Happy Halloween.
Chapter Five
"My feeling is that there is nothing in life but refraining from hurting others, and comforting those who are sad."
- Olive Schreiner
___
Marach forced himself to be calm. He concentrated on his face, on his eyes, pushing the pepper spray out of his eyes, his pores. The burning sensation in his eyes subsided to an ache, and he reached up to wipe off this stuff. It still burned over his skin and his senses. Mindful of the pair of sisters in front of him, he uncouthly spat into his hand and rubbed the healing saliva all over his face. It would look quite repulsive to the human women, but it was the best he could do.
This is quite powerful. And to think these idiot humans are coming up with new types of drugs to try and stop us when this pepper spray level me easily…
To make absolutely he cleaned it all away he called upon the skies again, the rainclouds that were dormant were springing to life, spilling the liquid necessary for him.
"It's raining again," Serenity pointed out.
"Thank God!" Izzy said. "I need it!"
The rain did wash away the rest of that chemical from Marach's face and he could open his eyes again without worry of consequences. Serenity was pulling a hood over her dark blonde hair while Izzy was turning her face up towards the rain, allowing the raindrops to soak into her skin and wash the chemical vapors from her face. But that wouldn't be enough, not for a human. He stood up and walked over to them.
"S-Stay back!" Serenity snapped, raising the pepper spray can again. Marach didn't halt in his steps, but he kept his eyes on the can, not wanting that stuff near him again.
"Serenity, please stop," Izzy said, lowering her head and wiping her face with the back of her hand. "He saved me from Fride."
Serenity glanced at her sister. "He did? Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes. And he saved me when the landslide started." Izzy finished wiping her face and opened her eyes to look at Marach. "So thank you for that, Marach."
Marach stilled in his tracks. She could open her eyes on her own, as if the chemical didn't hurt her anymore…or was completely gone. Her eyes were no longer swollen, nor were the rest of her face. She kept grimacing ever so slightly from slight stings, but other than that she looked fine.
It was only the vapors of the pepper spray that hit her, not a full-blown blast like me. Maybe it doesn't hurt that much?
"So you saved my sister from the vampire?" Serenity asked, though her tone was uncertain. "I'm sorry I sprayed you with the pepper spray. I-I wanted to use it on Fride, but I panicked, and…"
"Thank you," Izzy repeated kindly, her hand suddenly tense on her sister's arm. "I wish I could offer you more than thanks, but we have to go. Our group is probably looking for us."
Marach smiled slightly. So the blood exchange did affect her. Or at least it made her uncomfortable to be around him. But he wasn't about to let her walk away, not by a long shot. "And let you both wander around this mountain on your own?" he began walking towards them again. "I don't think so."
"We m-manage just fine until now," Izzy sputtered. She had to get away from him. If for nothing else than the fact that he'd drunk her blood like a vampire and she drank his. She was trying very desperately to ignore the clenching sensation in her lower body and the heat on her skin, despite the fact that she was muddy and now completely soaked through.
"You're a terrible liar, Isabel," Marach said, the whisper of his tone sounding oddly sensual and causing tiny shivers to wreak havoc on her body.
Serenity looked between the two of them, not at all affected by Marach's words as Izzy was. "All right, what's going on? You tell me one minute he saved you Izzy, but now you're trying to ditch him on this mountain?" her eyes narrowed. "He did try to rape you, didn't he?!"
Izzy shook her head furiously. "No, it wasn't like that…" He drank my blood, I drank his, and he makes my insides melt with his intensity. But no, he didn't try to rape me…
"I'm quite pleased you respond so positively to my courtship."
Izzy jerked her head up. "What did you say?!"
Marach smiled at her. "Did I say something?"
"What you're doing isn't courtship! I don't even—"
"Courtship?" Serenity interrupted, looking between them again. "What courtship?!"
"Serenity, he just said he's courting—"
But Serenity shook her head. "Izzy, he didn't say anything after you answered my question."
"But…" Izzy glared at Marach, who continued to look at her calmly. "What are you doing?"
"I am communicating with you." she could clearly hear his voice and yet his mouth still didn't move. "But I do not wish to alarm your sister with our relationship."
"We have no relationship!" Izzy said hotly. "You saved my life, we're leaving!"
Serenity pressed a hand to Izzy's forehead. "Are you feeling all right? You don't seem feverish." She stilled suddenly and glared at Marach. "Is he using mind control on you? Is he a vampire too?!"
"I happen to have a name, Serenity," Marach said smoothly. He knelt down in front of the sisters. "My name is Marach, and no, I'm not a vampire. I'm a Carpathian."
"Carpathian?" Serenity looked around themselves. "You live here in the Carpathian Mountains?"
"The Carpathian Mountains are my homeland, yes. But my true home is with my lifemate." He looked at Izzy when he said this, who looked away.
Serenity shook her head. "Didn't Fride—no, never mind. I don't really want to know."
"I will never hurt you, either of you. You are both under my protection." Marach stood back up. "We have people we need to meet soon. In any case it would be best we leave here."
"People?" Izzy asked finally. "Are they vampires, too?"
"Carpathians, Isabel. And yes, they're like me. We will surely need all the help we can get now."
"Why?" Serenity asked.
"Because Fride wasn't the only vampire in this country. He was part of a group of vampires, and all of them will be coming after us."
___
When they pulled into a parking spot in front of the inn, Izzy was still feeling quite delirious. She wanted a glass of water desperately, but most of all she wanted to get away from this strange man. He didn't give her the creeps like Fride did, but he wasn't normal. That was certain.
"But what can we truly say is normal? Normalcy measures differently for different people and different cultures."
Izzy flinched. Every time she wanted to just think about something he was there, giving a response no matter how mundane her thought! This lack of privacy inside her own head definitely wasn't normal!
Marach chuckled very softly, the sound causing her insides to squirm. It'd taken her longer than she thought to expel the pepper spray vapors from her eyes, but Marach, who was blasted full in the face by it, seemed to get rid of it rather quickly. But it was pepper spray. It probably wasn't meant to work on vampires.
"I am not a vampire, dragă." He was repeating this to her for the umpteenth time, but his tone was reserved and calm as always. "I am a Carpathian and have placed you both under my protection."
Izzy looked at Serenity in the backseat. Her older sister's body was completely tense, as if poised to run, and she was staring at Marach with a very stony expression. "Are you okay?"
"How did you get the car started when we didn't have the key?" Serenity asked suddenly. She'd been so quiet in the drive back to town but she didn't seem happy Marach saved them. He hadn't even been angry with Serenity for spraying him with pepper spray.
