Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed 8-Book Bundle (24 page)

Lucan’s hand clamped down around her wrist, firmly yet beseechingly. “I’m sorry, Gabrielle. I can’t let you do that.”

“She’s my friend, Lucan. And I’m sorry, but you can’t stop me.”

Gabrielle flipped open the phone, more resolved than ever to make the call. Before she could dial Kendra’s number, the device flew from her fingers and appeared in Lucan’s hand. He closed it, then slipped the phone into his jacket pocket.

“Gideon,” he said conversationally, even while his steely gaze remained locked on Gabrielle. “Ask Savannah to come and see Gabrielle to more comfortable quarters while we finish here. Get her something to eat.”

“Give it back to me,” Gabrielle said, ignoring the current of surprise that ran through the other men when she challenged Lucan’s attempt to control her. “I need to know that she’s okay, Lucan.”

He came toward her, and for a second she feared what he might do to her as he reached out to touch her face. In front of the others, he stroked her cheek tenderly, possessively. He spoke softly. “Your friend’s well-being is out of your hands. If she’s not yet been bled dry by this Rogue—and believe me, that’s a very real possibility—then he poses no further danger to her now.”

“But what if he did something to her? What if he turned her into one of those Minions?”

Lucan shook his head. “Only the most powerful of our kind can create Minions. That gutter trash who blew himself up in the tunnel was incapable. He was nothing but an expendable pawn.”

Gabrielle moved out of his caress despite the comfort his touch gave her. “What if that’s how he saw Kendra? What if he turned her over to someone who does have more power than him?”

Lucan’s expression was grim, but unwavering. His tone was as gentle as she’d ever heard it, which only made his words harder to accept. “Then you should forget her entirely, because she is already as good as dead.”

CHAPTER
Twenty-one

I
hope the tea isn’t too strong. If you’d like a little milk in it, I can get you some from the kitchen.”

Gabrielle smiled, truly warmed by the hospitality of Gideon’s mate. “The tea is perfect, thank you.”

She had been surprised to learn that there were other women in the compound, and felt she’d made an instant friend in the beautiful Savannah. As soon as she’d arrived to fetch Gabrielle on Lucan’s order, Savannah had gone to great lengths to ensure that Gabrielle was comfortable and relaxed.

As relaxed as she could be, at any rate, surrounded by heavily armed vampires in a maximum-security bunker housed several hundred feet below the ground.

Not that she would have guessed that, seated as she was now, across from Savannah at a long, dark cherry table in a tastefully appointed dining room, sipping an exotic, spicy tea from a delicate bone china cup while music played softly in the background.

This chamber, and the spacious residential suite adjoining it, belonged to Gideon and Savannah. From all appearances, they lived as a normal couple within the compound, in comfortable living quarters, surrounded by sumptuous furniture, countless books, and beautiful
objets d’art
. Everything was of the finest quality and all of it impeccably maintained, no different than one might expect to find in a pricey Back Bay brownstone. If not for the absence of windows, it would have been close to perfect. And even that lack was compensated for, with a breathtaking collection of paintings and photographs adorning nearly every wall.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Savannah gestured to a silver tray of pastries and cookies that lay between them on the table. Next to that was another gleaming platter of dainty finger sandwiches and aromatic sauces. Everything looked and smelled wonderful, but Gabrielle had pretty much lost her appetite the night before when she’d watched Lucan shred the Minion’s throat with his teeth and then proceed to drink his blood.

“No, thank you,” she said. “This is more than enough for me right now.”

She was amazed she could hold down anything at all, but the tea was hot and soothing, and she welcomed its warmth both inside and out.

Savannah watched her drink in silence from across the table, her dark eyes friendly, her thin brows knit into a sympathetic furrow. She wore her tight black curls short against her shapely skull, but the effect was more sophisticated than gamine when paired with her striking features and pretty, feminine curves. She had the same open, easy demeanor as Gideon, something Gabrielle greatly appreciated, after having dealt with Lucan and his dominating ways the past few hours.

“Well, maybe you can resist temptation,” Savannah said, reaching for one of the crumbly scones, “but I can’t.”

She spooned a dollop of thick cream onto the biscuit then broke off a piece and moaned happily as she popped the bite into her mouth. Gabrielle knew she was staring, but could hardly help it.

“You eat real food,” she said, more a question than the statement it sounded like.

