As promised, another chapter. Thanks for taking the time to read. If you're enjoying the story, please let me hear your thoughts. bambers2:)
Chapter Nine
Two years ago…
Riordyn fell into a dismal routine after Jenna left him to search for her lifemate. When he wasn't fighting vampires, he spent every moment looking for his lifemate. Loneliness struck him hard, and his mood grew darker with each passing day. He tried to reach out to Jenna many times only to be met with complete silence.
Every few weeks he traveled back to the cavern he'd been staying in when he first found Jenna. He'd left her room exactly as she left it the night she told him she was moving in with Dillon. The necklace he gave her for her birthday still lay broken on the bed. Clothes she hadn't taken with her were scattered across the floor gathering dust. The first time he went to the cave, he wrote her a note saying to wait for him if she came back. Whenever he returned he would write the date on the paper, and at last count he was up to three hundred and eighty-four days, the dates covering the front and back of the paper.
He even stopped by Dillon's house numerous times to see if he had heard from her. The answer was always no, and after a few months Riordyn saw him with another girl. Whatever feelings he might have had for Jenna, disappeared the moment he found someone to replace her. Although he knew that was the way with humans, it still sickened him.
His thoughts were consumed with the need to know if she found her lifemate. On several occasions, when his dark mood forced him to consider the possibility of greeting the dawn, he considered traveling to the Carpathian Mountains to find her. But after so much time had passed, he figured she already found her lifemate, and he didn't want to interfere with her new life. Still no matter how much time went by, he couldn't forget how perfect it felt to kiss her and hold her in his arms.
I never should have let her go, he thought to himself as he stood outside the Shady Oaks Asylum. The old stone building was smaller than most of the asylums he'd been to, yet he detected every bit as many heart beats. Carved into the stone above the doorway was the name of the asylum, and direct beneath it was the year 1912. It was definitely the kind of place Jenna would shy away from. Thick moss and ivy blanketed the walls between the barred windows. Eerily misshapen oak trees with thick snaking branches that touched the ground were scattered about the property, added to the haunted feel of the place. And in the back of the building he found several mounds which Jenna believed to be mass graves. She would have hated this place.
Dissolving into mist, he slipped inside the building through the cracks and then transformed back into human form. Unlike most other rooms he'd gone into in his search for his lifemate, these rooms were all occupied by more than one person. Thin curtains divided the space shared by the occupants. The rooms were clean; the strong scent of disinfectant permeated every room and corridor, and yet the place still felt worn and dirty.
Riordyn made quick work of searching the first floor, and having no luck, he seriously considered leaving without checking the other two floors. He felt as old and worn as the building, and wanted nothing more than to return to the earth and sleep for several risings. The only thing that kept him moving was the memory of the dreams he had been having recently. In those dreams his lifemate cried out to him, begging for him to end her torment. From the pain in her voice, he feared she was close to taking her own life again, and if she did that he would greet the dawn to end her cursed existence.
On the second floor he continued with what he now considered a futile search. He scarcely took the time to look inside of each room. At the seventh doorway on the right hand side, he hastily opened the door, glanced inside, and then just as quickly shut the door as he heard a woman crying and thrashing in bed. He walked forward several steps before it struck him – or more precisely the sight of colors struck him. The ugly green floor with tiny specks of blue and tan. The colorful landscapes lining the walls. The red-orange glow of the exit sign hanging over the stairwell.
Breath lodged in his throat, he backtracked, and opened the door again. The white and blue curtain dividing the room in half was partially closed around the woman thrashing in bed. Her dark sable hair covered her face in a tangled mess. Thick padded cuffs circled both of her ankles, and he was certain they were wrapped around her wrists as well.
He hesitantly took a step toward her then stopped short when he caught sight of a second woman. She sat in a chair staring out the barred window. In his mind she was no more than a ghost. At one time she might have been beautiful, but insanity had turned her into a thin shell of a human. Her drab blond hair hung limp around her shoulders. The pink of her lips was so subtle it nearly blended in with her pale skin. Her cheeks were hollowed, dark shadows smudging her silver-blues eyes. Something within the pale unblinking depths of her eyes struck him as familiar. His stomach coiled in knots as he edged closer to her.
You are not real, the sickly woman uttered in his mind without looking at him. She continued to stare out the window as if she hadn't seen him, and it unnerved him enough to pause in his steps. So many lifetimes I have waited for you. As in the past, you have come once again to lead me to death and cursed rebirth.
