Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

“Does he know Fen has mixed blood?” Tatijana strained to keep her voice even, but she thought it quivered a bit.

Thankfully, Gregori pretended not to notice. “He doesn’t know Fen and Dimitri are brothers. No, I think he believes Fen stays close because he’s fallen in love with you. He spoke to Mikhail and said such a match would be forbidden by the Lycans. It is obvious he both admires and respects Fen and wants him to join his pack as an elite hunter.”

Tatijana frowned. “It’s forbidden for Fen to fall in love with me just because I’m Carpathian? Isn’t that just a little archaic?”

“They know Carpathians exchange blood.”

“They were happy enough to have our blood when they were wounded,” Tatijana hissed. Again Fen’s heart fluttered. She pressed her palm hard over his chest, nearly crying out. That had to be a heartbeat. She wasn’t mistaken. She felt tears burning behind her eyes and clumping in her throat. He was alive. He was coming closer to the surface.

Beside them, Fen stirred, his body still covered in the rich healing soil of Mother Earth. Tatijana let out a cry of joy. His lashes fluttered and he looked up at her. His face was very pale and there were lines that hadn’t been there before, but he smiled just for her.

“You’re a beautiful sight to wake up to, my lady.”

“I think you’re rather beautiful yourself.” She was not going to cry. She kept her palm flat over his chest, needing the reassurance of his steady heartbeat. It was music to her.

“You’re back with us,” Gregori observed, his silver eyes missing nothing. Fen was breathing a little shallow and was still in some pain, but he was very aware of everything around him. “How much of our conversation did you get?”

“Enough to know that”—Fen had to reach for his voice—“we need to find out why the two Lycans were at the lake in the first place. How did they know where we expected the last Sange rau’s lair might be? Dimitri and I found it because we knew Abel when we were young.”

“A very good question,” Gregori agreed.

“If Zev didn’t know where we were, and he didn’t send those hunters to aid us, why weren’t they with their pack, fighting the rogues?” Fen asked. “Zev is dominant over the pack alpha, he’s the big boss. No self-respecting alpha would ever allow his pack to desert a fight and go off without a word.”

“Zev left in a hurry. I wonder if he was asking himself the same questions,” Gregori mused. “He wasn’t happy.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t. If members of his pack took someone prisoner and didn’t even report back to him—that’s mutiny in the pack. That’s challenging leadership. Those two would have to fight Zev for the position of leader,” Fen explained. “The best hunter is always the scout and therefore the dominant alpha.”

“You heard us?” Tatijana exclaimed, still stuck back on the original point. “You heard our conversation?”

“You called to me and you sounded distressed,” Fen said. “I came, of course.”

“Fen, I’ve called you to me for the last seven risings.”

He frowned. “Really? I’m so sorry, Tatijana. I had no idea of time passing. When your spirit wanders there’s no concept of time. I went looking for my brother.”

“You knew Dimitri was missing?” Tatijana asked, her eyes wide and a little accusing. She couldn’t stop herself from raining kisses on his face. “You scared me to death.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t be in two places at one time, I was too weak. My body needed to heal. I thought I was gone a short time only.” He covered her hand with his. “I would never wish to cause you distress.”

He tried to sit up, and Gregori put a hand on his chest. “Not yet. I’d like to make certain everything is healing properly.”

Fen looked around him. “You brought me to the cave of healing. I must have been pretty torn up this time.”

“You’ve been out for seven risings,” Tatijana reiterated.

“I was looking for Dimitri,” Fen explained again, his voice growing stronger. “When I was there in the lodge with Abel, I felt Dimitri’s pain, just for a moment, and I knew it was his pain. I’ve felt the agonizing burn of silver many times and this was all encompassing. I knew immediately they wrapped him in it, which could only mean one thing—they had taken him prisoner.”

“You could have let me know,” Tatijana said. “I’m your lifemate, Fen.”

“It wasn’t easy on her,” Gregori added. “Your spirit was far away and appeared at times to fade completely.”

“I’m sorry.” Ignoring Gregori’s warning, Fen pulled himself gingerly into a sitting position. His belly protested, but he managed. He took Tatijana’s hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss her fingers. “I didn’t mean for you to worry. I thought once my body had healed, my spirit would have found him and we could go get him.”