“She wants to know if there’s hope for her and Cain, but she also despises the fact that there might be an option.”Nick’s voice came through Kara’s thoughts.“She doesn’t want there to be a choice. Then it’s not her fault if she ends up with a vampire.”
“How on earth can you get all of that from just hearing and seeing her through my mind?”Kara asked her mate.
“I’m a little older than you, yeah? I’m good at reading people.”
“Please don’t remind me of your age. It’s weird.”
She heard a chuckle through their bond.“That’s not what you said the other night.”
Kara’s face heated.“Go away so I can focus, please.”
“They’re not together,” Sally answered Alice. “In fact, they both eventually went on to find their true mates. Dillon, that’s Jacque’s dad, found his true mate while he was still with Lilly. That’s Jacque’s mom. When you meet your true mate, everyone else before becomes less than a speck in your memory.”
“Ouch.” Alice’s face scrunched up. “That had to be a kick in the gut for Lilly.”
“She knew what he was while they were together, and she knew there was a chance he’d leave her one day if he found his true mate.” Kara remembered the story Dillon and Tanya had shared with them. “Lilly decided it was worth it.”
“And it was, as far as I’m concerned,” Sally interjected. “It was worth it because their relationship resulted in Jacque, and I can never regret that.”
“How does Dillon’s true mate feel about it?” Alice shifted in her seat to more fully face Kara and Sally.
“Tanya is quite remarkable,” Sally said. “She doesn’t hold it against Dillon that he was with someone before her, or even that he has a child. Because she’d never ask Dillon to regret having his daughter.”
“Do Dillon and Tanya have kids?”
Kara’s heart twisted for the couple. It was obvious in Tanya’s eyes anytime she looked at Kara or Sally that she longed to have her own child.
“It’s actually difficult forCanis lupusto have children, and even harder to carry them to term without the help of a gypsy healer,” Sally explained. “Dillon and Tanya don’t have any children yet.”
“Damn.” Alice sighed. “That’s a depressing story.”
Kara winced. “Yeah, that sort of sucked as a pep talk. But it explains that your feelings for Cain aren’t unique. I mean, maybe having feelings for a vampire is strange, I guess. I don’t really know. I’ve only known what I am for a couple years, and I’ve only been mated for half of that.”
The three of them were quiet for a moment, and Kara glanced at Sally to see if she could gauge what the brunette was thinking. The other healer was looking at Alice, searching the woman’s face. Finally, Sally leaned forward, her brown-eyed gaze intent. “How did Cain react when he realized you were awake?”
Alice’s lips pressed into a tight line as her fingers worried at a loose thread on her shirtsleeve. She gave a minute shake of her head, her eyes downcast.
Kara watched the tense set of the other woman’s shoulders, the unconscious protective hunching. She recognized the body language all too well: bracing for a blow.
“He wasn’t pleased, I take it?” Kara prompted gently.
Alice huffed out a bleak breath. “He was perturbed. His perfect doll had developed a mind of her own. Or at least that’s the way I read the situation.” She yanked the thread free with a sharp twist. “I think he enjoyed playing house in my head. He wanted to keep up the fantasy forever.”
Sally and Kara exchanged a troubled look. The vampire’s obsession with controlling Alice was disturbingly apparent.
“I know another female who became the muse of a vampire to the point of infiltrating her mind. We had to break his hold on her.” Sally’s voice was bleak.
“You guys seriously do suck at pep talks,” Alice muttered with a shake of her head.
Kara sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. “Yeah, sorry about that. They left pep talk prep out of gypsy healer training.”
Alice snorted, a small smile forming on her pretty face.
“Did Cain give any reasons for keeping you under?” Sally asked, and Alice’s smile flattened. “Any explanation for how he did it?”
Alice huffed. “Oh, he was very open after I woke up. Since he’s my sire, he has ways to influence me.” She shuddered faintly. “I let him in, let him use that connection. But not anymore.”
Her jaw clenched with resolve, Alice finally raised her eyes. “He said he wanted time to research healers and vampires because he wants to keep me safe. He said he didn’t know how his blood would affect me or how my healer powers would be impacted.” She narrowed her eyes. “But knowing how he’s experimenting on dormant werewolves, it makes me wonder if he’s now considering the possibility of having gypsy healers under vampire control.” She pressed her fingers to her forehead and rubbed in circles, then pinched the bridge of her nose.