Riordyn swallowed hard at the condemnation in her tone. "I swear on my honor, I will spend the rest of my days making it up to you," he vowed, and as he spoke, the woman behind the curtain screamed and thrashed even harder in bed. The metal railing on either side of her bed rattled loudly, and he felt a fleeting desire to go and comfort her. Instead he closed the distance to his lifemate, knelt in front of her, and took hold of her bony hand. "In time your mind will heal, and then I will do everything within my power to make you happy."
Your promises are as unreal as you are. Her silver-blue gaze remained focused on the window, and if she felt his hand holding hers, she never let on.
"You are my lifemate, little one. Once I have claimed you as my own, you will know I am real," he murmured, and it was on the tip of his tongue to claim her as his lifemate when the dark haired woman started screaming. The sound of her pain tore at his heart, and once again he had a strong urge to comfort her. She is not my problem, he reminded himself, returning his attention to his lifemate. With all she had endured in her past lives, and brought forward into this one, he foresaw no true happiness in his future. It would have been better for the both of us if I had greeted the dawn instead of searching for her.
Heaving a weary sigh, he raked a hand through his hair. In her fragile condition, she might not survive if I say the words to bind us. It was always difficult when lifemates were separated for any length of time, and it would be even worse for her. She would not survive if I sleep the rejuvenating sleep of my people. He would need to sleep above ground with her until she was strong enough to endure the conversion. I doubt she'll ever be strong enough.
Even if he couldn't speak the words to bind them, he needed to reassure her that he was real. The only way he could think of to do that was by making the first blood exchange. "I have waited a long time to be with you, csitri," he murmured, his tone turning melodic as his incisors lengthened. "You are the light to my darkness." He stood and lifted her into his arms. He grimaced, feeling every bone in her back through her thin nightgown. "I am so sorry I caused you so much pain." Her strange silver-blue eyes locked on his in an unseeing stare. "When you are stronger I will bind us together as lifemates." He lowered his head, and scraped his teeth against the pulse in her throat. "I am yours, and I vow to cherish you until my last breath." As he mentally sent her warmth and reassurance, he sunk his fangs into her throat.
The dark haired woman cried out again, and her thrashing and writhing grew louder. The metal bedposts scraped and banged against the floor, making it hard for Riordyn to concentrate on making the proper exchange with his lifemate. Her blood tasted strange to him, the mixture of drugs in her system numbing his tongue and throat. Unbidden the memory of how good Jenna's intoxicating blood tasted filled his mind. Angry at himself for mentally betraying his lifemate, he forcefully pushed her memory deep into the furthest recesses of his mind. When he drank enough to make the exchange, he glided his tongue over the puncture wounds to heal them.
Gently setting her down in her bed, he took a seat beside her and sliced into his wrist. As he put his bloody wrist to her mouth to drink, the door to the room opened. An older nurse with glasses perched on the tip of her nose, shuffled toward the dark haired girl's bed without casting a glance in his direction. While his lifemate drank in his blood, he listened to the nurse speaking in a hushed tone to the patient.
"You need to calm down, honey," the nurse said in a soft soothing manner. In response, the crazed woman thrashed violently, the metal bars rattling even louder than before. "I promise you're safe here. You need to quiet down before you wake Sara."
Your name is Sara. He smiled tenderly at his lifemate. I am Riordyn.
"Relax, Jennifer," the nurse continued onward unfazed by the woman's crazed behavior. "I'm going to give you something to help you sleep – stop fighting me, Jenny, or I'm going to have to call the orderlies in to hold you down."
So distracted by the conversation, he almost forgot that Sara was drinking his blood. I believe that is enough. Feeling slightly lightheaded, he pulled his wrist away from her, and licked the wounds closed.
"Ouch!" the nurse cried out, and Riordyn smell the faint aroma of blood wafting toward him. He found himself wishing Sara had fought harder against the doctors and nurses who filled her body with mind altering drugs. Lost in thought again, he startled when the nurse let out a blood curdling scream then raced out of the room. He could hear her terrified screams and frantic heartbeat as she ran down the hallway.
Curious and worried for his lifemate's safety, he sent a sharp mental command for Sara to sleep. The moment her eyelids drifted closed he stood and pushed aside the curtain. The girl's head shook back and forth against the pillow, her hair whipping wildly around her face. Although they had restrained her arms and legs as if she were a wild animal, she still seemed relatively harmless to him. He moved closer, and carefully brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyelids flew open, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw her eyes were milky white. She wasn't crazy, she was possessed. Chest tightening he let out a growl of rage.
"They were supposed to protect you! I trusted that they would keep you safe!" he snarled, fists clenching as he helplessly stared down at Jenna. Bruises marred her face, throat and arms, and he had no doubt more littered her body. Forcing his way inside her mind, he tried to push the dark spirit out of her body. Darkness coiled tight around her brain, wispy tendrils snaking downward to control her body. Blood beaded on his brow and dripped down his face as he tried again and again to free her from the spirit, to no avail. I need to get you out of here, little one.
