Chapter 3

"Are you ready to dance with the devil?"

Constantine Tempest had come to terms with himself centuries ago. He still remembered that fateful night: A vampire was loose, a creature that had once been kin to a Carpathian that Constantine had known in his younger years. The vampire was young, in a manner of speaking, and not at all on the same level with Constantine. And so Constantine pursued him in the most perverse way. He reversed the roles; no longer was it the vampire wreaking havoc, threatening to consume all life. It was a Carpathian tormenting, toying with helpless prey, a fawn caught in a deadly trap. He chased the foul creature, imbedded himself in its twisted mind, done everything in his power to make the creature suffer, and broke the abomination until the creature had dragged itself to bow at Constantine's feet begging for death. Even then Constantine did not relent. Firmly rooted in the vampire's mind, he forced the creature to wait for the sunrise. And Constantine felt every ray of sun as it charred the demon's flesh, heard every scream as though it were he himself experiencing it firsthand.

Why did he do it? He asked himself that question the very next night as he stared down at the charred remains, and the answer was so simple: he was curious. Why should he not be? The vampire could never have harmed him, and was it really so bad if a few more humans died in the learning process? Science demands sacrifice. That night, so many centuries ago, Constantine knew that he would never regret his decision. He was what he was. Monster, demon, or life giver. His lifemate would accept him for what he was. She had no other choice. He would give her no other choice.

Of course, that was a time before feeling, before emotion. Constantine had also considered what changes his lifemate would bring, and how they would affect him. He had studied Carpathian males closely over the years, always staying at a distance. He had seen how Mikhail changed, took an active role in Dominov's change. But he was most concerned with Gregori's change. The Dark One. They were alike in many ways, Constantine conceded, and that was probably why they would never get along. Apart, of course, for the reasons that Gregori could never equal Constantine and Constantine could never share his secrets. No matter. He had sought to find a Carpathian similar to him, that he may best predict how his own reactions would unfold once he found his lifemate. He had to say, he was not entirely off the mark.

Constantine was in awe over her, of course. Elaine, his Elaine. A perfect specimen of feminine beauty and attributes. And she was following him quite obediently deep into the Carpathian forest. That was not what he so awed by, of course. She was by far the strongest creature he had ever encountered. Not in physical strength, of course, or mental strength for that matter. But she had a strength of will that he was not sure that even his three thousand years could rival. And mental blocks to boot. They could not stop him though. He slid into her mind silently, deftly, but not reading too much into what he saw. A few surprises from her may be just what he needed. He did know, though, that beneath her sweet façade lay a schemer with plans and goals of her own. Constantine smirked. He really did need that.

With unerring skill, Constantine wove a spell through her mind. There was something quite strange about her mental patterns, something awfully familiar. Still, he had no trouble blanketing her mind with a fog.

And she was so beautiful. It was beauty like he had never known before. It was emotion like he had never experienced before. This woman, his lifemate. Elaine. She was so close. Her scent was all around him, her mind was open to him, her body there for him to take control of. He had never in his long life known temptation of this magnitude. It was obsession. He loved it. A little longer, he told himself. Just a little longer.

For Constantine, it was not a matter of claiming her. He was not like his foolish friend Dominov. There would be no courting Elaine, no energy wasted in trying to convince her of him, to convince her to come to him willingly. Of course she was his. Elaine was his by right. That was never in question. Even without marking her or exchanging blood or speaking the ritual words, Constantine could feel the bond between them. The destiny. Whether she saw it or not did not matter; he would make her see. Now he wanted to draw it out as much as he possibly could. Let the emotions inside him beat at him with savagery like he had never known before, let the demon in him threaten to destroy the both of them in uncontrollable passion and rage. He liked it better that way.

Elaine opened her eyes to see him standing before her, silent and still, undeniably haughty and arrogant with power. And he had it in excess. Power. There was no shortage of power in this man, this Constantine. He was very nearly lounging on the opposite wall, but there was nothing lazily in his stance. He was a predator, strong and lethal, a jungle cat stalking his prey, waiting to move in for the kill.

