lara opened her eyes, savoring the heat and soothing bubbles in the mineral pool against her body. she had drifted off to sleep in the warmth. the water lapped at her skin, the sensation like tongues rasping at her breasts and throat. she blushed. she didn't have sexual thoughts or fantasies. she wasn't made that way, yet all she could think about was the width of nicolas's shoulders, the black silk of his hair and how it felt against her skin. his breath was warm, drawing her like a magnet. she felt... unsettled... uneasy... restless. her body felt tight and unfamiliar.

if this was what he did to her, he could stay away. on the heels of that thought came instant protest. despite the soothing sound of water falling into the pool, or the heat enveloping her body, her mind emphatically rejected the thought of never seeing him again, reaching for him-rushing to him. he had been gone so long and an unfamiliar part of her, that was growing stronger by the moment, longed for his presence.

she took a deep breath needing...nicolas . she sought the connection before she could stop herself.

i am here.

the relief of his touch was immediate. she didn't want to need the reassurance of the touch of his mind.if this is what you do to me, i don't want any part of it. she had learned to be alone. never be different. blend. try not to stand out. andnever need anyone.

it is the pull between lifemates, lara. it is natural. when your aunts told the story did they not tell you about the needs burning between a bonded pair?

she couldn't help but laugh softly, mostly with relief at hearing the steady sound of his voice.they probably thought i was a little young for that sort of revelation .

you have a point. but consider that carpathians are nearly immortal. if we did not have such a need for one another., life might get boring.

she found herself with a genuine smile. she doubted life would be boring with someone like nicolas, although she had no idea, now that he'd tied them together, how they were going to manage. but it wasn't her problem, she reminded herself, it was his. he had uttered the words of the binding ritual.

the love story between carpathian lifemates that her aunts had told her had been her only information on how relationships worked. back then, it had been a fairy tale, now she thought maybe she was in the middle of a nightmare.

what do you know of your mother?

when nicolas asked the question, lara reached for the answer, but there was only a blank empty space in her mind.i don't remember her .

he moved inside of her. lara felt his presence, sharing her mind, not just her immediate thoughts. wincing, she threw up a shield.i'm uncomfortable with you doing that .

why?

there was curiosity in his tone, but no remorse. no acquiescence. certainly no reassurance that he wouldn't do it again. a small frisson of fear skated down her spine. what did she really know of this man? and why was she accepting him so easily?

i have alarmed you.

a little. i don't trust so easily.

he sent her a small rush of warmth.that is a good thing. i would not want you to .

lara swept back her long wet hair and ducked under the water again, coming up to wade across to the flat rocks where she could sit. the cave was beautiful with gems and crystals sparkling in the flickering lights. water lapped at the rocks in a gentle rocking motion, the sound almost a lullaby. she realized she felt a measure of peace for the first time in her life.tell me about yourself . she crossed her arms under her breasts and tilted her head back to watch the light show the candles gave off.

i have four brothers. i have spent much of my life in the amazon rainforest. you would like it there. it is beautiful and wild. i cannot wait to return and see it in vivid color. nor can i wait to look upon my brothers and feel, for the first time, in my heart, not just in my head, the love i have for them.

she could feel the love he had for his family. she caught glimpses of four very intimidating men, handsome, with that same dangerous edge that nicolas had.four brothers? did you grow up with them? there was no way to disguise the wistful note in her voice.

she had been out in the world long enough to know what a family was supposed to be and she longed for one of her own. maybe that was why she was so susceptible to nicolas. she ached with loneliness. she had always needed the cool interior of the caves to hide the fact that she couldn't really take too much sunlight so she had little contact with others. if she had to work in the morning hours or late afternoon, she could manage with long sleeves and sunblocks, but she rarely set to work until evening. she told her colleagues she had an allergy to the sun. during the afternoon, she could barely manage to function, so she found that caving was a perfect solution to all of her problems-and deep in a cave, she didn't have to watch others interact with their families.

