Kindled

by Erica Stevens

  “What?” he inquired defensively. “It’s true!”

  Annabelle merely grinned at him while Liam shook his head. “When you find the one person you can’t spend the rest of your life without you will understand, and believe me thirty years will seem like a second,” Annabelle replied. “And the taking of a mate is not something that is entered into lightly. As I said it is binding, and unbreakable. You are tied to a mate forever.”

  “So both mates have to be vampires then?” Chris inquired continuing to stare at Cassie, and then Devon.

  “Well yes,” Annabelle said softly, her forehead furrowed in confusion. “The bond is created through the sharing of blood and sex.”

  Cassie felt as if someone had kicked her in the gut as the air rushed out of her. Everyone else remained silent as Annabelle’s words sank in. Cassie turned toward Devon, tilting her head to look up at him. He had taken her blood, but she was acutely aware of the fact that he had not shared his. And neither had they forged a bond through sex. It was not that she was afraid to anymore, not that she still had doubts that she wouldn’t be enough for him, because she knew that she would. She just wanted it to happen when there was no one out there trying to kill them.

  Although, she realized now that may be the impossible dream. It was very possible that there would never be a time when someone wasn’t trying to kill them, and she did not want to die without having shared that experience with him. But the sharing of blood, well that was something that they may never be able to experience. She was surprised by how disappointed she was by the realization. She thought she should be repulsed by it, but she wasn’t. Not if it was Devon’s blood. Devon glanced down at her, dropping a quick kiss on her head.

  Why hadn’t he told her about this? She wondered, fear beginning to curl through her body. Had he kept it from her because he didn’t feel that she was his mate? Did he not feel the same way about her, as she did about him? A cold chill curdled in her belly, her skin turned to ice as everything in her went numb. But that couldn’t be true, she had felt his emotions, she knew how intensely he felt about her. But why hadn’t he told her about this then?

  He seemed to sense her distress as he pulled her tighter against him. Annabelle’s eyes were questioning as she studied them. Cassie didn’t like the intense scrutiny she found herself under. “I’ll get my things,” Dani interrupted. She turned and hurried swiftly up the stairs.

  “Yes… I uh… I should go get my things too, and say goodbye to my mom.”

  “She’s not coming with us?” Cassie blurted out, forgetting all about her terror and confusion in the face of Chris’s statement.

  He shook his head sadly, his sapphire eyes distant and lost. “No, she doesn’t want to leave. And I suppose there is no need for her to. She’s not one of us after all.”

  Cassie heard the pain in his words, felt the sorrow behind them. He may not have been close with his mother, but he still loved her, and he always would. When they left here though, there was a good possibility that he may never see her again. “Do you want me to come with you?” Cassie asked softly.

  He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I’d better do this alone.”

  Cassie nodded reluctantly. Chris moved swiftly past Liam, throwing the door open to the sun breaking on the horizon. “I’ll put your car in the garage,” Devon said, stepping forward to claim the keys from Liam.

  Cassie watched as he hurried outside, leaving her alone with the two strange vampires studying her intently. She swallowed nervously, trying to shove aside her rising turmoil. “I should grab my things too,” she said quickly.

  She scooted quickly past Annabelle and Liam, feeling only slightly guilty about leaving them to fend for themselves. She needed a few moments to herself in order to gather her scattered thoughts and wildly swaying emotions. She had packed two suitcases already, but she still needed to gather her toiletries.

  Heading into the bathroom, she began tossing things into her small travel case. She tried not to think as she moved, but all of her doubts and insecurities reared back to painful life. Zipping the case closed, she slid down to sit on the edge of the tub, suddenly unable to move. Why hadn’t he told her about the mate thing?

  “Cassie.” She lifted her head when Devon appeared in her doorway. His eyes were dark and questioning as he studied her. “What’s wrong?”

