“Well, stop. It isn’t very comfortable knowing you can read every thought I have.” She flashed him a small smile. “Especially since I haven’t made my mind up about you.”
His eyebrow shot up, making him appear a little more approachable. “What exactly is the problem?”
She burst out laughing. He was so…ridiculous.
“I’m still reading your mind.”
She didn’t bother to conceal that she found him funny as hell. How could she when he was reading every thought in her head?
“Do you really think that shifting into a giant harpy eagle and flying me through a rainforest is normal? That’s just a little whacked. Not only that, but you’re talking to me telepathically when I’m certain I’m not telepathic, and you just said you could get me slippers when I’m fairly certain you don’t have any my size in the house.” Deliberately,she looked at his feet, which were decidedly larger than hers. “None of this is normal. Not one single thing.”
“You are telepathic, and this is normal for me,” he said.
That made her laugh more. “I suppose it is, but I have no idea how.” She wasn’t touching his assessment of her ability to speak telepathically.
“I am not simply a jaguar shifter; I became a true De La Cruz, with the blood and memories of those who came before, when I was reborn.”
She threw her arms into the air. “Right there, Luiz, that’s nuts. Something out of a science fiction or fantasy novel. I’m a scientist, very practical. This Carpathian conversion seems a little far-fetched, if you ask me.”
His eyebrow shot up again. “Practical? You consider yourself practical? You travel the rainforests with perfect strangers and assume you’re safe. And you’re a shifter, whether you like it or not. In most circles, that isn’t considered normal.”
She was surprised the chair was so comfortable, and she snuggled down into it even deeper. “Unfortunately, I can’t say you’re wrong.” He had a point. There wasn’t much practicality in the things she did.
“Tell me all about this very fascinating new life you have, cousin.” Deliberately, she reminded him of their relationship. Despite him bringing her safely to his home, she still needed reassurance.
“I cannot say it is fascinating, but perhaps looking through your eyes, I will be able to view it the way you do,” he said. He sank into the chair across from her and indicated her shoes.
Her feet hurt like hell, so she didn’t protest, just leaned down to remove her boots.
“Carpathians lose all ability to see in color or feel emotions after a number of years. They hear the whispers of the undead calling to them, telling them if they kill while feeding, they will once again feel. They live in a gray world, where only honor keeps them from turning vampire. After hundreds of years, it is…difficult.”
It sounded difficult. And did that mean he had no feelings whatsoever for her? That saddened her. She didn’t know him, but she welcomed him as family. She’d been very excited to learn of his existence and get the opportunity to meet him. She was fully prepared to embrace him as family.
“It’s complicated to explain,” Luiz conceded. “I know my emotions are somewhere inside me—several of the Carpathian women have told me they feel them when they are close to me—and I know I would protect you with my life, but I can’t say I actually feel the emotions I should—or want to—feel.”
Her heart hurt for him. He didn’t sound in the least bit distressed by his revelation, as if he’d accepted his fate long ago.
“Don’t feel so bad for me, little cousin. Unlike many other Carpathian hunters struggling to stay honorable, I know I have a lifemate. She is far too young now, but there is an end in sight for me.” He steepled his fingers and looked at her over the tops of them. “I have only to protect her and keep her safe. Her parents aren’t as thrilled as one would think they would be.”
“Are they Carpathian?”
He nodded. “Riley was human at one time, before Dax converted her. She has the human way of thinking—that a woman should choose her partner.”
“You don’t feel that way?”
“I am very ancient, Sarika. The ancient warriors poured memories and regrets into me. I saw thousands of battles and so many good, honorable men succumb to the tragedy of never finding their lifemate. There is only one for these men. If she were to have a choice and, in her fear, reject him, he would suicide or become vampire. He would have no other choice. Once he claims her, he is sworn to make her happy, and from everything I have witnessed with lifemates, he does.”
“What is claiming? How does he claim her?”
“Carpathian men are imprinted with the binding words before their birth, when their soul is split apart. He speaks the words to hiswoman, and if she is his true lifemate, they are bound together. Married in more human terms but for eternity. The words bind their souls.”
“You believe that?”
“I know it is so. I have seen it. Once uttered, it cannot be undone.”
“He can just say these words, and she will have to comply, whether she agrees or not?”
She had always tried to have an open mind. Carpathians were clearly a unique species with a completely different set of rules. Every species had its policies it had to follow to survive. As a conservationist, she understood that. She thought in terms of rights for all living creatures, female or male. Young or old. The truth was, in many worlds, the rules were very different and had to be. But being able to bind another being to you without their consent was difficult to take.
