Unbound (61 page)

“Humanity?” he paled.

“Oh, did I forget to mention she’s the halfblooded whelp of a human woman? Her mother is right there. Smell her. Hell, taste her if you like. They’re almost identical.” The rogue was amused by Darren’s astonishment.

“Now you have a choice, because she is about to die. Do you save her and bind yourself to humanity in the body of a lovely demi-vamp or do you waste your time fighting me? Do you really want the filth of a human mate tainting your bloodlines? Or does she die without your blood to save her? The choice is yours now, Darren. Because she won’t live long enough for more help to arrive,” he taunted. Darren released him to go to Danielle. He knelt beside her to feel for a pulse. It was faint but it was there.

“How sweet. You really meant all that crap you were spouting earlier. But do you want her badly enough to overlook your prejudices toward humanity? Don’t you think it’s a bit like falling in love with cattle? I mean, I love a good steak but I don’t want to screw the cow.

* * *

Darren said nothing. He stared at h
er, vaguely aware of the rogue
retreat
ing
to evade capture. He let them go. Brushing the hair from around her face, he tilted her head, not wanting to take any more blood than was necessary, he used his tongue to lick her wounds and heal them before he began to lap up the blood on her neck. That would be enough. He could feel the bond already. His soul was trying to creep into Danielle’s but she was so weak. He was sure he could already feel her essence inside him like a faint whisper and his heart quickened. This was his fault and he would spend the rest of his life atoning for his actions. She would forgive him in time. Her heart would demand it once the blood bond took hold.

Darren ripped open his wrist and blood splattered all over both of them. He opened her mouth and let his life run into her mouth but she wasn’t drinking. She wouldn’t swallow. Blood ran out of her mouth down the side of her face to drip on the floor. He sat down hard and pulled her into his lap. Putting his wrist back to her mouth, he massaged her throat to help it go down but she didn’t swallow on her own and blood continued to run out of her mouth. Frantic he began to sob and tilted her head back to allow the blood to flow down her throat. If she died, it would be his fault. Danielle’s blood in his body was making him throb with pain. He could feel the pain the rogue had caused her, and he knew the betrayal she f
elt when she realized what he’
d done to her.

After several moments of coaxing, she finally began to stir. She tasted what she needed and he was giving it freely. Her eyes still closed, she lapped at his wrist until she finally found the strength to grab hold of his arm. His relief was staggering and his sobs turned to tears of joy.

“That’s right, Danielle. Drink. I promised I would make things right. The rogue will never touch you again and we will have a long life together,” he practically cooed at his new mate. “The others will also leave us alone. They never deserved your affection and now you are all mine. I will give you the world and we will never speak of them again.”

His eyelids began to droop. She was draining him, taking too much but he could stand a little more. His mate needed it badly and every cell of his body demanded that he provide for his mate.

She stopped sucking and he fell back onto the cold floor with her in his arms. Neither of them was able to move. He drifted off into a dark bliss with her sprawled unmoving across his chest. His last thought was of lying in his bed with her in this position after the love they would make when he finally got her home.

* * *

Chase wanted to introduce the love of his existence to the world. She
’
d been dancing with JR, who he just found out was her little brother, but now he couldn’t find her on the floor. This was the most incredib
le night of his life. Lovely
agreed to be his mate. He learned that she is Griffin daughter, which means he could have the girl and honor his family obligations. To top it all off his parents are having a baby. He was going to be the best big brother and his Lovely would be a wonderful big sister.

He continued to mingle until he crossed paths with Cayden. They just looked at each other, neither man knowing what to say to the other. Chase knew Cayden was hurting and he didn’t want to say anything to offe
nd him or make it worse. They’
d had differences but Chase still loved his lifelong friend, even when they were
fighting. Chase was
jealous as hell that Cayden was so close to his Lovely and it blinde
d him to everything else. Chase remembered
the
pain of losing both of them and now clearly understood the sorrow
swimming in Cayden’s eyes.