  She hesitated, unsure of how much to say to him, not wanting to sound needy. But in the end, her curiosity and doubts won out. “Why didn’t you tell me about the mate thing?” she asked softly.

  He sighed as he came completely into the room. He was lithe and elegant as he moved, coming forward with purpose. “It’s not the reason that you’re thinking.”

  “And how would you know what I’m thinking?” she demanded fiercely.

  The grin he gave her only caused her anger to crank up another notch. “Because I know you, love,” he whispered. “You wear your emotions on your face, and I know how you think. I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t think you were my mate, because I know you are. The reason I didn’t tell you was because it is only one more thing for you to worry about, or to feel guilty about. It’s only one more pressure that you do not need right now. We just need to get through the day, one day at a time right now. I need to keep you safe Cassie. Your safety is the only thing that I can worry about now. It’s also the only thing that you can worry about.”

  Cassie stared silently at him as he knelt before her, gently taking hold of her hands. His eyes burned into hers, the need in them nearly broke her heart. “How can you be so sure that I am?” she asked softly.

  He gave her a wry grin as he leaned forward on the balls of his feet. “I’ve known since the moment I saw you, I may not have admitted it to myself then, but I knew then. And there was something else…” his voice trailed off, his eyes fell from hers.

  “Something else?” she prodded when he didn’t continue.

  He rose slowly to his feet, settling himself on the tub beside her. “I’ve never used my ability for mind control over you Cassie, at least not on purpose.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped. For a moment she couldn’t find her breath. What was he talking about? He had taken control of her mind? Chills of terror and disbelief raced up and down her spine, he wouldn’t even look at her. He had invaded her mind and she hadn’t even known about it! And why would he want to take control of her, what had he done to her? “What do you mean?” she breathed.

  His head came slowly up, his eyes finally focused on her again. “There was a night, a time when my ability went beyond my control, while I was sleeping. It reached out to your mind, enveloping it, ensnaring it in a dream…”

  Cassie gasped, her hand flew to her mouth as she recalled the dreams she’d had about Devon, and there had been so very many of them before she had accepted him into her life. But out of all the dreams, there had been one that was so vivid, so real that it had haunted her. That it had all but driven her into his arms. “The lake,” she breathed.

  He studied her for a moment before nodding slowly. “Yes, the lake.”

  “It was so real.” Cassie’s fingers brushed against her lips. It had been the first time she had ever kissed him, and though it had been wonderful, it had been nothing compared to the real thing. “Why?”

  Devon took hold of her clasped hands. “I didn’t do it on purpose Cass; I promise you I would never do it on purpose, not to you. If I was ever going to do it on purpose you would have been out of this town months ago, and we never would have been apart for two weeks.” Cassie shifted, hating the reminder of the weeks they had spent apart, and how awful she had been to him. “I think I was growing so frustrated of your continuous rebuttal of me that it seeped out in my sleep.”

  He bumped her knee slightly, squeezing her hands gently when she ducked her head, shame washed through her. “The hunt was growing tiresome,” he said lightly, though she could hear the strain in his voice. “I went to sleep that night,
and unconsciously my power reached out to you. It did so because even though I didn’t realize it until after I awoke, my subconscious recognized you as my mate, and it needed to connect to you in some way in order to satisfy itself. I didn’t even know I was in your dream until you told me that you had spent your summers as a child there. That’s when I knew.”

  Cassie swallowed heavily, her fingers fell away from her mouth. She could only stare at him, barely able to move, barely able to breathe as he turned toward her. His eyes were intense, fierce, his gaze steady and yet fearful. “Knew?”

  “Knew what you were to me, knew what I had been trying to deny for so very long. Don’t get me wrong, I continued to try and deny it. I did not want you placed in that situation, I didn’t want you to know what I was, what my world consisted of. But then again, at the time, I had no way of knowing that you already knew far more of my world than I had ever wanted you too.”