growing up with my brothers was always interesting. we all believed we were smarter, faster and had to prove it to one another. we did some crazy things.

she caught images of several boys falling from the sky at alarming rates of speed from alarming heights, each struggling to shift right before hitting the ground. each boy tried to beat the time of the one who had gone before. it was a dizzying, frightening scene.your poor mother. five crazy sons. i didn't think about what raising a carpathian child would be like ¨cespecially a boy.

the thing she found the most interesting was that the oldest boy in the memory was already a man in human years. she could tell by nicolas's recollection that they were still fun-loving children, yet they looked grown.

flying is the best feeling in the world, soaring high, riding a thermal, diving through the clouds. i had forgotten the pure joy i had as a child until you came into my life. i will take you this next

rising if you like.

she could hear the joy in his voice-felt the emotion pouring into her mind, allowing her to experience some of what he was feeling. she hadn't ever felt like he had. her earliest memory was of her aunts whispering to her, trying to console, disembodied voices, she thought for a long time were in her own head.

that would be fun. who wouldn't want to go flying?

lara pressed further into his mind, huddling there for a moment, basking in those long-ago, forgotten moments with him. she caught glimpses of other things. something dark and grotesque moving fast out of the trees toward him. his eldest brother, zacarias, calling out a warning, calling out instructions even as he raced to place himself between nicolas and the monstrous being rushing from the trees.

lara gasped and drew back.what was that ?

vampire. nicolas injected a soothing note into his voice. he was still a good distance from her and needed to find sustenance before dawn broke.my first kill. we were teaching riordan, my youngest brother, shifting on the run and the undead attacked me. i was a distance from my brothers. i think he thought i had detected his presence, but he was a huge surprise. i barely escaped with my life. zacarias gave me instructions while i was fighting him off and i managed to destroy him before he got to us, but you would have thought i was the only hunter in the world that day. i was stuck on my own importance . he injected a little laughter into his voice.

to nicolas, lara felt...frightened or maybe it was edgy, he couldn't put his finger on her sudden withdrawal, but that brief glimpse of a vampire had triggered something in her mind. he didn't like that she was alone in the cave with what could possibly be another flashback of her childhood. something-and he was fairly certain it was the parasites-had brought long buried memories to the forefront. now that the barrier had gone, he suspected she would be able to remember pieces of her past.

i will be there soon. he didn't want her to feel alone, not ever again.

below him, a farmer crossed a small pasture to a makeshift barn. in the body of an owl, nicolas changed his flight, circling to make certain the man was alone and there was no danger, scanning the region for the dead spots that might indicate there was a vampire present, before beginning his descent.

lara sank back into the water, puzzling out why she felt so edgy when only moments earlier she had felt safe and cocooned in a world of heat and aromatic fragrances. this cave was far different from the ice cave. she often caught glimpses of her past-secret little vignettes of a shivering, terrified child, listening to the ominous crack of ice weighted with tremendous pressure. everything in her memories was cold and barren and frightening. here, she felt protected and safe, the world sparkling with gems and soft lights, yet...

nicolas drew her to him with the sound of his voice, low and sexy and so commanding. his physical beauty, intensely male, the burning possession in his black eyes, the force of his personality totally focused on her was all a little overwhelming and thrilling. even his childhood memories-they were beautiful, the laughter, the camaraderie, everything she'd ever wanted. there was a brightness in all the boys.

a chill ran down her spine.until the vampire had come out of that forest and attacked nicolas .

she stood up once again in the shimmering pool, her arms crossed over her breasts, her heart beating too fast. darkness in nicolas had risen to meet the vampire. there had been nothing at all bright in nicolas at that moment. that dark blotch grew and spread, consuming him until she couldn't tell hunter or the undead apart. as if alive, as if a separate entity, the darkness in him had leapt forward, eagerly reaching for the hunt-for the kill. there had been no hesitation, not on his part. even as that shiny young boy he had embraced that rising darkness, losing himself in it as he rushed to meet the attacking vampire.

