He pointed to the one they had vacated. An attractive woman came to stand by Octu. Rhett noted another woman, younger was standing off to the side waiting. Octu saw Rhett staring at her. She was a pretty little thing, sad, lonely.
“This is Mia, that was her hut but she won’t go in anymore, too many memories,” Octu said. He took the woman by the arm and practically dragged her over to Rhett. “Husband gone. Fall through ice on lake hunting in winter. Needs care but is too sad. Always sad.” Octu chucked her under the chin and smiled at her. He gave her a hug and sent her off with the tall woman who Rhett guessed was his wife.
Overhead the rain began to fall. Anyone left standing outside made a hasty retreat to their homes.
“Hunt in morning,” Octu said. He handed Rhett a small sack made from animal skin and made a motion as though eating. Rhett could smell the bread and cheese. Octu clapped Rhett on the back and grinned at Hope before following after his wife.
Rhett took Hope behind the hut they had been given. She still looked sad. Rhett settled the fur she wore tighter to her shoulders. Her face pressed to his chest as he took to the sky. The sooner he left the sooner they could return. The sooner Hope would be happy—Rhett couldn’t wait to make her happy.
* * * *
Hope wandered around the barn. It was quiet, the few animals munched hay. The puppy was at the play area; Hope couldn’t bear to hold him. Rhett had gone to talk to Tavish, he had been so animated and Hope was worried about what Tavish would do. There were so many little ones and not all had mothers of childbearing age. Some of the women had children Ann’s age and older. So many of the women had been held in a man’s arms it made Hope’s mind tumble. Human men who held and comforted their women, their wives, is what Rhett would call them. Tavish and his men would slaughter the foundation of their community.
“You look so sad.”
Hope spun to see Tate coming towards her. She relaxed. Of all the other vampires besides Rhett she knew Tate would be the last to harm her.
“Rhett took me to see a maze.” As Hope said this Tate’s look turned thunderous. He gripped her shoulders in his hands.
“What did he do to you?”
“Nothing, Tate. He was very sweet and helped me realize…”
“The bastard compelled you. I know it.”
“No Tate, I don’t like to be compelled. Rhett knows that.”
“The maze, how could he do that?”
Tate’s eyes were glowing a dazzling white as he gazed deeply into her eyes. Hope tried to fight him in her thoughts but his anger was heightening his drive. He had her and there was nothing she could do.
“Tell me what he did,” Tate demanded.
“He was wonderful to me.”
“Damn it, I can’t break his hold; he’s too strong, not unless I…”
Hope whimpered as Tate lowered his head. She was trapped and couldn’t call to Rhett; Tate’s hold was too strong on her mind.
“Don’t be afraid,” Tate crooned. “I won’t hurt you. I just need to see what he’s done.”
Hope felt his fangs, as gentle as Rhett’s, slide into her throat. His mind plundered hers, her fears were exposed, her dreams, her memories. She had no choice but to give herself to him freely. The love she had for Rhett seeped through her skin into his thoughts. They were loving in the loft.
One of Hope’s most wonderful and confusing memories was the loft. Their joining had been perfect and then the vampires came—they left—they went away. Hope was confused. Rhett was in her thoughts with a heart in his bloodied hand. A vampire’s heart. In a dream she moved to look over the edge.
You don’t need that memory.
The headless bodies of all three vampires crashed into her mind and mixed with memories not her own. The maze was there. A man was being chased, everywhere he turned there was a dead end and at each dead end was a vampire who took a taste until he was drained dry. Everywhere Hope’s mind went there was blood.
“Oh no, what have I done?” It was Tate’s voice. “You shouldn’t have seen that.”
Images played out in Hope’s mind. The villagers would be slaughtered. Tate took to the air with her mumbling Rhett would kill him until he could undo what he’d done, but Hope had to heal, she needed time to regenerate and he couldn’t risk taking her to Caine.
“You’ll be fine, Hope,” Tate said. “I only need some time and I can make the images go away.”
