Mikhail looked out his window to where Zaria and John were sitting with Damalia and Skyler. This could end very badly if John turned vampire with his and Zaria's bond. Zaria converting a human was also a problem. Had it been a female, it would have been simple, but it was a male.
" You are worried." Tiberiu made it a statement.
" I am. That male could cause issues with the ancients. They are not going to like how close those two are." Mikhail said.
" He's her friend and their relationship is more like that of a brother and sister." Raven said, her hands on her hips.
" I understand that, Raven, but our males do not get that close to our females for a reason. If he turns, he could fixate on Zaria and I am not sure she could kill him." Mikhail said.
" Yes, she would. They have a pact, and if I know anything about her, she seems to keep her word." Tariq said, obviously merged with Mali.
" The fact that she keeps having headaches bothers me. Carpathians do not have headaches frequently." Gregori said.
" Gregori, the girl has been living with vampires since she was six years old. She's been traumatized to an unknown extent. You would have headaches, too." Tiberiu pointed out.
" Zaria has expressed a desire to live on her own." Inara said suddenly.
" By on her own she means with that boy, I'm sure." Gabriel said between his teeth.
" Gabriel, they bonded. They were both in hell together. You have to respect that bond and he doesn't seem to be a bad person." Francesca said, her hand on his arm.
" She is only sixteen. She is far too young to live alone." Virkinoff protested, eyeing the girl and the man who was her best friend. It was strange seeing a grown man so close to a teenage girl without a hint of inappropriate thoughts. They had all seen into his mind, seen his outlook on Zaria. She was his best friend and like a younger sister to him.
" But she is not a child." Skyler said as she walked into the house. " John is a sweet guy, I can see why Zaria spared him. He has a good, caring soul. He is Zaria's sanity." She added seriously.
" What do you mean? Of course she is a child." Lucian said. Skyler shook her head.
" No, she's not. She has the age of a child, but the body and mind of an adult. Zaria's never was a true child, and now, any childlike qualities she had are gone. She is not the innocent child we all want to see. Zaria is a force to be reckoned with." Skyler explained, raking a hand through her copper streaked blond hair.
" Skyler, you do not think she has been abused….sexually, do you?" Inara managed to choke out, wrapping her arms around Tiberiu for comfort.
" I'm pretty sure of it. Every time I touch her I get glimpses of immense pain, but if she's touching John, the pain in numbed. I believe he was there with her through it all. He is probably the only reason she is still alive and sane. He is not her lifemate, but he does have a unique bond with her. One that cannot be broken. One that is almost like the bond Lucian and Gabriel share." Skyler said, frowning over the strange bond.
" What Gabriel and Lucian have is a bond formed by being twins." Gregori said.
" Okay, like the bond Ivory has with the earth or Darius and the Dark Troubadours have. A bond formed by a trauma-by living in hell." Skyler said, sighing.
" Tiberiu, Inara, it is your choice. If you allow her and this male to live on their own, you will have our full support. The full support of the Carpathian people." Mikhail declared, daring anyone to challenge his word. Inara and Tiberiu were silent for a long time, locked in a silent conversation. Tiberiu sighed, nodding in agreement to whatever Inara was saying.
" We will let them try it, but if it does not work out, then she will return to our home." Tiberiu said.
" Then so be it." Mikhail said, nodding as Inara and Tiberiu walked out to speak with Zaria.
Zaria looked up when she heard Inara and Tiberiu exit Mikhail's home. She was sitting on the ground with John and Damalia. She had her legs folded Indian style, her hands resting limply in her lap. She looked like the picture of ease until one looked into her vivid garnet eyes. They were eyes that saw and took note of everything, eyes that never rested.
" Zaria, we would like to talk to you and John about your living conditions." Inara said softly. Zaria nodded, an eyebrow raised. John elbowed her gently in her side to urge her to speak.
" That is fine." Zaria said softly, reaching back and taking John's hand once again. Her sanity. Her rock. Her best friend.