she pressed her fingertips to the strange birthmark low on her body, the dragon that warned her when a vampire was near. earlier, when she had first encountered nicolas, the dragon had gone hot and cold. nicolas had triggered the warning with the darkness in him. she swallowed the lump in her throat, her heart slamming now so hard she could see the rise and fall of her breasts, feel a choking in her throat. remembering that same flash of hot and cold, mixed signals that frightened her as much or more than a steady burn. her father had often produced that same odd, faulty response whenever she was close to him.

her pulse thundered in her ears, heart hammering so loud she could barely hear the water pouring from the wall. what was wrong with her? her stomach lurched and she staggered, her wrist, throat and neck burning painfully. nicolas appeared charming, but what did she really know of him? he hadn't argued with her. he had even been polite when she'd shoved a knife in his ribs, but she really knew nothing at all about him.

terror welled up. she had lived life with humans, good-natured, uncomplicated, genuinely nice people for the most part. no, they hadn't understood that lost child and they'd given her from family to family, continually on the move, but they had cared for her basic needs and no one had tried to use her for their own gain. she had almost forgotten a world of deceit, of betrayal, of kill or be killed.

she reached out again tentatively, the lightest of touches, her mind seeking his. at once she was consumed by hunger, by the need for blood. she heard the ebb and flow of life surging and pounding as a farmer hauled a calf from a cow's laboring body. she heard the heartbeat, steady and strong, scented the good health, a large masculine physique toweling off the calf while murmuring to the cow. she crept closer, scenting the blood from the birth. it only added to the need building in her, the hunger raging now, taking a hold and directing her. she ran her tongue along her teeth, and felt a lengthening and sharpness just past her incisors. her heartbeat increased, began to take on the rhythm of the unsuspecting farmer bent over the cow.

merged with nicolas, she felt the smooth, silent glide, stalking prey. a dog tried to bark, but nicolas/she stopped it with one quick, commanding flick of a hand. adrenaline rushed through her. she felt the movement in her veins, a high like no other. blood thundered in her pulse, roared in her ears. then she was on him, that one moment of recognition, the heart rate jumping, the mind rebelling, only to be taken over completely by nicolas-by her.

ultimate power. life or death. teeth sank deep and the rich taste burst through her, into her, filling organs and tissue with strength and energy. lara gasped and pulled her mind away, stumbling through the water toward the rocks where she could steady herself.

need and hunger poured through her body, overwhelming with its intensity. she fought it back, but knew, once that need was there, only blood would satisfy it. he had awakened the one thing in her she had always tried desperately to suppress.

nicolas was taking blood from a human being. using that person as cattle. worse, he was controlling his victim's mind and he'd done it without using spells and potions. he was that

powerful.

her wrist ached and burned. she looked down and saw her flesh torn open-chewed-as if teeth had gnawed and ripped. blood splashed onto the boulders and droplets hit the pool. her neck ached where nicolas had sunk his teeth into her and she covered the spot with her palm. it came away smeared with blood. the illusion was so strong she stared in horror before she realized it was illusion.

slowly, lara looked around the cave. how had she let this happen? no matter warm and beautiful, a prison was still a prison. a predator was still a predator. she'd been mesmerized by him. she'd recognized the danger in him from the start, but somehow he'd made those concerns vanish from her mind. was he controlling her? manipulating her mind?

shivering, lara staggered out of the pool, looking around for something to dry herself off with. where had she planned to sleep? in the ground with him? on the bed with him? with him? why hadn't she even considered that? she wasn't stupid, yet she'd followed him here without question or protest. what woman would go off alone with a stranger for the night where no one knew where she was? nicolas de la cruz exuded sex from every pore. his walk, the roll of his shoulders, the dark eyes burning so intensely-he was a sexual man and she was sure he didn't expect to sleep in a bed with a woman without possessing her body.