More than anything, he wanted to gather her into his arms, and take her away from the asylum. Cursing under his breath, he glanced back at Sara. He could only take one of them from the mental institution before the sun rose. Indecision warred within him. His first instinct was to save Jenna and come back for Sara. The dark spirit inhabiting her body was tearing her apart from the inside out.
His gut twisted, feeling as if he were betraying his lifemate. My lifemate must come first. His hand grazed across Jenna's cheek, fingers trailing downward to the pulse in her throat. Why did you never answer me, sίvamet? Had I known you were in trouble I would have come for you.
Sara moaned softly in her sleep, reminding him once again that he now had a lifemate to consider. "Jenna, I have to take Sara from this place, but I swear on my life I will come back for you upon the next rising." Even though he had made his decision, his legs wouldn't budge from their spot. "Do not allow the darkness to take you away from me," he uttered, cursing fate for allowing him to find the two women he could not live without at the same time, and forcing him to choose between them.
Jenna went still in bed, and locked milky eyes on him. Her lips curled into a wicked smile. "As I have lost so now shall you know loss . . . as you have destroyed so now shall you be destroyed."
Although he knew the dark spirit was speaking through her, its words still struck a forceful blow. He staggered backward slightly before regaining his composure. "You cannot harm me."
Jenna's gaze shifted to Sara, and with a subtle flick of her fingers, his lifemate lifted off the bed. "I do not need to harm you," the spirit responded, laughing as Riordyn flew up to grasp hold of Sara before she hit the ceiling. "I only need to destroy your lifemate, and you will crumble."
Eyeballs rolling backward into her head, Sara twitched and convulsed uncontrollably in his arms. Her heart beat at a frantic pace, thundering loudly in his ears. Deep bruises blossomed under Jenna's right eye and around her throat as she tried to fight the dark being that possessed her. Of the two of them, Jenna looked to be suffering far worse, and it made the decision to leave her behind all the harder on him.
I will come back for you. Hearing Jenna let out a low strangled cry of pain, his chest constricted painfully. I am so sorry, sίvamet. I fear I can do no other than see to the welfare of my lifemate first.
With one last look at her, he fled the hospital room with Sara in his arms. Jenna's screams followed them as he raced down the corridor in a blur of speed. Gritting his teeth, he fought down the urge to turn around and run back to her. When he touched her mind, he sensed the darkness shrouding her. Do not let this thing take you from me, Jenna. Over and over again, he mentally repeated his vow to return to her upon his next rising. She never responded leaving him to fear what he would find when he returned to her.
He burst out of the building and launched into the air. The hold the dark entity had over Sara dwindled as they flew further and further away from Shady Oaks. Tension easing from her body, she relaxed in his arms, and nuzzled her head against his chest.
Tell me you are real, Sara uttered, touching his arm then his shoulder and finally his jaw as if she thought he might disappear on her. I've imagined you – in every life you always . . . you can't be real.
I am real, little one, he gently reassured her, clenching his jaw at the reminder of how he failed to save her from living multiple lives filled with nothing but pain and suffering. His fingers grazed along her cheek, and pushed her dull blond hair out of her eyes. It will be my life's endeavor to erase all the pain you have suffered, Sara.
Tears welling in her silver-blue eyes, she averted her head. The breeze blew her hair around her face, hiding her expression from him. I don't believe you. When I wake up from this dream you will be gone. I-I can't do this anymore . . . It will kill me for certain, and then it will start all over again. Please end this . . . I'm begging you to release me from this curse.
He opened his mouth to reassure her yet again, but snapped it shut as he thought of Jenna. When nightfall came again, he would have to leave Sara to go save Jenna. Even if he sent a command for her to sleep while he was gone, he couldn't lie to her. "I will never be far from you, and no matter where I go you will always be able to touch minds with me."
Spying the entrance to his lair in the distance, he picked up speed. Before he entered the tunnel of the cave, he made certain to fill his lair with warm comforting light and healing herbs to ease her mind. He felt the pull of the rich soil beckoning for him to sleep within its embrace as the dawn approached. Instead he created a bed for her, and gently laid her down on the soft mattress.
"Sleep, little one, I will be close by," he murmured the command, using the melodic tone of his voice to lull her to sleep.
