Chapter Six
Four years ago…
"Do you sense anything inside?" Riordyn asked, studying the old stone building closely. Ever since the incident at Rosemont, he grew uneasy every time they entered an old building in search of his lifemate. From what he was learning from Jenna, ghosts seemed more prevalent in older dwellings. She couldn't explain why, and he really didn't need to know the answer. If she didn't like the feel of a certain place, he left her outside and worked fast to search every room.
"I'm not going inside," she announced, taking a seat on the ledge surrounding the water fountain in front of the entrance.
"How many?"
"At least four that I can sense – three women and one man." Nervously biting at her lower lip, she glanced up at a window on the second floor. "The woman with white hair is watching us." She lifted a hand and pointed at the window, and Riordyn noticed the curtain waver ever so slightly. "She's trying to get into my mind, Riordyn. She's stronger than me, and your safeguards aren't working."
"Maybe it would be better if you waited in the forest while I take a look around inside." Even as he spoke, he reinforced the safeguards he had woven into her mind. He sensed the dark touch of the ghost on her mind, and forcefully pushed her out. "Or perhaps it would be best if I took you back to the cavern before I continued my search."
"Or we could take the night off and do something else for a change," she said, twirling her ponytail around her fingers. "Not that I don't just love spending my teenage years wandering through mental institutions, but I'm pretty sure I'll never find a boyfriend you'll approve of if the only people we ever see are certifiable."
"When you are old enough, I will help you find someone suitable to marry," he gritted out, mentally reminding himself to remain calm. She was right though, and that bothered him. They spent almost every night searching for his lifemate, and when they weren't doing that, he was hunting vampires. "Let me search this building, and when I am finished, I promise we will do something you want to do."
Her face lit up with a beautiful smile. "You mean it?"
"Yes, little one. We will do whatever you want," he reiterated, leaving himself with no choice but to do whatever it was that girls her age liked to do.
He should have thought harder on a way to get out of his vow, and he regretted making it the moment she told him where she wanted to go. After he finished searching the entire mental facility, she forced him to go to the mall with her. Luckily the stores closed at ten o'clock, leaving them only a little over an hour to walk around.
"Don't walk with me, Riordyn," she ordered, quickly moving way ahead of him once they entered the mall. "And don't give anyone that look of yours," she whispered, knowing he would hear her.
"What look is that, little one?" he chuckled.
"The "I'll kill you if you even look at her" look." She wove her fingers through her hair, pulling it free from the ponytail holder. As she shook it out, her long dark hair cascaded down her back. A low growl rumbled in his throat as two boys around her age, caught sight of her and turned around to follow her.
Are you purposely trying to torment me? he asked through the mental pathway he created for the two of them.
I have no idea what you're talking about. She paused to look in one of the shop windows, and the two boys made their move. They talked to her for several minutes, introducing themselves as Dillon and Matt, and then followed her as she moved on to the next store. The blond haired boy went inside the music store for a moment leaving her alone with the darker haired boy. While his friend was gone, the lean muscular boy asked her if she wanted to walk around the mall with him and his friend.
Tell him you're not interested, he ordered in a tone meant to brook no argument. His hands balled into fists when instead of listening to him, she agreed. I will not allow you to walk around the mall with that boy.
It's not like it's a date, Riordyn, she said as if he was being completely unreasonable. But even if it was, I'm going to be seventeen in six months. I'm old enough to go on a date with a guy.
He is not the right boy for you, he said, momentarily losing sight of her as a group of teenagers passed in front of them. He picked up his pace, skirting around people until he found her and the two boys standing near a water fountain. You are special, csitri. I am certain you are meant to be with one of my people.
So once I'm old enough you plan on pawning me off on someone like yourself?
Would that be so bad? He paused in his steps as he waited for her to answer. Even if she said it would be horrible, he still felt a sense of duty to his people. If she could prevent one Carpathian from turning vampire, it would save a lot of lives. Whether he liked it or not, once she turned twenty, he would take her to the Carpathian Mountains, and hopefully she would find a lifemate.
I don't want to be anyone's lifemate, Riordyn.
Dillon started talking about school, trying to impress her by telling her he was on the football team. When he failed to get the response he was looking for, he went on to ask where she went to school. She lied and said she went to a private school for girls where she lived. In all the months they had spent together, Riordyn had never once considered her education. Now he was forced to consider the possibility of sending her to school. That'll mean she'll sleep during the night, and she'll need a permanent home. Since it had been brought to his attention, he could no other than provide proper education for her.
