Divine Savior (24 page)

“
I love you too, Colin. I think I always have.”

They made love slowly this time, touching each other, tasting, nipping. When he finally entered her and moved inside, she wrapped her ankles around his hips and moved slowly, drawing it out, making it last for as long as they could. When they came, it was a slow burn, moving through them, burning their souls into one. And they were one, mated for eternity.

~~~

When they came up from sublevels, everyone was in the living room. Thomas had left on another emergency and Dominic had gone to feed. Mel and her parents and grandparents were there as well, sitting on the large sofa near the roaring fireplace. Aaron was seated in one of the numerous wingback chairs with Sara on his lap. Duncan was handing around a large tray of scones that Penny had made for the occasion.

“
Shade has something to tell everyone. Well, I do as well, but this is important to the kiss.” Colin nodded to his mate and then looked at his master. “Aaron, I need to speak to you privately when this is done.”

“
Of course. You are both well then?”

Aaron could tell that they were. Colin was practically glowing with well being and happiness. Shade just glowed, literally. Aaron looked at the couple and knew they were now truly mated. He had never been so happy for his friend. Colin would make Shade happy; Aaron knew this. And making her happy would make Colin so as well.

“
The woman, Lynne, the she-bitch had help when she took me. Not just from Brenda, though I’m not sure how much help she could have been. The woman was worse off than she had been before. This man, he promised them both that they could...play with me before they killed me. I’m sure now that Lynne had been getting help from this being for some time. They seemed...well, comfortable with each other. Sexually comfortable, I think. He was with them in the van when I’d been shot, and then he was there again when I woke up in the cave. Lynne told me his name was Sherman.”

The stunned silence of the room was profound. Sherman, Aaron thought. Then he looked at Shade. Yes, he could see that she had been touched by his brutality. Aaron felt Sara stiffen in his arms and pulled her closer to his body. Sherman again. Damn, but why wouldn’t that bastard just die already? Mel looked stricken and pale. He nodded toward James and the man pulled his daughter into his fierce embrace. Right now, they needed each other more than ever.

“
Go on, Shade. Tell us the rest,” Aaron prompted, knowing there was more to her tale.

“
He said that he had taken me in hopes of luring the two of you”—she pointed at Sara then at Mel—“to the cave in hopes that you would come to rescue me. He said that you were going to pay for his scar and what he’d thought you’d both done to him. It’s a long, jagged one on his neck.”

“
I gave him that. And had he not disappeared like he had, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. The dirty fuck-tard. Damn, but I really hate that man.” The venom in Sara’s voice left no one to doubt that.

Aaron had been there when it happened with Sara and Mel. Sherman had tried to kill Sara because he’d known she above all others would protect Mel. When Sherman had been taunting Sara, knowing that because of his immortality as the king to the queen, he thought that he had been safe from her blade. But Mel had renounced him before royalty, which had been Sara, Mel’s own cousin, rendering him mortal and able to be killed by severing his head. But it had only taken away his white magic, the only magic that Mel had bestowed upon him when they mated.

Sara had brought her sword down to do the deed and he disappeared, apparently less injured than they had first thought. They had all hoped that he had crawled under whatever rock he’d slithered from in the first place and died.

“
What else did he tell you? I don’t suppose the bastard told you which rock he had slithered under, did he?” Mel shifted in her father’s arms as she spoke. “No, that would be too easy, wouldn’t it?”

“
No, Mistress, he did not. But you should know this Sherman person is tainted. Black magic is all over his soul and his mind is not quite right. He is a sort of slow burn psychopath and I found him to be incredibly scary.” Shade moved back tighter into Colin’s arms and Aaron pulled Sara back as well.

Colin continued. “He planned to kill Brent and have Shade watch him do it. He probably meant to kill Brenda as well, but he never returned before Shade had to kill her. Then he was going to kill the three of you together. Aaron, we need to kill this being before he harms another of our mates.”

