“Yes. Tomas is doing his best to allow me to make choices so I feel in control. I will admit I don’t understand why they’re all upset with my decision. Perhaps you could enlighten me on the Carpathian male way of thinking, but after I complete my task.”
“I can do that,” Solange agreed, “although their logic and our logic are not ever going to be the same.”
“Why is that?” Sarika curled her hand in the crook of Tomas’ arm and leaned into him.
Tomas knew what she was doing, and he appreciated it. A show of solidarity. Tomas was her lifemate, and she was declaring she was with him to Solange.
“Because they are who they are. We’ll talk inside. Good luck with your plan. Would you like me to stay with you?”
She smiled up at Tomas. “I asked him to promise to shield me, and I know he will.” She spoke with every confidence.
Tomas was amazed at her ability to appear completely composed and confident when he knew she was very frightened of her decision. Determined—but afraid. Still, she gave Solange a bright, happy, all-too-confident smile and leaned into him even more.
Tomas recognized immediately that she was on overload. Hewrapped his arm around her and brought her front to his side, tucking her under his shoulder. “Let’s do this,” he said aloud.
She’s reaching her limit. I need all three of you to cooperate with her. Luiz, you’re up first. Just take over and get it done. I’ll be with her, shielding her. She’s very strong, and it won’t be easy to get her to go under, even though she wants this and is cooperating. There is an ancient power fighting back, trying to keep her safe.More and more he was becoming aware of something ancient and very formidable growing in his lifemate.
He felt the power of the De La Cruz sweeping over Sarika. It was swift, no hesitation. He suppressed her ability to feel or know what was happening. Tomas extended her wrist toward Luiz, and again, he didn’t hesitate. He wanted this over just as quickly as Tomas did. Tomas hadn’t considered how he would feel having other men, even his brothers and Sarika’s cousin, taking her blood and then giving her theirs. Every instinct as a lifemate told him to take her and run. To defend her. To shove the men away from her.
He had to admit they were quick and respectful, but his emotions were all over the place. Through it all, he kept the shield strong and steady. He poured himself into her mind, building a wall around her thoughts and memories so no other could intrude. She needed to feel safe, that she could rely on him when she was unaware of what was happening to her. Sarika was intelligent enough to know that being a lifemate to a Carpathian hunter would necessitate this very protection.
Dominic is here somewhere,Mataias advised.He would never leave Solange out in the open without backing her up himself.
He’s here,Luiz confirmed.The Dragonseeker fades into the shadows the way the three of you do, but his power is difficult to hide with his form.
He is able to make the forest uneasy if he wishes,Lojos added.
Tomas was aware of the Dragonseeker’s power. That lineage was the only one in Carpathian history where not a single warrior had ever turned vampire. Many of them had made enormous sacrifices, including Dominic, but they had held out against the whispers of darkness.
Dominic Dragonseeker was not only owed respect simply because of his lineage, but for all the things he had done for their people over the centuries. He had stopped a war, infiltrating the ranks of their enemies, suffering the agonizing pain of parasites and acid blood, to appear as if he had joined the fight against the prince.
Too much power corrupted. That was a fact of life. Living far past the time when even Carpathians should, without having a lifemate, forever changed them, and not in a good way. Becoming too close to men you respected and hunted with, when those males were without lifemates, was never a good move. At any time, those friends could become the very thing you were forced to hunt and kill.
Tomas understood why Dominic was wary, careful of his family. Not just Solange, but Jasmine, Sandrine and even Jubal. In his eyes, his first duty was to protect them, and he would do so with every weapon in his arsenal. He had known the triplets for centuries. Hunted with them. They had even saved one another’s lives. He knew Luiz; they coexisted in the same territory. But that didn’t reduce the risk to Dominic’s family. If anything, it increased it.
That brought Tomas up short. Sarika had made an incredible offer. She knew so little about Carpathian ways, yet she had insisted, without really discussing it with him, that she do the very thing that had made her the most reluctant to become his lifemate.
She was a mystery. And she displayed incredible courage over and over. He knew she was afraid, and yet she’d faced Rud. She’d made a decision to aid his brothers and her cousin, but she’d also defused the situation with Dominic.
Look into her memories,Luiz advised.
Tomas brought Sarika out from under his compulsion very slowly, giving her body and brain time to adjust.
Look into your own,he said. He was tired of the male hunters expecting him to follow their advice when it came to his lifemate. She was his, not theirs, and that meant he needed to get to know her and follow his own instincts when it came to making her happy.
You have been far too long around humans,Mataias said with a long-suffering sigh.
So much easier if she’d obey you without question,Lojos added.
He knew his brothers were deliberately provoking him. He sent them a disgusted look, wrapping his arm around Sarika and pulling her into him. His larger body shielded her from the others.
“Do you feel dizzy? Uncomfortable?”
She leaned into him as if for support. That surprised him, but he’d take it. Any concession from her was good when they had so much to work out. They would have to leave in a few days to continue to track Justice. His brothers would be casting around, looking for signs of Justice’s passing while he worked with Sarika to get her ready to travel with them. He hadn’t gotten to that bit of information for her as of yet. Time was their enemy.
“I actually feel good, Tomas.” She whispered her answer. “I just can’t stop shaking, and that’s embarrassing to me. I don’t want anyone to think you made this choice for me, or your brothers and Luiz did.”
“I think you were very clear that this was your choice,sivamet. I’m proud of you. Are you ready for that visit?”