lara dragged on her clothes, heedless of the way the material stuck to her still damp skin. panic rose, and she spun around, determined to find the way out. he'd given her directions-were they real?

do not be foolish, lara. the sun is rising. i will be there soon and we can discuss this calmly. you are merely having a panic attack and there is no reason for it.

the calm voice grated on her nerves. he was condescending and arrogant. she had every reason to panic. any sane woman would have done so a long time ago. using the directions in her mind, she sprinted out of the glistening chamber into a long corridor.

i forbid you to risk yourself. wait for me.

this time that thin veneer of civilization cracked and she could feel the edge to his voice. her stomach lurched. she gasped and pushed herself harder, increasing her speed, using her night vision in the dark confines of the cave. she couldn't think about how deep she was or the maze of tunnels that ran miles beneath the mountain. the only objective had to be to get out as fast as she could. she rounded a corner and the corridor divided into two paths.

the air is heavy in the cave, difficult to breathe, to run fast. each step is harder. you are sinking into sand, your legs heavy. you are so tired, lara. why not sit and rest. your mind is confused and the directions are fading from your memory.

the voice was low and insidious, filling her head, the compulsion spreading through her body. she stumbled, confused, and halted, twisting this way and that.

it is becoming difficult to see in the dark. you should stay still.

stop it! "stop it!" lara repeated, shouted aloud.

her voice echoed through the caverns, disturbing returning bats. the creatures took to the air, wheeling and fluttering, thousands of them, filling the spaces around her. it was difficult to breathe, and impossible

to move. she stood there, trembling, waiting, held prisoner by the mesmerizing voice. she felt the surge of power in the chamber heralding his arrival, and the bats immediately renewed their aerial acrobatic performance.

lara forced herself to take a breath. she had to resist him. she could see in the dark. she was unafraid of bats. the earth pressing down on her didn't bother her, yet here she was cowering in the cavern, afraid to move, her body feeling clunky, leaden.

i am mage. i am dragonseeker. you will have to do more than trick me with your voice, carpathian. fury burned through her, scorching the shackles of compulsion into ashes.

i can do much more. do not arouse the demon in me, lara. dawn is breaking. the sun is rising.

he was close. she sensed him coming closer. tilting her chin, she called energy to her, lifting her arms and clearing her mind, accepting the power so that her hair crackled and a faint glow threw the cave into soft light, agitating the bats more.

those that fly and are of the night, protect me now with winged flight. gather together, become as one, remove yourselves with the rising sun.

the bats circled, fast and tight, the ball growing larger as they obeyed her command, rising upward and streaming toward a recess in the dark cavern. lara struck hard at nicolas, sensing his weakness with the rising sun, retaliating with another spell.

whispering voice inside my head, i fear you not, nor your leaden web. voice that seduces, whispers and binds, i return the intent to thine own mind. let the words stop and take away, that which would hinder or hamper my way.

the moment the last words left her mind, she was on the move, running fast, throwing up barriers and shields in her mind, to prevent nicolas access. he tore each wall down easily, shredding her defenses as fast as she built them. each time he penetrated into her mind, he sent compulsions to slow her step, to misdirect her the wrong way, confuse her so that she thought she was disoriented and she retaliated with more spells to counter each thing he did.

she fought him every step of the way, aware as she did, of his enormous power, of how he held back when he could have crushed her resistance. instead of giving her confidence, his restraint only added to her fears. what did he want from her? her dragonseeker blood? she knew it ran strong in her veins, rich and filled with energy and power and immortality. her father had told her many times how valuable and unique the strength in her blood was. her great-grandfather had stalked her repeatedly, his grotesque body crawling with worms, rotting flesh sloughing off as he pursued her in an effort to claim her blood for himself.

now, here in the cave, she felt the same terror blossoming as she ran, her heart pounding too hard, and she could smell the strong odor of decomposing flesh. she gagged, a sob welling up, as she threw one look over her shoulder to see if the old man again pursued her.