"Anything is possible for me," Marach said smoothly. Izzy was also curious as to how he did it. It didn't take them nearly as long as she thought it would to get back to the jeep. Marach seemed to know exactly where he was going and led them along as such. When they finally reached the jeep, despite their protests he slid in behind the wheel and turned the ignition as though he had a key for it. And, strangely enough, the engine did turn over.
"Do you know how to drive?" Izzy had asked. She'd wanted to climb into the backseat with Serenity, but Marach wasn't having any of that. With a shocking amount of grace he simply picked her up right out of the backseat and put her in the front. All within a span of three seconds.
"Of course I do," Marach responded, smiling at her as he gripped the steering wheel. And…well, he hadn't been bad as their bus driver but he'd still driven way too fast for Izzy's comfort.
"And I am sorry I caused you distress, iubita mea, but I needed to get us back here rather quickly."
"Stop that!" Izzy snapped harshly, rubbing at her temple.
"Stop what?" Marach asked teasingly.
"Stop what?" Serenity echoed, leaning forward in the seat. "Is he hurting you, Izzy?"
"I'm communicating to your sister via a telepathic line," Marach explained as though telekinesis were the same as talking on the phone. "She's quite upset with my driving skills."
Serenity stared at him blankly for a moment. "Why don't you like me?"
The smile on Marach's face faltered. "I don't know what you mean, Serenity."
"I already apologized for spraying you, but from the moment we met you've been really sarcastic with me." Serenity waved a hand, obviously feeling distressed. "You're mocking me when I'm concerned for my sister. Telekinesis, vampires…this is all some big joke, isn't it?! I-I-I mean, what were you doing up there, taking a nap?! Was this some sort of sick joke Fride and you conjured up?! And what happened to Fride?! He might've been…a vampire, but if he's still running around up there then we have to tell somebody! But you're not, which means that this was all some big plan you two made up to play a joke on us!"
"Isabel, please comfort your sister." Izzy was startled by the strain in Marach's voice, even a telepathic one. "She may not be a psychic, but she's projecting her emotions. I'm feeling more than her hurt pride and it's driving me nuts."
"Serenity." Izzy turned in the seat and reached for her shoulder. "It's all right. Marach saved me from Fride. And you don't have to worry about it. Fride won't harm anyone anymore." I don't SEE how he could, considering his head was ripped off!
"He is dead, Isabel. He will never hurt another soul again."
"…All right," Serenity conceded reluctantly. She looked between the two of them. "So what happens now?"
"Now we meet two others who will assist us," Marach said. He turned the ignition back and the car shut off.
"Two more va—Carpathians?" Izzy asked uneasily.
Marach smiled at her, pleased at her self-correction. "Yes, dragă. Two more Carpathians."
"Can we go wash up and change before we meet your friends?" Izzy asked, looking down at herself. Since this was a dead vampire's car she didn't care how dirty it got, but Serenity and her were still completely dirty.
"That can be fixed," Marach said simply. He waved his hand, concentrating on the mud and grim clinging to both women and himself, and simply thought it away.
Izzy looked down at herself. She still looked much disheveled and she still felt like she needed a shower, but the worst of the mess on her was gone. She looked at Serenity and saw her sister looked the same. She knew Marach somehow had a hand in this, as he looked much better too, but how did he do it? "…Thank you," she said instead of asking.
They got out of the jeep and walked up to the front door of the inn. It was past two in the morning; nobody could possibly be awake. And yet a bellboy materialized from the darkness behind the door, unlocking it for them and greeting them very kindly. He didn't seem irritated at having to service them so late. He just smiled at them and let them in, and locked the door behind them.
"Shouldn't we ask him to keep it unlocked?" Izzy hissed at Marach. "Aren't your friends—"
"A locked door won't stop them," Marach assured her, taking hold of her hand.
Izzy tried to jerk her arm away, but he held her hand fast. Still, the familial gesture was oddly soothing. "Don't you need to be invited to go into a house?"
Marach kept a straight face, but his dark eyes were full of laughter. "This inn is more like a public forum than a private residence, Isabel. And more often than not we can simply sneak into someone's home." The suggestiveness behind his words was evident in his dark eyes and Izzy looked away.
The lights were dimmed in the quiet lobby, but strangely enough it still looked quite bright to Izzy, as though it were daytime. And she was able to see Marach more clearly than she had on the mountain and in the car. His hair wasn't black as she thought, but more of a dark brown. It hung shorter than Fride's was, only to his shoulders, although he'd secured it at the back of his head.
"Mahogany."
Izzy paused in her walking. "What?" she asked him aloud.
"What?" Serenity echoed, coming up beside her.
Marach seemed amused that she was still talking to him only aloud and not mentally. "My hair color is the same color as mahogany trees."
Izzy narrowed her eyes at him. "Quite a conceited one, aren't you?"
"No, not really. I can't help but notice that you were thinking about it. Maybe you're thinking about its texture, running your fingers through it while I—"
No, no! Izzy clamped her hands over her ears at the suggestion behind those words. La la la, I can't hear you!
This time Marach burst out laughing, startling both sisters as the beautiful husky sound echoed the lobby. Izzy watched him in silence for a moment, even as laughter bubbled up from within her. She could tell by his mannerisms that he didn't laugh often, and he looked so happy to be laughing at all. It was sort of unnerving.
Serenity grabbed her elbow suddenly. "I have to talk to you, Izzy. Excuse me." She spoke to Marach curtly and dragged Izzy away.
"W-Wait a minute!" Izzy tried to pull free, but Serenity wasn't letting her go. Izzy gave a backward glance at Marach, but he was just standing there, simply watching them walk away.
Serenity pulled Izzy into a short hallway lined with payphones. "All right, what's going on?!" she demanded sharply. "Who's that guy, Isabel?"
"I don't know," Izzy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "He just showed up on the mountain and saved us."
"So you really don't know him at all?"
"Not at all, Serenity." Izzy didn't like being scolded like this. It made her feel like a child and embarrassed. She didn't do anything wrong.
"Then why did he call you 'dragă'?"
Izzy blinked, unfolding her arms. "I don't understand."
"Dragă is Romanian for 'darling' or 'beloved'," Serenity told her. "He's a perfect stranger and yet he gave you this pet name out of the blue?!"
Izzy had noticed the little nicknames Marach had called her. "…What do you want?" she thought to him. She didn't know how to talk mentally as he did, but since he kept invading her head he should be able to hear a simple thought question.
"You, Isabel. I want you."
Heat began to form in her abdomen at his tone and words and her cheeks burned. She looked away from Serenity. "I don't know why he called me that. Maybe he wants to sweet-talk me into bed?"