Reality struck. Her surroundings were completely different than she remembered just a moment ago. Now she was standing in what appeared to be the ruins of an old castle. She could not say why she thought they were ruins. The room they were in now was certainly old but seemed steady enough with thick gray stones building up a fortress around her. Or a prison. The walls seemed nearly impregnable, impenetrable. Yet for some reason, Elaine had the distinct feeling that they were underground. she bristled slightly at the feel of Constantine's eyes on her. She also had the feeling that she would only be leaving this room if he wanted her to. Her feelings were normally right.

In an effort to regain some ground, Elaine met his gaze fearlessly. Had she bitten off more than she could chew? Suddenly Elaine's plan unraveled in her mind. Whatever she had been thinking coming out here, openly searching for him, it was clear that she could not simply simper and swoon before him and hope to make it out unscathed. With his eyes burning so intensely on her, Elaine wondered if she could make it out of this at all. She could not wait for him to make the first move. She might not live long if she did.

The corners of his mouth twitched. It was good to see fire in his lifemate. It would make things much more interesting. Constantine was tempted to draw out the silence as long as possible, see just how much he could unsettle her. But something stopped him. Elaine did not appear a woman to be put off so easily. There was something so very familiar about her. Naturally, his body and mind and soul called out to her, and he could almost feel her stirring in response, despite her utter humanity. "Are you afraid?" he asked quietly. His voice was low and still, and it carried easily across the space between them.

"Should I be?" Elaine responded, clearly unruffled. Her mind was screaming danger at her, but some other part of her refused to accept it. It was a small part, hidden away deep inside, a part that she never liked to acknowledge. And yet it seemed to respond to him on some primal level.

"Why did you come looking for me?" Constantine continued. He was not yet trying to manipulate her with his voice, just trying to gauge her reaction.

"Why were you in my room?" Elaine retorted.

"Why do you refuse to answer my questions?" Amusement was creeping into his tone now.

"Why won't you answer mine?" she shot back.

Abruptly, Constantine threw his head back and laughed. When he finally calmed down, he saw that Elaine was glaring at him through narrowed eyes. He was right; this was going to be the greatest game he ever played. "I can see that this is going to be even better than I originally thought," he drawled. "We will never sort anything out this way, will we? And I hardly intend to waste the night bantering back and forth. A deal, then, a little game? You answer my question and I will answer yours."

"Isn't that a little like bantering back and forth?" Elaine questioned shrewdly.

To hear her speak! If hearing Elaine say anything brought this sort of reaction from him, then Constantine could only imagine what it might be like to hear her say his name. He seemed unable to control his thoughts and they spiraled downward into a wide array of fantasies he had known he harbored. Heat beat him. Emotion. Passion and possession. Constantine was fast losing control. Perhaps he had been mistaken about the power of a lifemate. No, he told himself, it had to be his age and the vastly more intense reaction to emotion. That was it. Yes, that. Not this infant. Closing his eyes against the irresistible sight of her, Constantine took a deep, calming breath. And instantly regretted it. At this close proximity, all he could smell was her.

The corners of Constantine's lips twitched again. Elaine found her eyes drawn to the hard lines of his face, the cruel slash of his mouth. He was every bit a vampire that she had imagined. He curled through him unexpectedly as he registered her thoughts. "Until I get bored."

"Don't play with me." So much for swooning. That plan was long gone now.

"Why ever not?" Constantine retorted in his same dry manner. Yet there was an intensity in his eyes that did not match his tone. "It will be far better for both of us if I play with you, if you learn to," he hesitated and wicked things flashed instantly through her mind, "play with me." Had she thought of those things herself? It was hard to say.

Yet if Constantine had thought her a frightened virginal little girl like Dominov's Alena or Gregori's Savannah, he was very sorely mistaken. Something wicked awoke in her. "I hardly think my husband would approve."

It was as though Constantine had been struck a blow. He was very nearly physically off balance. His stomach contorted in a way he had known possible and the whole thing seemed to fall out of his body. His heart pounded furiously against his chest and beast within him raged as he had never known before. Husband? Husband?! What husband? She could not have a husband! She belonged to him! She was his in every sense!

In a desperate need to prove how much she belonged to him, Constantine surged forward. His mind pushed forcibly into hers to see if she spoke the truth. He crossed the room in a single stride so that his body was looming menacingly over hers.