shadows moved. a hand stretched out, closer and closer. she felt hot breath on her skin, her neck. the twin marks over her pulse throbbed. was nicolas creating an illusion, twisting buried memories? was he despicable enough to do such a thing? or was xavier really there, chasing her through the underground passages?

he is not there. your mind is playing tricks on you because you are allowing yourself to panic. i would never use your memories against you. he is not there. nicolas would not allow her to be so terrified, remembering the monsters chasing her in ice caves.

she didn't know what was true or what wasn't, nor did it matter anymore. she had to be free. lara redoubled her efforts. she was betting on the fact that she could be out in the early morning sun with little repercussions. a sunburn. a few blisters. her eyes would burn and bother her for a few days, but surely a carpathian as old, with a soul as dark as nicolas's, would have to seek cover before she would. she had to make it to the entrance and find her way to the village.

she could see, just ahead, a bloom of dim light. her heart leapt. she was going to make it. lara drew in a deep breath and pushed herself to go faster. her lungs burned. her throat hurt, her legs cramped. there was a stitch in her side. she pressed her palm there and forced her body forward. the entrance was wide and rounded, mostly rock shaping the way in. light spilled a few feet into the corridor, illuminating the narrowing tunnel.

lara stepped into the pool of light just feet from the opening. a shadow fell over her. a tall dark man with wide shoulders filled the entrance, blocking her exit. nicolas stood there, his body still, arms folded across his chest, his jaw tight, mouth cruel, eyes as black as night, burning with some inner fire that threatened to consume her.

lara halted abruptly a few feet from him, a roaring in her ears and a vice around her heart. guilt edged her mind, but she refused to accept it. "i want to leave. get out of my way."

"where would you go when the sun has already risen?" the question was issued in a mild voice, yet it carried the sting of a lash.

he was furious. she could feel anger radiating off of him, although his expression remained blank and his voice quiet.

she lifted her chin. "i have a room at the inn."

"which is occupied at the moment. it would be dangerous for you to go there and you are very aware of that. also, the inn is a great distance away and you would burn in the sunlight. you cannot shift without me and risking your life getting off this mountain is ludicrous when there is no reason for it."

"i want to leave this place."

"we will leave together in the evening when it is safe to do so. for now, i brought food and drink for you."

"i've said i want to leave." lara's hand fluttered to her neck, her palm shielding the twin marks over her pulse. she could feel his mouth there, his breath warm-no-hot, the brush of his lips, soft and sensuous against her skin.

"you are obviously not thinking clearly, lara," nicolas answered. "it is dangerous for you to leave. i cannot allow you to place yourself in harm's way."

"that isn't your choice," lara snapped. she detested that he sounded rational while she was beginning to sound hysterical. this was madness, yet he stood there, real and solid, preventing her from leaving the cave-just as she'd been prevented as a child. she fought down panic, determined to try to be

reasonable in an unreasonable situation.

"it is not only my choice, and my right, but my duty as your lifemate."

she touched his mind, more because she couldn't help herself than because she wanted to. as before, he was entirely open to her, allowing her to see both predator and man. he was angry at her defiance, certain of being right and unused to anyone questioning his authority. he was a dominant male, centuries on earth, a highly skilled hunter and it was an affront to his pride that his lifemate question not only his ability to protect and care for her, but worry that he might harm her in some way.

he didn't like anyone defying his orders, let alone his woman, and he had no intention of allowing her to leave the cave when he deemed it dangerous. as far as he was concerned, she was slightly hysterical and completely irrational.

lara forced down panic and took a deep breath. nowhere in his mind could she see that he was attempting to control her mind. there was some relief in that, although she was fairly certain, unless she could convince him otherwise, that he had no intention of letting her leave.

"i think we don't understand each other. i appreciate you trying to take care of me, but i've been doing that all by myself for some years now. i don't need nor want you telling me what is good for me."