"I don't think I'll need to sweet talk you when I have you, iubita mea."
"Are you calling me easy?!" she fumed at him, but even as she felt anger she also felt trepidation. He referred to the possibly of them having sex not as a possibly but as a definite future. "And another thing, what does iu—whatever those words are, what do they mean?!"
"My beloved."
He answered each question shamelessly, not at all embarrassed. "I'm not your beloved."
"I would like to think you are. But, you are without a doubt my lifemate."
"Stop talking about lifemates!"
"Isabel!" Serenity snapped suddenly, giving her a quick shake. "You're not listening to a damn thing I'm saying!"
Izzy blinked several times and bent her head. "I'm sorry, Serenity. I'm listening now." "Stop distracting me from my sister!"
"She's spouting some sort of nonsense that I'm only using you to take your virginity and that I will abandon you at the first chance once I get what I supposedly want from you."
"Would you?" she asked. Then another thought crossed her mind. "And I'm NOT a virgin!"
Marach chuckled very quietly. "Yes you are, dragă. Some clumsy oaf copping a feel on you in the backseat of a car when you were fifteen doesn't exactly equate to losing your sexual innocence."
"How did you know about that?! That bastard spread horrible rumors about me when I refused to have sex with him! Everyone thought I was a slut for the rest of the year!"
"And it forever poisoned your intentions towards sex. I intend to rectify that."
"Just shut up! And get out of my head!" Izzy forced a smile at Serenity. "I don't intend to do anything with Marach, Serenity. And if he has any sexual intentions towards me, he'll be very sorry."
"Oh really, dragă?"
"And stop calling me that!"
"Isabel! Serenity!"
Both sisters jumped as Francoise ran over to them, her eyes filled with fright. "They told me you'd returned! Oh, are you all right?! Did you run into any problems?!"
"None," Izzy quickly lied, glancing at Serenity. "We went up there, got the necklace, and came back."
"So you did find the necklace! That's such a relief!" Francoise rubbed at her forehead with the back of her head. "It was so strange, though. I was so adamantly against your going, but then—"
"You were deceived by a fool." In the blink of an eye Marach was at their side. He stepped in front of Francoise and looked straight into her eyes. "He pretended to be an old friend, but then he thought it prudent to abandon these women on the mountain once the necklace had been found. Had I not happened upon them they would no doubt be lost up there."
"But—" Serenity began, but Izzy clamped onto her arm. It was bad enough they knew vampires existed, but if Marach wasn't revealing the truth to Francoise, then it was best left as a secret.
"You will never, ever turn your clients over into another's hands again, no matter who they claim they are." There was a hardened edge to Marach's voice that demanded full cooperation and compliance.
Francoise stared at him in silence, her face blank. Then she quickly nodded. "Absolument. I will never put my clients in danger again no matter what." She turned towards Izzy and Serenity, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Je suis désolé. Rather, I'm very sorry ladies."
"Je vous pardonne," Izzy responded, remembering the French from high school. She glared at Marach. "Fride was manipulating her into doing what he wanted, the same as you're doing now. Try going easy on her."
"I cannot, dragă, when it was your life that was in danger. And I only control her now because if she knew the truth it would create problems."
"But it's all right for Serenity and I to know?!"
"For you, definitely. For Serenity however, that's different."
"How is it different?! She's my sister!" Izzy couldn't believe she was having a mental argument with him.
"That's true. But she is not my lifemate."
"I told you to stop saying that! I'm not your lifemate or soul mate or whatever the hell you think I am! I belong only to myself and nobody else! I just can't wait until the rain clears so I can get out of this country and away from you!"
Marach gave her a sideways glance and looked back into Francoise's eyes. "I must ask that you relinquish Isabel and Serenity Crane from your watch and into my care. I will be handling everything for them from now on."
"What?!" Serenity screamed.
"You can't pull us from the tour!" Izzy snapped at him. "I paid almost ten thousand dollars for the both of us to have a tour of Europe! We haven't even seen Greece yet!"
"I will take you to Greece someday, Isabel. I will take you to whatever place you want to go."
"Such as away from you?! You have no right to just suddenly take charge of us!"
"It is my right, Isabel, and I must do so because you're not out of danger. Fride wasn't the last vampire, there will be more that come. Until I can have aid reach us, neither of you can leave my side." He narrowed his eyes at her. "And if you insist on leaving, I will come after you, Isabel. Rest assured, I will find you anywhere should you try to hide from me."
His words were like a supreme execution of authority and they confused Izzy terribly. What was wrong with him? Why was he so possessive over a complete stranger? It wasn't normal.
Francoise seemed to completely agree with Marach. "If that's what needs to be done, then so be it. I shall also refund the necessary money to Isabel's account for the parts of the trip she will be missing."
"So much for never turning her clients into another's hands again," Izzy pointedly thought at Marach, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"I have every right to see to your safety, iubita mea. Or would you rather Francoise or the people of your tour be subjected to a hunt by vampires?"
Izzy flinched. She hadn't thought of that. And Fride had threatened to murder her family and friends if they dared tried to rescue them. But the vampires wouldn't kill an entire group of people, would they? How in the hell would they explain the mass murder of almost thirty people?
"I can assure you, Isabel that they would most definitely kill everyone on your tour in order to get to both Serenity and you. And vampires in general really don't care if humans find out about our existence and so they don't bother to hide their kills, no matter what the numbers might be. It falls upon the shoulders of the Carpathians to destroy this menace, but at the same time sadly destroy their evidence in order to preserve our existence."
"So you just blow up the victims with lightning? Like with the vampires?"
"If the victim lives, then we will erase their memory, dragă. But we cannot revive a dead body. It's gruesome work and there are times that the victim's family has no idea that they died, but it's what needs to be done. I'm of a persecuted race, Isabel. I cannot recount to you just how many of my people have died because of foolhardy humans. Nobody can find out about us. No one at all."
Izzy could feel the sadness in his tone and it broke her heart. She couldn't help but swallow thickly, even though she wasn't speaking aloud. "But I know. Serenity knows. Does this mean you'll erase our memories?"
"I will never tamper with your memories, iubita mea. Serenity might be a different story though, once we figure out what's wrong with her."
Izzy's head shot up and looked at Marach in shock. "Y-You'll find out—" but then she stopped dead and looked at her sister briefly. "…How did you know?"
"You," he said simply. He raised a hand and cupped her cheek. "I know because of you."
"You know what?" Serenity demanded. She was clearly frustrated with the both of them. "The two of you have been standing there just staring at each other for a long time! And not that either of you care, but Francoise just walked off!" She glared at Marach. "Are you mind-controlling my sister? That little conversation you had with Francoise fell immediately into your favor!"
