Kindled (Book 3 The Kindred Series) (26 page)

  
Although, s
he realized now that may be the impossible dream.
It was very possible that t
here
would
never
be
a
time when someone wasn’t trying to kill them, and she did not want to die without having shared that experience with him. But the sharing of blood, well that was something that they may never be able to experience.
She was surprised by how disappointed she was by the realization. She thought she should be repulsed by it, but she wasn
’
t. Not if it was Devon’s blood.
Devon glanced down at her, dropp
ing
a quick kiss on her head.

   Why hadn’t he told her about this? She wondered, fear beginning to curl through her body.
Had he kept it from her because
he didn
’
t feel
that
she w
as his mate?
Did he not feel the same
way
about her, as she did about him?
A cold chill curdled in her belly, her skin turned to ice
as
everything in her went numb
.
But that couldn’t be true, she had felt his emotions, she
knew
how intensely he felt about her. But why hadn’t he told her about this
then
?

  
He seemed to sense her distress as he pulled her tighter against him. Annabelle’s eyes were questioning as she studied them
. Cassie didn’t like the intense scrutiny she found herself under. “I’ll get my things,” Dani interrupted. She turned and hurried swiftly up the stairs.

   “Yes… I uh… I should go get my things too
,
and say goodbye to my mom.”

   “She’s not coming with us?” Cassie blurted out, forgetting all about her
terror
and confusion
in the face of Chris’s statement.

   He shook his head sadly, his sapphire eyes distant and lost. “No, she doesn’t want to leave. And I suppose there is no need for her to. Sh
e’s not one of
us
after all.”

   Cassie heard the pain in his words, felt the sorrow behind them. He may not have been close with his mother, but he still loved he
r
, and he always would. When they left here though, there was a good possibility that he may never see her again. “Do you want me to come with you?” Cassie asked softly.

  
He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “No
, I’d better do this alone.”

   Cassie nodded reluctantly.
Chris
moved swiftly past Liam, throwing the door open to the sun breaking on the horizon.
“I’ll put your car in the garage,” Devon said, stepping forward to claim the keys from Liam.

   Cassie watched as he hurried outside, leaving her alone with the two strange vampires studying her intently. She swallowed nervously, trying to shove aside her rising turmoil. “I should grab my things too,” she said quickly.

   She scooted quickly past Annabelle and Liam, feeling only slightly guilty about leaving them to fend for
themselves
. She needed a few moments to herself in order to gather her scattered
thoughts and wildly swaying emotions. She had packed two suitcases
already, but she still needed to gather her toiletries.

   Heading into the bathroom, she began tossing things into her small travel case. She tried not to think as she moved, but all of her doubts and insecurities reared back to painful life. Zipping the case closed, she slid down to sit on the edge of the tub, suddenly unable to move. Why hadn’t he told her about the mate thing?

   “Cassie.” She lifted her head
when
Devon appeared in her doorway. His eyes
were
dark and questioning
as he studied her. “What
’
s wrong?”

  
She hesitated, unsure of how much to say to him, not wanting to sound needy. But in the end, her curiosity and doubts won out.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the mate thing?” she asked softly.

   He sighed as he came completely into the room. He was lithe and elegant as he moved,
coming forward
with purpose. “It’s not the reason that you’re thinking.”

   “And how would you know what I
’m
thinking?” she demanded fiercely.

   The grin he gave her only caused her anger to crank up another notch. “Because I know you
,
love,” he whispered. “You wear your emotions on your face, and I know
how you think. I didn’t tell you
about it
because I
didn’t think
you
were
my mate, because I
know
you are.
The reason
I didn’t tell you
was
because it
is o
nly one more thing for you to worry about,
or
to feel guilty about. It
’
s
only one more pressure that you do
not
need right now. We just need to get through the day, one day at a time right now
. I need to keep you safe Cassie.
Your safety is the
only
thing that I can worry about now. It’s
also
the only thing that
you
can worry about.”

   Cassie stared silently at him as he knelt before her, gently taking hold of her hands. His eyes burned into hers, the need in them nearly br
o
k
e
her heart.
“How can you be so sure that I am?” she asked softly.

   He gave her a wry grin as he leaned forward on the balls of his feet. “I’ve known since the moment I saw you, I may not have admitted it to myself then, but I
knew
then.
And there was something else…
”
his voice trailed off, his eyes fell from hers.

   “Something else?” she prodded when he didn’t continue.

   He rose slowly to his feet, settling himself on the tub beside her. “I’ve never used my ability for mind control over you Cassie, at least not on purpose.”

   Cassie’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped. For a moment she couldn’t find her breath. What was he talking about? He had taken control of her mind? Chills of terror and disbelief raced up and down her spine
, he wouldn’t even look at her. He had invaded her mind and she hadn’t even known about it! And why would he want to take control of her, what had he done to her? “What do you mean?” she breathed.

