Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

Gregori stepped away and lifted a hand to him. “I’ll see to it that this farmer gets his family to safety.”

“Thank you.” Fen inclined his head and then leapt for the sky. He shifted in midair, sprouting the feathers of an owl, the talons and curved beak. He circled the farm and the outlying area just to double-check that no more threats were close, before winging his way back to the forest.

Again, he was very careful, making certain no one had followed him, before he dropped down, shifting again as he opened the earth beneath him. Tatijana lay in the rich soil, her face pale, skin nearly translucent. She looked like an ice princess, elusive and beautiful. Her hair was very long and thick, still twisted into that flowing endless mass of an intricate braid. Ribbons woven into her hair bound the long length, adding a touch of the dramatic.

He gathered her into his arms, inspecting her body carefully to ensure the wounds were healing properly. The dragon had sustained heavy damage to her belly, just as Dimitri had. The dragon had, for the most part, protected Tatijana. Dimitri hadn’t had his body encased within dragon skin and scales. The werewolves knew to rip softer underbellies, and they’d done their damage, but she would be fine.

Fen woke her with a single word, pressing her mouth to his chest. She moaned softly, her eyelashes fluttering before awakened fully and he found himself staring into her multifaceted emerald eyes. He smiled at her. “There you are. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep your life away.”

She smiled back at him, relaxing into his arms. “Not a chance.” Her cheek rubbed along his chest, sending little darts of fire racing through his bloodstream.

His entire body reacted to that small move. As he pushed back stray tendrils of hair from her face, he thought it a miracle to feel such deep emotions. The experience was unexpected, new and exhilarating. Everything about her was exhilarating. “Aside from being courageous and a warrior, you’re a truly beautiful woman, Tatijana Dragonseeker,” he whispered. “I’m honored to be your lifemate, claimed or unclaimed.”

“I must say, sir, I am beginning to feel much the same, which is rather a surprise to me,” she admitted.

The honesty in her voice and that low, sultry tone added to the hot surge of his blood, racing to pool low and wicked. He savored his ability to feel such a new extremely exhilarating flood of feelings, both physical and emotional. He knew immediately the two things were tied together inexorably. Even the Lycan blood mixed with his Carpathian blood had not dampened his drive to find the other half of his soul. No other woman would do. He’d never felt such an urgent desire. He’d learned about sex, who couldn’t after so many centuries, but he’d never understood the rush. The joy. The urgent hunger.

He smoothed his hand over her hair. “Drink from me, my lady. I need you at full strength this rising. Dimitri is in desperate need and I fear it will take two of us, if we have any chance at all of saving him.”

She looked into his eyes—into his mind. He hid nothing from her. She reached up to smooth away the line of worry on his brow. “You did not ask the healer to aid you.”

“I am a skilled healer as is Gregori. Dimitri is beyond both of our abilities. I know this. He lingers, but he still slips an inch at a time toward the other side. Gregori is severely wounded, and yet he rises to do his job guarding the prince. His job is too important to risk his life needlessly. His skills—and mine—will not save Dimitri. He needs Mother Earth to intervene on his behalf.”

He will be saved if possible.

Tatijana whispered the words into his mind as her teeth sank deep into his chest. The flood of need was so strong, the hunger for her almost out of control. He closed his eyes and breathed, as his rich blood filled her veins and rushed through her body to every wounded organ, helping to accelerate the healing process.

He’d fed hundreds of Carpathians wounded in battle. He’d given his blood to a trusted Lycan friend who fought with him over and over to defeat a common enemy. He’d taken blood from men, women and his own kind, both Lycan and Carpathian. Never had there been a sexual component until now. He breathed in and out. Listened to his heart beating hard in his chest. Heard the roaring sound of thunder in his ears. Felt his cock grow, lengthen and harden with a never before felt desperate urgency.

He was alive for the first time in his life that he could remember. Fully alive. The claiming words, imprinted upon him long before his birth, pounded through his mind. He heard those ritual binding words, that fateful chanting that would forever bind them, but he refused to speak them to her. He would never make such a decision for her, not until he knew for certain she wouldn’t be at risk if she became what he was. Even this small exchange was a little frightening for him. There was no knowing how much blood it took before the recipient became as he was.

With one last sensual sweep of her tongue, Tatijana opened her eyes again and smiled at him. “This one would be honored to become as you are. Stop worrying so much.” Her expression changed, going solemn as she sat up. “Let’s save your brother. I would never want to lose my sister.”

“She doesn’t want to lose you. When we’re finished here, you must go to her and reassure her that you still live.” Fen couldn’t help himself. “I’m going to kiss you again. If you need a reason this time, it won’t sound reasonable, but I can’t help myself.”

“Well, then, certainly you must.”

He closed the gap between their mouths, half lifting her in his arms and bending his head to hers. Her lips were warm and soft. He stroked his tongue across that small seam and she opened her mouth in invitation. His heart nearly exploded in his chest as he sank into her. He poured himself into her like liquid gold.