Why have you never spoken to me of your education?
How am I supposed to go to school when we travel around so much? Tucking her hair behind her ear, she leaned in closer as Dillon said something to her. Whatever he said, she laughed as if it was the funniest thing she ever heard.
You are flirting with this boy right in front of me, he growled, and heard her laughter in his mind.
That's what girls do when they are talking to a hot guy, Riordyn.
I have had enough, Jenna. Tell him you need to go before I cause a scene.
You wouldn't dare.
Do I look as if I wouldn't dare? When Jenna casually glanced over her shoulder at him, he narrowed his eyes on Dillon and scowled.
Jenna resumed her conversation with Dillon, and then within a matter of minutes, she said she had to go home. She was about to leave, but he grasped hold of her arm, and asked for her phone number. Riordyn cursed under his breath when she traded numbers with him. When she first asked for a cell phone he flat out refused to give her one. He would have stuck to his decision if she hadn't claimed she needed it in case they ever got separated, and she could not find him. Although he knew that was impossible, he had taken her blood to ensure he could always find her no matter where she went, he could not tell her that. If he refused, she would wonder why and ask questions he didn't want to answer. So instead he gave in and bought them both cell phones. Up until now, she only had his number on her list of contacts, and that was the way he liked it. Now she had the boy's number as well, and from her beaming smile when she rushed back to him, he could tell she was ecstatic.
They hadn't even made it to the parking lot before Dillon sent her a message. He glanced at the message over her shoulder, and his mood darkened as he read, Just wanted to make sure you gave me your real number. She quickly messaged him back, and from that point onward, she completely ignored him as they chatted back and forth all the way back to the cavern. Thankfully she lost reception as they traveled through the tunnel. She backtracked until she picked up a signal again, and told him she had to get to bed and would talk to him soon. Then finally once again her attention was solely on Riordyn.
"You should tell him we will be leaving in a few days, and won't be coming back again."
The smile she'd been wearing since they left the mall quickly vanished. "You don't want me to have any friends, do you?"
"I do not see the point in it," he answered truthfully. "I have you and see no need to have any other friends."
"What happens when you find your lifemate, Riordyn?" she asked, heading straight for her room the moment they entered the cavern. "Once you find her, you won't want me around anymore. Hell, you're already planning on dumping me off on some Carpathian the moment I'm old enough to be his lifemate. Why wait? Why not just get it over with now?" With her back to him, she ransacked her dresser drawers searching for pajamas. As he considered her question, he watched as she tossed her clothes on the floor. "You think you know what's best for me but you don't," she went on to say, fisting her pajamas in her hand. "I'm tired of living in caves and spending my nights in mental institutions. I'm sick of being stuck alone in this dark place all day while you're buried underground. I wanna go to school and do things other girls my age are doing. I want a real home, Riordyn, and since you can't provide that for me, I want you to find me someone who can."
Riordyn's stomach twisted in knots at the thought of losing her. She proved tonight that she could easily go out and find new friends, but he lived only to protect her and find his lifemate. Still deep down he knew she was right. He could give her anything she wanted, but not the things she truly needed. "I will try to do better," he promised, unwilling to let her go. "You may continue to talk to the boy if that is your wish."
"It is," she said, and once again he imagined he saw a spark of blue in her steel gray eyes before it faded away.
The nerve in his right cheek twitched as he gritted his teeth, and said, "I can do no other than see to your happiness, little one."
Six months later…
Riordyn had hired a tutor for Jenna, and paid her enough to travel around the country with them. As long as he put her up in the best hotels and supplied her with generous bonuses, she never questioned where they spent their nights or what he did during the day when she taught Jenna. Most nights he spent alone searching for his lifemate, and maybe it was for the best as his mood had turned dark after Jenna told him she wanted him to find her a real home. And it didn't help matters that she continued to talk to Dillon. Every few weeks she pouted until he gave in and returned to North Carolina so she could spend some time with him. To the core of his being he hated their blossoming relationship, and needed to figure out a way to put an end to it without having her blame him. The only way he could think of to do that was find her lifemate which meant that he needed to plan a trip to the Carpathian Mountains.
It was her seventeenth birthday, the second one they would be spending together, but she wanted to spend it with Dillon. Riordyn promised to give her anything she wanted for her birthday, and of all the things she could have asked for, she chose Dillon. That was the final straw. Even if he swore to himself he would never return to his homeland, he'd make the concession. To keep people from questioning his sudden reappearance, he decided to pretend he was Rafe as he tried to find her lifemate. Now he just needed to decide how to tell Jenna his plans.