Elaine closed her eyes beneath his spell. He was everywhere at once, all around and inside her. And yet very carefully not touching her. Still, Elaine could feel the heat from his body and the way his breath tickled her cheek. Everything about him was dangerous. There was no use fighting. Elaine closed her eyes and felt herself slip further under his spell…

…and kneed him in the groin.

"Apparently it's as painful for vampires as it is for humans," Elaine observed coldly as she watched the would-be predator of the night doubling over and clutching himself in agony.

"I think you will come to regret that," Constantine snarled through clenched teeth.

Elaine went so far as to laugh. Any normal woman would be running in terror right now. Actually, any normal woman probably would not have been foolish enough to seek out a vampire, let alone break his spell and damage his genitals. She laughed again.

She did regret it, though. Quickly. In what seemed no more than a split second, Constantine had regained himself and pinned her hard against the wall. There was no longer and separation between their bodies. His hands were pressed hard against her flesh and his skin seemed hotter than could be possible. Or maybe that was just the searing heat left behind from their skin-to-skin contact. He pinned her arms above her head in a way that left her body defenseless to him, and his eyes gleamed with something so primal that Elaine could not name it. His teeth – fangs? - were centimeters from her face, but that did not hinder her body's arousal. What was happening to her?

And then he had his hand around her throat and it was clear from his grip that she was nothing more than a doll caught in a hurricane. He could crush her in a moment and never think twice, so it seemed. Recognizing this, Elaine stared defiantly into his eyes, ignoring the strange reaction her body was having to him. She practically dared him to kill her. Constantine's lip curled back in a snarl and his thumb moved. Not to crush the life out of her though. No, this gesture was much more dangerous because she had no idea what it meant: he gently caressed her pulse. Was he going to bite her? Would that kill her? Or make her a vampire like him? Or was he just planning to hold her like the vampire who held her mother? What was he doing?

He chuckled. It was as though he could read her thoughts. A slow, chauvinistic smile spread across his face. More like a drawl actually, and he moved his hand up to caress her face. He ran his thumb over her lips, half way inserting it into her mouth.

Elaine thought she might die from the tension. She fought desperately against the urge to kiss his thumb and see if his skin tasted as good as it looked. Whatever vampires did to seduce women, this one was doing it well. She needed to save herself, and quickly. "I thought we were here to dance."

He stared at her lips with what seemed oddly close to drunken lust. "That is the trouble with dancing with the devil." He always wants more.

The words trailed across her mind. Elaine shuddered. Not from fear, though. Even with body pressing so forcibly down on hers, his mind surging into hers (she was certain he had to be reading her mind the way she could sometimes read other people's thoughts), his fangs scraping her skin. He seemed so primitive, like a wild animal forcing its mate into submission. Her own body awoke to answer his primal call. That was what scared her. No man had ever affected her like this. The stark desire and lust arcing between them. Elaine had never felt this way before, not even with her husband.

Constantine's mind ravaged Elaine's, picking up every detail he possibly could. So much for allowing her surprises. Apparently even he had limits, and his lifemate's marriage was one thing he simply could not abide. In her mind, he ran through memory after memory, coursing through her entire life's story. What he found froze him to the core. The knowledge of who she was shocked him enough to force back the beast. Interesting. Very, very interesting.

Reluctantly, Constantine moved away from her. Only then did Elaine remind herself to breathe. "We can continue this dialogue in my home," he offered.

"What about our little game? We haven't started asking questions yet."

Self preservation, Constantine thought with dry humor. It struck him that Elaine was having as difficult a time controlling herself as he was. Very well, perhaps this would take their minds off of the extreme sexual tension. "Very well, would you care to start?"

"Yes, I would. Do you plan to answer my questions honestly?" It was a simple start.

Constantine shrugged. What point was there in lying to his lifemate? He wanted her to know everything about him. "Yes. Why did you come looking for me?"

"I'm hunting vampires. But you already knew that. Don't you think that's a little unnecessary?"

"Perhaps. But did you not also waste your question?"

Elaine smirked. "Are you a vampire?"

"No, did you really think I was?"

"At first. Why haven't you killed me?"

"You assume I am going to."

