The ground vibrated violently.
“But I won’t!” he quickly said. “I won’t. I won’t. I won’t.” He held up his hands. “Not until you give me permission.”
The ground settled once again.
“Um.” He cleared his throat. “Could you like, stop the rain before you drowned us? Or cause a massive flood that kills everything? Or, I don’t know, you force me to build a ship and sail us all out of here.”
Instantly the rainstorm changed into a light drizzle, almost like a fine mist. Andrej’s shoulder sagged. “Thank you,” he whispered.
He looked around. Some of the lower areas had already flooded. Massive puddles dotted the land, and he knew if he ran over to the edge of the ravine, the river was probably now filled with dangerous rapids.
“Go check on the livestock,” he called out.
He looked back toward his friends and while Evan and DeMarcus had run off, the others stayed. Probably to make sure he didn’t screw things up again. He tried to think of something to say, but he was pulling up blanks.
I saw Harriet and Oscar standing off to the side, huddled together, and for some reason he thought bringing them up would be a good idea.
“Your parents are happy that you’re finally here,” he informed her, unsure of what else to say.
The rain picked back up. Lightning zigged and zagged every which way and thunder rumbled. The storm became violent in a matter of seconds. Off toward the livestock pens, he heard the guys scream.
“Shit!” Alfonzo yelled.
They are turned, watching in horror as rock formation began to tumble and fall from the mountainside.
“Brailynn!” Andrej called. “Please. You have to stop! The mountain is crumbling because of the rains. I’m sorry for everything. I can explain it all, but I need you to calm down. If it helps, I will keep your parents at a distance until you can deal with them. Anything you wish, but please, stop before you kill us all!”
Suddenly the world fell silent. Nothing, not even the leaves made a sound. It was as if the entire planet collectively waited to see what would come next.
Andrej was afraid to move. Afraid to talk.
He watched as Brailynn slowly descended toward the ground, and he sighed in relief. Thankful his words had been heard. But his happiness quickly ended when her feet touched the ground and her knees instantly buckled.
He lunged forward, his arms wrapping around her mere seconds before she would have hit the ground. Fear clutched at his heart. This would be the cruelest joke. that Fate would finally give her to him, only to take her away.
Chapter Five
Brailynn
Her head pounded and her neck felt as if it were being squeezed in a vise. The world was spinning out of control. She had no idea what had come over her. One minute she was anxious and excited; the next she felt half-starved and out of her mind. The emotions were coming at her so fast, Brailynn couldn’t keep up with them.
And then… There were her parents.
She didn’t understand. They were… dead. Or not? The shock and hurt she felt had been enough to throw her over the edge. Her resistance broke. Her entire life had been a lie. All the pain and heartbreak she’d gone through – had been for nothing?
Brailynn knew she had to get away. She didn’t want to be there. She didn’t want to address them. She didn’t even want to look at them. The pain and hurt she started to feel were just too much. So, she had run.
But then he followed.
And that’s when she realized, some of the emotions she felt were actually coming from him. The starvation she felt. The desperation. The incredible hunger. They were his feelings projected onto her. It was how Andrej felt looking at her. His need. His want. Brailynn had felt it all and it scared the hell out of her. Never had anyone felt that intensely for her. She knew he would never hurt her, but just the idea of someone feeling that way about her – terrified Brailynn beyond all reason. Add that to her own realizations and Brailynn was unable to hold the tidal waves back any longer.
She remembered the feel of the water surrounding her and then it was as if someone else had taken over her body. She unleashed everything that had been building inside her. Her emotions. His. It all flew from her in the form of a storm.
It raged.
Dropping gallon upon gallon of water across the area. Thunder and lightning vibrated through the region, mimicking her feelings until there was nothing left, and her energy had been completely depleted. Her essence dried up and then her world tilted as everything momentarily went black.
Brailynn felt his arms wrap around her and an instant later, her body seemed to draw him in. His warmth. His purity. Which were at complete odds with what she thought he would be. She’d always imaged that vampires would be cold creatures who felt evil, or bad.