Marach looked at her, his expression gentle. "I'm not controlling your sister, Serenity. You might not believe me, but I wasn't lying when I said I established a telepathic link between us. We were simply talking, that's all."
Serenity looked between the two of them again, hugging her arms to herself. "Why do you have to think at each other and not talk out loud? When I see my little sister just standing there in some trance it really creeps me out."
"I'm sorry," Izzy said quickly, touching her gently on the arm. "I'll try and speak out loud from now on."
"What we share is a natural connection between lifemates, iubita mea," Marach said. "We shouldn't have to stop this because it 'creeps' Serenity out."
"She's in distress. Try being a little easier on her." and now Izzy was distressed. Serenity wasn't back to normal by a long shot, but some of her fire had resurfaced trying to defend Izzy on the mountain. But now…now the sadness was creeping back into her eyes, into her demeanor, and it was very disheartening. If Marach meant what he said, that he wanted to help Serenity, Izzy would be forever grateful. But how could he manage where her own family failed to do?
"Do not worry." A brush of warmth fell over Izzy's mind and she felt the tension leave her body. "Nothing will happen to her. You love her and cherish her and I can do no other than to protect what you love most."
Izzy raised a hand to her head. There it was again; that same odd feeling she'd been having over the past few days, which constantly erased all of her stress and pain and filled her with strength. She looked at Marach with shock. Did he…?
Marach raised his head sharply. "They're here," he told them. "Stay close to me just in case."
Serenity gripped Izzy's hand as they followed Marach out of the short hallway to a circle of couches in the lobby. Who were these Carpathians that wanted to speak to Marach?
Izzy looked around Marach's arm. A man and woman were watching their approach, both of them standing beside one of the couches. As they drew nearer, Izzy's eyes went to the woman. She quickly looked at Serenity. "Hey, doesn't she look familiar?"
"…A little," Serenity said, her tone dejected but she looked as well.
The man stepped forward to greet Marach. Instead of shaking hands they both reached out and clasped each other's forearms. "So it is you we must thank for not only saving these women but also destroying a vampire in this area," the man greeted.
"I can do no other than to protect what's mine," Marach answered. They released each other. "I am Marach. You both are Falcon and Sara?"
"Sara?!" Izzy gasped, looking at the woman a little more closely. Yes, it was her! The mother they'd briefly met just yesterday! But she was a Carpathian? How could she have children?
"I can explain this to you gently if you like," Marach told her amusingly. "For you see, when a Carpathian male claims his lifemate, the urge to mate is—"
"Okay, shut up! I know about sex, you idiot!" Izzy tried to keep a straight face as she greeted the other two. "Hello, again."
Sara positively smiled at the sisters. "Hello again to you too. I'm sorry we were not properly introduced before." She raised a hand up to her chest. "I'm Sara, and this is my lifemate Falcon."
"Izzy Crane," Izzy greeted nearly shoving Marach out of the way to shake her hand. She motioned to Serenity. "This is Serenity, my older sister."
"Serenity?" Sara smiled very gently at her. "That's a beautiful name." Izzy noticed her tone of voice changed slightly when addressing her sister. She didn't sound so casual and she spoke her words very carefully.
"Thank you," Serenity mumbled. She broke away from Izzy and took a seat on one of the couches.
They all took this as a cue to sit back down at well. Izzy sat closely to Serenity, but Marach took a very close seat next to her, his thigh pressing against hers. Butterflies began to form in her stomach and she tried to ignore it. "So, what do you guys want to talk about?"
"To begin with," Falcon said. "We apologize for the lack of aid we sent to you. Once we discovered you both we should've been more careful in keeping an eye on you. Two unclaimed females in this region wandering without protection is very dangerous, as you might well know now."
"It really is no problem," Izzy said. "Serenity and I are grown women. We weren't expecting you two to be our keepers, and nobody could've predicted what happened would happen."
"Because of what happened I was able to meet my lifemate," Marach said staunchly. "And I will face the fires of hell before I allow her to fall into danger again."
Izzy felt heat on her cheeks from his brazen declaration of feelings for her. Men weren't usually this outspoken about their feelings, were they? Not the men she knew anyway. Out of the corner of her eye though she saw Serenity flinch slightly. She tried to forget her embarrassment and squeezed her sister's hand.
Falcon nodded to Marach's words as though he completely understood him. "I should've checked in on them once we rose, but unfortunately I was a little caught up."
"Caught up?" Marach repeated.
"We contacted Gregori to ask for his input," Sara explained easily. "Unfortunately it took us a long time to finally talk to him. We explained the situation to him and he agreed that there was cause for concern."
Marach stiffened. "The Dark One isn't coming here, is he?"
"Dark One?" Izzy asked uneasily.
"Gregori Daratrazanoff," Falcon said. "Second-in-command to our Prince and the strongest healer of our people. Most know him as the Dark One."
"There have been whispers of foreigners in town! And when foreign women come to the Carpathian Mountains, it must mean they have been drawn here by the Dark One!"
Izzy shuddered and rubbed her arms.
"Isabel?" Marach slid a hand to the small of her back, cradling it there comfortingly. "Are you all right?"
"Fride mentioned the Dark One," she said quietly. "He said the Dark One lures foreign women here in order for lifemates to be found." She gave him a sideways glance. "Is that what happened with Serenity and me? I've been feeling this horribly strong urge to come here to Romania, to the Carpathian Mountains. Was it because of this Gregori?"
Marach shook his head. "I'm afraid…that the fault for that is with me. I only became aware of your presence, dragă, only just recently and I felt your distress quite strongly. I used every ounce of my willpower to summon you to my side, using our natural link as lifemates to send a compulsion to you to summon you to my side."
Izzy looked at him incredulously. "So you're the reason I wanted to come here so desperately? You really have been controlling me! Fride wouldn't have attacked us if it weren't for you!"
Marach rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand. "This is true. But if you hadn't come, then Fride would still be alive terrorizing people."
Thinking of it that way didn't make Izzy feel any better. "You just told me you wouldn't use mind-control on me and yet you've been using it on me this whole time!"
"That is not true. I put a compulsion on you to come here, yes, but never once have I forced my will upon you. You had the option to fight the urge to come here. You didn't. I'm sorry I have caused you distress about this, but I truly had no other choice. You had to come here, dragă. I may be a Carpathian hunter but I'm very vulnerable. I need to be saved and only you can save me."
"Because I'm supposedly your lifemate?"
"Exactly."
Falcon cleared his throat discreetly. "Have you settled your personal matters?"
