The price is far too high, Mikhail,” Fen answered honestly. “Especially for a warrior without a lifemate, but even those of us who have a lifemate are not necessarily as safe as our Carpathian counterparts. At first, yes, the wolf helps. You can see as a wolf does, the colors are dull, but better than nothing. But as time passes, the pull of darkness grows until it crouches like a monster above you and whispers continually.”
He didn’t look at his lifemate or his brother. He looked around the great chamber at the vibrating columns—ancient brethren who had lived their lives honorably—no matter the difficulty.
“I think every Carpathian who lives a long time and battles the vampire successfully, comes to a place where he believes in himself. He has to. He has to have absolute confidence in himself. Confidence can lead to arrogance. Carpathian males lose emotion and in some ways it is both a blessing and a curse. To feel, when you destroy old friends and family, to live year after year in darkness, is pure hell. To be Sange rau is to fight feelings of arrogance and superiority every rising, lifemate or no. I believe that if you give into these feelings, even with a lifemate, you can become vampire/wolf. Obviously I haven’t tested this theory.”
Again there was a silence. He could feel Tatijana’s horror rising. You understand now my reluctance to bind you to me. There was shame in knowing he hadn’t disclosed the worst of his fears to her before claiming her for his own.
Again, Tatijana surprised him. Soft melodic laughter filled his mind. I do not feel horror at your admission, my love, only at your belief that you would ever succumb to the darker impulses of our kind.
We do not know that. There is no way of telling what I would do in a moment of madness. You saw into my mind when I fought with the werewolf to get information from him and again, when I was battling Abel and Bardolf. I believed myself superior even to them. Fen made the confession to her reluctantly.
Silly wolf man.
He was shaken by the love in her voice. She could bring him to his knees so easily.
We have spent most of our time in battle or in the ground healing since you claimed me. How can you possibly know how having a lifemate will affect the feelings of superiority? I can assure you, my love, that Dragonseeker women are superior and therefore, you won’t have a leg to stand on.
Her teasing note soothed him as nothing else could. And she had a good point.
Of course I have a point. You knew it was dangerous to access the rogue werewolf’s memories, but you did it anyway. Of course there were repercussions. You expected that. And every single warrior facing a vampire must believe that he can defeat him. Acknowledging that you are smarter and faster and more skilled than a vampire is the only intelligent thing to do. You did what every Carpathian hunter does. You’re so worried about it that you are not remembering what it is like to be a hunter.
Fen hadn’t considered it, but she was right. Every Carpathian male who hunted the vampire did so believing he could destroy the undead. He reached his hand out to her, telling her without words that he loved her.
Mikhail frowned as he paced with restless energy through the great columns of his ancestors while he thought about what Fen said. No one interrupted him. Fen was grateful that Mikhail was the kind of man who didn’t simply react to information. He digested it carefully, looking at it from every angle before he made decisions.
“Another concern I have is evolution itself,” Mikhail said, coming back to stand in front of him. “Our species is near extinction. Could this be a more evolved species? The combination of our blood with the Lycans?”
Everything in Fen rebelled against the idea that his species was doomed and another would rise in their place—and certainly not the Sange rau.
“Then there is the question of children. For the first time in a long while we have had multiple children who survived their first year,” Mikhail continued. “We have no idea if the Sange rau can have children. Manolito and MaryAnn are the only pair we know of and MaryAnn has not become pregnant. That, of course doesn’t mean anything, but it could be worrisome. What would this change in the blood do to a child? Do we want to take chances when we’re just now rebuilding our population?”
Fen hadn’t considered that particular point. He glanced at his brother. Dimitri was not fully Sange rau, but he was well on his way. Had he condemned Dimitri and his lifemate to a life without children because centuries ago he hadn’t known what caused mixed blood and they’d shared blood in the battlefield? When he’d healed his brother himself, he had given Dimitri his own blood. Fen knew the blood would aid Dimitri in healing faster if they could keep him alive, and he’d made that choice for Dimitri.