But not him.
Andrej felt like a light. Like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. Or like the warmth from a roaring fire in the middle of winter. He felt… good. Nice.
“Get the fire lit,” she heard him say as he carried her into the shelter of his home.
Brailynn could hear several people scurrying around her and she wondered if it were her parents. The same parents who’d vanished when she was fourteen, leaving her to live with her elderly grandparents who she would also lose just a short time later. She had so many questions she wanted to ask them, but the hurt, shock, and pain she felt blocked anything from slipping past her lips.
“Just let him care for you, my child,” she heard Mother Earth’s voice whisper through her mind.
But Brailynn didn’t need someone to care for her. She needed a bit of rest and then to be on her way.
“Wrong,” her voice came again. “These are your people. They surround you. They will lend you aid on your journey. They will protect and fortify you. Open yourself to them, Brailynn. They will be your new clan.”
“No,” Brailynn whispered. She couldn’t. The last people she let into her heart had died at the hands of the very person sworn to protect them. These people aided her parents in the lie that she had been told. These weren’t her people. They never would be. The wounds she felt were all too new. She just couldn’t do it. Not now. Maybe not ever.
“You will do it, or your mission will fail.” Mother Earth left no room for argument. “You can feel hurt and whatever other emotion you wish, but you cannot toss away common sense because of pride. That’s how wars are lost.”
Brailynn laid there, her eyes closed as she silently fell apart. Nothing about her life had been real. She’d mourned the loss of her parents, for what? They weren’t dead. They’d simply not wanted her. They’d left her and moved on with life without her.
“Talk to them, my child,” Boanna chimed in.
Brailynn could feel the warmth of the other woman in her mind.
“Ask questions and demand truths.”
“You knew, didn’t you?” Brailynn asked.
But the other woman remained silent. Her lack of an answer was all the answer she needed. Anger shot through her, white-hot and pulsing. Mentally, Brailynn slammed up a wall in her mind, blocking out the Goddess of Water.
“Now, child!” The Goddess Mother, Gaia chided. “That’s unfair.”
But Brailynn didn’t want to hear it. Mentally, she slammed up a wall to block out Gaia, too. Boanna was supposed to be her guide. Her protector. Her spirit mother. Yet, just like her real mother, the other woman had lied to her.
Brailynn felt heartbroken.
She tried to block out everything and everyone. Not only did she find her mate, but she also found out about all the lies. Fifteen years’ worth of them. Coming here had been a huge mistake, she thought as she curled in on herself. The second the word fluttered across her mind, an ache formed in the center of her chest.
“Shhh.”
She felt his arms wrap around her as he lifted her into his lap. Her head pressed against his chest.
“It will be okay, my love,” he whispered. “They are all gone.
It’s just us. Now rest. I will protect you.”
Instead of bringing her peace, his word invoked anger. Brailynn’s eye flew open and she pushed herself out of his arms and climbed to her feet. “I don’t need protection!” she balked weakly. “I can protect myself!”
“Of course,” he rushed. “I didn’t mean…”
But she cut him off. “Yeah, you didn’t mean! Nobody means. Right?”
“Brailynn…” He stood and moved toward her.
“Don’t!” She held out her hand to ward him off. “I don’t need any more lies. I don’t need my parents. I don’t need Boanna or Gaia. And I don’t need you.”
Another sharp pain tore through her so sharply that Brailynn doubled over in pain. She sucked a breath between her teeth.
“Gaia?” His eyes were like rounded saucers.
“What?” Brailynn glanced up at Andrej through painfilled eyes, confused by his questioning tone.
“You said Gaia,” he explained. “How do you know her?” he demanded.
“Really?” Brailynn snapped. “That’s the question you have out of all of this?”
She watched him pause momentarily. He closed his eyes and blew out a shaking breath like he was trying to get himself back under control. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Just her name, it kind of threw me off for a moment. I haven’t heard it spoken out loud in… years.”
