There was the merest hint of speculation in his voice. It was all Silke could do to sit still and not squirm under that intense stare. She was so right to keep to herself. She had mostly been alone, and she was comfortable that way. If she let herself trust him, if she let herself believe he wanted her for her, she would be lost when he was gone. And he would go. She tightened her fingers and forced air through her lungs.
She had choices. He couldn’t take her will from her. No one would force her to marry him. She just had to be strong and not be persuaded by the unfamiliar physical reaction she had to him. It was raw and visceral. Scary to her. She wasn’t a woman out of control. She had no idea why a man like Benedek would appeal to her—but he did.
“I wanted to know her character. That was what I found beautiful. Looks don’t matter to our people. Hunters don’t see in color or feel emotion, so physical beauty doesn’t come into play.”
Fenja studied the mask he wore on his impassive features. “You don’t see in color? Not ever?”
He inclined his head. “For centuries I lived in a gray world. Until I heard your daughter’s voice. That was how I knew she was my true lifemate. She restored my ability to see in colors. Bright. Vivid. So much so I have to tone them down, otherwise the colors can be disorienting. I must grow used to them.”
“How do I return what I have of yours to you?” Silke asked, cutting to the chase. She wanted this visit over. The longer he was in the room, the more the connection between them seemed to build.
The moment she asked the question, that once again brought her his full attention.
—
She absolutely was rejecting him. Rejecting even the chance to make it work between them. The irony of that was, in his mind, all along, he had rejected the idea of a lifemate. He didn’t have a heartto give her. He didn’t trust. Now that he was with her, since watching her fight demons and protect her friend and the fisherman, protect even the Carpathian ancients, although that wasn’t necessary, he found he wanted her.
If he was going to make a relationship with Silke work, Benedek knew he had to find a way to reach her. To persuade her they would be good together. He wasn’t going to do that through romance. Carpathians who knew him mostly avoided him unless they were hunting vampire. He was a nightmare, a question mark, a man who had lived too long and was morphing into something else. There was no denying the fact, and he had always been scrupulously honest with himself. He had been deteriorating at a rapid rate. And she was a demon hunter.
Silke wouldn’t be getting a bargain when it came to romance. But he was loyal. Intensely so. That was what he needed to find in her. That trait. He would need her at his back always. Never question that she would be there. He would do the same for her. That was his kind of romance. Unswerving loyalty.
He wanted her. He hadn’t thought he would, but the more he was around her, the more he was in her head, the more he respected her. Being physically attracted to her was an added bonus. But she was certain they wouldn’t work. He understood because there had been that same conviction on his part.
Silke feared him with good reason. She was sensitive to the growing beast in him. She was a demon slayer and feared she might have to kill her own husband if they were together. She also feared losing herself in him. She didn’t want to be swallowed up by him. He couldn’t blame her for that, and he couldn’t possibly know how their dynamic would work. But he wanted her, and he wanted the relationship to work between them.
“Unfortunately, Silke, you cannot just hand over what you guard. There is only one way for me to retrieve it.”
Her long lashes swept down to veil her eyes. She had beautiful eyes. That was one of the first things he’d noticed about her looks. Shewas soft inside and it showed in her eyes. She depicted herself to the rest of the world as strong, confident and able to stand on her own feet because she was all those things. But deep inside, where no one could see, she was vulnerable. She longed for a partner and family. She wanted to be able to depend on a partner to aid her in decisions and shoulder some of the responsibilities. Not of demon slaying, but the everyday problems that cropped up in life. Benedek was that man. He knew he was.
“I will allow you two to talk privately if that will help facilitate a conversation between you,” Fenja offered.
Benedek considered how much the older woman should be told about the Carpathian species. It wasn’t as if their enemies didn’t already have the information. He decided Silke needed her mother in the room to get through the next few minutes and properly process what he was about to disclose.
“If you don’t mind staying, ma’am…”
“Please call me Fenja.”
“Fenja, then. I think it will be easier for me to explain it just once. You’re her mother. Knowing what returning to me the other half of my soul entails would be information you will need to help Silke decide what she is going to do.”
Fenja’s eyebrow went up. She knew about Carpathians. She’d had Tora in her life from the time Fenja was a child, but she’d never heard about anyone taking the other half of their soul.
Benedek explained to her how the soul was divided and a woman held the other half for them. She was tasked to keep it safe. He was tasked to find her. The information that a human woman with psychic abilities could be a lifemate to a Carpathian had been lost to them until the prince found his woman.
“You believe Silke guards your soul,” Fenja said, acknowledging that she understood.
Benedek found it interesting that the older woman didn’t question him or act as if she didn’t believe him. She seemed to accept what hesaid, which was amazing to him. Ordinarily he would have thought what he told her would be impossible for a human to believe. It sounded like something out of a fantasy novel. But then, he was something out of a novel. No one believed in vampires or Carpathians, yet they existed.
“There is no question that she is the guardian of my soul and my true lifemate. Only a lifemate can restore color and emotion. Silke did that for me.”
Once again, he allowed himself to look at the woman who would be with him for the rest of his existence. He had made up his mind that she would be. It was a matter of how. He was in her mind, silent, but there. He had to be careful because she was highly sensitive, but it was necessary to know her. He had to be able to trust her. And he needed to find the right way to appeal to her.
Silke’s eyes met his and then she looked away with a little shake of her head, faint color stealing into her cheeks. Now that he’d had time to really look at her, he could see she had amazing bone structure. He was particularly drawn to her mouth, the shape and fullness of her lips. That stubborn little chin. He definitely could fixate on that chin of hers. She had a slender neck and his gaze jumped to the pulse pounding there. Her hair was thick and wild. In his mind, he thought her hair was perfection, a definite clue to her personality.Untamable.But that was the challenge, wasn’t it?
“How would you recover your lost soul?” Fenja asked.
Benedek shook his head and turned his attention back to Silke’s mother. “My soul wasn’t lost, Fenja. Silke took great care to guard it. She’s kept it safe for years, never allowing anyone to know it was in her possession. Had a vampire, mage or Lilith managed to gain possession of it, I would have been a slave to them. Worse, I would have been close to impossible for hunters to destroy. Silke kept me safe.”
“How is it she came to have your soul when she is a mere babe by your people’s years?”