Her mouth was warm honey. Dazzling diamonds. A sky filled with brilliant sapphires and just sheer paradise. It made no sense at all—he wasn’t a poetic man—but the world around him exploded in an amazing array of the most beautiful natural caves he’d ever seen with their gem-studded walls glittering behind his eyes. How could she do that? So simple it seemed. All she had to do was open her mouth and let him kiss her.

He reluctantly raised his head, shaking it, a little bemused. If her eyes were anything to go by, she was feeling the same. He hadn’t shared her mind because he was already so hungry for her, the ritual words pounding at him, that he feared he wouldn’t stop—and his duty was to his brother. Kissing once was perfectly fine, but he needed long, endless nights with Tatijana to do her justice.

Her hand crept into his as she sat up all the way. “We can save him, Fen. Together.”

He nodded, and they floated just above where they had rested and once again peeled back the earth to reveal Dimitri. He lay as still as death. His skin was almost pure white. He looked already long gone from their world. Fen felt his heart plummet, knowing, for the first time in his life, he’d put off the inevitable.

“He has a lifemate, Fen,” Tatijana reminded. “There is always hope. What cannot be done for one’s self, can often be done for one’s lifemate, no matter how extraordinary it seems.”

“Or miraculous?” He could barely get the words out, a lump in his throat threatening to choke him.

“Especially miraculous. Isn’t simply finding one’s lifemate a true miracle?” Tatijana smiled at him. “At least that is how Lara explained it to me, and she would know. She is my nephew’s daughter and is very wise. Call to his lifemate.”

“She is young. Far away. Another country it felt. A great distance.”

“And yet she came when needed. Gain entrance to his mind and follow the path back to her. She will answer your summons. She has to be strong if she can bridge the distance you speak of.” Tatijana knelt on one side of Dimitri’s body and waited.

Fen slowly sank to his knees on the other side. Placing both hands on his hips he reached for the strong telepathic connection he’d had with Dimitri since Dimitri’s birth.

Warrior. My brother and friend, hold steadfast for me. For your people and most of all, your beloved lifemate. He spoke formally, using their ancient tongue, relying on the Carpathian past as well as present memories so carefully imprinted upon them. He had a lump in his throat, something hard threatening to choke him.

He felt the smallest of flickers, and took advantage, slipping into Dimitri’s mind. He found darkness and cold, as if light after light had slowly faded away, leaving only shadows of memory, but that was enough to work with. He quickly found the one he needed most. She was the brightest of the fading lights. The starlight beacon was still pulsating, although much dimmer than Fen had hoped, but brighter than he believed possible. He followed the path for endless time, a narrow comet lighting the dark as he arced across cold space. The distance was far longer than he’d ever traveled telepathically.

She is Dragonseeker. Tatijana breathed the words into his mind, a propulsion of warm air and peace in the terrible, stunning cold. This child. This human, she is Razvan’s daughter, yet she is human and so powerful? I am in awe of her.

He felt Tatijana’s breathless surprise and welcomed the added boost of strength to his mind as it crossed that space on its journey. He found her almost abruptly, one moment in that arcing cavern of cold and the next in a warm, magical mind.

Little one. Lifemate to Dimitri. I have urgent need of you. Fen did his best to slowly pour into his brother’s mate’s mind, afraid of scaring her. It was always uncomfortable to know another had access to your every thought, word and deed—unless that man or woman was one’s other half.

She surprised him. No, more than mere surprise. Shocked him. Even humbled him. There was no hesitation. Tell me.

He is slipping away from us and I cannot alone save him. I know the journey is long, but you must help me keep him in this world.

Tatijana’s whisper in his mind was soft. Awed. She is . . . amazing. Strong.

Tatijana’s entire attitude had gone to one of absolute respect. She heard, maybe even felt, more of the steel in the woman/child than he had—she shared the same bloodline.

I can maintain my own path. Save your strength for healing him.

She made it a command, every bit as confident as Tatijana had been. And she was only nineteen—and a human at that. Fen was amazed all over again.

I will need to see him through your eyes.

That, at least had been a plea rather than a demand. She even understood the concept of possessing one’s body enough to share vision, hearing or other senses. That gift, too, was rarely used. One had to have complete trust and faith to allow another to possess their physical body.

I have much to learn about you, little sister, Fen said, allowing his awe to show as he opened himself more fully to her. You show remarkable skill and training in a woman so young.

He caught glimpses of her family in her memories. There was a strange young man with black hair and wild blue tips spiked all over his head, and then she abruptly pulled from his mind and he felt her connect to Dimitri. Through Fen, Tatijana was also connected. Both heard her gasp of alarm.

Beloved. Heart of mine. I know you are weary. Forgive me. I cannot let you go. There is no other for me. You can do this—for me. For us. Fight for us, beloved.

Fen glanced at Tatijana. Skyler hadn’t actually seen Dimitri’s horrific wounds and yet she was already fully aware of what they faced. He heard the raw love. The softest of intimate whispers only true lifemates could establish between them. He feared once she saw the wounds, the daunting sight would shake her confidence.