"You look beautiful tonight, csitri," he said, leaning in the doorway of her bedroom. The doorway – another concession he made to please her. She insisted on a lock for the door so she could shut him out whenever the mood struck her. No matter where they traveled, the first thing he did when they found a place to stay was to construct her bedroom in exact detail to make it feel like home.
It wasn't often that he saw her wear a dress, and although he wished the hem was lower, exposing less of her shapely legs, he still had to admit to himself she was beautiful. Too beautiful for a human boy to appreciate. Her long hair cascaded over shoulders in soft waves. She'd pulled it back with silver combs, loose tendrils framing her heart shaped face. Trying to ignore the sudden flutter in his stomach, he lowered his head.
"I know you said not to get you a gift," he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small box, "but you only turn seventeen once." When she smiled, he closed the distance between them. He opened the box to reveal a heart shaped sapphire necklace surround by diamonds. "I've always imagined your eyes as blue, and I thought this would match them perfectly."
"They are blue." Jenna lifted her hair, and allowed him to place the necklace around her throat. She lifted the pendant, and as she studied it, he saw her smile in the mirror. "It's beautiful."
"I know it is your wish to spend this night with Dillon, but I would ask to have some of your time." Of their own accord, his arms circled her waist, and she turned to look up at him.
"I thought you said there was a vampire in the area that you needed to take care of?"
"There is." He sighed. "I have made arrangements with Gwen to pick you up at Dillon's house by midnight. You will be staying with her tonight." Luckily Gwen and Jenna had taken to each right from the start of Jenna's tutoring. "I will have to close myself off to you in case I am unsuccessful in killing the vampire. I do not want him to find you."
"Is he very powerful?" As she spoke, her lower lip quivered and he heard the slight tremor in her voice.
"I believe him to be very old and very cunning. But you need not worry about me, little one. I am more than capable of dealing with one vampire." His arms fell away from her waist, and he grasped hold of her hand to lead her into the cavern. Candlelight bathed the cave in a warm glow. Thick veins of crystals shimmered overhead, and from within the rough walls. All her favorite foods were spread across the table, and in the center was a cake with seventeen candles. One by one they all flickered to life. "I have heard it is customary for you to make a wish before blowing out the candles. And it is my hope that you do not use that wish to get rid of me."
She rolled her eyes. "You don't need to worry, Riordyn. I plan on making the same wish I made last year." Her smile faltered, leaving him to wonder what wish she had made. "Not that it matters since wishes never come true."
"If you tell me your wish, I will make certain it does come true."
"You can't make this wish come true." She leaned over and blew out the candles. "We should go. Dillon's waiting for me."
Jenna started to walk away but he pulled her back. "You will tell me your wish." He hated the fact that she didn't believe he could provide what she wanted most. "We will go nowhere until you tell me what it is."
"Then I guess I'd better call Dillon and tell him I can't make it," she answered stubbornly.
"You would deny him the pleasure of your company just to keep your wish a secret?"
"Yes." Pursing her lips, she shrugged.
"You would spend your birthday alone?"
"I won't be alone, I'll be with you."
"No, little one," he shook his head, and crossing his arms over his chest he went on to say, "I have a vampire to hunt. If you do not tell me your wish, you most certainly will be alone."
"You would really leave me alone on my birthday?" Tears gathered in her eyes, and again he saw the flickers of blue within their depths. When he nodded, a tear slipped down her cheek. "Fine," she huffed, "if you really want to know my wish I'll tell you. I want you to stop searching for your lifemate. We've been looking for her for over a year and half, and we haven't found her. It's time to admit to yourself that you aren't going to find her."
"You do not understand. She is the light to my darkness – if I do not find her I am lost."
"And you'll know who she is with just one look?" Lifting a brow, she dabbed her finger through the frosting on the cake, and licked it clean with a swirl of her tongue.
"Yes." His eyes lingered on her full lips as her tongue glided over traces of frosting. Gathering his thoughts, he cleared his throat. "She will bring color back into my world."
Her eyes widened incredulously. "You're basing your whole love life on the person who brings color into your life? What if she's old – I mean really, really old like ninety?"
"It will not matter," he said confidently. "She will be the light to my darkness. I will love her no matter how old she is."