He knew Gaia? she asked herself. The thought of the goddess anywhere near Andrej caused the pit in her gut to twist painfully.
Brailynn sucked in a breath.
Instantly, he was by her side. “Please, let me take care of you,” Andrej begged. “My intentions are pure, moje láska. If it pleases you, I will send everyone away. Whatever you wish.”
Brailynn looked into his eyes and that is when she saw it. The truth of his words. Without a doubt, she knew that if she deemed it, he would send everyone packing. And it was in that very moment that the ache in her chest eased just a fraction.
She shook her head. “No,” she whispered faintly. “They don’t need to leave.”
And she meant it. Eventually, she would want answers. She would demand to know why her parents left her and why Boanna had failed to reveal the truth to her. But today wasn’t that day. Mentally and emotionally, she wasn’t ready and physically she was absolutely exhausted. The journey to get there had taken everything from her and then her meltdown had depleted everything else.
Now, all Brailynn wanted to do was sleep – for a week.
“Is there any place where I can maybe lie down?” she asked.
“Of course!” Andrej smiled down at her. “Our room has already been prepared.”
“Our?” She swallowed visibly.
“Yes.” He dipped his chin once. “We’re mates.” Like those two simple words explained it all.
And maybe they did. Brailynn had witnessed enough people finding their other halves to understand how it all went. However, that still didn’t stop the nervous hitch that suddenly sent butterflies scrambling in her stomach.
“Stop fretting.” He chuckled. “I will not touch you until you permit it.”
“Promise?” she asked, then internally cringed at the breathy sound in her voice.
“Pinkie promise.” Andrej’s smile grew as he held up his pinkie finger.
Brailynn couldn’t help by grin back as she wrapped hers around his.
“Deal,” he told her as he brought their intertwined fingers to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to hers.
“Deal,” she whispered, her eyes locked onto his. The look he gave her nearly took her breath away.
“Good.” He released her finger and took a step back. With a flourish extension of his arm, Andrej bowed. “After you.”
Brailynn looked around the large room. She remembered being in it before, in her dream. Boanna had led her there. But unlike in her dream, this time everything seemed to be more... More light. More dark. More warm. More inviting. More… homey.
“I’ve been here before,” she whispered.
“What?”
“In my dream…” She glanced to the left and then to her right.
“Do you dream walk?” Andrej asked, a look of surprise and fear on his face.
But she didn’t know what that meant. So, she didn’t answer. She just continued to look around the room.
“Over there is my office,” Andrej explained, changing the subject. He pointed to the right of the foyer. “And through there,” he pointed to the left, “is the dining room. You will find the kitchen farther down the hall or you can just go through there. Either one will get you to the same spot.”
Brailynn nodded.
“There,” he pointed behind them and to the right again, “is the great room or I think it’s just called a living room, now.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“How old are you?” she blurted out. “Crap! I’m sorry.” She squeezed her lips together. She hadn’t meant to be rude, but his mannerism seemed to be so old fashioned.
And then she remembered something.
Andrej had been turned by her great grandfather. Well, not just her great grandfather, but her twenty-third great grandfather. Meaning, Andrej had to be pushing nearly a century old.
Holy shit…
Andrej laughed. The sound did something weird to her insides and suddenly she desperately wanted to hear it again.
“It’s fine,” he smiled. “I am roughly five-hundred and eighty, I think. Give or take a few years.”
Brailynn’s jaw fell open. She looked him up and down. Andrej didn’t look a day over thirty, forty tops. His body was still in amazing shape. His dirty blond hair was shaggy but well-kept and his blue eyes were nearly crystal clear. His arms filled out the sleeves of the black tee he wore, and his slacks fit him perfectly. Like a glove. Brailynn could readily admit that her mate was beautiful in a strictly masculine way. His chiseled features along with his overall style and presence only enhanced his maleness. And for the first time since learning of why she was really in Wyoming, instead of hunting down Derrick, Brailynn had to thanks the powers that be. After all, she could have been mated to an ogre.
