Dark clouds crossed the moon, momentarily darkening the skies and casting macabre shadows into the large kitchen. The silhouette of a large wolf passed in front of the window, as if a large creature had crept onto the wraparound deck and paced just outside. Instinctively, Mikhail, Raven and Skyler turned toward the second window just over the sink. Skyler gave a muffled cry as a great shaggy head, fur black and eyes glowing nearly red, stared at them through the glass.
«Stay inside,» Mikhail commanded as he shimmered-first into transparency-and then dissolved into vapor, streaming across the kitchen to slide under the door out into the night.
The wolf abruptly disappeared leaving the two women staring into the darkness.
«It could have been Gabriel or Lucian checking up on me,» Skyler ventured. «They often take the form of a wolf.»
Raven shook her head. «They would have come to the house, talked with Mikhail, let you know they were worried.»
Skyler put a comforting hand on Raven's arm, a difficult thing for Skyler to do when she disliked being touched or touching. «There are a dozen Carpathian males within hearing distance. If the prince needs help, he has only to call out.»
Raven smiled at her, one hand to her throat. «Of course he can. Whatever is out there doesn't really feel like a threat to me.» In the form of an animal, it would be easy enough for a skilled Carpathian-or vampire-to hide his intentions, but Raven wasn't going to acknowledge that to Skyler. «Mikhail will let us know if something is wrong. In the meantime, I have this turkey in the oven. Have you ever cooked before? It's been such a long time for me and I could use a hand.»
Skyler laughed. «We have a housekeeper. She does the cooking and lets me into the kitchen once in a while, but doesn't really like anyone underfoot. She pretends it doesn't bother her, but I know it does.»
«Of course you'd know. You're an empath, you can feel what she's feeling. That must be uncomfortable for you.»
Skyler shrugged. «Gabriel and Francesca are helping me to learn how to shut myself off.
So far I haven't mastered it yet, but I think eventually I'll be fairly good at it. Francesca helps to guard me during the time she's awake.»
«Why do you want them to convert you?»
«They're my family. I want to be with them.»
«And they've both exchanged blood with you?»
Skyler nodded. «It will only take one blood exchange for the conversion. Gabriel explained it to me, but he wants me to wait until I'm older. He thinks I need more time to think about it, but I know what I want. As long as the prince doesn't insist on me taking a Carpathian male as a lifemate, then I'm going to try to get Gabriel to do it as soon as possible.»
«It's difficult on your body, Skyler,» Raven warned. «There's a great deal of pain they can't protect you from.»
«I can feel that you're uneasy, Raven. There's something you aren't telling me.»
Raven had been completely human, just as Skyler had been, and she was a strong psychic talent. She could feel that the Carpathian blood had already heightened Skyler's awareness and senses. The girl was intelligent and powerful, with well-developed psychic talents. Raven still remembered those days, the sensation of someone else's emotions creeping over her, sharp and terrible. There was a scent to evil and depravity, and an empath as sensitive as Skyler needed to be sheltered from the continual assault on her. It was no wonder Gabriel and Francesca had both given her blood to help shield her.
«I think you already know what I'm not telling you, Skyler. You came here not to ask Mikhail for assurances, but to make him aware of your strong objections. Francesca and Gabriel would never try to hide the truth from you-that your true lifemate can bind you to him whether you are human or Carpathian. If you are the other half of his soul, he can seal you together. You know that, don't you?»
Skyler blushed as she nodded her head. «I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied. Sometimes I learn more by pretending ignorance. Most people don't give a teenager credit for intelligence or maturity. I can ask for protection against him, can't I?»
Raven studied the too-old eyes. «Have you met your lifemate?»
Skyler shook her head, her gaze shifting away. «I have nightmares. I hear a voice sometimes and I'm afraid.» She hesitated. «When I was a little girl and men did things to me, I would scream and scream in my mind. I would hear a voice calling to me. At the time I just thought I was going crazy. But I know he's out there somewhere and he's looking for me.» She rubbed the spot between her eyes. «I didn't want to come to the Carpathian Mountains because I was afraid he might be here, but Gabriel and Francesca wouldn't leave me behind. Gabriel said I needed protection at all times.»
Raven's heart jumped. «He said that?»
Skyler nodded. «He's been strange lately, not wanting Francesca or me to go anywhere without him. I can see she gets upset, but she doesn't say anything. She works at the hospital and some of the shelters and I often go with her, but he doesn't like her going anymore.»
Raven busied herself with the turkey, basting it again, even though there was no need. «When did Gabriel start becoming upset about the two of you going off alone?» She kept her voice casual, but out of the corner of her eye, caught the girl's sharp glance.
«Since the attack on the prince.»
There is nothing to fear out here, Raven. One of the male's taking a run in the forest decided to drop by, but saw we had company. I am going to see my brother. Do not allow Skyler back into the forest without an escort.
Should I be worried about something, Mikhail?
Raven felt the brief hesitation. I do not know. I am uneasy, but have no real reason to be.