I would much rather live and know Skyler will live as well, even if we cannot have children. She deserves a life of happiness and I intend to make her life as wonderful as possible. So thank you for saving our lives.
Fen felt humble in the face of his brother’s adamant revelation, mostly because he and Dimitri had been in and out of each other’s minds for centuries and he could feel the honesty in Dimitri’s statement.
“Throughout the centuries,” Fen said, “I have lived on and off with the Lycans. During that time, I have come across only two other Sange rau. The first I hunted with Vakasin and the second was Abel. I, of course, didn’t know that at the time. Abel turned Bardolf for whatever reasons. But I never once met a pair, not in any country I traveled in. At one time I speculated that perhaps a woman couldn’t have mixed blood. Tatijana told me about Manolito De La Cruz and his lifemate. I was worried they wouldn’t know the danger they were in from the Lycans.”
“So to your knowledge, worldwide, only you, MaryAnn and Manolito are Sange rau who have not succumbed to darkness. Bardolf and Abel are the only ones you know of alive, who have,” Mikhail reiterated.
Fen nodded. “That doesn’t, of course, mean there aren’t others. Worldwide, I can’t imagine there wouldn’t be others.”
“Lycans have avoided Carpathians for centuries,” Mikhail pointed out.
“Their council has discouraged interaction between the two species, probably for this reason. There was never any animosity that I heard,” Fen replied.
“That would explain the small numbers,” Gregori said. “MaryAnn was Lycan already. Do we know what happens when a Carpathian woman changes?”
Tatijana shrugged. “I’ll let you know when it happens. It’s my choice to be what he is. I doubt that Lycan blood can overpower Dragonseeker to the point that I would be in any danger.”
“We hope not,” Gregori said, his voice dry. “If something happens to you, what guarantee would we have that Fen would follow you?”
Dimitri scowled at him. “There is never a guarantee for any of us. You included, Gregori, should something happen to Savannah. All Carpathian males are at risk without a lifemate.”
“True, but we are not the Sange rau. Our hunters will find us and destroy us before we can inflict too much damage on the other species around us. Can you imagine an army of Sange rau? Your brother told us a single one decimated the ranks of the Lycans. We are few. They could wipe us out entirely very fast,” Gregori said.
“There is truth in what he says,” Fen agreed. You do not need to stick up for me, Dimitri, although I greatly appreciate it. I knew when I went to Mikhail the enormity of the problem I was bringing to him. The Sange rau are as much a danger to Carpathians as they are to Lycans and humans. We don’t have any answers to the questions he’s raising. I’ve had centuries to consider these problems and I still haven’t come up with solutions.
We are not Lycan, Dimitri hissed in his mind. I refuse to believe that Mikhail will outlaw the Sange rau without discrimination and sentence you and anyone else who becomes suc
h a mixture to death.
Fen had lived with the Lycans a long time. Do you believe we’re more civilized then? He couldn’t help the note of amusement in his voice. The Lycans were well entrenched in every high society and public office in nearly every country. They served in the military, and most were highly educated. While the Carpathians had withdrawn from the world of humans for the most part and become silent guardians, the Lycans had done just the opposite—they embraced that world and protected humans just as aggressively.
Dimitri, the rogue pack isn’t indicative of Lycans. They’ve reverted to the animal just as vampires embrace the darker side of Carpathians. Zev and the elite hunters represent the Lycans far better. Don’t be fooled into thinking we’re superior to them.
“I don’t believe we have to worry about Fen turning vampire,” Mikhail stated in his usual soothing, calm voice. “We need to come to some decision on what we’re going to do. Clearly we need to meet with the Lycan council. We’ve discussed it at length for several years. We need them as allies, not enemies. This is our best opportunity to invite them to a sit-down meeting and come to some kind of terms.”