Hope knew he couldn’t. Rhett hadn’t been able to. It was Caine, a stronger vampire. Hope needed Rhett. She took a breath and Tate’s hand clamped over her mouth. They stopped once, long enough for Tate to wrap her in a polar bear fur. Hope knew where he was headed. An iceberg where no one would find them.
“I’ll tell Rhett you asked me to take you back, just long enough to heal.”
Hope could hear him crying. He was trapped and knew it. He couldn’t take her back with him if he couldn’t compel her to forget. Tate loved Rhett and the other vampires, they were his world. Before long he would blame Hope for what happened, and he would destroy her.
* * * *
“See what I mean?” Rhett whispered.
“Unbelievable,” Tavish whispered back.
The rain had tapered off; children were throwing balls, chasing one another while women laughed. Men spent time repairing huts, they too were smiling and happy while they worked. The scene was complete harmony. Rhett was certain he could make this idea of his work.
“They’ve been lost to the outside world so long they know nothing of vampires,” Rhett said. His excitement was building.
Six vampires moved stealthily back into the bush. Tavish began pacing. “If we’ve discovered them, chances are more will come. I’ll lay claim to the entire village and put it under my protection. But I’ll need someone on the inside, perhaps more.”
“Count me in,” Rhett said. “They’ve met Hope and me.”
“What is that little female doing?” Caine said.
They all turned and Rhett watched as Mia ran through the jungle. She was sobbing. She ran until she fell. In her hand she held a handful of berries. Even from a distance Rhett smelled they were poison.
“Her name is Mia. Poor little thing lost her husband. I guess she can’t stand her pain.” Rhett looked to Tavish and smiled.
Tavish grinned back. Rhett was in front of Mia stopping her before her hand could reach her mouth. She didn’t want to look at him but he forced her to meet his gaze.
You are going to a place where you’ll be happy. Your husband died, you grieved and now you’re ready to be loved again.
Rhett wouldn’t take her memories but he saw in her eyes she needed what Hope did, a new start. Tate was going to love her.
* * * *
“Are you warm enough?” Tate asked Hope.
“Yes.”
Tate had brought her to a huge iceberg. Rhett would never find her. A fire blazed and Tate had left only to return with more furs and food. He was pacing.
“This is only temporary,” he said. “Once you have regained your strength I can compel you to forget. I can beg Rhett to forgive me and everything will be fine.”
“It won’t be fine.”
Tate hunkered down before her and took her hand. “I’m so sorry. Don’t be afraid. When you said the maze…”
Hope shuddered. “You had been a part of that, not Rhett.”
“I went once and was disgusted. I never went again. And I never participated. It’s cruel. Some vampires never get tired of blood lust.”
“Take me back. Rhett will understand you were only worried for me.”
“You don’t understand. I gave you images a human should never have. I taught you—I taught you…”
“How to kill a vampire,” Hope whispered.
“Rhett can forgive me for taking your blood, but this is a law. I put us both in danger; you have to forget before I take you back. Humans can never have this information. They can never know a vampire can be killed.”
“Then you need
a new plan. Find Rhett and tell him what happened.”
“I can’t.”
“Tate, Rhett didn’t compel me to forget, it was Caine and he struggled.”
Tate looked horrified. “But I saw Rhett compel you.”
“He compelled me to listen, nothing more. I was too scared.”
“I wonder if Rhett has noticed you missing. I have to get you to Caine, but then Caine would have to tell.”
“Caine can compel me to forget,” Hope said.
“You don’t understand. The first time you saw a vampire kill it was on your own. This time I put the thought in your mind. I put it there. A vampire memory is so much more than a normal memory. I can’t take you back but if I don’t take you back I can’t go back either. We wouldn’t have a home.”
Tate went back to pacing. “There isn’t food out here for me, not even the synthetic blood Caine makes for travel.”
“What were you planning?” Hope swallowed hard.
“I could wait a week, it’s stretching it but I can. But I can’t keep taking from you every week; you’d die a slow death. I can’t kill you, I can’t keep you.”