Be careful, Mikhail. Be safe. Tell Shea I'll see her soon. What are you discussing with Jacques?
Raven felt his sudden amusement. The image of Gregori dressed up as Santa Claus surrounded by children.
Chapter 2
Mikhail leaned down to kiss Shea Dubrinsky on her cheek. «You look just a little bit pregnant there, lady.»
His sister-in-law blew strands of bright red hair from her face. «You think? If I don't have this baby soon, I swear I'm going to explode.»
«You're also looking harassed. Is something wrong?» He glanced around the room looking for his brother. Jacques rarely strayed from the side of his lifemate.
A slow smile lit Shea's face. «He's in the kitchen-baking.»
Mikhail's eyebrow shot up. «I do not believe I heard you correctly.»
«Yes, you did. My back has been hurting on and off tonight and I'm having trouble with this recipe. The worst thing is-Raven, Corrine and I came up with most of the recipes for everyone. They were childhood favorites of Raven's and a few I remembered. Corrine filled in the rest and now I can't manage it. It's a little humiliating to admit, but I seem to be emotional. I keep crying, so Jacques took over the baking.»
Mikhail choked and turned away to politely clear his throat. «Jacques is cooking?»
Her smile widened. «Well-trying to. We aren't having a lot of success at the moment and I think he's learning new words.» She tilted her head, the bright red hair falling around her face, emphasizing her classic bone structure. «Perhaps you'd like to give him a hand. Go on in, he'll be happy to see you.» She rolled her eyes. «His Majesty has given me strict instructions to lie down for a while.»
Mikhail gave her a fierce scowl. «Then do so immediately, Shea. You are not in labor, are you? I will call Francesca and Gregori to examine you.»
«I'm a doctor, Mikhail,» Shea reminded him, «I'd know if I was in labor. I'm close, maybe the start-but it isn't happening yet.» She waved as she started toward the concealed door leading to the basement. «I promise to call them if I need them. I'd never take a chance on anything happening to the baby. I'm just tired.»
Mikhail watched her disappear before making his way through the spacious house to the kitchen. He stopped abruptly in the doorway to stare at his brother in shock. A cloud of white particles choked the air and fell to the floor like snow
flakes. The powder was everywhere, on the floor, on the dishes and bowls covering the counters and in the sink. Jacques stood at the counter, an apron over his clothes, a dusting of white powder over his face, in his eyebrows, tipping his lashes and coating his midnight black hair.
Mikhail burst out laughing. Even with Raven, who constantly amused him, he rarely gave a deep, roaring belly laugh, but the sight of his usually grim-faced brother covered in flour and sweating bullets was too much even for him.
Jacques spun around, eyes glittering with warning menace-a fierce scowl, which should have intimidated the strongest and most courageous of warriors, on his face. A thin white scar circled his throat and marred his jaw and one cheek, bearing evidence of his past. It was extremely rare for a Carpathian body to scar, as they healed so easily, but Jacques's body bore evidence of brutal torture and probably always would, the thin scar around his throat and the jagged round hole in his chest marking where a stake had been driven deep into his body. «It is not funny.»
«It is very funny,» Mikhail insisted. It was the first time Mikhail could recall his brother ever looking so disconcerted. Shea had not only saved his life and his sanity, but had brought Jacques back to life with her joy and humor. Mikhail shared the image of his brother with Raven. Her soft laughter filled his mind and poured over him with love woven deep in the rich tones. There was such intimacy with Raven, an intimacy he knew his brother shared with Shea-and it had saved Jacques's life. For that alone Mikhail would always treasure his sister-in-law. «Even Raven finds the situation amusing.»
«Raven. Do not say her name to me right now. She's the one who got me into this.» Jacques blew upward in the hope of clearing the flour from his lashes.
«I believe it is Shea you are helping,» Mikhail pointed out, the grin refusing to leave his face.
«Shea was in here crying. Crying, Mikhail. She sat in the middle of the floor and wept over a stupid loaf of bread.» Jacques scowled and looked around him, lowering his voice. «I could not bear to see her like that.»
For one moment, Jacques looked utterly helpless, rather than the dangerous hunter Mikhail knew him to be.
«Who would have ever thought bread could explode? The dough rose up over the top of the bowl and became a volcano, crawling down the sides and across the counter until I thought it was alive.» Jacques shook a flour-covered piece of paper. «This is the recipe and it says cover with a tea towel. The tea towel did not have a prayer of containing that horrific bubbling brew.»
Mikhail pressed a hand to his side. He hadn't laughed so much in a hundred years. «I can only say I am glad I did not see it.»
«Quit laughing and get in here and help me.» There was an edge of desperation to Jacques's voice. «For some reason that makes no sense to me at all, Shea is determined to make this bread for the party. She wants it braided and made into loaves and put in the oven. This is my third attempt. I thought people went to stores and bought this stuff.»
«You hunt vampires, Jacques,» Mikhail said. «Making a loaf of bread cannot be that difficult.»