“Zev is your best man for that,” Fen advised. “The elite scout sent ahead of the pack is normally the most intelligent and their best man. He’ll report directly to the council and they’ll listen to him. His word carries the most weight.”
Mikhail inclined his head. “He was severely wounded and had lost a good amount of blood. To ensure he lived, Jacques gave him blood.”
Fen closed his eyes, suddenly feeling weary. Tatijana had given Zev blood as well. In his travels and many battles, had Zev received blood from any other Carpathian? It was possible—and dangerous. Fen knew no matter how honorably Zev served his people, should he become the Sange rau, they would turn on him and condemn him to death without a second thought.
“I have no idea how much blood has to be shared before the mixture converts one into something else,” Fen admitted. “When Vakasin and I battled the Sange rau, both of us had countless wounds and both of us lost blood often. I don’t know how often we’d given one another blood before I began to feel the wolf inside of me, but I felt it long before he felt the Carpathian traits, or maybe he simply didn’t recognize that he was any different.”
“You’re afraid Zev may be in trouble,” Mikhail guessed.
Fen nodded. “He’s a good man. His ability in a fight is unsurpassed by most hunters. He reminds me of Vakasin. I would hate to see him killed by his own people after the service he’s given them.”
“That makes it all the more important to talk with their council,” Mikhail said. “If they understand the difference between a vampire and Carpathian, we can convince them to look at the Sange rau in another light. We might distinguish the two by providing our own name for a Carpathian/Lycan cross.”
Fen sighed. “I wish you every success, but I can tell you the Lycans will fight you on the issue of the Sange rau. Not only do they have legitimate reasons to fear the mixture of Carpathian and Lycan blood, but you’re fighting centuries-old prejudices. There are fanatics who belong to a secret society that’s not very secret and they dedicate their lives to ferreting out the Sange rau and destroying them. They draw in every misfit there is and brainwash them. The Sange rau gives them a target for their fanatical hatred. Not of course that they ever actually find one, but every sin is blamed on them.”
“Surely cooler heads prevail on the council,” Mikhail said.
Fen shrugged. “I would hope so, but I’ve seen some of these fanatics. They’ve become a religion and they preach to the packs and they’re very persuasive. You have to remember, this has been going on for centuries, so the prejudice is well established.” He tried to find another way to explain it. “This belief of the Sange rau is at the very heart of their traditions. He represents everything evil. He is their demon, the epitome of every sinful thing.”
“Like a religion,” Gregori said.
Mikhail shot him a look. Gregori didn’t believe in any religion, where Mikhail was a devout worshipper.
“One that is very sacred to them and if not an actual spiritual belief, certainly one that is woven in the very fabric of their existence,” Fen said.
Mikhail let out his breath. “All right then. It’s good to know what we’re up against. Still, I believe we have to try. In the meantime, how do we fight them? How did Dimitri fight such a creature when our warriors sustained so much damage?”
“The Lycans and werewolves are pack fighters. Carpathians are used to fighting lone monsters.”
“Lately vampires have been banding together,” Gregori said. “Vampires, as unnatural as that sounds, actually put an army together to attack us. For a little practice run, they hit the De La Cruz compound in South America.”
“That must have been like stirring up a hornet’s nest. Of all the hunters in the world, I think I would prefer any other to come after me,” Fen said.
“It was personal,” Dimitri explained. “The Malinov brothers decided they were going to rule all Carpathians, and the De La Cruz brothers refused to join them.”
“You can see why we would want the Lycans as allies,” Mikhail said. “There are too few of us for an all-out war with any enemy.”
“If your warriors embrace the Sange rau and deliberately seek to become one, the Lycans will attack you,” Fen said. “The war would be endless, and no one would win in the end other than vampires. You have to go into a meeting knowing their prejudice is ingrained in them and will be difficult to change.”