Still, Dimitri responded more to that soft little confession and flow of pure love washing through his mind, than anything else Fen had tried so far. Fen felt a small portion of that darkness and cold recede.

Please.

This time, she had found her way into his mind without any assistance at all. Skyler poured into his mind and nearly instantly found his connection to Tatijana—was well aware she was there as well.

I greet you as sister-kin, though I am more than your aunt, Tatijana identified herself. I am lifemate to Fen.

Yet unclaimed, as am I, Skyler said. Thank you for your aid.

He felt Tatijana wince just a little that Skyler should find her unclaimed when her lifemate was right there, yet there had been no accusation in Skyler’s voice. In fact, he felt it helped her identify with Tatijana and make her more comfortable.

A flood of reassurance washed over him. He glanced at Tatijana kneeling across from him, there in the soil, her hands already moving into Dimitri’s horrendous wounds. He placed his hands there as well when she flashed him a very small, reassuring smile.

Look at his wounds.

Slowly, reluctantly, he allowed Skyler to “see” through his eyes. He focused his vision wholly on the extent of Dimitri’s wounds. She understood instantly. The pain went far beyond what any physical body could tolerate, human, Lycan or Carpathian. Now there was no denying what she was dealing with.

Skyler showed no hesitation. I am in the library of the university where I am studying. I will need my friend to come to me. When we are done here, I will no longer be able to maintain my own body. Give me just one second to contact Josef. I am fortunate that he came to visit me this evening. I didn’t even know he was in town.

There was a moment’s pause. He will come to me right away.

She joined closely with Tatijana and Fen. He felt her take a deep breath.

We call upon the power of the Earth—she who creates us all.

Tatijana and Fen answered. Fen, only because he knew the words through his lifemate. Hear our call, Mother.

We beg you for clear sight, the ability to be seen, that which seeks not to be seen.

Guide us, Mother, take our hands, make them your own.

Use them as your tools to mend that which has been broken and torn.

Guide us, Mother. Provide rest and healing to a tortured soul.

Skyler’s voice nearly cracked, but she took another deep breath and continued. Embrace him as your own, Mother. Heal him of all injuries. Guide him, Mother.

Her voice did waver, and Fen heard her tears for the first time. He felt her terrible growing sorrow even as she tried desperately to hold herself together. He couldn’t imagine her all alone in the college library, yet not alone. She had to be surrounded by human students studying. She couldn’t portray emotion, or her draining strength to anyone. The distance was nearly incomprehensible, and yet she persisted.

We three, your daughters and son, call upon the higher power. Use us as your vessel. See through our eyes.

Look into our souls. Use us as your tools. Guard him, great one. Take him fully into your care. Nurture him as you would your child, this great gift we bring even as we humbly beg your service. He will serve you as we do and rise once again to fight. Guide us with your knowledge.

Around him, the soil began to move on its own. So rich the loam looked as if it was ebony in color, Fen could see minerals glittering throughout, like gems. Before he could identify any of the properties, the soil rose to cover Dimitri, pouring into him.

Fen’s hands moved of their own accord. He nearly jumped out of his skin. Nothing possessed him. He knew possession. Skyler hadn’t taken over their bodies, but the loam itself pushed their hands and fingers in the directions needed.

The soil began to churn and tiny shoots broke through the surface. Fascinated, he tried to figure out if it was Skyler who fed that churning soil with all of the energy from Tatijana and him as well as what she could provide from such great a distance. He couldn’t distract either of the two women by asking questions so he let the power and strength of his body flow into his brother and focused wholly on the artistry of the healing.

The tiny shoots came from every direction and moved into his brother, as if burrowing into the gaping wounds—arteries—he realized, providing some kind of much-needed nutrition. More soil poured in and around his brother’s body.

Give him blood. One at a time. As much as either of you can spare, Skyler directed.

By every right she should have collapsed long ago, but her voice held steady and the warm flow of energy never ceased in that continuous current. The movement of Tatijana’s wrist toward Dimitri’s mouth caught his attention.

Beloved. Take this gift offered so generously and freely from my sister-kin. It is strong, ancient blood of the Dragonseeker lineage. Hear me, Dimitri. Do this thing for me.

Fen was no longer even astonished that Dimitri managed to move his mouth against Tatijana’s wrist. He helped his brother take in the life-giving sustenance. All around them the soil continued moving and churning. The sprouts and veins twisting through Dimitri’s body reached for the nutrients so old and ancient and pure from Tatijana’s lineage and pushed them through his brother’s unresponsive organs.

Fen counted the minutes slowly, fearful that in her effort to save Dimitri, Skyler might forget that they were vulnerable there in the forest and couldn’t be drained to the point of weakness. He shouldn’t have been. For a human child, she certainly understood the needs and ways and dangers of the Carpathian life.

Enough, beloved. Rest before you take from your brother. Allow our Mother Earth to guide you. Do not fear her. She is granting a tremendous favor and has accepted both you and your brother as her sons. Just sleep and let her repair your body.