Aaron agreed with Colin.

“
You should also know that the alpha…I believe he took care of the woman, the wolf,” Colin finished for Shade. “Brenda was already dead when Shade left, but Alpha said he’d take care of the trash, I believe his exact words were. I don’t believe anyone will have any problems with the she-bitch again.”

Aaron had already spoken to Bradley. He hadn’t gone into a great many details, but did tell Aaron that the problem had been dealt with. And as soon as he’d found Peterson, the one who had murdered Becca, he would beg Shade’s and Sara’s forgiveness. Aaron had heard the pain in the wolf’s voice and hoped he’d be able to resolve this soon for all their sakes.

“
Sherman isn’t dead. I kinda figured he wasn’t. Not the way he disappeared like that. He isn’t stupid, or he wasn’t the last time I dealt with him. He would have made plans in the event that something went wrong. I would guess that he has bolt holes all over the place in both worlds.” Aaron looked at his mate as Mel spoke.

Sara had told Aaron much the same thing when she had first tried to kill Sherman all those months ago. To have Mel say the same thing made him glad that he had taken a few extra precautions with their security both inside and outside the house. He couldn’t lose Sara. Not ever. He loved her with his entire being.

Aaron placed his hand over Sara’s flat belly. He would not…no, he could not allow anything to happen to them.

“
He’s using black magic and it was dark and strong. I could smell it on him; it practically poured from him when he was angry with me. Do you think it could have been him who was helping Lynne with her spells against the alpha?” Shade asked the room quietly.

“
I believe the alpha thought so. Mel, is it possible Sherman has been doing this, playing against you for a lot longer than you had first thought? Centuries even?”

Aaron was glad that Sara had asked. He was wondering the same thing. Aaron had wondered for some time that even if Sherman was actually dead, would that be the end of the evilness of the man? The group talked for a little while longer, asking questions of Shade, when Aaron noticed that Colin was getting restless. When they made eye contact, Colin finally spoke.

“
I would have a word with you, sire. If Shade remembers anything else, I’ll be sure to let you know what it is. It’s...this is important for us, for Shade and I, that I speak with you. There are things that I would ask of you…things that I would show you.”

The two men left the room and entered Aaron’s study. It was overflowing with books and papers. Aaron was still going through all that had been left to him and didn’t feel any closer to knowing all that he had acquired, even after one year. Once Colin had shut the door and flipped the lock, he began speaking and suddenly, Aaron became nervous for what he was going to be told.

“
I need to show you something...something personal. I’m asking you to keep my secret, even though I know that you would never betray me any more than I would you. But Shade and I have talked it over and we want to get used to this on our own first before we share with the rest of your kiss.”

Aaron sat on his desk. He wanted to tell him, “no. Whatever it is, I don’t need to know.” Instead, he nodded to Colin to proceed. Colin began unbuttoning his shirt while he continued.

“
I talked with Shade’s mother a few days ago before all this happened. She knew that I had seen Shade’s mark and told me what I might expect when we were truly bonded. Fiona called it Shade’s sigil, her crest of sorts. Fiona told me that in order to complete our bond, the bond of the Fae, I needed to taste the sigil. She was not sure what that entailed with me being a vamp, so I improvised. I...I bit Shade and the crest, her sigil, during sex. I could taste the fruit, all the different flavors. Flavors I haven’t tasted in centuries. It was then that I felt it—we felt it—the bond moving from Shade into me. Then, this evening when we woke up, I was marked as well.”

Colin took off his shirt to show Aaron his mark, the mark that would match Shade’s in every way. He looked at Aaron expectantly.

Aaron got up to get a closer look at the area where Colin indicated. He started to reach out and touch it, but looked up to gain permission before doing so. At Colin’s nod, he ran the back of his hand over the flawless skin. Aaron looked up at Colin again and said nothing, just backed away to the desk chair and sat down again. Hard this time, hard enough to snap his teeth together.