“Well, you definitely don’t look your age,” Brailynn commented.
“I was turned at the age of thirty-three.” So.” Andrej shrugged. “I will forever look just like this.”
She smiled at the thought. But as quickly as the smile came, it vanished. Andrej would stay young forever, but she wouldn’t. Like humans, Brailynn would age until one day, she died.
“What’s wrong, moje láska?” Worry marred his face.
“The fates played a horrible joke on you…”
“Why do you say that?” His brows furrowed.
“You will stay young and live forever.” Brailynn shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “But I’ll age and eventually die.”
Andrej was quiet for a moment as he led the way up the stairs and down the short hallway. Opening the door, he turned to her and said, “The day you leave this world, I will follow. However, if you wish to live forever by my side, I can make that happen, as well. But none of that now. Now, you rest. Later, in time, we will sort everything else out.”
Brailynn walked into the room and gasped. Large floor to ceiling windows overlooked the mountainside. Their silhouettes were showcased by the moon, and Brailynn knew if it were daylight, she would see their peaks covered in snow. She did not doubt that the view would be spectacular.
“What’s on this side?” she asked, walking over to the other side of the room. Looking out the window all she saw was darkness.
“The fields are out that way. The livestock pens and farther out, the canyon,” he answered. “If I had to describe it, I would say it looked like a scene out of an episode of Little House on the Prairie.”
Brailynn smiled. She couldn’t wait to see it.
The sitting area in front of the windows would make a perfect spot to have breakfast or her afternoon tea, or maybe just sitting down to relax and read a book.
&n
bsp; She turned to survey the rest of the room and nearly sighed. Nestled against an interior wall, overlooking the two sets of windows, stood a beautiful wooden sleigh bed that was covered in what looked to be the softest cotton. Brailynn couldn’t wait to snuggle into its warmth.
“I’ll run you a warm shower,” Andrej said, interrupting her thoughts. “Go ahead and get undressed.”
She startled at his words. “Here?”
“Yes.” Andrej waited.
Brailynn’s eyes darted around the room as she started to wring her hands.
“Brailynn,” Andrej said her name, grabbing her attention. “You are my mate. If anyone will see you undressed, it is I.”
“But I don’t even know you,” she countered.
Andrej looked thoughtful for a moment, then he dipped his chin once. “Okay. I will start your water and leave. Once I’m gone, get undressed and take your shower. I will go look for your bag. I assume it has spare clothes in it?”
She nodded.
“Good.”
Andrej walked to another door on the far side of the bed and enter the room. Brailynn stood where she was and listen to him rummage around for a second before she heard running water. Moments later, Andrej exited the bathroom and walked toward her.
“Go get a shower,” he told her. “Relax. I will return shortly.”
He slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips against the center of her forehead. The kiss was sweet, but it left her feeling a bit off-kilter. Should a mate’s kiss be sweet? For some reason, she had always thought that receiving a kiss from her other half would be… magical, passionate. Or maybe toe-curling, like in the movies.
Her eyes fell to his lips.
I wonder… She stopped herself from leaning in. Clearing her throat, she stammered, “I’ll just… Yeah.”
She rushed around him and into the bathroom. She quickly slammed the door closed behind her and leaned against it with a heavy sigh.
You are such an idiot!
She couldn’t believe she almost kissed him. Her thoughts and feelings were so messed up. She wanted him. But she was afraid. She knew it was the mating call that pulled her toward him, and it was so hard to deny it. It was all new and exciting; and scary. She was out of her element and had no idea what to do. Should she kiss him? Should she ask for the mating ceremony of her people? Did vampires have a ceremony? Would he bite her? Would he feed from her? So many questions bombarded her, and she didn’t have a single answer to any of them.
Brailynn (A Rogue Enforcers Novel) Page 7