Again, that soft tone was so intimate, Fen almost felt as if he’d slipped into a private encounter between Dimitri and his astonishing lifemate. She gave of herself so freely, and yet he could feel her energy beginning to wane. She did then have her limits. She must have been afraid that she would not complete this healing in time before she gave out, but if she did feel that way, she didn’t betray herself.

Tatijana closed the wound on her wrist herself, with a single swipe of her tongue. She glanced up at Fen, her eyes meeting his. His breath caught in his throat. Her eyes nearly glowed, changing color until they were such a deep shade of green he felt the very coolness of the forest blowing over him.

Now from your brother, Dimitri. He is strong. Ancient. Like you, he is a good man and has survived long against nearly impossible odds without his lifemate. He is patient and kind and holds you dear to him. Take what is freely and so generously offered.

Fen rejoiced when this time, Dimitri turned his head toward him. For one moment those long, dark lashes, two blackened crescents against the stark white of Dimitri’s skin, finally opened. He saw him there, present, his spirit back in his own body. The lashes drifted down as Fen pressed his wrist to his brother’s mouth. Again he had to help Dimitri take in the blood, but at least he knew Dimitri was alive and fighting.

Fen began to hear a sound, much like the cavernous boom of a drum below them, around them, surrounding them. He recognized the rhythm as that of a heartbeat. Each single beat vibrated through Dimitri’s body, his every organ, sinew and bone. Because all four were connected, each of them felt that strong pulsation. Each beat seemed to send pain crashing through his body, but Dimitri didn’t fight.

Mother Earth has accepted you, beloved, as her son. You are now a part of her. You are hearing her heart beating through your body, making you one with her, one with all nature. We are bound together now, the four of us.

With every ounce of energy he possessed, Dimitri reached toward his lifemate. The two spirits brushed against one another and Dimitri’s light spread and grew brighter.

It is enough, I think, beloved. I cannot stay. Be strong for me. Skyler’s voice was already fading, her strength draining fast.

Dimitri stirred, lashes once more lifting, almost in a panic that he hadn’t seen her. Fen closed the wound on his wrist and watched the momentary heat in his brother’s eyes fade when he realized Skyler was present only in spirit.

Rest, beloved. I must go. Josef is with me. He’ll keep me safe. You live, Dimitri. Stay alive. Just live for me.

The moment the soil stopped churning, Skyler was gone abruptly. She’d given everything she had and must have passed out there in the library so far away from them. Fen could only hope that her friend Josef knew what he was doing.

“Sleep my brother,” he whispered to Dimitri and smoothed his hand over his brother’s forehead. There was raw love in the gesture and he was grateful only his lifemate witnessed his vulnerability.

“We’ve done what we can here, my lady.” He offered his hand to her. “We must safeguard his resting spot, revive ourselves, reassure your sister and then, I suppose, we must go see a prince.”
Chapter 7

Mikhail Dubrinsky’s home was so well-crafted and the safeguards so strong, that even with Carpathian eyes Fen found it difficult to see at first. Deep in the forest, higher up toward the cliffs, the house was both mountain and wood. The air shimmered around the home, a veil not so easily pierced. Abruptly that veil dropped away, and Gregori strode toward them.

Tatijana’s fingers brushed his and he caught her hand without looking down at her. Jacques Dubrinsky jumped out of the uppermost branches of the trees and landed easily on his feet. On their left, Falcon Amiras did the same, essentially creating a funnel—a polite chute—but one all the same.

“Welcome, Fenris Dalka,” Gregori said formally. His silver eyes slashed over them both, taking in far more than either would have wished. “You are much later than anticipated, but I see why. Dimitri?”

“He is alive,” Fen said.

He didn’t know these people. He had never sworn loyalty to this prince, nor would he until he knew the heart and soul of Mikhail Dubrinsky. He certainly wouldn’t trust any of them with the life of his brother without knowing the truth.

“How many weapons do you carry on you?”

“Enough to take down a rogue pack,” Fen answered vaguely, his eyes steady on Gregori’s. He never once turned away. If necessary, Tatijana could fend off the two men flanking them, but he would have to defeat the prince’s second if this was a trap.

“That is not really an answer,” Gregori pointed out mildly, a slight edge creeping into all that charm.

“In truth, I do not know. When an elite hunting pack is in the area during a full moon, I am always fully armed if I am not beneath the ground.” Fen accompanied his answer with a casual shrug. If they wanted him to speak with the prince, it was going to be on his terms. He was exhausted, still not fully healed and was risking his life just to come there. If they wanted him to leave, he’d be more than happy to oblige.

Tatijana’s soft laughter slipped into his mind. I think wolf man has a chip on his shoulder. I will have to remember that when you’re tired, you’re a little bit grumpy.

They invited me. But his mood was slipping away with her teasing. It was impossible to keep a Lycan’s foul temper around her, even if he wanted to. He sent her a small glimmer of a smile and when her eyes met his, his heart reacted with a hard bang. You do get to me, woman.

