“But, we talked about this. You knew I had a fiancé. It’s a political arrangement. When we’re married he wants it to remain open.”
Lucky looked pissed off now. “And you’re okay with that?”
Savannah shrugged. Of course she wasn’t okay with that. She didn’t want to marry someone who wanted to possess her one minute and set her free the next. She wanted the kind of love Rebecca had with Gabriel.
“Because the Savvy I know wouldn’t settle for anything less than having true love, real love and commitment.”
“Savvy is dead,” she snapped bitterly. How many times do I have to tell people that?
He shook his head. “That’s too bad because I liked her.”
“So did I. But she wouldn’t survive in this world.”
“Well, when you’re single and you find her again, look me up.” He started walking toward the front door, leaving Savannah staring at the horizon.
She fisted her hands at her side to control the anger that was boiling below the surface. The angel was infuriating! She wanted to scream at him, but instead she found herself running after him. “I’m confused, it’s an arrangement most men would give their right arm for.”
He stopped. “Do you think so little of me?” he asked, gritting his teeth. Savannah caught the tick in his jaw and realized he was about to explode too. “I’m not that guy, Savannah. With me it’s all or nothing. Simple as that.”
“But…I didn’t choose him.”
Lucky turned and examined her face. “Viktor Romanov is by all accounts a decent vampire. One of the few vampires that can make a difference in this world. Your match is ideal.”
“He is…nice.” Savannah offered that concession. “But he doesn’t set my skin on fire when he touches me or ignite something deep inside when he kisses me.”
Lucky grabbed both of Savannah’s arms and pulled her against him. “I don’t want to hear that he touches or kisses you. I don’t want to think about you two together even if it’s a marriage of convenience. And I don’t want to know that you want me. It makes things…difficult. I simply want to let you go to make your own choices.” His breath was warm against her cheek, his lips inches from hers. So close to heaven, all she had to do was lean in. “Please, Savannah, I’m desperately trying to do the right thing here.”
So close to heaven but so far away. He released her. “I won’t chase you. I won’t be the other man. If you want me, you have to walk away from this and give yourself, all of you, to me and I’ll give you all of me. Plain and simple. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”
Savannah stared dumbfounded. She didn’t know what to say. Words escaped her. Thoughts fled her mind.
“Well?” he asked. A sliver of hope slid behind his golden eyes.
“It’s not that easy.”
He chuckled. “That’s just it, Savannah. It is that easy.”
Celestia and Viktor would never let her go. She was too important to their plans. Leaving with him would put him on the run. He’d be in danger. Put the people she cared about in danger. She knew she cared for him, wanted to see where things would go between them, but he was talking about forever. She couldn’t make that commitment.
He shook his head. “You Winters women will be the death of me.” He sighed and turned, leaving her alone on the manicured lawn. “I will wait for you until you’re married. When that happens I’ll move on.”
His words hit her like cold water as she watched him disappear into the house. It took her a minute to realize it was the sprinkler system that had turned on that hit her with cold water. His words simply turned her world upside down.
It was Viktor that came out of the house, picked her up in his arms and carried her into the house. “Good gods, Savannah, what are you doing out there?”
Savannah didn’t answer him. She stood in the foyer, water dripping from her head to her toes. She liked the way the water glided down her body. It caressed her broken heart and hurt feelings. It soothed her anger at Lucky’s ultimatum. What’s wrong with the man? She had no control over the situation she was in. She had no choice. She was trying to make the best of a rotten situation.
‘Savannah, talk to me.’ Viktor’s voice was warm in her mind.
‘I don’t want an open marriage, Viktor. I want all or nothing.’ She didn’t wait for an answer. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door shut as she slammed his telepathic phone call down.
She wasted no time in tearing off her wet clothes and wrapping a towel around her body. It was only moments before there was a knock on her bedroom door. It wasn’t Celestia’s knock, it was more tentative.
“Come in,” she said as she ran a brush through her blonde locks.
Viktor opened the door and stood at the threshold. Savannah pulled her towel tighter as worry and fear of what he was going to do hit her.
He allowed a deep growl to escape his lips “Please, Savannah, no fear. I warned you what happens when I sense fear.”
She couldn’t help it. She took a step backward and fell into her bed. With super human speed he closed the door and knelt inches from her face. “Why do you fear me?” His teeth lengthened. “You’re just as powerful as me.” He pointed out.
He was right. Her own teeth lengthened and she hissed at him.
He smiled. “Very good.” He sat down on the floor and chuckled. Her bedroom was a good size but he seemed oversized for the room. He finally sighed and locked eyes with her. “I guess we need to talk.”
Savannah nodded and let her teeth retract. “I guess we do.”
“Do you know what you’re asking when you ask a vampire to mate for life?”
She shook her head.
“It’s a life bond. Very few vampires partake in the mating process because eternity is a long time.”
“But if you find the right person, then eternity isn’t that long.” Savannah sounded like a romantic, but that was who she was. A romantic at heart and she’d never be happy until she found everlasting love.