"Yes," Marach said before Izzy could say anything. "Is the Dark One coming here to see us? I would like to think he was too busy tending to his daughters to come here."
"Daughters?" Izzy asked.
"Savannah, Gregori's lifemate, gave birth to twin daughters not too long ago," Sara supplied. "They're very weak at the moment, but they live."
"That's wonderful news!" Izzy forgot that she was angry. She loved children, even though she envisioned she would never have any of her own. Anytime she had fantasies of children, they always involved future children Serenity would have. Serenity would make an ideal mother…if she ever recovered from whatever was bothering her.
Still, the second part of Sara's explanation worried Izzy. "But the babies are weak? Then he definitely shouldn't come here! His daughters must come first!"
"Absolutely," Falcon agreed.
Izzy felt a little relieved she wouldn't be face-to-face with someone dubbed 'the Dark One'.
"Which is why we'll all be traveling up to meet with him," Falcon finished.
She knew it was too good to be true. "I-Is that necessary?! But what about the vampires? I mean you guys said they were after Serenity and me. What will happen if they find out about the babies?!"
"Everyone knows about them," Sara said. "There was a horrible battle that occurred during the birthing ceremony and Savannah almost died, including a number of the women attending to her. But the threat level against the newborn girls won't change with or without your presence."
"I would like to present you to the Prince as well," Marach said, looking at her with such intensity that she had to look away from him again. "He is Savannah's father and is working meticulously to watch over his grandchildren."
"Oh man, you guys have a Prince too?" Izzy rubbed at her head nervously. "This is going too fast. I don't even know you, Marach!"
"Trust in your lifemate," Sara implored her. "He will see to your needs as no other would."
Izzy shook her head irritably. "Does Falcon give you as much trouble as Marach gives me?!"
"That's quite rude, Isabel."
"Actually, I knew about Falcon before I met him," Sara said cheerfully. "It was truly a blessing to be able to meet him and join with him."
"So you received no initial problems from your lifemate?" Marach asked Falcon. He snorted slightly. "I have heard many reports that the males who claim human women—or really any women for that matter—receive a great deal of initial hostility and trouble."
"I'm quite lucky," Falcon said cheekily. "But it would appear Izzy here is giving you the typical trouble."
"Well—"
"Enough!" Izzy snapped. "Don't talk about me like I'm not here!"
"In any case," Falcon redirected. "I believe it's imperative that Gregori look at Serenity."
"So you may know what's wrong with her?" Izzy asked, excitement and joy consuming her. She felt a brush of relief combined with these emotions, and she had a sensing feeling it came from Marach.
"We…have an idea," Sara said. "But Gregori is the only one who can confirm whether or not we're right. But anyways he can soften the blow of her pain considerably and maybe even rid her of her…tendencies."
Izzy felt uncomfortable that complete strangers knew Serenity was suicidal. She knew if they were vampires, Carpathians, whatever, that they could read her mind and see such things. But if they could help Serenity, and most certainly stop her from trying to kill herself, Izzy could do no more than accept them.
Elated, Izzy turned in her seat. "Sere—"
Serenity wasn't there. And a quick scan of the lobby showed she wasn't around at all.
"Oh, God, Serenity!" Izzy leapt to her feet, panic overtaking her senses.
Marach cursed violently as he stood up. "I neither heard nor sensed her leave!"
"None of us did," Falcon said grimly. "We most definitely need to keep a very close eye on her."
Izzy barely heard their words. She took off running, not knowing where her sister could've gone and feeling so helpless about it. She spied the doors leading outside, seeing that they were wide open. But they were locked!
"Do NOT go outside." Marach's order was clear in her head. Izzy ignored him though and flew out the doors.
Thankfully, she didn't have far to go. Serenity sat on the curb only a couple of feet away, her long legs stretched out carelessly into the road. Her head was bent and her arms rested on her knees as if thrown there.
Izzy ran over to her, trying and failing not to become too angry. "How many times are you going to do this, Serenity?! Just wandering off like that without saying anything to me?! You're giving me panic attacks!"
Serenity said nothing, simply staring down into her lap. Izzy allowed herself to calm down and knelt down next to her sister. "Damn it all, just talk to me! Tell me anything, everything, I don't care! I want to help you, Serenity! I want you to be happy!"
"…You're in love with him," Serenity murmured quietly.
Izzy stared at her stunned. "What?"
"Marach. You're in love with him."
"No, I'm not!" Izzy said defensively. "I don't even know him, Serenity!" even as she said these words though, uncertainty floated in the outer edge of her being. It was all so strange. She wasn't the type to just throw herself at a random man, and Marach was a perfect stranger who was too demanding.
But she knew him. Somehow. She'd felt genuine grief when she thought he died. When he kissed her he completely rocked her world. With a simple word or a light caress she could feel his every emotion, and he could feel hers. It was so strange, so unbelievable. But it couldn't be love, not at all.
And Serenity only added fuel to her uncertainty. "You talk to each other psychically. He touches you and looks at you like…well, I don't even know. I've never seen anyone act the way he does around you, not even our parents. But you love him and you want him, Izzy."
"It…" Izzy didn't want to go into any details. "Is this the reason you're upset and you left? You can't be jealous, can you?"
Serenity raised her head and glared at her. "I'm not jealous, Isabel. I don't like Marach. He doesn't seem normal to me. But…" she looked away. "All right, I admit it. It was difficult to sit there as the fifth wheel to two couples."
"Marach and I are not a couple," Izzy said hotly. "You don't have to—"
"Why, Izzy?" Serenity asked suddenly, her tone mournful. Tears began to spill from her eyes, stabbing Izzy right in the heart all over again. "Why can't I be happy again? Why can't I look at you with this new man and be happy for you? Instead I feel wretched! It won't go away, no matter how hard I try and I HAVE been trying! I want to be happy like you! But I'm missing something and I don't know how to get it back!" she'd reached the level of hysteria now, curling up into herself. "I can't get it back and now everything's eating away at me! It all hurts so much, Izzy! I can't stand it! I just can't—"
There was a 'whoosh' of air and suddenly Serenity was pulled to her feet. Izzy jumped it on full alert, not liking that her body relaxed the minute she recognized Marach's presence.
"Sleep," he commanded Serenity, brushing a hand across her forehead. "You will sleep now and not awaken until I tell you to."
And just like that, Serenity was asleep. Her sobbing and screams ceased as though somebody had pressed 'mute' on her and she slumped into his arms.
Izzy didn't realize she was shaking until she tried to talk. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably. "M-Marach—"
"We must leave now," Marach told her gently, lifting Serenity up into his arms. "Falcon and Sara have invited us to stay in their home until it is time to leave and meet with Gregori. The bellboy is bringing down your things. Is this all right with you, Isabel?"