Aaron looked from the place Colin had indicated just over his heart to Colin’s face. He wasn’t sure what the other vamp wanted him to see; he felt out of his element right now. And not just a little frightened.

When Aaron had mated with Sara, her mark had been visible to all who wanted to see it. Very few people, other than those close to the couple, knew what it meant and how it played into their lives. Aaron had been granted all of his mate’s powers, though not as strong as Sara’s, but he had them. He was also able to stay awake for longer periods of time, well past the time most, if not all, vampires needed to seek their bed and shelter for the day. But with what Sara and the other women had told him last week before Shade’s disappearance, he wasn’t sure what this new mark meant to Colin and his mate.

“
You don’t see it, do you? As far as you can see, it’s just my skin. I could see hers because she is my mate. Now that we have bonded, I thought...I guess I assumed that...actually, I didn’t know what to expect.” Colin rubbed his hand through his already mussed hair. “Our marks are in the same place, over our hearts. Hers moves around on her body at times. Sometimes it will be out of sight for weeks, and then it will appear again where she’d be able to see it, or maybe not. She knows where it is, what fruit is on the tree because of the attachment it has, or I guess the energy it has with her body. I’m not sure if I can or will feel mine move, or even if it will. As yet, ours hasn’t moved, but then it’s only been since last night. But, like Shade, I know it’s there. There is a hum of energy it gives off to let me know.”

“
What do you think it means? Are you still a vampire?” Aaron wasn’t sure what to say, not even what he should be asking. But he wanted to understand. He wanted to be there for his friend.

“
I still have fangs, and I still crave blood, or at least Shade’s. I don’t know about the sunlight or anything else. I haven’t suddenly found myself hungry for human food. Shade, she...I had her cut me and I do heal very quickly, but I don’t know if that is because of her or me, as I could heal before. There are other things...powers that I have. I don’t know what to do with them yet. But I will learn.”

Colin shuddered. Aaron smiled at that. He wondered what had happened when Colin had discovered whatever it was that made him realize that he had powers.

“
There are easy ways, safe ways, to test the sunlight theory. We can do that at first light tomorrow morning. As for the others, Colin, can you tell me what they might be?”

“
There’s more of me. I have...powers or abilities that I didn’t have before, and the ones I had, like moving quickly, it’s much more enhanced. My hearing is more acute. I can hear Duncan in the kitchen two floors below us. I can see things...I can see things beyond walls, the heat of things, not the people it belong to. But I have a feeling that I will once I get the hang of all this. I’m not just a vampire, but more than I was before. I also have strength that I didn’t before. Plus, there’s this…”

Raising his hand, Colin pointed his index finger toward the laid hearth in the fireplace. Lightning arched from the tip. The dried wood burst into flames, leaping and dancing in the hearth.

“
Holy shit!”

Colin grinned. “My thoughts exactly when it happened. Scared a century of life right out of me – Shade, too, I think. All I was doing was thinking to warm the room for Shade and pointed to the fireplace…I’m not sure why now. And then this fucking arc of light jumped from my finger. Dinna know what to do for nearly a minute, just stared at the thing. Then we both just burst out laughing, damn near laughed our asses off every time we looked at it.”

Aaron could well imagine. Colin had a wicked sense of humor anyway, and he could just see the two of them rolling on the floor with tears streaking their faces with every glance at the flames.

“
What do you need from me, Colin? Anything. You’re my friend and I will do whatever you need for me to do. Just keep your fingers pointed to the ground until you have better control over those things.”

“
Deal,” Colin agreed with a laugh. “They could be useful, I think, on some level. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I need to provide for Shade, provide her with everything she’s done without her entire life, love, warmth, security.
I
need to do this, Aaron. But I’m not stupid enough to think that I can do this on my own, nor that I won’t need your help in making things possible.” Colin moved over to the burning fireplace. Aaron came to stand next to his friend.