Cayden put his hand out to Chase. A gesture of friendship was a good place to start over. Before Chase could take his hand, a deafening scream ripped through his head.  Chase went to his knees holding his ears. He looked up to see Cayden bent at the waist holding his head. Griffin and Mason came running with the same pained expressions.

“Where the hell is Soleil?” Griffin shouted as if he were trying to shout over the voice in his head. Some people could hear it but most of the room was carrying on as if nothing was wrong. Danielle was screaming angrily. There weren’t even words, just rage-filled cries. Chase calmed himself and reached for her.

“Lovely, where are you? Why are you crying?” She didn’t answer at first but she was sending visual hints. Is it a locker room? There were other people with her. A shadowed man held a woman around the neck. He couldn’t see the man’s face but everything else was clear. Chase didn’t recognize the woman.

“This place is like a maze. I’m not sure how I got here. I think we may have passed underground into another building. I don’t know where I am, but I can’t fight them. They have my mother, Chase. Tell Griffin they have Mom.” She was projecting so loudly that Griffin, Mason and Cayden were a
ll hearing her. Griffin went
stiff and Mason looked ill.

“We’re coming. Try to hold them off.” Chase would sniff her out. He ran to the hall and followed his nose like a bloodhound. A wave of anger crashed over him as Darren was revealed to be the traitor that handed her over to the rogue. Darren thought he could force his Lovely into being his mate! A sound of helpless rage ripped from his throat. The four men tracked Danielle like
prey
. It seemed as if Darren
led her around in circles to confuse her and anyone that followed them. Chase continued talking to her until he lost her to blood
loss and the pain the rogue
inflicted. The last thing she said was,
“I love you, Chase.”

Now those words echoed through his head and he held onto them like a life raft. It took forever, but finally the trail ended at a locker room door. Chase burst through the door and the scene they found was a nightmare he would never forget.

Darren had done it. He
allowed the rogue to drain her
nearly to death, and then he
stolen Danielle’s blood and forced his own blood down her throat to save her life. They were a mass of tangled limbs on the floor. It was disgusting how much they looked like lovers so entwined with each other. She was sprawled across his chest with her purple gown tangled around her knees. Darren was very pale, but he held her tightly to his chest.

He heard Cayden go down on his knees behind him. “I’m going to be sick. I can’t take this, Chase. Losing her to you was one thing. She loves you.” Cayden paused. They both realized the love Danielle had for Chase would have been killed, murdered by her bond with the warrior thief.

“She loved you.” Cayden’s use of the past tense stabbed at Chase’s heart. He went to lift his Lovely from the arms of her new mate. He needed to see that she was alive and well enough to survive. Mason was helping Chase look her over and Griffin went to Tessa’s side.

* * *

“Tessa, baby
,
wake up.” Griffin shook her and lightly slapped her face.
The rogue must have a very strong telepath in his ranks. Griffin had tried many times in the past to enthrall Tessa, but her mind was too strong for him to control. Mason hadn’t been able to breech Tessa’s mental barriers either. It would have taken an extremely high level telepath to take her down.
“Tessa, can you hear me? You need to wake up now. Our baby needs you.” He shook her again. His hands burned where he touched her. Griffin’s mind was scattered, but his body wanted to acknowledge the woman it had craved for over nineteen years. Tessa’s eyes fluttered open and the slow smile she greeted him with melted his heart. She looked the same as she had all those years ago, and watching her wake with a relaxed, languid smile reminded him of what life had been like when he was in love with his enchantress of a mate who could see the future in her dreams. She wa
s the most beautiful woman he’
d ever known and she still had the ability to crush him with the simplest of gestures, like a smile or the brush of her hand on his face. She was touching him in a way that made him long to keep her, to make her his all over again.

“I’ve missed you so much, Griffin. I wish you were here with me. My dreams always end too soon and I have to mourn you again each day.” She snuggled against his chest
and pulled him down to brush her lips over his mouth sensually
, “Don’t l
eave me yet. You feel so real.”