Nodding, Savannah dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “Yes. Of course. A girl has to eat.”

“But I thought? If you and Gideon…Aren’t you like him?”

Savannah frowned, shaking her head. “I’m human, same as you. Didn’t Lucan explain anything to you?”

“Some.” Gabrielle shrugged. “Enough to make my head spin, but I still have a lot of questions.”

“Of course, you do. Everyone does, when we’re first introduced to this new, other world.” She reached out, gave Gabrielle’s hand a gentle squeeze. “You can ask me anything. I’m one of the newer females myself.”

The disclosure made Gabrielle sit up with piqued interest. “How long have you been here?”

Savannah glanced upward for a moment, as if counting time. “I left my old life in 1974. That’s when I met Gideon, and fell madly in love.”

“More than thirty years ago,” Gabrielle wondered aloud, taking in the youthful features, radiant mocha skin, and bright young eyes of Gideon’s woman. “You don’t look even twenty years old to me.”

Savannah’s smile beamed. “I was eighteen when Gideon took me as his mate. He saved my life, actually. He took me away from a bad situation, and so long as we are bonded, I will remain as I am now. Do I really look so young to you?”

“Yes. You’re beautiful.”

Savannah giggled softly as she took another bite of her scone.

“How…?” Gabrielle asked, hoping it wasn’t rude to press, but she was so curious and astonished that she couldn’t help blurting out questions. “If you’re human, and they can’t turn us into…what they are…then, how can this be? How is it that you haven’t aged?”

“I am a Breedmate,” Savannah answered, as if that should explain it all. When Gabrielle frowned, confused, Savannah went on. “Gideon and I are bonded, mated. His blood keeps me young, but I’m still one hundred percent human. That never changes, even after we are bonded to one of them as his mate. We don’t grow fangs, and we don’t crave blood in the same way that they do in order to survive.”

“But you gave up everything to be with him, like this?”

“What have I given up? I am spending my life with a man I completely adore, and who loves me just as much. We’re both healthy, happy, surrounded by others like us, who are our family. Aside from the threat of the Rogues, we have no worries here. If I have sacrificed anything, it pales to what I have with Gideon.”

“What about sunlight? Don’t you miss it, living down here as you do?”

“None of us are forced to remain in the compound all of the time. I spend a lot of time in the gardens of the estate during the day, when I want to. The grounds are very well-secured, and so is the mansion, which is huge. I must have spent three weeks exploring it when I first came here.”

From the brief glimpse Gabrielle had gotten of the place, she could imagine it would take some time to get familiar with everything.

“As for going into town during the day, we do that sometimes, too—not very often, though. Anything we need can be ordered over the internet and delivered to us.” She smiled, giving a little shrug of her shoulder. “Don’t get me wrong, I love salon time and shopping as much as the next girl, but it’s always something of a risk to venture outside the compound without the protection of our mates. And they worry when we are somewhere they cannot provide for us. I suppose females living in the Darkhaven sanctuaries have a bit more daytime freedom than those of us who are bonded to members of the warrior class. Not that you will hear any of us complaining.”

“Are there more Breedmates living here?”

“There are two others, besides me. Eva is bonded to Rio. You’ll like the both of them—they’re the life of any party. And Danika is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She was Breedmate to Conlan. He was killed recently, in a confrontation with a Rogue.”

Gabrielle nodded soberly. “Yes, I heard about that just before you came to bring me here. I’m sorry.”

“It’s different without him, quieter. I’m not sure how Danika’s going to cope, to be honest with you. They were together for many, many years. Conlan was a good warrior, but an even better mate. He was also one of the oldest members in this compound.”

“How old do they get?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Very old, by our standards, anyway. Conlan was born to the daughter of Scottish chieftain around the time of Columbus. His father was a Breed vampire of that current generation, five-hundred years ago.”

“You’re saying Conlan was five-hundred years old?”

Savannah lifted a slender shoulder. “Give or take, yes. There are some much younger, like Rio and Nikolai, who were both born in the 1900s, but none of them are as long-lived as Lucan. He’s first generation, born to one of the original Ancients and the first line of Breedmates to carry their alien seed to full term. From what I understand, those first Breed offspring occurred long after the Ancients arrived here, by many centuries, according to the history. The Gen Ones were conceived unpleasantly and entirely by chance, when the vampires’ wholesale rapes happened to include human females whose unique blood properties and DNA were strong enough to sustain a hybrid pregnancy.”