"You say that now, but I doubt you'd be so certain if she does turn out to be an old lady." She waved a hand up and down in front of him. "Seriously, you're gorgeous so there's no way you'd settle for some wrinkled old woman."
Stomach flip-flopping, He drew in a sharp breath. "You find me attractive?"
"A person would have to be blind not to find you attractive. Which most old ladies are. For all you know, your lifemate could have glasses with lenses the size of my fist."
"I still say it will not matter."
"Then what if she's real young?" Taking a seat at the table, she crossed her legs, giving him ample view of her upper thighs. "What if she's only fourteen or fifteen when you find her?"
"Then I would watch over her and wait until she was old enough to claim her as my own."
"Like you watch over me?"
"Yes – no . . . it would be different." Flustered for the first time in his very long life, he wished he had put a stop to the conversation long before now. "Isn't Dillon waiting for you?"
"How would it be different?" she asked, ignoring his question. "I'm curious," she prompted when he failed to respond after several very long moments.
"I would want to keep her with me all the time and I would care for all her needs."
"I'm not seeing any difference yet. Go on." She waved a hand for him to continue.
"I would crave constant contact with her."
"Kind of like the way you're always talking in my head whenever I'm not with you? Is that what you mean?"
"I am your protector, Jenna. I need to know where you are to ensure your safety. You are my responsibility, nothing more."
"I see." Fiddling with the pendant he had given her, she turned her head to stare at the cake. "Since you're my protector, I guess I should tell you Dillon rented us a room at a hotel for the night. Since I already knew you'd ask Gwen if I could spend the night with her, I told her it wouldn't be necessary. So if you need me for any reason, that's where I'll be."
"You're – he rented . . . I will kill him, csitri!" he growled, sudden undeniable rage filling him. The ground beneath his feet began to tremble as the candles scattered around the cavern flickered then burst into towering flames. "You will sleep with no other man but your lifemate – Do you understand me?" When she refused to look at him or say a word, he grasped hold of her arm, and yanked her out of the chair. She squirmed and pushed at his chest, trying to break his hold. Grabbing her other wrist, he pinned both of her arms behind her back, bring her body flush with his. "Do I make myself clear?"
Instead of fighting him, her body melted against his. His eyes fluttered closed as her lips and tongue traced a path over the pulse in his throat. Her teeth scraped lightly against his skin, and he moaned as his body went hard with need. "You need to stop," he murmured breathlessly. "I am not your . . . ." the words died abruptly in his throat as she claimed his mouth. God, you taste so damn good. His tongue danced around hers, and releasing her arms, his hand slid into her silky hair. You are not my lifemate. Even as he spoke the words, he trailed kisses to the pulse in her throat. Of their own volition, his incisors lengthened to scrape against her velvety skin. This will change nothing, sίvamet. His fangs sunk in deep, and tasting the sweetness of her blood, he groaned.
I am the one you found – Claim me as your own, Riordyn. Her fingers wove into his hair as he continued to drink in her intoxicating blood. In your heart you know I am your lifemate just as I have known it since the first moment I saw you.
His mind cleared as she spoke, and although it took every bit of willpower he possessed, he swirled his tongue around the puncture wounds to heal them. Abruptly pulling away from her, he shook his head. "You are not my lifemate, Jenna. You are only a child under my protection. When you find your true lifemate, you will know the difference."
"You don't mean that," she cried, the sight of her tears tearing at his heart.
Swallowing down the painful lump in his throat, he uttered, "Yes, I do."
Silence stretched between them as they stood staring at each other. The words to claim her as his own burned on his tongue, but he refused to damn them both by speaking them aloud. "After I kill this vampire, we will be traveling to the Carpathian Mountains to find your lifemate. It would be for the best if you stayed with Gwen until then."
"No, I'll stay with Dillon. His parents already said I could stay with them if I wanted to." She turned and headed to her bedroom. When he entered her room, he found her stuffing her clothes into her pillowcases.
"How long do you plan on staying with him?" he gritted out, fighting the urge to lock her away inside her bedroom.
"Permanently." Grasping hold of the gold chain around her throat, she ripped it off and threw it on the bed.
"That was a birthday present," he muttered, staring at the broken chain.
"Give it to your lifemate," she replied, angrily swiping away the tears slipping down her cheeks.
Pressing his eyes closed, he swallowed hard and asked, "Are you going to sleep with him?"
"That's none of your business." Done packing, she pushed past him, and strode toward the entrance of the cave.
I am sorry, sίvamet. If I had a choice in the matter, I would choose you. . . .