  He leaned forward, gently clasping her face between his palms. Cassie leaned into him, savoring in him, relishing in his touch and feel, and the soft words that he whispered. “And after, well after I finally admitted it to myself, finally allowed myself to acknowledge that you were my mate, I was afraid to tell you.”

  “Why?”

  His fingers brushed lightly over her face. “Because I wanted you to make the choice to join me on your own, I didn’t want you to feel any pressure from me. I wanted you to feel free to make the choice, and not feel obligated.”

  “And now that I have, it may be impossible,” she whispered morosely.

  His head bowed, his forehead pressed lightly against hers. “Once you are safe, and all of this is past us, then we can sort out the rest of the details. And we will Cassie. I promise you, we will.”

  She nodded, blinking back the tears that burned her eyes. She wished that she could make this all different, wished that she had made the choice earlier. Maybe if she had, and there had been no fear of turning her, she could have been turned by now. And maybe, just maybe there would have been no ill effect, and they could be completely together, the bond between them could have been forged.

  But then again, something awful may have happened. She could have become a monster, and Devon never would have forgiven himself, even if he had been unaware of the consequences at the time. No, as awful as it was, it was a good thing she had not made the choice earlier. There was no way to know what could have happened, and the last thing that she ever wanted was for to Devon to be hurt, in anyway.

  Yes, it was awful, and it was going to be hard, but they would get through this. Together.

  “Yes, we will,” she said softly. Then, she frowned at him, a new thought blazing to life inside of her. “Devon, with what Annabelle described, wouldn’t you and Isla be mates?”

  He frowned at her, his hands tightened on hers. “No Cassie, there is more to it than just blood and sex. The bond is also forged through love. There was never any love with Isla, it was never like that. It has never been like that with anyone but you. And once I turned Isla, I never shared blood with her again. Mates tend to share blood on a near daily basis. Annabelle says that it is a beautiful and poignant experience.”

  “I see,” she said softly. He continued to look at her worriedly, his gaze doubtful and questioning. “I do.”

  He managed a small smile for her as he wrapped his hand around the back of her head, pulling her against him for a fierce, demanding kiss that robbed her of all sense and reason. She fell into him; losing herself in the feel of him as he swept away all of her doubts and fears. She matched the frantic need of his kiss, knowing that this may be the last time that they were alone together for a very long time.

  She didn’t know that she was crying until he pulled away from her and gently wiped the tears from her face. “Don’t cry,” he whispered, kissing her cheeks.

  “I’m going to miss you so much,” she said, unable to keep the hitching sob from her voice.

  He kissed her lightly again, resting his forehead against hers as he held her tight. “I’ll join you as soon as I can,” he vowed.

  She swallowed heavily. “You had better, and you had better stay safe.”

  “I will Cassie, don’t worry about me, you need to take care of yourself.”

  “Of course I worry about you. I love you.”

  He grinned at her, kissing her again before pulling slowly away. “I love you too. Melissa and Luther are here.”

  Cassie nodded, her hands shaking as he helped her up. He waited as she threw her travel bag into her suitcases before grabbing hold of them. “Devon.” He paused in the doorway as he turned back to her. She moved swiftly toward him, throwing her arms around him as she kissed him forcefully. Her suitcases thudded to the floor as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her tight against him.

  CHAPTER 13

  Cassie stared out at the dark night, listening as the trees clicked and creaked with the sway of the breeze shifting through the large maples and oaks. Aside from the noise of the trees, the night was eerily silent. Picking up her coffee, she held it between her chilled hands as she took a small sip. Chris sat silently behind her, his feet propped up on the banister, his hands folded into the sleeves of his parka.

  Melissa stepped onto the wraparound porch a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. The screen door squeaked as she eased it closed. Though it had snowed throughout most of the day, the sky was clear, the stars bright in the dark night. The moon shimmered over the pristine blanket of white snow. It was one of the most hauntingly beautiful and lonely things Cassie had ever seen.