" We've decided that living on your own is the best idea. At least until the two of you become comfortable in Carpathian society again. I know you both know the laws and rules about lifemates and since you both know you are not lifemates, there should not be a problem." Tiberiu said, leveling John with a heavy stare.
" I have no inappropriate thoughts about Zaria, sir. She is my best friend and like a little sister to me." John said, tightening his hand around Zaria's smaller one.
" John is my best friend. He tried to protect me and kept me sane when I would have lost it completely." Zaria said, squeezing John's hand.
" A best friend who is going to have serious damage in his hand if you do not quit crushing the bones." John reminded, wiggling his fingers. Zaria snatched her hand back again.
" Sorry, John. Nervous habit." She whispered, giving him a sheepish smile. He smiled back softly.
" No problem. As long as you plan on healing my hand, feel free to crush my bones any time." He said, flashing her a boyish grin. Zaria gave him a dubious look, shaking her head as a ghost of a smile flirted with her full lips. " Was that a smile?" John asked. Zaria raised an eyebrow at him.
" What are you talking about?" Zaria asked, frowning.
" You smiled." John said.
" I did not." Zaria denied quickly.
" Yes, you did." John argued, crossing his arms. " It was a ghost of a smile, but one nonetheless." He stated. Zaria crossed her arms and glared at him.
" I think you have lost your mind." She shot, still glaring.
" Maybe so, but I know what I saw. My eyes are great." John said, lifting his chin defiantly. Zaria raised her eyebrow at him, lifting her chin just as defiantly.
" Maybe your eyes do need to be examined because I did not smile. I do not smile." She stated firmly. John rolled his eyes at her.
" Whatever, Zaria. I saw you smile and you smiled every time you had Sergey cussing and pulling out what very little hair he has." John said. A bittersweet smile did curve her lush mouth then.
" That was different." She said. John started laughing then, shaking his head.
" Sure it was, Zaria. Sure it was. You still smiled. Who cares if you were torturing a vampire. A smile is a smile." John said as she rolled her eyes at him.
" It was nice of Mikhail to give us his house. I do wish he had let us pay him." John said as he sat down on the little couch in the house he shared with Zaria. Zaria looked up from her paperwork at her desk in the small corner of the living room-the original dining room-she had turned into an office.
" I slipped the money into his pocket when he wasn't looking." She said, going right back to her paperwork.
" My sneaky little Zaria." John laughed. Zaria rolled her garnet eyes.
" Nothing sneaky about it. I merely blurred his mind and slipped it in his pocket." Zaria said, typing furiously on her computer.
" Do they know you are capable of manipulating their minds?" John asked, raising his eyebrow at her.
" Probably not. I do not intend on telling them." Zaria said, glancing up once again to find he still had his eyebrow raised. " You aren't going to tell them either. It is best they do not know." She ordered.
" I had no intention of doing such a thing." He said, shaking his head.
" Thanks." She said, looking back at her paperwork. John sighed and picked up his guitar, playing softly. He had to get Zaria to relax.
John looked up when someone knocked on the door. He moved to see Inara, Tiberiu, Mikhail, Raven, Savannah, and Gregori. He smiled and let them in as Zaria let out a frustrated sighed, rubbing her temples as she leaned back in her chair, squeezing her eyes shut.
" Still having headaches?" Gregori asked, walking over, placing his hands on her temples, rubbing in soothing circles to ease the pain. She gave him a grateful smile.
" Thanks." She whispered, pulling away from him, a small retreat that had Gregori suppressing a sigh. His once lovable Zaria who was always in the mood for a hug or being cuddled could no longer stand to be touched by any male other than John. She was wary of them all, preferring to stay to herself and only socialize when it was absolutely necessary.
" How are the two of you feeling?" Inara asked, smiling warmly.
" I'm fine. John?" Zaria asked.
" I would be better if I could get a smile out of you." John said, giving her a meaningful stare. She rolled her eyes and gave him a forced smile, curling up on the couch and tugging a pillow into her lap to hug. Inara sighed, glancing at Tiberiu. Would they ever get her back? Would she ever return to normal? How would they do it?