"obviously that is not the case or we would not be standing here at the entrance to a cave in broad daylight." he glided forward, one step, two, turned slightly and raised his hands.

lara felt the surge of power, saw his arms lift and knew he was sealing and safeguarding the cave, which meant no one would get in-or out. panic hit hard and she leapt forward toward the light spilling into the cavern. she caught a glimpse of his face, all sharp edges, beautifully carved, very masculine, the light throwing the details into sharp relief and highlighting the smoldering anger in his burning black eyes.

alarm shot through her, but it didn't matter, nothing mattered, except getting out of the cave before he sealed the entrance. she ran fast, using a burst of blurring speed, speed she hadn't even known she was capable of. desperation drove her past nicolas. he reached out so fast she couldn't actually see him move, snagging her wrist, whipping her around and bringing her body up hard against his.

she struggled instinctively, trying to free herself from his grip, but he was enormously strong, his body hard like an oak tree. the light faded as the entrance sealed, plunging them into darkness. with the light, the air surrounding them seemed to diminish, so that she renewed her efforts, swinging at his chest, pounding until she felt battered and bruised.

nicolas tightened his grip on lara, taking care not to hurt her, but she was wild, fighting him with her fists and attempting to use magic. he could feel the energy pounding in her, trying to escape, just as she was trying. he surrounded her with soothing calm, holding her close to him, swamping her with reassurance.

"lara, stop," he hissed softly. "you are only hurting yourself."

she wanted to hurt him. to move him. to make him understand what he was doing. energy crackled in the air. her hair glowed with bands of brilliant red, snapping and popping with electricity. the ground shook and undulated beneath their feet. the mountain groaned, rumbled. dirt trickled from the walls and several smaller rocks fell and rolled.

nicolas wrapped his arm around her head to protect her, sheltering her body with his. "breathe with

me."

his voice was calm. she hated that he was calm when she was filled with chaos and panic. she felt his breath warm against her cheek as he bent his head toward hers.

"we have to get out of here before the mountain comes down on top of us," she said, not understanding why he wasn't feeling the same panic when all around them the mountain creaked and groaned and debris fell. "this is an earthquake."

"it is not natural. you are causing it," nicolas said. "look at me, lara."

she couldn't prevent herself from obeying, lifting her face, her gaze colliding-then locking with his.

"your eyes have changed color. you are generating a tremendous electrical current. even your hair is banding with color, all signs of power. you have to calm yourself."

"open the entrance."because i'm capable of bringing the entire mountain down on both of us and would rather do that than be a prisoner .

he shook his head. "do not force me to protect you from yourself."i am quite capable of doing whatever it takes to keep you from harm .

he looked as ruthless as he sounded. there was no give in him-no mercy. not in his eyes, not on his face and certainly not in his mind. he would force compliance without a second thought. lara had sworn she would never again feel helpless and vulnerable, as she had when she was a small child, but there was no point in matching her physical strength against nicolas, and little point in challenging him with power.

"do you really believe you have the right to dictate to me?"

he shook his head. "no. but i have the right to protect you. i am not threatening you. you are the one putting both of us in danger. it is my duty to protect you. your fears are groundless. you have looked into my mind and find nothing there to alarm you..."

she made a derisive sound and once again tried to jerk away. he retained possession of her arms, holding her body close to his to prevent the occasional disturbed rock from striking her.

"i found plenty to alarm me. you're every bit as dark as a vampire."

she expected him to deny the charge-she wanted him to deny it-but he simply nodded his head, his gaze still holding her captive.

"that is so. all carpathian males who hunt eventually become as dark as a vampire. how could we not when we take the lives of friends and family? when we are judge, jury and executioner? did you think there wouldn't be a price to pay for what we do? there is always a price, lara, and we accept that when we take on the job."

she let her breath out slowly, forcing her mind back under her own control. "please let g-->>

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