  “It’s so peaceful,” Melissa said softly, wrapping her blanket tighter around her.

  It was peaceful, too peaceful, and Cassie hated it. She missed being part of the action, missed the hustle of her small town, and her life. And she greatly missed Devon, every fiber of her being ached for him every second of the endlessly long days and nights. She hadn’t slept more than two hours at a time since they had parted last week. Her skin hurt, her body hurt, everything in her hurt incessantly. And so far she had found nothing to help her ease the hurt that his absence had created.

  The vibration in her pocket drew her attention to her phone. She pulled it out, her hands trembling slightly in anticipation. Cassie flipped it open, quickly scanning through Devon’s text. He checked in with her as often as he could while searching for Julian. She had to know that he was safe; otherwise she would go insane in this cabin, in the middle of nowhere, in upstate Maine. Though it had every new luxury she could dream of, the cabin was remote, lonely, and much too far from Devon.

  She typed a quick response to him and flipped the phone closed. She held it tight for a moment, not wanting to lose the small amount of connection the phone gave her to him. Her chest was tight with agony; tears burned her eyes as she slid it slowly into her pocket. She hated living apart from him, hated living like this, and feeling like this. She hated the not knowing of both of their futures. And she really hated being taken out of the fight and hidden away.

  Movement to the right caught her attention. Annabelle emerged from the woods, gliding gracefully across the snow even though it was almost up to her knees. Her hair shimmered in the light of the moon as she moved, a small smile played over her mouth. She was not as beautiful as Isla had been, not in the seductive mysterious sense anyway, but she was delicate, and pretty, and so very open and loving that it was impossible not to like her.

  Though she didn’t like it, Cassie fully understood why Devon had thought he was in love with her.

  “Couldn’t sleep?” Annabelle inquired as she strode silently up the porch steps.

  “No,” Melissa answered.

  Annabelle stomped her feet, shaking the snow from her boots. Her gaze was questioning as she glanced over the three of them, her cheeks red from the cold. She had a glow about her that Cassie recognized as a sign of having fed well. “Where are Dani and Luther?”

  “Dani’s sleeping, I think. And Luther, well…” Melissa shrugged as she shoved h
er hands in her pockets. “He hasn’t left his books for more than a cat nap and a pee break since we got here.”

  Cassie glanced over at Melissa. They had all spent a lot of time buried amongst the musty books that Luther had brought with him, but Luther had been nearly inseparable from the pile. As the pile grew smaller, so did their hopes of finding any answers.

  “Hmm,” Annabelle said softly.

  “Want some coffee?” Chris asked.

  Annabelle shook her head, her long curls bounced around her shoulders. “No, not right now, thank you though.”

  Cassie nodded, her hands tightened around her cup as she turned back to the quiet night. “Devon and Liam are ok.”

  Annabelle grinned at her, bouncing slightly as she clapped her mittens together. “Of course they are I would know if something happened to Liam.”

  They all gazed questioningly at her as she continued to clap her hands. “What?” Chris asked, his chair hitting the floor of the porch as he dropped his legs down.

  Annabelle continued to smile brightly. “We share blood; we’re connected in that way. I would know if that connection was severed.”

  A small chill ran through Cassie as she thought over Annabelle’s words. “So you would know if something happened to Devon also,” she said softly.

  Annabelle’s eyes were kind and understanding as she turned to Cassie. Cassie hated that look in her eyes, hated the pity she saw there. She wanted to turn away, but she found herself unable to do so. “It has been a very long time, my blood connection with Devon is much thinner and weaker now, but yes, I think I would know.”

  Cassie nodded as she wrapped her arms around herself. The loneliness inside her grew in leaps and bounds. She could feel tears burning her eyes and she tried hard to bat them back. Normally she wouldn’t be this emotional, but she had been uncomfortable in her own skin for the past week. She hated this feeling, hated being lost and vulnerable and self conscious. Hated feeling out of sorts and wretched.