She looked smug. And pleased. Her eyes took on a sparkle. I know.

Gregori led the way to the large wraparound porch, shaded by a roof held by strong stone columns. The moment he set foot on the exquisite wooden planking, the heavy door opened, and Mikhail filled that entrance.

There was no mistaking the prince of the Carpathian people. His power was raw, yet controlled. The energy burned in and through him, barely contained. Fen had often met his own prince, and yet never had that raw power been so strong in him. Mikhail looked princely with his wide, straight shoulders, tall physique and eyes that held the weight of their world in them. He had seen battle on many occasions. He had seen the decline of his people and had turned them around to grow anew.

“Fenris Dalka,” Gregori provided. “And his lifemate, Tatijana Dragonseeker.”

The prince’s gaze moved to Tatijana. For the first time Fen felt her tremble. It was slight, but it was there. She was just a little nervous to face her prince after she had struck out on her own. Maybe feeling a little guilty even, that she had tried to escape Gregori’s care.

“I see that. You both are welcome. Please enter of your own free will.” He stepped back to allow them both the decision to enter his home.

The house was suspiciously quiet. He was given entrance, but Mikhail’s lifemate, Raven, and their son were conspicuously somewhere safe. He didn’t blame the prince or Gregori. He expected nothing less of them. He was, after all, completely unknown to them and he was bringing a battle right to their doorsteps.

“Thank you.” He stepped across the threshold and knew instantly the house itself was tied in some way to the prince and his powers. With one hand he swept Tatijana behind him, his hand staying there in warning to her as he advanced.

He felt the weight of stone and wood. The walls breathed in and out. The curtains fluttered, drawing his eye. They twisted. He felt the urge to put out his arms and spin in a slow circle, allowing the house to see his cache of weapons. He held firm against that slow continuous push and stood, feet slightly apart, upright, arms loosely at his sides.

Gregori’s laughter was soft. “I told you he was a warrior through and through. He isn’t a man I want to tangle with.”

But he would in spite of everything he was saying so smoothly. Gregori was laughing. Looking comfortable. Luring Fen in, making him feel comfortable. Fen had met a few like him. There was nothing humorous whatsoever about a man like Gregori Daratrazanoff. He would have already gone through the kill a hundred times in his mind, planning every move out in his mind until he would be smooth, fast and deadly should Fen prove to be treacherous. His backup plans had backup plans. He was dangerous and anyone who couldn’t see that was an imbecile. Fen didn’t count himself among the imbeciles.

Fen made no attempt to approach the prince or anything else in the house. The game of high stakes chess had begun. Their move. The prince waited courteously for Tatijana in the open doorway. She remained motionless, waiting for Fen’s signal. If it was a trap, she could better aid him from outside.

Time seemed to stand still. Somewhere an owl hooted. A wolf called. A slight breeze moved through the forest, sending leaves quivering.

Mikhail sighed. Extending his hand to Tatijana, he gave her a small, old-world bow along with a charming smile. “Come, my dear. There seems to be posturing going on and I would very much appreciate your help in defusing this situation.”

Tatijana kept her gaze on Mikhail, but stirred in Fen’s mind. Yes? No? It was his decision. He barely inclined his head. She took Mikhail’s hand, smiled up at him and stepped over the threshold into the house. There was no reaction from the house and Mikhail led her over to a ring of comfortable chairs and gallantly seated her.

“Thank you, Tatijana.” He waved his hand toward the chair beside Tatijana’s in invitation to Fen.

The location of the chair was the least vulnerable seat in the room, positioned for the best defense, designed no doubt to make Fen feel even more comfortable with them, but it had been long since he’d been enclosed in a room with four walls meeting. He was, however, used to meeting with many possible enemies—but this time, he had a woman to protect.

Worry about protecting yourself. I can take care of me, Tatijana assured.

She had that little mischievous tone he found himself listening for. I’m becoming quite partial to you, my lady.

I know. Smug.

He wanted to laugh, but he kept his expression pure stone. “How can I be of use to you?” he asked the prince.

Mikhail sank into the chair opposite him. Jacques and Falcon both took their seats, but Gregori stood, and from his angle, he had a commanding view of nearly every window in the house. The house reminded him of an eagle’s nest, perched up high, where weather could protect it, yet they could see anything—or anyone—coming at them.

The house was warm and felt friendly, but Fen knew it was designed for a single purpose—to protect those residing in it. There was a faint scent he couldn’t quite place, a blend of something that confused his Lycan senses. He couldn’t quite smell Mikhail’s true scent, an interesting form of protection. He would be hard-pressed to distinguish the prince from the others if tracking him.

“This is the first time in my lifetime that the Lycans have openly entered our territory.” Mikhail sat back and carefully folded his hands together. “You have been long gone from our people. While you have been gone, our women dwindled until there was no longer hope of lifemates for our males. What few women we did have could not carry a child, or, if by some stroke of luck, one did, they could not nurture the child. We lost nearly all babies in that first crucial year.”

