In an instant her throat became dryer thanthe desert. She glanced at the six vampires surrounding her. Ianhad told her it would have to happen, but she’d been hoping shecould have a month or two, maybe a year or two where she couldremain human. “Soon?” she croaked.
“That’s the only way I’ll allow you toremain alive,” Ronan replied.
Ian’s body vibrated with power, a swirl ofred flashed like lightning through his sky colored eyes. “That’snot your choice to make.”
“You’re young, you don’t know everything ofour kind, or even what you are fully capable of, not yet, but I canassure you this is one hundred percent my choice,” Ronan replied.“She’s either turned, her memories are changed, or I kill hermyself.”
A snarl erupted from Ian, before she couldconsider blinking he leapt forward with the speed of an asteroidfalling to earth. Ethan and David also jumped forward. They grabbedhold of him and jerked him back before he could get at Ronan. Ian’seyes were the color of fire as he glared at Ronan. That strangereddish black color began to swirl through his skin again.
“What the hell?” David’s mouth hung ajar ashe gawked at Ian.
“It’s what happened to me, in Bermuda,”Ethan told him in a low voice. “Don’t let him go.”
“I don’t give afuckwho you are, youever threaten her again and I’llendyou!” Ian spat atRonan.
“I’ve threatened your mate, so I will letyour insolence pass, but be aware I could kill you and step overyour body without so much as a second thought,” Ronan replied in abored drawl that set Paige’s teeth on edge. Her fear for Ian faroutweighed her annoyance with the arrogant head vampire though. Shetried to reach out to grab him, but Brian shook his head warninglyat her. Her hand fell limply back to her side.
“And I thought Brian was a dick,” Ethanmuttered.
Both of Ronan’s eyes were entirely filledwith the color of blood when he looked all of them over. No oneelse in the room spoke or moved. Sensing her opportunity, Paigetook hold of Ian’s arm and pressed it against her chest. He relaxedvisibly against her, but his skin remained that strangely mottledcolor.
“Ian please, stay by me,” she pleaded.
“Listen to her,” Ronan said with a briefglance in her direction. “For a human, she’s surprisingly wise.” Heturned his attention to Ethan. “Brianisa dick. What I amis the eldest born of this race, and as such, I am charged withkeeping us safe and hidden from human knowledge. My men and I makesure you go to sleep at night, content in your world, while we huntthose of us that lose themselves to the bloodlust, those of us whobecome a risk to our existence, as well as the existence of humans.If something were to befall me, someone would rise up to take myplace. It could be you one day, but you’d have to do more than livein your bubble of a safe world for that to happen.”
A muscle near Ethan’s eye began to jump, butbefore he could respond, Emma wrapped her hand around his arm.Ronan turned toward Ian and Paige. A low growl escaped Ian whenRonan stepped closer to them, but Paige refused to release his arm.She was frightened he would go after Ronan again if she did.
Ronan focused on Ian. “I’m not a threat toher. Not unless she’s one to us. I don’t harm humans unless itbecomes necessary. I’m not a killer, but watching over vampires hasbeen my burden for the past thousand years.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” Iandemanded.
“First, you can smell that I’m not a killerof humans. Second, I would have killed her already.”
A ripple of disbelief went through hissiblings, as well as himself. They’d never encountered anothervampire with the same ability to detect a killer vampire, from anon-killer, by their smell before. Any vampire who killed numeroushumans had the distinct aroma of a landfill about them. Ethan’sodor had changed slightly since he’d killed to keep Emma safe, andBrian had a very faint aroma about him, but the smell had fadedfrom the both of them already.
“You can smell the difference too?” Aideninquired.
“Any born vampire can,” Ronan replied.“There is much we can do that a changed vampire cannot. You’ll findyourself developing and changing more and more as you age. You’llalso discover we’re sometimes able to break through the normalrules governing vampires, especially when infuriated or under greatduress.”
“We already have,” Ethan glanced around theroom. “Or at least I’ve been able to do something I never knewpossible.” He pulled Emma closer against his side and held herthere. “When she was endangered.”
Ronan’s eyes flickered over him. “Unexpectedfor one so young, but understandable if her life was injeopardy.”
Ian’s head tilted to the side as he studiedRonan. “The mate bond brings these powers out in us?”
“No, age and training can bring it out insome of us, not all of us. The mate bond can bring it out earlier,in some of us. Male vampires are more likely to cross theseboundaries, though there are a few women who have been known to gobeyond the natural bonds too. The mate bond is far stronger thanyou or I could ever know. However, as born vampires age, theirpower becomes strong enough that they can become capable ofbreaking the boundaries placed on us at birth.”
Ronan turned his attention back to her.“Now, if you don’t mind, would you please tell me how you were ableto withstand a vampire’s power of persuasion over you?”
This man unnerved her more than anyone she’dever encountered before, but she couldn’t tell him what he’d askedto know. “I realize the hunters were mainly using me as bait, andthey’re wrong about all vampires being evil, but they’re stilltrying to do good. I won’t reveal anything that could be usedagainst them.”
Ronan stared at her, his strangely coloredeyes gleaming in the light of the room. Beside her, Ian shiftedcloser protectively.Please just kill me and not Ian too,she pleaded silently when a ripple of color slid over Ian’sskin.
“And I’m not asking you to,” Ronan replied.“I try to avoid killing hunters too, unless it becomes necessary.You are right, they are misguided, but they have their place.”
Paige remained hesitant as she stared at theman across from her. A man who could tear off her head and punt itlike a football, while whistling Dixie, before anyone in this roomeven realized her head had become a field goal.
“I was given something to drink every time Imet with my handler,” she told him.