Gabrielle got an instant, sickening picture of the brutality that must have taken place at that time. “They sound like animals, the Ancients.”

“They were savages. The Rogues operate in much the same way, and with the same disregard for life. If not for warriors like Lucan, Gideon, and the few others of the Order who hunt them down around the world, our lives—all of human life—would be very bleak.”

“And what about Lucan?” Gabrielle asked softly. “How old does all of this make him?”

“Ah, he is a rarity, if for his lineage alone. There are few left of his generation.” Savannah’s expression held a trace of awe and more than a little respect. “Lucan can be no less than nine-hundred years, possibly more.”

“Oh, my God.” Gabrielle fell back against her chair. She laughed at the absurdity of the idea, and yet realized that it made perfect sense. “You know, the first time I saw him, I thought he looked like he should be on horseback, brandishing a sword and leading an army of knights into battle. He just has that carriage about him. Like he owns the world, and has seen so much that nothing surprises him. Now, I know why.”

Savannah was looking at her sagely, her head tilted. “I think you’ve been something of a surprise to him.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“He brought you here, to the compound. He’s never done that, not in all the time I’ve known him, and not before either, from what I gathered from Gideon.”

“Lucan says he’s brought me here for my own protection, because the Rogues are after me, now. God, I didn’t want to believe him—about any of this—but it’s all true, isn’t it?”

Savannah’s smile was warm, sympathetic. “It is.”

“I saw him kill someone last night—a Minion. He did it to protect me, I know, but it was so violent. It was horrific.” A shiver snaked its way up her limbs when she pictured the gruesome scene that took place in the children’s park. “Lucan bit into the man’s throat and fed off him like some kind of…”

“Vampire,” Savannah answered softly, with neither accusation nor condemnation in her voice. “That’s what they are, Gabrielle, how they were born. It’s not a curse or a disease. It’s just the way they live, a different kind of consumption than what we as humans have grown to accept as normal. And vampires don’t always kill to feed. In fact, that’s rare, at least among the Breed’s general population, including the warrior class. It’s completely unheard of with blood-bonded vampires, like Gideon or Rio, since their nourishment is provided regularly by their Breedmates.”

“You make it sound so normal,” Gabrielle said, frowning as she ran her finger around the edge of her teacup. She knew that what Savannah was telling her had a certain logic, despite its surrealism, but accepting it was not going to be easy. “It terrifies me to think about what he really is, how he lives. I should despise him for it, Savannah.”

“But you don’t.”

“No,” she confessed quietly.

“You care for him, don’t you?”

Gabrielle nodded, reluctant to speak the words.

“And you’re intimately involved with him.”

“Yes.” Gabrielle sighed, and shook her head. “And really, how stupid is that? I don’t know what it is about him that makes me want him like I do. I mean, he’s lied to me and deceived me on so many levels I can’t begin to count them, but even still, just thinking about him makes my knees weak. I’ve never known this kind of need with another man.”

Savannah was smiling over the rim of her cup. “They are more than men, our warriors.”

Gabrielle took a sip of her tea, thinking that it probably wasn’t wise to consider Lucan as her
anything
, unless she planned to put her heart under his boot heels and watch as he ground it to dust.

“These males are passionate in all they do,” Savannah added. “And there is nothing that can compare to the giving and receiving of the blood-bond, especially while making love.”

Gabrielle shrugged. “Well, the sex is amazing, I won’t even try to deny that. But I haven’t shared any kind of a blood-bond with Lucan.”

Savannah’s smile faltered slightly. “He hasn’t bitten you?”

“No. God, no.” She shook her head, wondering if she should feel more appalled than she did. “He hasn’t even tried to take my blood, as far as I know. Just tonight he swore to me that he never would.”

“Oh.” Savannah carefully set down her teacup.

“Why? Do you think he will?”

Gideon’s mate seemed to consider that for a moment, then gave a slow shake of her head. “Lucan has never made a promise lightly, nor would he about something like this. I’m sure he means exactly what he told you.”

Gabrielle nodded, relieved, yet curious why Savannah’s assurance sounded almost like a condolence.

“Come,” she said, rising from the table and indicating for Gabrielle to follow. “I’ll show you the rest of the compound.”

“Anything come back yet on those
glyphs
we spotted on our West Coast subject?” Lucan asked, tossing his leather jacket over one of the chairs next to Gideon.