Mikhail nodded. “I do believe we need to have our own name for those Carpathians and Lycans who have not turned vampire yet have mixed blood, something to indicate they are very different than the demon the Lycans believe them to be. That must become part of our vocabulary before I even meet with Zev. Which means we should come up with it immediately.”
“Do you really think changing a name is going to change their minds?” Vikirnoff asked. It was the first time he’d spoken, and Fen could tell by his tone that he didn’t like the situation at all. Had the situation not been so grave he would have smiled. Mikhail Dubrinsky fully understood the problem. He wasn’t going to throw his hands in the air and walk away, he was going to actually try for resolution. More than anyone there, other than Fen, it was Mikhail who knew what he was facing.
Many of his Carpathian warriors would be tempted to become Sange rau, just to make them better fighters. They would want to ignore the potential problems and they wouldn’t recognize that MaryAnn and Manolito and Fen and Tatijana as well as Dimitri would become experiments. They would be watched closely by both Lycans and Carpathians if Mikhail was successful in convincing the Lycan council that there was a difference. If not, what then?
Would the Lycans be willing to go to war to force the Carpathians to hand over those who were Sange rau? Sadly, Fen considered that a big possibility. Even if Mikhail convinced the council, that didn’t mean all the packs would agree, not over something that had been so ingrained in them. If the council agreed, their decision could very well cause a split among the packs.
“We need a lot more information before we allow any of our people to voluntarily choose this path,” Mikhail said. “I am counting on the three of you to supply us with that information.”
Fen nodded. “I have no choice but to follow the rogue pack if it moves. I have to hunt both Abel and Bardolf.”
“After seeing Abel’s return to his homeland, I believe he has one purpose in mind, and he won’t be going anywhere very soon,” Mikhail said. “He has returned in order to kill me. In the meantime, our hunters need to know how to fight Abel and Bardolf. You obviously trained Dimitri, who has known about this for some time.”
There was the smallest hint of a reprimand in Mikhail’s voice.
Dimitri shrugged, unrepentant. “The rogues never came near our homeland. I chose to set up sanctuaries for our
wolf brethren knowing Fen needed a place to rest and heal at times. It gave me a chance to be with him. What he was, during those centuries, had no impact on our people.”
Gregori stirred, his silver eyes slashing at Dimitri, but Mikhail held up his hand to prevent Gregori from speaking.
“There has never been a question of Dimitri’s allegiance to our people,” Mikhail said. “Until this rogue pack came to our homeland, the Lycans avoided us.”
“True,” Gregori admitted, “but had we known of such a potential enemy, we could have been better prepared. As it is, many of our hunters were badly wounded.”
“They fought the pack, not the Sange rau,” Dimitri pointed out.
Why are you engaging in this argument with him? Fen asked. You know he is right. We both should have brought this enemy to light long before this. You were protecting me, Dimitri, we both know that.
Dimitri frowned. It was unlike him to take exception to someone pointing out the truth. It was Gregori’s job, above all else, to guard their prince. Why did he feel this unsettling restless, almost feral, resentment?
Your wolf is rising to protect you, Fen explained. Can you feel him? You’re in a place where our ancestors can judge us. He feels that and is urging you to leave.
Mikhail waved his hand and hundreds of candles along the walls sprang to life. Instantly the giant columns and crystals radiated muted colors. In the very center of the room was a circle of crystal columns. They were the shortest in the chamber, the middle one coming up to Mikhail’s shoulder. It was bloodred, formed of rich minerals and crystals. The tip was razor-sharp.
Mikhail spoke in their ancient language, the ritual words to call to their long gone ancestors. “Blood of our fathers—blood of our brothers—we seek your wisdom, your experience and your counsel. Join with your brother-warriors and lend us your guidance through the blood bond. We pledge to our people our unwavering loyalty, resolve in the face of adversity, compassion for those in need, strength and endurance through the centuries and above all, we will live with honor. Our blood connects us.”
Dark Lycan (Carpathian) Page 24