“Rhett will forgive you. So will Tavish. He’s the strongest vampire in the coven. He can compel me. I won’t fight him. Tate, it was an accident. You were only trying to help me. Tavish is too fond of you to let anything happen to you, especially where a barren woman is concerned. I’m not a breeder female; the laws are different with me.”
Tate looked at her hopefully. “Tavish can fix this. He always says the young are stupid and impulsive. He would know I’d never hurt you. Barren or not, you love Rhett . Rhett deserves to be loved. So do you.”
Hope sighed with relief, until Tate’s fangs grew and his eyes blazed white. Hope screamed as four vampires surrounded them. The yellow of their eyes glowed.
* * * *
“They’re both missing,” Rhett said to Tavish. He was panic-stricken. Rhett had been positive Tate would never hurt Hope; he hadn’t guessed he would leave the coven with her. “I’ll kill him.”
“Take it easy, something must have happened.” Tavish scanned the skies. “We’ll get a group together and go searching.”
“They could be anywhere,” Caine said.
“No, I know my youngest vampire. He’s saving Hope from something and will have taken her to the biggest glacier he can find.” Tavish chuckled.
“You think this is funny?” Rhett bellowed. “He stole my female.”
Tavish sighed. “Relax, Tate’s a bear when it comes to protecting females. What could Hope have said to upset him?”
“You’re blaming Hope?” Rhett was incredulous.
“I’m not blaming anyone. Obviously there’s been a misunderstanding. Now think.”
Rhett groaned. “Damn, if she mentioned the maze, Mr. Goody Two-Shoes no doubt had a cow.”
“You took her to the maze?” Caine sounded furious. “Hell, I’d take off with her myself.”
“I took her to show her she’s not helpless. Damn you all. Now is not the time to explain my actions when Hope’s gone.”
“Rhett is right,” Tavish said although he glared at him none too happily. “Tate is very young and very passionate. He was bred to be gentle with females. He would die to protect a barren female if she was in his care, so we better get moving.”
It didn’t take Ursus long to sniff out Hope and Tate. When they entered the iceberg all hell was breaking loose. Two vampires were dead, one wounded and one had Hope. Rhett was terrified. All it would take would be the snap of her delicate neck and she would be lost to him forever. Before Tavish could stop him the wounded vampire thrust a wooden stake through Tate’s heart, Tate went down.
Tavish slammed his hand into the vampire’s chest and ripped his heart out. No one fucked with his brothers. His head was then torn from his shoulders. Rhett saw Hope’s white face as she gagged.
“Release the female,” Tavish bellowed.
“She’s seen how a vampire can be killed.” The vampire’s tone was smug.
“She can be compelled to forget,” Tavish said.
“I can’t compel her at all,” the vampire said.
“You’re not old enough or powerful enough,” Tavish scoffed. “Set her loose or Ursus will be given a toy to play with.”
Rhett watched as Caine and another vampire left with Tate. He would heal but he would be sore. When he was whole, Rhett planned to skewer him again. The other vampire seemed to be thinking; he eyed the huge polar bear warily.
“Your man started it. We came in to see what was going on when we heard the female’s heartbeat. The vampire with her slaughtered two of us before we saw what hit us. She screamed and he went berserk.”
Rhett heard Tavish sigh, he turned to Rhett. “Told you so.”
Rhett was still pissed. The vampire released Hope and Rhett pressed her to his chest. She was weak and almost limp.
“Who drank from her?” he demanded.
“Not me or my men.” The vampire took off.
“Please don’t hurt Tate. He got so upset when I said you took me to the maze. And I know why,” Hope’s voice was little more than a whisper.
When she fainted in his arms Rhett wanted blood. He had never moved so fast in his life back to the coven. Caine woke Hope and had her drink. She was a little disoriented but went to check on Tate—who Tavish wouldn’t let Rhett skewer. They found a quiet corner and Hope asked Tavish to give her a few moments.
“I saw the look on your face in the loft,” Hope said to Rhett.
“What do you mean?”
“I couldn’t understand why you were so angry after we made love and came back to the coven. I just thought you were annoyed. Now I understand why. You thought I betrayed you when I backed away from you.”
“I was hurt,” he admitted.