You will stay with me? Eyes wide with fear, she reached out to him. After only one blood exchange, her need to remain close to him was very strong, and he worried any separation at all might be too much for her fragile mind. Taking hold of her hand, he eased himself onto the mattress beside her. His arm slipped beneath her, and again he felt all the bones in her back. She was so thin he feared he might break her if he held her too tightly. Carefully resting his other arm across her stomach, he closed his eyes. You almost feel real . . . I-I can't let myself believe you're real . . . not again. It's too much – why do you always torment me?
"Give me time and I will prove I am real," he muttered tiredly. Systematically is body was shutting down as the sun rose high in the sky, making it hard to keep reassuring her. "For now you must sleep." Unable to hold off from sleeping any longer, he sent her a sharp command to sleep, and breathed a sigh of relief when she finally succumbed to his control over her mind.
The moment the sun went down, Riordyn's eyelids snapped open. Dissolving into mist, he slipped away from Sara while she was still sleeping, and reinforce the command to remain that way until he returned. Once he'd set safeguards to ensure her safety, he left the cave and shifted into a golden hawk. On the wings of the strong bird, he flew through the night. In his hast to save Jenna, he pushed down his growing hunger and focused on the task at hand. Fear churned in his stomach as he reached the mental institution. He vowed to protect her, and then when she needed him the most, he left her to fend for herself.
Inside the asylum, he honed in the erratic beat of her heart, and followed it through the building. He ghosted past several security guards patrolling the corridors. More than likely the hospital added extra guards after they discovered Sara missing. Not that it would make a difference. Jenna belonged with him, and no one would stop him from taking her away from the institution. Not surprisingly she wasn't in the room he found her in the night before. After she attacked the nurse, they put her in a straightjacket, and locked her away in a padded cell.
She looked so small huddled in a ball on the floor. Her muffled sobs tore straight through his heart. From where he stood at the entrance of the room, he wove his way into her mind, searching for the dark entity inhabiting her body. Only finding minute traces of darkness within her, he closed the distance between them, and crouched beside her.
"Jenna," he whispered, brushing her matted sable hair away from her face. He drew in a sharp breath, and cursed. Dark bruises covered over half her face and trailed downward to disappear beneath her nightgown. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart," he murmured in a soft soothing tone. With a wave of his hand, the straightjacket disappeared. Lifting her into his arms, he cradled her against his chest, and lightly brushed his lips against her forehead. I never should have let you go, sίvamet.
Instead of answering him, she buried her head beneath his chin, refusing to look at him. Chest tightening, he opened his mouth to apologize then snapped it shut. In silence he carried her out of the padded cell, and nearly collided into two security guards. Before they could think to react, he raced away in a blur of speed. Their shoes slapped against the linoleum as they chased after him, and he heard one of them radioing to the other guards. Rushing toward the exit, he rammed into another security guard, knocking him off his feet.
Outside, he darted through the oak trees, and leapt over thick low lying branches. Once he was certain no one was following him, he lunched himself into the air. He flew fast through the air, searching below of a safe place to take Jenna. Sara would not understand if I brought her back to my lair. Even if he explained how he found Jenna several years ago, and took over the responsibility of caring for her, his lifemate would see it as a betrayal. Better that she doesn't know. Still he needed to find a place close by in order to protect Jenna without leaving Sara alone for too long.
Circling the mountain, he spied a narrow opening, and dove downward. After checking for any signs of vampires, he flew through the twists and turns of the underground tunnel. Deep within the mountain, he found a cavern nearly twice the size of his lair. Steam rose from a deep pool of water near the entrance of the cave. Carefully setting her down on the ledge surrounding the pool, he made quick work of setting up safeguards then recreated her bedroom in perfect detail.
"We are home, sίvamet," he said, casting a glance in her direction. "Everything is as you left it. I have touched nothing." When she failed to respond, he crouched in front of her, and took her hand. It was then that he noticed the charm bracelet around her wrist. From the three charms dangling from the silver bracelet, he realized it was a gift from Dillon for her seventeenth birthday. "You would keep his gift but throw mine back in my face?"
Jenna yanked her arm away from him, and covered the bracelet with her hand. "Dillon loved me," she muttered, crystal blue eyes filling with tears.
"Dillon doesn't know the meaning of the word," he scoffed, and rising to his feet, he turned his back on her. "You were not even gone two months before he found another to take your place."
"Well, maybe he saw a pretty rainbow filled with sparkly colors when he looked at her, and decided she was the girl for him – that is how it works isn't it?"
He swung back around to glare at her. "You know nothing of how it is for my people, so do not speak as if you do."
"I know enough." Wincing, she gently rubbed at her bruised jaw.
Brought back to his senses by the sight of her in pain, he reined in his temper. "I need to heal your wounds."