Fen frowned. Dimitri had shared that the Carpathian ranks had fallen well below safe numbers. The fear of extinction was always present, but he hadn’t described the problem. Most likely, Dimitri feared if he told Fen that finding a lifemate was nearly impossible, Fen would give up and choose to meet the dawn.

Mikhail continued in a low, even voice, almost musical, a very powerful weapon should he choose to use it as such. “We have discovered, over time and with a great deal of blood-spill, heartache and tears, that Xavier, our greatest mage, had secretly and over centuries worked to bring about our downfall. He even went so far as to introduce microbes into our soil to contaminate it and kill our women and children before they were born. Each time we find one threat and destroy it, another has arisen.”

“I had no idea this was happening,” Fen admitted. “I have been gone from these lands for centuries. My only contact has been my brother, and then only when I sought a safe haven in the refuges he created for my wolf brethren when I needed to rest.”

Mikhail inclined his head. “Your brother’s wounds are healing?”

Fen couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Tatijana. For comfort? He didn’t know the answer to that question—only that having her with him made it easier to bear the idea of Dimitri’s pain and suffering. “We have hope.” There was nothing else to say.

Mikhail leaned toward Fen suddenly, his dark eyes penetrating deep. “We’ve had a period of relative peace after the De La Cruz brothers and Dominic defeated the vampires in South America. The vampires scattered with few leaders to direct them. I’m certain they will rise again, or perhaps they have been waiting to see if our children survived beyond their first year.”

Silence filled the room and with it came tension, stretching nerves tight. Fen could feel his every Lycan sense activating. His muscles ached. His jaw. He felt threatened in some primal way, but wasn’t certain what they expected of him.

“I don’t understand.” He made the statement without a hint of fear, but he was beginning to wish Tatijana had remained outside the four walls where he knew she had a chance of being safe. They weren’t safe locked in a relatively small space with four lethal predators.

“My son is now two years of age. And my brother, Jacques’s boy is growing and thriving at three. Gregori’s twins survived those critical first years. Gregori’s brother Darius has twins, a boy and girl, both healthy and past the two-year mark. I am certain you must have grown up with Gabriel and Lucian, two other of Gregori’s brothers. Gabriel has a little daughter, again, she is healthy.”

“This is the first time in centuries such a thing has happened,” Gregori added.

Mikhail gestured toward Falcon. “You crossed paths as children with Falcon. His lifemate, Sara, has announced she is once again pregnant and the pregnancy appears to be a healthy one. There are others and perhaps ones not yet known. The point is that in over five hundred years we have never had it so good.” His eyes went steely, pupils dilated and pitch-black. “And now, at this time when all is beginning to look up, the Lycans have shown up in my backyard. I would like you to tell me what that means.”

Fen could see the damning arrow. How could he not? Carpathians finally beginning to recover and suddenly they are overrun with a species so elusive one nearly forgot their existence. Had it been just coincidence that the rogue pack had run this way? Led by Bardolf, Fen might have believed the choice had been a random one. But Abel, not Bardolf, really led the pack.

“Fen?” Mikhail prompted.

“I don’t honestly have an answer for you. I ran across werewolves committing murder and knew I’d discovered a rogue pack. A single hunter can’t take on a small pack by himself, let alone a large pack. And this is a very large pack. I followed them and began picking them off one at a time. It’s dangerous and time-consuming, but believe me, it’s the only way if you want to survive.”

Fen sighed, shaking his head slowly. “I traveled this way only to be close to my brother once again. I felt drawn here. In doing so, I ran across the kills.” He looked at Tatijana. “I had resisted for well over eighteen months. I found I had to come, although I felt it dangerous to do so.”

“Did you think we wouldn’t welcome you? Gregori tells me you are of mixed blood. You thought this would matter to us in some way?” Mikhail inquired, his tone deceptively mild.

Fen spread his hands out in front of him, fingers wide. “People like me are called Sange Rau, literally bad blood in the Lycan world. We are hated and hunted the instant it is known we exist.” He shrugged. “I could live with that from the Lycans. I understand their reasoning. The only mixed bloods they have known have been vampire-Lycan. To them, that is what I am should I be discovered. The idea of my own people condemning what I’ve become did not sit with me so easily.”

Gregori turned his head, those pale silver eyes moving over Fen in a careful study. “You are not so easily killed, even by one of us.”

Fen gave him a slight nod in response to the compliment. Gregori only stated the truth, he wasn’t out to flatter Fen. Clearly Gregori had made a show of Jacques and Falcon’s presence because he knew they would need more than one hunter to try to kill him. And then whose side would Tatijana come down on? She had sworn her allegiance to the prince, and no Dragonseeker would ever break their word after giving it.

He took another slow look around the room. There were others. There had to be more than just these three warriors protecting the prince. He had allowed the house to confuse his senses while they distracted him with talk. He was happier to be in his homeland, surrounded by his own people, than he’d let himself believe. That had also thrown his guard off a bit. And then there was Tatijana . . .