"Are you?" Somehow Elaine already knew the answer to that.

Constantine wagged a finger at her. "A little eager, I see. It is still my question."

"You never answered mine."

He sighed. "I grow tired of this game. I can think of better things to do."

"What are you?" There it was. The reality that Elaine was searching for. The truth to his existence, and thus to her own. Constantine had recognized the patterns of mind and now he recognized the notes in her voice. It was a bad attempt at compulsion, it would have worked flawlessly against any human. She was refined in her usage of it, if not particularly powerful. But then, his lifemate was only a half breed.

"Little girls who play with fire get their fingers burned," he whispered menacingly. Constantine decided he would show how compulsion was really meant to be used. "Do you love your husband?"

Elaine faltered. She did not want to answer, but Constantine's voice was so perfect and pure. She had to.

"No," she whispered.

As soon as she realized what had happened, Elaine gaped. There was a realization between them, a knowledge that flickered through the air but neither one of them gave voice to. All of a sudden, Elaine wanted nothing more than to run. This truth was what she feared.

Constantine was suddenly struck by the strangest wave of emotion. Embedded as he was in his lifemate's mind, he could feel her fear and her denial. Sympathy and compassion hit him. He had never known himself to be capable of such feelings, but the ancient wanted nothing more than to calm and reassure her. But Elaine, he knew, would never accept such a thing from him. Not now.

So much had transpired in the short time they spent together. Constantine's analytical mind was blazing with newfound knowledge and possibilities, and he knew the Elaine's mind echoed the chaos of his. They both needed time. With the beast raging inside him, one day was all he could manage. "I will take you home."

Elaine was perfectly aware of the subtle change that had taken place. Constantine, whatever he was, no longer seemed quite the predator he had when she first saw him. His body was still looming, his face still hard and impassive, but there was something different about his eyes. They no longer seemed so cold. On the contrary, his grey eyes seemed less stormy and more pensive. "I can find my way on my own, thanks," she replied stubbornly, not unkindly.

"Do not be a fool. You do not even know where we are." His words held no cruel humor at her expense. "Besides, you are tired and your body is sore."

"My body is always sore," Elaine interrupted rudely. She did not want her fear showing, but she desperately needed to get away from this man. There were things she needed to think about.

Constantine turned his thoughtful eyes towards her. "Perhaps I will fix that for her." He was implying exactly what she did not want to acknowledge. Picking up on her thoughts, Constantine sighed and shook his head. "I will spare you any further knowledge this night. I do not know why, but I will."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm not asking you for anything." Elaine's tone held no room for argument, but Constantine would not hear it. She opened her mouth to continue, but Constantine sent out a swift command that effortlessly sent her into the sleep of mortals. She fell limp into his arms.

Constantine stared down at his lifemate. He had been alive for three thousand years, he knew more than other Carpathian, and he knew what it meant to find a lifemate. Still, the ancient could hardly believe his own fate. This woman, strong and fierce in her own right, born of the violent union of vampire and human. Determined to hunt her father's kind and yet terrified to acknowledge what she herself was. Constantine knew her, he had met her before. He was the reason that she was alive.

She was his lifemate. Even without the bond, he could feel her pain. He would help her understand. He had no choice. Lowering his mouth to her neck, Constantine marked his mate.

00000

Jordan found Elaine on the balcony of her room, watching the deepening colors of the sun setting behind the Carpathian Mountains. She had slept the day away again while he paced anxiously outside her door. That woman did whatever she wanted no matter what anyone said. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that she cared about him at all. Sometimes it killed him how much he really did care about her. She was certainly dressed for the weather, wearing a long sleeved cream turtleneck that did more to accentuate her body than hide it. He could not help but notice.

"I have been worried sick about you!" he very nearly shouted as he took the empty chair next to her, sounding too much like a worried mother.

"I'm sorry," Elaine replied. It was a mark of her mood that she did not chuckle or throw sarcasm at him.

"You can't just run out like that and not tell me where you're going! We're in danger here! They have people going through our rooms! What if something happened to you?" Jordan could not help himself. He cared about Elaine far too much to let her disregard for her own safety get in the way. He moved to lay a hand on her arm, but as he did so, a wolf howled somewhere out in the forest. It was a horrible sound that contorted his insides. And it was close.