“Vampires, just like many other supernatural creatures, are possessive. Once bonded there’s no turning back, no changing your mind. You only feed from each other, anyone else’s blood becomes disgusting to you. When one dies the other dies, we become each other’s weakness.” He zeroed those stormy eyes on hers. “Do you understand that implication, if you die I die, if I die, you die. And death for a vampire is not a pleasant jaunt to heaven, it is an eternity in hell.”
Savannah swallowed hard. “Isn’t there anything good about it?”
He grinned. “Yes, I hear it’s amazing. Like nothing you’ve ever experienced. But the price is high.” He sat up. “When I offered an open marriage I was doing it as a favor to you. I was clearly attracted to you and I wanted you to know you had options.” He lay back on the floor and covered his eyes with the back of his hand. It was a contradiction to everything she thought of him. He was always so prim and proper.
She stood up, grabbed a white dress from the closet, stepped into the bathroom, and closed the door. When she came back out he hadn’t moved. She decided to join him on the fluffy white carpet. “So if we get married, we’re mated?”
“No. The mating process for a vampire is very in-depth. It requires multiple steps to make it official.”
“So why the open marriage?”
He rolled over and looked into her eyes. “Do you know how old I am?” She shook her head. “Six hundred and thirty years, give or take a decade.” Her eyes got huge. He nodded. “That’s right, and you’re eighteen. I think it’s important that you’re allowed to go out and live a little before settling down with a grumpy old vampire.”
She swatted his chest. “You’re far from grumpy.” It amazed her he was so old, he looked about her age.
He snatched her wrist before she could pull back and pulled her in for a kiss. It was more than nice this time. His soft cold lips moved across hers and urged her to open up for a taste. When she did he pressed her tighter against his body and rolle
d her on top of him. “I warned you about that. I cannot change the fact that I’m a dominant vampire.” His eyes held the unspoken apology.
“The way you talk you make me feel like I’m repulsive to you but your actions tell a different story.” She laid her head on his chest and listened for the random heartbeat that all vampires had, which proved they weren’t truly dead. Thump.
“So where does that leave us?”
“We will entertain a very long open engagement. When you have decided what you want, we will get married, if you choose.”
“And you’re okay with me seeing other people?”
“No. But I’ll work on accepting it.”
“You’re okay with me kissing another man like this?” She nibbled his lower lip and ran her tongue over his top lip.
He pulled her lips to his while pressing down on her waist to hold her hard against him. She felt his excitement and need for her. He kissed her breathless. “What do you think?” He rolled her onto her back and fell gently on top of her before continuing to kiss her lips silly. When a moan escaped her lips he grabbed her hair and tugged lightly, opening the kiss and her mouth to his deeper assault. Savannah felt his passion and surrendered to his roving fingers, lips and nips.
As sudden as it started, it ended. He pulled away from her and jumped to a standing position. “I told you, you need to be free to make sure this is what you want. My family has some business in Vienna that needs to be dealt with. I was going to send my sister to handle it, but I think I’ll go myself. Give you some space to figure things out.” He straightened his clothes.
Savannah didn’t even know he had a sister. She knew so little about the man she was supposed to marry. She stood up and grabbed his wrist before he could leave. “I don’t want you to go.”
He shook his hand free. “I don’t want to go, but I think it’s for the best.” He left her with so many unanswered questions and an emptiness in her soul.
Chapter Forty-Two
Rebecca
Rebecca knocked softly on the door before she entered. Sundae and Georgie were lying in bed while Madison and Isaac, a wolf doctor on loan from the southern California pack, were wiping the sweat from the girls’ foreheads in an attempt to bring down the fevers. She didn’t understand why the side effects were so dire and she worried for both of them, especially Sundae because she could still have vampire blood in her system.
When she was infected she was sick in bed with the flu for a few days. The fact that it was so dire struck fear in her heart. The likelihood of their survival was slim. If she killed either one of them she didn’t know what she would do.
She felt Gabriel enter the room behind her. He had a way of calming her emotions by just being in close proximity to her. Now that their commitment was public it made things easier as well. He saw her uneasiness and slipped his hand in hers to show his support.
“Any news?” Rebecca asked Isaac.
He looked up. “They appear to be rejecting the change. I’m doing everything I can to help them and ease the pain.” His brown eyes held a level of compassion that she was not familiar seeing in a seasoned doctor.
Rebecca’s heart froze and she fought back the tears that pricked her eyes and threatened to fall. “Is there anything else we can do?”
He dipped the cloth in the bucket of cold water and rung out the excess before placing it back on Sundae’s forehead. “Every infection runs the risk of rejection. It’s the cost of balance. All we can do now is keep them comfortable and hope their immune system kicks into gear to save them.”
Rebecca nodded her head solemnly. She wanted to help. She needed to do something but didn’t know what to do. “Is this normal when the body rejects the infection?”
“These are extreme cases but I’ve seen similar symptoms.”
Georgie started coughing and blood appeared on the handkerchief. Dread crept up Rebecca’s spine. She killed them. Damn it, she killed them and she was helpless to save them.
Persephone rushed in the room. “Rebecca, you have visitors.”
Rebecca’s eyes darted between her sick charges and Persephone, torn between duty and the need to help.
“They’re in your office. I’ll stay to help.” Persephone offered.