He sighed. “You may as well tell the insect in the rafters to come on down. The mouse in that tiny hole over there”—he indicated his left—“and the knot directly behind me is concealing a beetle of some sort. If there are others, they certainly are adept at hiding, but being in the body of something so small for so long, makes for slow fighters.”

The flying insect in the rafters responded first, shimmering into the form of a tall, broad-shouldered male with strange-colored, nearly aquamarine eyes. His hair was very long, nearly to his waist, thick and tethered with a single long leather cord winding all the way down to secure even the ends, a typical way to bind hair for battle. Fen recognized him immediately and to his shock, relief spread through him. Mataias had been a childhood friend.

Fen had known Falcon, but he’d grown up close to Mataias and his brothers. They’d run wild together in the mountains, learned battle skills and shifting on the run. They’d been like family, and he’d lost track of them. He came to his feet and clasped Mataias’s forearms in the age-old traditional welcome between two warriors.

“Arwa-arvo olen is?nt?, ek?m—honor keep you, my brother,” Fen greeted.

Mataias’s answering grip was strong. “Arwa-arvo pile sívadet—may honor light your heart.”

“It’s good to see you,” Fen said, meaning it. He truly felt as if he had come home, seeing Mataias, knowing he hadn’t succumbed to the ever-present darkness.

The fact that Mataias was there meant the other two guarding the prince had to be his brothers. The siblings were never far from one another. Coming from a long line of respected warriors, they had traveled together to see each other through darker times. They were lethal hunters, calm, experienced, and coordinated their attacks with expertise, much like the packs of Lycans. A master vampire had killed their parents when their mother was pregnant and they’d hunted the vampire across two continents, with a ruthless, implacable purpose, never stopping until they had found and destroyed him.

“Lojos and Tomas may as well show themselves,” Fen added.

“Did you smell them?” Gregori asked.

Fen glanced over at him. Clearly he’d been testing something new. He shook his head. “No, not even with my Lycan senses heightened.”

Gregori nodded. “Good. We’ve got a couple of brilliant researchers working for us, and this was one product I thought would be good to use if the Lycans are invading.”

Fen shook his head. “They aren’t like that. They’ve never been like that. They remain in the background, working quietly to keep their packs as strong as possible, but they’ve integrated into human society well. I can’t see them making a decision out of the blue to suddenly go to war with Carpathians.”

The small mouse grew and kept growing fast, until another Carpathian male, looking very much like a clone of the first one, came forward to greet Fen with the traditional forearm clasp. His eyes were as brilliant aquamarine as his brother’s. His hair was identical as well as body frame, but Lojos had a web of scarring running down his left shoulder and arm, all the way to his hand. It was very unusual for any Carpathian to scar. The wounds had to be near fatal, the suffering great.

“Well met, brother,” Fen said, meaning it. “Veri olen piros, ek?m.” Literally the greeting translated to blood be red, my brother, but figuratively, it meant “find your lifemate.”

They stood eye to eye, staring into each other’s pasts. Fen knew what it was like to struggle against the darkness, to be alone in the midst of others—even those you could only cling to the memory of loving.

“This is your lifemate? A Dragonseeker?” Lojos shook his head. “You are a very lucky man, Fen. This Lycan hunter you call Zev, the one so badly wounded, with his belly ripped open. I have watched him, and he is healing at a remarkable rate for the extent of his injuries.”

Fen knew they all were listening for every detail. “Lycans regenerate very quickly, which is one of the reasons, when you take them on, you have to know how to properly kill them. They aren’t easy. Zev is an elite fighter, one of the best I’ve ever seen. He was willing to take on the rogue pack alone in order to allow me to get Tatijana out of harm’s way.”

The men looked at one another, secretly amused that a Lycan thought to protect a Carpathian, especially one who was Dragonseeker.

“Obviously he didn’t know what, or who she was,” Fen said.

“You admire this man.” Gregori made it a statement.

“Yes, very much. You don’t get to his position without seeing hundreds, if not thousands of battles with packs. The moment he and Dimitri realized the one leading the rogues was one of the Sange rau, they held off the pack in order to allow me the opportunity to destroy the demon. Zev didn’t hesitate to put himself in a very dangerous situation. He knew he could die, but he didn’t back down.”

The small beetle fit snugly in the knot landed on the floor and grew with alarming speed into the shape of the first two brothers. When he clasped Fen’s forearms in the warrior’s greeting, Fen could see the droplets of scars down the right side of his face, almost like tears, all the way to his jaw. The same strange scars ran up his temple and disappeared into his hairline.

“Bur tule ek?met kuntamak—well met, brother-kin,” the third brother greeted Fen. “It is good you found your lifemate. I have thought often of you over the last centuries, and hoped I would never have to meet you in battle.”

“I felt the same, Tomas,” Fen admitted honestly. “So many of us have been lost to the darkness.”