«You say that now, only because you have not tried it. Come in here and close the door.» Jacques rubbed his arm across his face, smearing more white flour everywhere. «I need to talk to you anyway.» He touched Shea's mind to ensure she was a distance away. His gaze shifted back to the dough, avoiding his brother's piercing eyes. «Shea's been corresponding with a woman who thinks she may be a distant relative.»
The smile faded from Mikhail's face. «How long?»
«About a year. The woman found photographs in her attic and apparently is into genealogy. She wrote Shea asking if they could be related. She thinks Shea is Maggie's granddaughter rather than her actual daughter. Shea wanted the pictures of her mother and wrote back to her.»
Mikhail stifled the groan that threatened. «Jacques. You know better. How could she have tracked Shea in the first place? We are careful not to leave a trail.»
«It is not so easy now with computers, Mikhail, and Shea needs them to do research. The path takes her many places.»
«She should never have answered the contact.»
«I know. I know. I shouldn't have allowed it, but she's given up so much to be with me. I'm not like the rest of you and I never will be. You know that.» Jacques's gaze shifted from his brother and pain rippled in the air between them. «She deserves better and I wanted to give her one small gift. Corresponding with someone who may be a relative and who claimed to have pictures of her mother-how could she possibly resist? And I could not bring myself to deny her.»
«You know it is dangerous. You know we cannot leave paper trails. Any contact with humans is risky, especially one on paper. It endangers all of us.»
Jacques slammed the dough hard onto the counter. «Shea has been researching why we lose babies even as she is carrying our child. She has investigated the deaths of thirty children under the age of one. What do you think that does to her?» His fist smashed into the dough. «She is about to give birth and she is terrified. She tries to hide it from me, but I have never been able to allow her even limited privacy.» The admission of weakness shamed him, but Jacques wanted his brother to know the truth. «She carries the burden of my sanity every moment of her existence.»
«Jacques, you love Shea.»
«Shea is my life, my soul, and she knows it, Mikhail, but it doesn't make it easy to live with me. I cannot stand other men near her. I'm always a shadow in her mind, and I have nearly driven us both crazy worried about this pregnancy-worried about her. If something should happen to her…»
«Shea will give birth and the child will be healthy,» Mikhail said, sending up a silent prayer that it was true. «Both Francesca and Gregori will see to it that Shea is in good health. I have every faith that you will not allow anything to happen to your lifemate during this time.»
«She begged me to promise to stay in the world and raise my child should something happen to her.» Jacques raised anguished eyes to his brother. «After her own terrible childhood, you can understand why she would need such a reassurance from me.» He rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking tired and weighed down with sorrow. «You know I cannot exist without her. She is my sanity. It is the only thing she has ever asked of me, and I cannot safely comply no matter how much I wish to reassure her.»
«What do you know of this woman?»
It was the only apology Jacques could give his brother. By allowing Shea correspondence with a stranger, a human unknown to their species, he had opened the door to endanger their entire race. «The woman, Eileen Fitzpatrick, sent Shea numerous photos of Maggie, Shea's mother, and a woman Eileen claimed was Maggie's half sister. Apparently the half sister is Eileen's grandmother.»
«How would she find Shea?»
Jacques shrugged. «The internet. Shea researches genealogy all the time.»
Mikhail's eyebrow shot up. «Why? She is no longer human, but Carpathian.»
«And apparently genealogy still matters in her research, Mikhail,» Jacques said. «Not only for Shea, but Raven and Alexandria and Jaxon-all of them as well as our families too. Gregori and Francesca take care of the Carpathian genealogy necessary for the research into the deaths of our children.»
«And this Eileen found her through the genealogy site Shea was working on?» Mikhail prompted.
Jacques nodded, all too aware of Mikhail's continuing censure. «Eileen was born in Ireland, but she happened to be living in the States. I asked Aidan to look into her discreetly. She owns a bookstore in San Francisco and spends a great deal of her time looking up her family history in the library, using their computers.»
«So at least this woman is far away.» Even as he said it, Mikhail scowled, his dark brows coming together and thunder rolling over his face-cracking in the skies. He read the truth on Jacques's face. «She's here?»
«She will be at the inn this evening. Eileen asked Shea what she would be doing for Christmas, and Shea thought it was natural for a human to be cooking food for the children and havin
g a Christmas party, so she mentioned it.»
Mikhail watched Jacques roll a wooden pin over the dough to flatten it. «I like nothing about this party. I should have told Raven no. It has occurred to me many times lately that sooner or later our enemies will strike at our women and children. What better time than now with so many of us gathered in one place?»
«Raven was right, Mikhail. After the last attempt on your life, we all needed something to lighten our spirits. I will admit I have been more uneasy than usual, but I suspect it is because Shea is so close to giving birth.»
«Maybe,» Mikhail said. «Maybe.»
«I do not think our enemies will be able to rally this quickly to launch another concentrated attack on us, Mikhail, but of course we will take every precaution.» Jacques rolled the dough out with more enthusiasm than expertise and threw a handful of flour over it, sending another cloud of white particles into the air.