Elaine turned sharply in the direction of the wolf call. "Something's happening, Jordan. Something big. I don't know what it is yet, but I intend to find out." She meant between her and Constantine. The more she dwelled on him, the more her insides seem to twist up. She could not seem to pinpoint exactly what she felt about him, and that only unsettled her more. But God help her, she just couldn't seem to think of anything else since she had mysteriously woken in her bed about two hours ago! She pulled absently at the turtleneck. Hidden beneath it were two tiny pinprick scars shining on the flesh of her neck. He marked her. She knew it. And she knew he was out there; the mark had grown warm after hearing the wolf call.

"Are you ok?" Concern laced through his every word.

"Yeah, fine," Elaine muttered distractedly.

Desperate for answers, for some insight into his best friend's life, Jordan continued. "What happened out there? Did you meet them? Was it the same man?"

"I'm not sure what happened. I only remember part of it." Constantine marking her was not part that she remembered, but Elaine had no intention of telling Jordan that she had been marked at all. What would he make of it? She did not even understand.

"You need to call them, Elaine." She felt him slipping her cell phone into her hand. "This is what we've been searching for."

Elaine gripped the phone tightly. He was right. This was what they had been searching for. Wasn't it? Was it? She couldn't be certain now. Constantine was dangerous, to be sure, but he hadn't hurt her, hadn't threatened her. He had not threatened anyone at all, not that she saw anyway. Besides, she wasn't even sure she trusted the society anymore. Given the choice between the two of them, I would choose Constantine any day. Elaine stopped short. Where had that come from? "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Her blatantly insulting answers became too much. "Do you ever find it odd that we're hunting vampires, and here you are drinking blood to keep yourself healthy?" Jordan tried hard to keep the scorn from his voice, but unsuccessfully.

Ok, she might deserve that, Elaine conceded. "Have I ever told you why we're hunting vampires?"

He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. "You've mentioned it once or twice. Something about your mother and an attack."

She nodded. Her insides squirmed as she considered revealing her deepest, darkest secret. Jordan was oldest friend, but all Elaine could think about was a pair of swirling grey eyes. She frowned and bit her lip. On some level, it felt wrong to share these secrets with Jordan. "I'm a rape child. My mother was brutally attacked, held hostage for the better part of a week. I was born nine months later. I'll never forget the things she told me about that week." Elaine purposely refrained from mentioning her mother's accounts of how she escaped. A savior who swooped out of the darkness and fought the evil off? Personally, Elaine did not buy into that. There was not telling how disoriented her mother was after five whole days of torture.

The wolf call sounded again. It was different this time, low and sorrowful. Was Jordan imagining things, or was Elaine actually responding to the call?

"I'm sorry. I had no idea." Sincerity rang through every word, but for some reason, Elaine found his words hollow. "But you're not responsible for the things your father did. People do all sorts of unexplainable things. You and I both know what kind of men are out there. We're dealt with them. It isn't your job to right his wrongs."

Elaine shook her head wearily. "You don't get it, Jordan. He wasn't just some psycho out to torture and kill women. He was different. The medical reports said that she had forty-two bite marks in her. Forty-two. No one knew how she survived, let alone me. They said it was a wonder I survived to full term." Elaine could tell from his face that he still did not want to believe. Constantine would believe me. The thought appeared before she could stop it. Why did she have this desire to talk to him about her past? Was he simply forcing her to face her past? Some deep part of her believed that Constantine held the key.

"Did they ever catch him?" Jordan asked softly, already knowing the answer.

Elaine turned her black eyes towards him. "How do you catch evil? How do you kill death?" Jordan had no answer. "And you may not think it's my responsibility to right his wrongs, but whatever he is, half of me is that. If I can use it, any part of it of my past or my origin, to help people, then why shouldn't I? That's why we're here, Jordan. To use whatever we can to help people and, if we ever find someone like my father" - she spat the word like a disease – "then I'm going to try my best to make sure he can't hurt anyone else."

Suddenly, the mark on Elaine's neck flared up. Fire raced through her body, desire like she had never known before. Like she had felt in the castle with Constantine. He was here. But was he a savior or a demon?