Izzy could hardly believe he was asking her permission. But she found the weight in her chest was far too great. She couldn't help Serenity; that was all too apparent now. She didn't even know how to.
"Shh." Marach suddenly leaned his head against hers and Izzy felt that wonderful warmth again. "Don't blame yourself, or take credit away from yourself. You tried, Isabel. You've been trying so hard to help her. Let us help you. Let me help you."
Izzy closed her eyes, vaguely aware of the tears on her own cheeks. She must've been as hysterical as Serenity. "All right…" she had no choice. Maybe these people can help Serenity.
"I fully intend to help Serenity, iubita mea. But most of all, I will help you."
___
Falcon and Sara lived in a wonderful house. It seemed a little larger than life and children's toys were strewn all over the floor in the living room. Izzy had to remind herself that they had two sons to take care of.
"Seven."
Izzy paused in the doorway. "What?"
"They have seven children living here."
"Seven?!" Izzy shook her head in disbelief. "That's…interesting."
"They're all adopted, iubita mea."
"Oh." That explained a lot, of course.
"The children are in bed," Sara threw over her shoulder, directing them to the stairs. "So they should give you no hassle as you settle in. We'll show you to your rooms—"
"Room," Izzy quickly corrected her.
Sara looked towards her. "I'm sorry?"
"I'm sleeping with Serenity. I don't intend to leave her side."
"That really isn't necessary," Falcon said. "We can monitor her very carefully."
But Izzy shook her head. "I've kept watch over her since…I've been the one keeping an eye on her. I can sleep in the same bed as her, it's no big deal."
"…All right," Sara said reluctantly. She turned to the housekeeper tending to their bags. "Ca va fi doar o singura camera, Slavica." Even though she was of American descent, she spoke perfect Romanian to the housekeeper.
"Da, doamna," Slavica responded good-naturedly.
"Let's put Serenity to bed," Falcon said, motioning them to go upstairs. "Do you intend to establish a link, Marach?"
"Establish a link, Marach?" Izzy asked.
"Only with my lifemate's permission," Marach answered him.
"We'll be up shortly," Sara said. "I hope you find the room to your liking."
Izzy managed a small smile for her. "Thank you very much for your hospitality."
Sara shrugged. "It's really no problem."
Izzy followed Marach upstairs, noticing that he knew where to go. There was a long line of bedrooms down the hall; oddly enough she could hear the soft breathing of children in each room, all of them asleep. Three of the bedrooms were occupied; three girls slept in one, two boys in second, and two more in the third. "What did Falcon mean by 'establishing a link'?"
"The most common one would be to take her blood and give her mine," Marach said matter-of-factly. "That would give me the ability to read her thoughts and intentions, and be able to sense if she's about to attempt suicide. But I intend to put a compulsion stopping her from such thoughts, which should hold until Gregori gets a proper look at her."
"Take her blood?!" Izzy burst out. She thought back to the mountain, her mouth on his chest drinking his blood. "Won't that make…" A tremor of fear washed over her, taking an inventory of her enhanced hearing, and her better eyesight at the inn. "Did you change me? I'm not human anymore, am I?"
"No, you're still human," Marach said. "It takes three blood exchanges to convert a human."
"I don't want your blood anywhere near my sister or me!" Izzy snapped, but then paused with worry that she might wake the children.
Marach stopped and turned to face her. "I'm not an ancient, dragă, but my blood is very powerful. With my blood I was able to heal some of your injuries, and establish a proper link between us. I know Serenity still has fresh wounds she's not allowing to be healed. I can heal them with my blood, but I don't intend to convert her."
"But you want to convert me though." It wasn't a question.
Marach said nothing to that and turned back around, starting his walk again. "We must see to your sister, Isabel. If I take her blood I really will be able to read her mind. It will open me to the full-force of her grief, yes, but with it I can stop her every single time she attempts suicide. You have saved her twice from suicide, but both were during her attempts. I will be able to stop her just as the idea pops into her head. That's a little more convenient than simply waiting in fear, isn't it?"
Izzy hadn't thought of it that way. She began to follow him again, very slowly. "You would really do that? Monitor her and share in her pain just to keep her alive? But why?"
"She is your sister, iubita mea, and you love her tremendously. If she were to die, the sorrow would be too much for either of us to take. It will monitor her to save her life, yes, but more than anything I wish to spare you the grief of losing her."
Tears leapt into her eyes again and she bit her lower lip. "Thank you, Marach. But I don't like thinking it's because of me—"
"It is because of you, Isabel. I have come to her aid for you."
They reached the bedroom. Izzy reached out to open the door for Marach, but she felt the doorknob almost spring from her hand. She hastily opened the door and stepped aside to let Marach walk in ahead of her. It was a beautiful, if not plain room. Light beige and dark brown were the color themes in this room, beige coloring the walls and the sheets of the enormous bed against the far wall, the dark browns paneling the wall, framing the bed, and framing the furniture. Antique furniture had been places about the room as though on display, although the cushions for the chairs were just as dark as the wood that held them up. The floor was completely carpeted, although the carpet had a dark Celtic design on it.
Marach moved quickly now, even though he'd been walking very simply before. In the blink of an eye he was at the bedside, gently laying Serenity down on the right side of the bed. It worried Izzy that Serenity wasn't reacting to anything. She didn't stir when he shifted her to lie partially on her left side. She didn't even seem to be breathing.
"I've sent her into a deep sleep, dragă," Marach answered her unspoken concerns. "She was causing tremendous strain on herself and on you with her hysteria. Without her awareness it should be easier to give her some temporary help." He looked at Izzy over his shoulder. "But I won't do this without your permission. Do you want me to establish a link between myself and Serenity?"
A hard lump had formed in Izzy's throat. She slowly walked across the room to take a seat in one of the chairs facing the side of the bed Serenity lay on. She was so scared for her sister, not only for her condition, but because of this dark world they'd been introduced to in only a few short hours. Vampires, Carpathians…Marach was hinting that he had no intention of taking away her memory of this, but wouldn't hesitate with Serenity.
"What would happen if I said no?" Izzy barely spoke above a whisper.
"I would take away her memory of what she witnessed tonight," Marach said. "And I could still soften the blow of her sorrow. But I cannot completely ease it away. Gregori will have a much better grasp of what's wrong with her, and despite my own misgivings I feel she needs to have full awareness of herself when he sees her."
Izzy knew he was right. And she wasn't comfortable with the idea that her sister's memories had been tampered with, especially without her permission. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she jerked her head in a nod. "Do it, Marach. Link with her now before I change my mind."