He took another careful look around. The prince had these three experienced warriors, Gregori, Falcon and Jacques to protect him against an unknown Lycan/Carpathian combination. In his house. Close quarters. Gregori had an inkling of what he could do. There was another somewhere. Someone extraordinary, their ace in the hole. There was one other from his childhood. A little older, only by a decade or so, which was nothing in the years of Carpathians. He’d always been a little odd, but he’d been a source of vast knowledge. Andre. Some called him the ghost. He often passed through, wiped out any vampires in an area and was never seen or heard from. But he left his mark, and Fen had tried to keep track of him. He’d heard that he often was near the triplets, banding to hold on in order to keep the darkness at bay.

The Carpathians had prepared for a war. They’d spent the last two years of peacetime getting ready for anything that might threaten them as a species. He was just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

“Fen.” Mikhail’s cool voice brought him back to the business at hand. “The Carpathian people know the difference between a Carpathian and a vampire. You are no threat to us. In fact, your added speed and abilities as a Lycan only serve to aid our cause.”

Fen frowned and sank back into the comfortable chair. “The Lycans’ fear of the combination of blood is so deep that they would go to war should they find you are giving aid and harboring one of us. My presence here puts you all in jeopardy.”

He dropped the bombshell quietly, knowing he didn’t need to embellish. The stark truth was enough. Mikhail Dubrinsky was no one’s fool. He would grasp instantly the enormity of what Fen was telling him. He would hear the ring of truth and know Fen had brought a problem of an alarming magnitude to him.

“I see,” Mikhail said, steepling his fingers. “We’re going to need to know everything you know about the Lycans. Everything. The smallest detail.”

“There are very few like me,” Fen cautioned. He certainly didn’t want to be the cause of a war. “The Lycans are essentially good people,” he added. “I like them and respect them. As fighters there are few who could surpass them. They don’t look for power or glory as a rule. They live their lives within their small packs, happy with their families.”

“I am certain they are good people,” Mikhail agreed. “However, they have come to my lands without contacting me, a general courtesy, which I find unusual. A rogue pack with two of these creatures you refer to as Sange rau have also come when it simply has not happened before. We have several children who have survived into their second year. Are these coincidences? I am not such a fool as to believe that. I cannot afford to be that foolish.”

Fen had his own doubts that the timing was coincidental.

“What is your experience with becoming Lycan? What do you know of them?” Mikhail asked.

“I can tell you as the wolf gets older so does the integration between wolf and man. In the beginning the wolf is separate—a guardian so to speak, protecting the host body as soon as the other half feels its presence. The wolf brings with it history and facts it has known throughout its lifespan and that of its ancestors. He passes that information to the man half and he moves to protect that man when necessary.”

“As you grow older and more comfortable, the two, wolf and man, become one entity?” Mikhail reiterated to make certain they all understood.

Fen nodded. “Yes, that’s as close to an explanation as possible. All senses, even when in the form of a man, are heightened beyond all reason. A young wolf often cannot control the transformation—usually before the full moon. He’s clumsy and the pack watches him closely to make certain he or she doesn’t get into trouble. It’s an awkward stage.”

“One of our males has a lifemate who was Lycan but didn’t know it,” Falcon said. “How is that possible?”

“Sometimes members leave the pack, falling in love with an outsider. Their children can carry the Lycan gene, but often it doesn’t develop. Females in particular don’t always know because their wolf doesn’t come forward right away.” Fen shrugged again. “I didn’t stay with packs for long periods of time. It was too dangerous for me. They couldn’t detect the difference most of the time, but during the week of the full moon, any of them could have figured it out. I spent the full moons in the ground as often as possible. Over the last century I traveled outside of packs.”

“When do they begin training?” Gregori asked.

“In a pack, all children are trained almost from the moment they can talk. Education is all important, world affairs, the politics, cultures and running of every country. They are also taught fighting techniques and of course tracking and shifting. They’re fast. Really fast. And they’re taught battle strategy as well, training with all kinds of weapons.”

“Much like what we do with our youth,” Jacques said.

Fen nodded. “They work in the human world. They take jobs and actually serve in the militaries of whatever country they’re in. Always, always though, they answer to their pack leader, and the pack leader answers to the council.”

Mikhail got up and paced restlessly across the room. The stone fireplace was enormous and drew one’s eyes. Fen was still looking for the last warrior’s hiding place. The ghost. He was there somewhere in the room. The house was interesting in that no matter how many tall, broad-shouldered men were at the windows and close enough to guard their prince, the room felt spacious and open. Sometimes he almost felt as if the stone and wood were alive, and breathing, and watching them all.

He studied Mikhail out of the corner of his eye. The man moved with fluid grace and absolute control. Power radiated from him. He was definitely a man to lead and he took his duties very seriously. As did Gregori. Fen kept his eye on Mikhail’s second-in-command at all times.

“You have not sworn your allegiance to our prince,” Gregori said quietly.

Fen felt the familiar coiled readiness of the Lycan, but outwardly he remained stoic.

“Nor will he,” Mikhail said in that same low tone. “Did you ask him why he didn’t send for the greatest healer the Carpathian people have for his brother? He loves Dimitri, and he’s fought hard to save his life. You were close, yet he didn’t send for you, Gregori. What does that tell you?”