He frowned. “I took too much blood, and now you’re weak. I’ll have to make sure to feed off someone else before I mate with you.”
Cain nearly laughedat the look on her face. He was just as surprised, if not more so than she was. Vampires rarely took a mate. And he’d never wanted one … until now. Her taste alone was reason enough for Cain to want her for his own. But the fact that she was a famed gypsy healer, and her blood was the key to his project, was the icing on the cake. Even if he didn’t want her, he’dhaveto take Alice as a mate to ensure she wouldn’t be able to leave him. But hedidwant her—fiercely. Although most vampires showed little interest in sexual pursuits, Cain dallied once in a while. He noticed when a woman was attractive. And when they were tempting enough, he indulged hisotherappetite—the one that wasn’t his blood lust. And Cain had absolutely noticed Alice was tempting enough. She wasn’t simply a genius. She was also sexy, strong, and beautiful. Alice had dark hair—worn chin-length to accentuate her heart-shaped face—plump pink lips, and a curvy, voluptuous body. Alice was tall enough that he didn’t have to bend down to sink his teeth into her throat. She would make a wonderful vampire. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to turn her. It was imperative she keep her full purity as a healer. Cain couldn’t risk ruining that.
He finally reached the door to his suite and pressed his palm to the sensor. The door swung open, and he strode inside. The motion lights came on, but they were dim. Cain got sick of the bright lights in the lab and the room housing the dormants. He preferred the shadows whenever possible.
The vampire walked over to his bed and gently placed Alice on it. She was so weak she couldn’t even scoot away from him when she tried.
“I will not hurt you.”
“Really? Because you just chewed on me like a damn bone.” Her lips pursed as she glared at him.
“I didn’t chew,” he said dryly and then dropped his voice. “I sucked.”
Her cheeks took on a flushed look that his vampire vision could see even in the subdued light. He chuckled at her embarrassment. Yes, this was definitely going to be fun.
* * *
Finn pacedthe small square room, his wolf paws silent on the floor. As soon as they’d locked him in the cell, he had phased. His beast was out of control and refused to let the man be in charge. After so long, they had found their mate. And she was in the hands of vampires.
His mind reached for hers. The second he’d laid eyes on Lizzy, the true-mate bond had snapped into place. He could feel her. But her mind was a mess. She was unconscious, and he couldn’t reach her, no matter how hard he pushed.
“Lizzy.”His wolf snarled.“Mate, wake up.”He was desperate to know she was okay. Finn had never wanted to hear someone’s voice so badly.“Please, female. FIGHT!”He yelled through the bond and pictured himself shaking her shoulders.
“It’s no surprise that a voice I hear in my head is a demanding dick.”Her sweet voice filled his mind. Like a healing balm, it soothed every raw nerve inside of him.
“I’m not just a voice in your head,”he said gently.“I’m a real person. I’m your true mate.”
“Is that a werewolf thing? Are you a dormant, too?”
Finn saw the memories in her mind of Cain finding her and convincing her to go with him. His jaw clenched as he listened to the snake-tongue vampire fill her with false hope. But Finn understood; he’d fallen for Cain’s lies as well. And now the wolf didn’t consider that such a bad thing. If Finn had refused Cain’s offer, he wouldn’t have found her.“I’m not a dormant. I’m a full-bloodedCanis lupus. And yes, true mates are a werewolf thing.”He could feel her exhaustion and tried to push his strength through their bond.
“Cain never said anything about dormants having mates.”
Finn growled.“That’s because he wouldn’t want you to know about them. True mates are bound to one another. They protect each other. Something like that would disrupt his plan.”
“His plan is a hell of a lot better than what I had going on.”Pain filled her voice, and he could practically see through the bond the loneliness she wore like a familiar jacket.
“You’ll never be alone again, Lizzy. You will have me. Always.”Finn tried to reassure her.
Indignation filled their bond.“This true-mate thing… It’s like marriage, right? Like in books and television?”
“Somewhat. Though the human institution of marriage pales in comparison to the mate bond.”He pictured her face. Finn had seen it for mere minutes, yet that was all it took for his wolf to memorize every detail. He imagined running his fingers gently over her cheek and across her jaw.
“What are you doing?”Her voice trembled, and he knew she could feel the sensation as if he was actually touching her.
“Using the bond to touch you. That’s how strong our connection is. You’re the other half of my soul. I cannot live without you. Nor would I want to.”Finn hoped to let her feel his kiss, but not through the bond, at least not the first one.
“That can’t be true. If you knew me, knew my past, you wouldn’t want to touch me. I’m tainted, Finn. Dirty and scarred. I can’t be the other half of your soul because I lost mine a long time ago.”
Finn’s wolf slammed into the door. He saw the memories in her mind, and he was shocked she didn’t attempt to hide them. He saw the abuse she had suffered as a child. It had continued through adolescence and adulthood, all the way up to the point Cain found her. His wolf threw back its head and howled.“You’ve never had anyone? All this time I’ve lived without you, and that is the hell you’ve experienced?”
“I had one friend. Someone so loyal she was willing to die for me. But they took her away. She thought I was dead. Hell, I thought I was dead. Apparently dormants are hard to kill. But she got me through a lot.”
Finn wanted to find the girl and thank her for being here for his mate when he had not been.“What was her name?”
He felt love for the girl flow through the bond, and he was momentarily jealous. He wanted Lizzy to love him like that.“Kara. Kara Jones.”
“I’m sorry they separated you,”he told her, and he meant it.“When we get out of here, and we will, I will help you find her.”