Marach stared at her for a long moment before he nodded his understanding and turned towards Serenity. A sharp pain knifed itself in Izzy's chest. She remembered the intimacy that occurred between the two of them when Marach took her blood and gave her his. He bit her so sensually on the neck and she drank from his chest. Izzy looked away, bile rising in her throat. Would he handle her sister that same way? It was too horrible to think about.
If Marach could read her concerns, it didn't show on his calm face. Izzy started slightly when he simply took hold of Serenity's wrist and lifted it up. He rolled up the sleeve and visibly faltered when he saw the hideous scratches and fresh scars on her wrist and all the way up her arm. He glanced at Izzy briefly and yanked her sleeve back down to her wrist. Shock and sympathy was radiating from him and Izzy could feel each sensation. "Poor girl."
"Thank you," she responded sincerely, touched by the dismay and outrage he felt on her sister's behalf.
Marach turned her hand this way and that, obviously debating what to do. After a moment he bent his head and sank his teeth into her palm. Izzy flinched at this, but Serenity still didn't react.
Marach didn't drink a lot of blood. After a couple of moments he pulled away, licking at her puncture wounds neutrally. As important as this was, Izzy couldn't help but compare this to their blood exchange. How he was handling Serenity was very different from how he handled her.
"Because Serenity is your older sister, and I only see her in such a way. I have only one lifemate, Isabel, and that's you. I will treat nobody else how I treat you."
Izzy said nothing to this. She watched him lay Serenity's hand back down on the bed. He lifted Serenity up slightly into his arms and lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit deep. Blood leaked out across his wrist and he pressed it to Serenity's slackened mouth.
"Hear me now." Izzy jumped at Marach's voice in her head. But she knew he wasn't speaking to her. He was speaking to Serenity. "Serenity Maura Crane, sister to my lifemate Isabel. I give of you my blood freely. My blood is very powerful, and it will enhance your senses and heal your body. I have taken your blood too, so that I may watch over you and protect you. However, I will make this decree to you one time only. Henceforth you are not allowed to attempt to take your own life. You will not think about taking your own life. And if you feel such urges you will come to either myself or Isabel and discuss them with us. You are under our protection and you will live. Until the Dark One can give you further aid, we will not allow you to die."
Marach removed his wrist from Serenity's mouth and licked his wound. A line of blood had leaked from the side of Serenity's mouth, but Izzy hurried over to wipe it away. "Will she be all right now?"
"She'll be all right," Marach said. He lay Serenity down and ran his hand through Izzy's hair. "You don't have to worry, about either her or me. She is your sister first and foremost."
Izzy shook her head. "I-I-I didn't mean—"
"Don't worry, I know." He released her and stood up. "I must leave now, Isabel. But I will be back soon."
"Where are you going?" Izzy asked, suddenly feeling afraid.
"I must go out for a short while. It may not show, but I haven't fed tonight." But Izzy became aware of it too quick; very pressing hunger at the core of his being. "To be honest, I haven't fed since I went to ground to heal."
Heal. Izzy saw visions in her head of two men, two vampires she'd never seen before. But Marach had known them, in another time, and yet they still tried to kill him. Cassander, and…Parn? They were brothers, and Marach and Cassander had injured each other so badly. "Are you all right now?" she asked quietly. It unnerved her that he seemed to know so much about her and yet there was so little she knew about him.
"Not so, dragă. It's all there for you to see if you wish it."
Izzy didn't know if she really wanted to see it at all. But Marach smiled at her and touched her on the cheek before he left. His caress almost felt like a kiss on the cheek, and her body reacted as though it had been.
She didn't know how long he was gone, but it felt like such a long time. Izzy knelt down by the bedside and rested her head on the pillow next to Serenity's. She was tired; she wanted to curl up in bed and forget any of this happened. Most of all she wanted Serenity to get better. She wanted her to smile, to laugh, to just be back to her normal self. It seemed less and less likely that this would happen.
Serenity…Izzy closed her eyes and leaned back, sitting up slightly. She pulled away the covers from the headboard to tuck around Serenity. I hope they can save you…
Somehow though, she didn't doubt in Marach's words. He said he wanted to save Serenity, and Izzy believed him. And he also said that he wanted her…and Izzy believed him on that too.
"To be honest, I haven't fed since I went to ground to heal."
He needed blood like a vampire. And yet he gave of his blood twice, to both Izzy and Serenity, to help them. And he took their blood but only a little bit, even though he was hungry. He wasn't anything like Fride, or what she saw of his former friends in that memory. He was something different…but that wasn't bad. Izzy felt she could count on him to help Serenity…and for everything else.
"Of course you can count on me."
Arms suddenly circled around her from behind, gently lifting her away from Serenity. Her body tensed outwardly, even though she relaxed inwardly. "I didn't hear you return," she said quietly.
"I have a question," Marach said, stirring strands of hair around her ear with his breath. "Why is it that your blood is so different?"
Izzy stiffened. "Different?"
"Yes, dragă. Both Serenity and you don't feel the same as other humans. Your blood tastes different to me. I thought it was because of our bond, but the same applies for the both of you. When I went to heal the mark of my bite, I also found with the both of you that once my teeth left your skin it began to scab immediately." Truthfully, he hadn't notice a real difference until he fed this evening. The man's blood he took was nothing like the blood these sisters carried. He burrowed his face into her hair. "If you don't know why this is so, then that's fine all the same."
He was interrogating her, and yet Izzy felt like he was seducing her instead. She focused on Serenity, still deeply asleep, and took in a deep breath. "I do don't know," she said quietly. "But there is something about my blood that is odd. Serenity and I don't injure easily. Cuts heal instantly and bruises and broken bones heal in a matter of hours. And it's impossible for us to poison ourselves; our bodies just expel the fluid." She couldn't believe she was talking about this aloud. She'd never talked about this before, not even to her closest friends.
Marach sighed to himself, trying not to be distracted by the fragrance of her hair. This would all explain why he couldn't heal her cut on her head and why her shoulder-injury appeared less and less threatening to him the times he examined it. He'd given her his blood to establish their bond and to heal her, but it would appear she could do fine without the healing blood and saliva of the Carpathians.
Regenerative blood. That's a new one.
"I'm scared, Marach," Izzy said suddenly.
He tensed at the sorrowful tone of her words. "Why, iubita mea?"
"I'm not…use to all this. I don't want Serenity to be this destitute. I want her to get well. And you…"
"And me?" his hold on her suddenly became possessive.
"I don't know you at all. I just met you tonight, and even that had weird circumstances. And yet the way you speak to me…" she shook her head. "Nobody has talked to me that way before. And I don't understand anything about lifemates."