"No." She tilted her chin in stubborn defiance. "I would rather wait for my lifemate to heal me."
"You do not have a lifemate," he gritted out through clenched teeth. "I would know if another man claimed you."
"If you say so." Bracing her hands against the ledge of the pool, she pushed herself to her feet and staggered toward her bedroom.
"I do say so," he said, closely following her in case she stumbled. The top tie of her hospital gown had come undone, and his gaze was drawn downward to the small of her back. "My blood flows through your veins, Jenna. There is nothing about you that I do not know."
"If you say so," she repeated again, grating on his already taut nerves. As she neared the bed, she paused to look at the necklace he had given her on the night of her seventeenth birthday. A small cry escaped her lips as her hand went to her throat. Legs wobbling, she collapsed, and would have fallen to the ground if he hadn't quickly caught her up into his arms.
"You will allow me to heal you."
"Put me down, Wolf!" she ordered, pushing hard against his chest, to no avail. "I don't need you to heal me. I'm going to soak in the pool then go to bed. Neither of which requires your help, so go back to your lifemate and take care of her needs."
"I will stay until you are asleep," he countered, and grinned when she muttered how stubborn and bossy he was under her breath. Without waiting for her to respond, he carried her back to the pool. "I have made certain the water is warm enough to ease away your pain." Kicking off his shoes, he climbed over the ledge, and eased down the slope of the pool with her in his arms.
Eyes widening incredulously, she pushed against his chest again. "Are you out of your mind, Riordyn? When I said I wanted to soak in the pool before bed, I didn't mean with you."
"You are weak and the pool is deep. If you will not allow me to heal you, I can do no other than make certain you do not drown, little one." At the deepest part of the pool, the water only reached the middle of his chest, but as long as she didn't know that his explanation sounded reasonable. "Relax, sίvamet, you are safe in my arms."
Water soaked into her thin nightgown, molding it to her body like a sheer second skin. Only then did he realize his mistake. Her firm full breasts pressed against the wet material, tempting him to rip away the fabric and take them into his mouth. Stomach muscles tightening, he felt himself go hard with the need to have her. She is a child, and she belongs to another – I belong to another. "You are nineteen now," he uttered in a strained tone, averting his eyes to look at anything but her.
"Mmmhmm . . . ." His gaze returned to her briefly to gage her expression, but went no lower than her face. Eyes closed, her long hair fanned around her in the water. A small smile tugged at one corner of her lips but otherwise her features were completely relaxed.
Her smile taunts me. Does she not realize what her body is doing to me? His eyes lingered overly long on her lips before he forced himself to look away again. "Once you are well enough to travel, we will search for your lifemate." What if he already turned vampire? The thought brought a smile to his face. What is wrong with me? Sara is my lifemate. She has waited for me through countless lifetimes, and I betray her with my thoughts. "Or we could wait a little longer if you'd prefer."
"Whatever you think is best," she mumbled, sighing contentedly as she waved her hand back and forth in the water.
"I think it would be best if we waited until you're older."
"How much older?" she asked, shifting and squirming in his arms until her body was flush against his. Water trickled down her silky skin, drawing his gaze to the pulse in her throat. Of their own volition his incisors lengthen. "Should I wait until I'm as old as your lifemate?"
"Sara is not old, and yes, I would prefer it if you waited a few more years to find your lifemate."
"I'd rather not."
She suddenly pushed away from him. Caught off guard, he slipped from the large flat rock he was standing on, and went under the water with a splash. Breaking through the surface of the water, he spied her swimming for the opposite side of the pool, and dove after her. Within a matter of seconds, he caught hold of her, and brought her back flush with his body. She writhed against his swollen manhood, driving him to the brink of his control.
"Be still, sίvamet," he uttered breathlessly, tightening his hold around her. "I swear I will damn us both if you do not keep very still." Jenna stopped moving, and glanced up at him, mouth parted slightly in an open invitation. With a low growl, he released her, and turned away. "Go dry off and get dressed in something less revealing."
"I'm not a child –"
"I do not need any reminder that you are not a child!" he snapped, cutting her off. "My body craves the woman you've become, but I will not betray my lifemate. Now go and get dressed!"
Riordyn kept his back to her as she waded to the edge of the pool, and would have continued to look away if the thin material of her nightgown hadn't snagged around his chest. Drawing in a sharp breath, he gathered the gown in his fist, and swung around to watch her saunter toward her bedroom. Even with her skin marbled with ugly bruises, she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on.
You do not play fair, love, he murmured in her mind in a low husky tone.
All's fair in love and war, sίvamet, she chuckled, her laughter echoing in his mind.