   His head came slowly up, his eyes finally focused on her again.
“There was a night, a time when my ability went beyond my control, while I was sleeping. It reached out to your mind, enveloping it, ensnaring it in a dream…”

   Cassie gasped, her hand fl
ew
to her mouth as she recalled the dreams she’d had about Devon, and there had been so very many of them before she had accepted him into her life. But out of all the dreams, there had been one that was so vivid, so
real
that it had haunted her. That it had all but driven her into his arms. “The lake,” she breathed.

   He studied her for a moment before
nodding slowly. “Yes, the lake.”

   “It was so real.” Cassie’s fingers brushed against her lips. It had been the first time she had ever kissed him, and though it had been wonderful, it had been nothing compared to the real thing. “Why?”

   Devon took hold of her clasped hands. “I didn’t do it on purpose Cass; I promise you I would never do it on purpose, not to you. If I was ever going to do it on purpose you would have been out of this town months ago, and we never would
have been apart for two weeks.” Cassie shifted, hating the reminder of the weeks they had spent apart, and how awful she had been to him. “I think I was growing so frustrated of your continuous rebuttal of me
that it seeped out in my sleep
.”

   He bumped her knee slightly, squeezing her hands gently when she ducked her head, shame wash
ed
through her.
“The hunt was growing tiresome,” he said lightly, though she could hear the strain in his voice. “I went to sleep that night, and unconsciously my power reached out to you. It did so because even though I didn’t realize it until after I awoke, my subconscious recognized you as my mate, and it needed to connect to you in some way in order to satisfy itself. I didn’t even know I was in your dream until you told me that you had spent your summers as a child there.
That’s when
I knew.”

   Cassie swallowed heavily, her fingers fell away from her mouth. She could only stare at him, barely able to move, barely able to breathe as he turned toward her.
His eyes were intense, fierce, his gaze steady and yet fearful. “Knew?”

   “Knew what you were to me, knew what I had been trying to deny for so very long. Don’t get me wrong, I continued to try and deny it. I did
not
want you placed in that situation, I didn
’
t want you to know what I was, what my world consisted of. But then again, at the time, I had no way of knowing that you already knew far more of my world than I had ever wanted you too.”

   He leaned forward, gently clasping her face between his palms. Cassie leaned into him, savoring in him, relishing in his touch and feel, and the soft words that he whispered.
“And after, well after I finally admitted it to myself, finally allowed myself to acknowledge that you were my mate, I
was afraid to tell you.”

   “Why?”

   His fingers brushed lightly over her face. “Because I wanted you to make the choice to join me on your own, I didn’t want you to feel any pressure from me. I wanted you to feel free to make the choice, and not feel obligated.”

   “And now that I have
,
it may be impossible,” she whispered morosely.

   His head bowed, his forehead pressed lightly against hers.
“
O
nce you are safe, and all of this is past us, then we can sort out the rest of the details. And we will Cassie
.
I promise you
,
we will.
”

   She nodded, blinking back the tears that burned her eyes.
She wished that she could make this all different, wished that she had made the choice earlier. Maybe if she had, and there had been no fear of turning her, she could have been turned
by now. And maybe, just maybe there would have been no ill effect, and they could
be
completely
together, the bond between them c
ould have been forged
.

   But then again, something awful may have happened. She could have become a monster, and Devon never would have forgiven himself, even if he had been unaware of the consequences at the time. No, as awful as it was, it was a good thing she had not made the choice earlier. There was no way to know what could have happened, and the last thing that she
ever
wanted was for to Devon to be hurt, in anyway.

   Yes, it was awful, and it was going to be hard, but they would get through this.
Together.

   “
Yes, we will,” she said softly.
Then, she frowned at him, a new thought blazing to life inside of her. “Devon, with what Annabelle described, wouldn’t you and Isla be mates?”

   He frowned at her, his hands tighten
ed
on hers. “No Cassie
,
there is more to it than just blood and sex. The bond is also forged through love. There was never any love with Isla
, it was never like that
.
It has
never
been like that with anyone but you.
And once I turned Isla, I never shared blood with her again. Mates tend to share blood on a near daily basis. Annabelle says that it is a beautiful and
poignant experience.
”

   “I
see
,” she said softly. He continued to look at her worriedly, his gaze doubtful and questioning. “I do.”

   He
managed a small
smile
for
her as he wrapped his hand around the back of her head, pulling her
against him
for a fierce, demanding kiss that robbed her of all sense and reason. She fell into
him;
losing herself in the feel of him as he swept away all of her doubt
s
and fears.
She matched the frantic need of his kiss, knowing that this may be the last time that they were alone
together
for a
very
long time.