“And I was scared. I made love to you, you made love to me. My indestructible vampire who would never die. Do you know how comforting that thought is? Then suddenly there are three dead vampires. If they could die, so could you. I couldn’t stand the thought. I was losing Ann, I can’t lose you, too. So many thoughts ran through my head until they blurred. My question was uncalled for, but I’ve never seen something so horrifying.”
Rhett felt like such a fool. He should have known she was thinking something like that. He saw Tavish watching them from the doorway. Hope had sworn to give herself to him completely.
“No one will ever hurt you,” Rhett said cupping her face.
“I trust you.”
Rhett smiled, three little words that meant almost as much as ‘I love you.’
Chapter 14
“He meant well,” Hope said.
Her hand ran across Rhett’s chest. The reviving drink Caine had given her made her feel better. She smiled at him and Rhett groaned. It was her first smile since Ann had died. Tavish had compelled her to forget a number of memories except her confession to Rhett. She knew a vampire wasn’t indestructible but she didn’t know why. She didn’t want to know. The idea somehow made him that much more special, she wanted to spend every second she had with him, loving him.
“He placed you in danger.”
“I’ll admit I was worried. But when those vampires entered the iceberg I saw a side of Tate I’d never seen. He didn’t ask questions, he went ballistic. He was protecting me, not just for me, but because he loves you so much. He was so ashamed, Rhett. He would die before he let anything happen to someone you care for.”
Hope knew Rhett wanted to forgive Tate; he only needed a little encouragement. “I love you, Rhett. I think I have for a long time. Tate saw it when he entered my thoughts. He was afraid for me, because of something I knew, something Tavish compelled me to forget.”
Rhett gathered her closer. Hope stared up at the green ceiling, loving their new home. The elegant diversity among the people made everything so fascinating. Women of the village were strong and versatile. Many hunted with the men; they were equal partners in everything. Children were love
d by all and protected by all.
Octu had a fondness for Rhett and his hunting abilities. Rhett liked to hunt alone and was successful each time. Hope knew there would never be hard times for these people with food while Rhett was watching over them. And to her surprise, he told he would never feed from these people. They were never to have the knowledge vampires existed. Rhett would return to Tavish’s coven for his needs.
Only vampires of Rhett’s choosing would be allowed to stay, and the same rules would apply. Hope had only one tense moment when Octu sadly informed them Mia was gone. He had tried his best to comfort the woman but she had last been seen with a handful of deadly berries; no one had found her body. Rhett had expressed his condolences but winked at Hope.
“Rhett?”
Rhett groaned. “I’ll talk to him. I can’t have his little gift pining away for love when Tate is simply pining.”
“You saved that girl, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I compelled her to look for life, not death. It’s strange how fate works. I had no idea, but Caine says she’s barren, not sure if he’s lying or not and I don’t really care. She’s perfect for Tate. She needed a change of scenery.”
“Like me.”
Rhett cuddled her closer. “One day if you’re ever ready, I will turn you. I don’t want to lose you, but it has to be your choice. In the end, it’s always up to the person being turned. We can watch over this village and its villagers forever, together.”
Hope thought about that. She wasn’t ready yet. The memories she possessed were already too much but to have centuries of them—it was a lot to sink in.
“I love you, Rhett. I want to be by your side forever. Whether forever is until my death, or life as a vampire, we will have to see.”
“You like it here?”
Hope smiled. “I’m useful again. I can hunt and make clothes. Before long you’ll be dressed from head to toe in leather.”
Rhett laughed. “A woman who likes a man in leather pants. Mmm. What other primitive things have been on your mind.”
“Well,” she drawled.
A fire crackled in the little hearth. There was enough light to see his handsome face. The air was cool but Hope snuggled under a large polar bear fur. It had been a gift from Ursus. Hope had grown fond of the bear. Tavish chuckled when he handed Hope the skin and told her Ursus wanted to make certain Rhett’s little seal stayed warm if she ended up on another excursion. Rhett had growled and said she had better not.
Vampire Coven Book 3: A Vampire's Embrace Page 14