Rebecca smiled her thanks and then she and Gabriel headed downstairs to her office. She assumed the visitors would be Lucky and the Protectors. She was expecting them any moment to pick up Devon and she couldn’t wait to get rid of the traitorous alpha. She didn’t expect dragon shifters to be in her office. She recognized the girl as the one who kidnapped her by scent but the other two were different. Instead of darkened faces they were olive skinned with black hair. They shared similar facial structures which made her think they were related in some way. All three shared the dimensional scent and all three made her nervous.
“Should I be expecting a knock over the head while you attempt to kidnap me again?” Rebecca asked icily.
Gabriel jumped protectively in front of her. It was gallant but after last night’s show of power she wasn’t worried about her safety at the moment. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to put him at ease.
The dark haired brunette stepped forward. “I know we got off on the wrong foot last time and I’m sorry. I’m Kia and these are my brothers, Toby and Fang. Becky asked us to deliver this to you as a means of communication.” She handed Rebecca something that looked like a remote control.
It felt smooth in her hands. She recognized the combination of technology and magic. Dimensional magic. There was a difference to it. It felt wrong in a way. Like it wasn’t meant for her. Like she wasn’t on the right frequency to be handling it. She briefly wondered if that was normal but didn’t have time to ponder it.
Kia stepped forward and said, “You press this button and it opens an inter-dimensional phone call of sorts.” She pressed it and in a few moments a tiny holographic image of Becky appeared on top of the remote like device. It startled her and she placed it down on the desk to get a better view.
‘She looks like you with brown hair.’ Gabriel observed in her mind.
‘She is me…well, the me I would be if all may family had died when I was seven.’
Gabriel pulled Rebecca close and kissed her silver tattoo. ‘Sometimes, we find reason to be thankful for our past, despite how painful it is.’
She couldn’t help but smile at that. He was so deep when he wanted to be.
“Can you hear me?” Becky asked, irritation clear in her stance, face, and voice.
“Yes, Becky, I can hear you.” Rebecca relented.
“Good. I wanted to give you an update. The three dragons I sent to you today are going to become permanent implants into your society to help reduce the distribution of Black Death on your streets. They need a place to stay.”
“I’ll make sure they get settled.”
“They aren’t exactly familiar with your universe so they’ll need guidance, but they are good operatives and will work well in rooting out the problem on your streets.” Becky smiled. “Kia is their section leader and she’s my best operative.”
“Okay. But I think we need to do more than taking out the dealers.”
“Right, we’ll need the help of some witches and guardians. They’ll be able to help us find the portals and also seal them off from the other universe.” Kia offered up part of the plan. “If we leave only one open it will make it easier to cut off their distribution.”
“And what about my pack member, Brick, and the suspicion of this pack’s involvement?”
“If we can get lucky enough to capture our Brick it’ll be easy to get his release. Otherwise we’ll need to find another way to prove his innocence.” Kia smiled shyly.
“Well, it’s a start.” Rebecca chewed over the plan and decided it was a really good start. They needed to do everything they could to get the black death drug off the streets before more humans and supernaturals were killed. Not to mention the frame job on her pack.
“There is ano
ther thing to consider…” Becky waited for Rebecca’s full attention. “My sources tell me that Ophelia’s supplier is in your world.”
“A fairy from our dimension is supplying the blood?” That was unfortunate. She could do without meeting fairies. They didn’t have the best reputation. Becky nodded. “Okay, we will start researching this information.”
“And for the other part of our deal?” Becky asked.
“I’ll have to come over there and scope out the situation. And then we can come up with a plan to weaken them. I promised you help, Becky, and I meant it.”
“It might be wise to send someone other than you to do the initial scoping since we share the same face and I’m the center of Ophelia’s obsession,” Becky responded with logic.
“Good point. Can I have a couple of days to put together my team?”
“Of course.” Becky’s hologram disappeared.
“Well, let’s get you set up, shall we?”
Chapter Forty-Three
Hunter
Hunter was at his wits end. Every single lead he uncovered and investigated left him with little to no results. He was exhausted and pissed off at how little Savannah and Rebecca cared about his mission. All he wanted to do was give them back their lives and both of them rebuked the idea of finding a cure. Savannah was settling in nicely as a vampire princess and Rebecca was enjoying her role as a werewolf alpha. He was beginning to believe even if he found a cure for the virus that altered their DNA they’d refuse to take it.
That knowledge and his tired soul decided this last lead would be it for him. He only decided to follow it because Mira recommended he meet with an ancient wizard that might be able to help. He knew from his teachings that wizards weren’t the most trustworthy of sources but he hoped Mira was.
“I still think this is a mistake, Hunter.” Natalia tried one last time to talk him out of it. She’d been doing that the entire ride over to the Refuge. “Xander doesn’t have the best reputation.”
“Mira said he’s scary, but he’s also the kind of man who keeps his word. If I can get him to promise to help, he’ll be good,” Hunter replied in a frustrated voice. He was tired of having to explain the necessity of this to Natalia. It was like she didn’t care about finding the cure. He put the car in park and climbed out of the driver’s seat without looking back. She could stay in the car or join him.
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