This was more than he could have ever wished for. Not only did she still live and breathe but she loved him and longed for his touch the same way he longed for hers. As wonderful as this was, he had to wake her fully so they could tend to Soleil.

“Tessa I am here and you need to wake up now. Soleil is hurt.” That did the trick. Her eyes snapped open. Griffin jumped to his feet with Tessa still wrapped in his arms and carried her to Danielle’s side.

“How did I get here? What happened to my baby?” Tessa asked Chase.

He didn’t get a chance to answer before Darren came to life. Weak from blood loss his eyes shot around the room, searching for his mate. When he found her in Chase’s arms, a growl erupted from him.

“Take your hands off my mate, Deidrick. Or I will kill you!” He struggled to stand and stumbled in his direction. “Give her to me now!”

“Screw you, man! She’s my girl! You betrayed her with the monster who wanted her dead. Am I supposed to just hand her over?” Chase got to his feet with Danielle in his arms and Cayden stood between Darren and Chase.

“We won’t hand her over to you, traitor,” Cayden snarled.

“You will give her to me or I will see you judged by the
Council
. Whether you like it or not, I have committed no crime. She is my mate and council law says I have the right to speak for her when she cannot speak for herself. You may not come between bonded mates,
ever
. Now give me my new mate or I will have Gage haul your ass to the
Enclave
in chains!”

Mason was now in a rage and being held back by Griffin. His eyes black with anger, he flashed his fangs. “Don’t threaten my boy! Trust me. The
Council
will be the l
e
ast of your worries!”

Finally, Gage and several other warriors arrived to defuse the situation. “Arrest him, Gage. He lured Danielle to the rogue so he could drain her for her powers in exchange for the chance to force a blood bond.” Chase was trying to remain calm, but his heart was breaking. When she woke, Darren would be all she wanted in the world.

“Is this true Darren?” Gage looked incredulous.

“I tried to give him what he wanted so he would stop hunting her. He wanted her power and I want her. So I let him drain her and I saved her with my blood. He will never come after her again. I made her safe from his evil. She is my mate and I want her now, Gage. Do your job and make them hand her over.” Darren was practically frothing at the continued sight of his mate in the arms of another man.

“Unfortunately, Darren is correct. Our laws do not cover this situation because Dani is alive. We have no right to keep her away from him and he can have you jailed for attempting to do so. We don’t have many laws, but the ones we do have are very clear and coming between bonded mates is a major violation.” Gage was sickened by the facts of the situation.

“What if he takes her and she dies later? We will never know what happened to her. Do we even know if she can live without her power?” Tessa asked Gage.

“He actually wasn’t able to absorb her abilities. He almost killed her trying until he realized…” Darren said but Chase spoke over him.

“He couldn’t because she’s human. All the pain she endured was for nothing. He didn’t know she was human.” Chase was back on his knees and stroking her hair as Darren snarled continuously. Everyone looked at Chase, stunned.

“He actually did know. He had her human mother after all. He just didn’t know her psychic power was seated in her humanity and amplified by her vampire coming of age. He said her mother was psychic. That’s why he couldn’t reach her gifts,” Darren admitted.

“You knew she was half human?” Mason asked Chase.

Chase didn’t look up from his Lovely when he answered, “Yes. I’ve known since the day we found her beaten at the club. When Doc asked me to try to reach her subconsciously, we spent a lot of time speaking telepathically and she gave me access to her beautiful mind. Because she was weakened, she wasn’t able to hide anything from me. Her gifts were so new to her she couldn’t control her projections. I knew then I would have to protect her from the things in our world that could harm such a fragile being. Just to be sure, I wasn’t crazy and misreading her mind, I had Doc run her
DNA from the blood samples he’
d taken from her. He verified it for me. She was so afraid of vamps finding out and killing her. So I waited. I knew she would tell me when she was ready. I wanted her to tell me the truth. It didn’t matter to me, Dad. I need her, love her. No matter what kind of blood runs in her veins, she will always be, my Lovely.”