"Trust in your lifemate. He will see to your needs as no other would."
"Sara wasn't wrong, iubita mea. Every moment of my existence I have lived for you, just for you. I have corrected you timelessly about not calling me a vampire, but the truth is the vampire isn't really different from us. All Carpathian men have an inner darkness that fights to control them and sway them away from the light. When they have nothing and nobody but that darkness to coax them, it can be quite unbearable. Many Carpathians can resist it, and I know of two who resisted it for two thousand years. This in turn has given me strength to resist it, but a lot of Carpathian men cannot. They can give into the darkness, most often times after the high of a kill, and they become the undead, lose their souls. The only thing that can save them is their lifemate, the light to their darkness. A lifemate can sustain them and save their souls, turning them towards the light."
Izzy took a deep breath and let it out, finding that the words wrapped around her being. Two thousand years? How long did Carpathians live? But instead of asking these questions, there was a more pressing one in her mind. "So when you call me your lifemate, I'm the light to your darkness?" it sounded so unbelievable, but she couldn't help but hang onto his words.
Marach's arms tightened around her. "Yes, Isabel."
"But how do you know this? Fride also claimed I was his lifemate."
"Fride made this claim as a mechanism to control you. However, there are vampires who wish to reclaim their souls and so they latch onto any human woman they convince themselves is their lifemate. This is futile however; as their souls are unsalvageable once they give them away."
"And you?"
"Carpathian males lose their emotions and the ability to see in color after about two hundred years of living. Having this handicap can further aid a Carpathian to choosing the dark path. But a few weeks ago I heard you praying in my head. I felt your sorrow and I could feel Serenity's sorrow through you. And then when I saw you for the very first time my world exploded with colors. That was the reason I hurt you, because for the moment I couldn't handle what I was seeing. But now I am fine and my purpose is clear. I live for you, iubita mea, and only for you."
Izzy felt her eyes slide closed. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably. What he was telling her sounded so beautiful, but could it really be true?
Marach leaned away from her slightly, turning her in his arms so that she was facing him. The temptation of her sweet mouth was too great and he swept down to taste her again.
Izzy started, and felt her knees buckle. How could one simple kiss just level her like this? She clung to his shoulders for dear life, unable to resist him or what he offered her, no matter how dangerous and absurd it was.
Marach broke free of the kiss abruptly, his body tight and hot with need. He wanted to take her, but she was still wary of him. He wanted her to trust in him more before he made his complete claim on her. Seeing Serenity still lying in the bed under the compulsion of deep sleep helped him to keep the cravings he had for her body at bay.
But he knew how to sustain himself. He lifted her slightly into his arms, her feet partially coming off the floor. The ritual words hummed in his mind again and he would accept no interruptions of any kind this time. "Te avio päläfertiilam."
Izzy stiffened, and looked at Marach's face. She felt an unexpected pull from that one, foreign sentence. His expression was full of sensuality and desire radiated from his eyes. She was still unused to anyone looking at her like this, but she couldn't look away.
Moreover, that simple sentence quickly began to make sense to her, even as she didn't speak the language. "You are my lifemate."
Marach leaned down, brushing her face with his own. "Éntölam kuulua, avio päläfertiilam." "I claim you as my lifemate." "Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed. Élidamet andam. Pesämet andam. Uskolfertiilamet andam. Sívamet andam. Sielamet andam. Ainamet andam. Sívamet kuuluak kaik että a ted." "I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give you my protection. I give you my allegiance. I give you my heart. I give you my soul. I give you my body. I take into my keeping the same that is yours."
Izzy closed her eyes, unable to resist the lure of his words. Something inside of her was tightening and releasing in such a way that she'd never experienced before. She couldn't help but press herself closer to Marach.
"Ainaak olenszal sívambin. Te élidet ainaak pide minan. Te avio päläfertiilam. Ainaak sívamet jutta oleny. Ainaak terád vigyázak." "Your life will be cherished by me for all my time. Your life will be placed above my own for all time. You are my lifemate. You are bound to me for all eternity. You are always in my care."
As he finished the chant, Marach felt something drop in his chest, as though a great weight were released. His breath was shaking as he felt the spiritual frameworks of their beings thread together, tie together. They were one, each halves of the same whole. They couldn't be apart, not ever again. And Marach would never accept it if she left him.
Izzy still felt very dizzy. Marach leaned down and scooped her legs up, raising her into his arms. He carried her over to the other side of the bed. She buried her face into his chest, feeling his powerful heartbeat, and feeling safe trapped within the walls of his body.
He carefully stretched her out on the bed, tucking the covers around her as she did Serenity. He leaned over her then, the upper half of his body shadowing her as he simply stared down at her. He needed her desperately, but he could wait. It was something he was good at.
Izzy looked up at him through, trying to keep her breathing under control. She felt different somehow, and she knew it had little to do with the blood he'd given her earlier. "What do you intend to do, Marach?"
He raised a hand played with a strand of hair alongside her cheeks with two fingers. "I intend to become part of your life, Isabel. I also intend to protect both Serenity and you from any dangers that may come at you." He leaned down closer until his face was just a breath's away from hers. "Most of all, I intend to be with you always. I can't be without you, especially now that we are tied together. I want you by my side and I intend to keep you here no matter what."
It was becoming more and more difficult to stay calm under his gaze. He looked at her with such intensity that she couldn't look away. He wanted her, and not just her body. He intended to possess her entire being, everything of hers that existed. And to her own shock, she realized she could deny him nothing. He wanted all of her…and she wanted to give it to him.
"Marach, can we speak to you for a moment?"
Izzy was startled at this voice in her head. It sounded like Falcon.
Marach's brow furrowed, as though he was irritated by the interruption, but he leaned back up into a sitting position. "It is Falcon. Before I returned to you we shared blood, so that we might remain in contact in this crucial time. You were able to hear him speak to me because of our bond."
"What does he want to talk about?" Izzy asked. She glanced at Serenity.
"It might be about Serenity," Marach agreed. "But I shall find out shortly."
"D-Do you want me to come with you?"
"I'd rather you get some rest here. You've had a very trying night; so many new things have happened to you that have altered your perception of life and your life in general. It's a lot to take in such a short period of time."
Izzy found she was tired. She could barely keep her eyes open. "Are you causing this?"
"You're genuinely tired, iubita mea. In addition to running for your life from a vampire and surviving a landslide in the span of a couple of hours, you've been running around Europe for nearly a month and exhausting yourself taking care of your sister. You need sleep, real sleep without having to wake up wondering where Serenity is."
"And I won't now?" she asked uncertainly.
"I've put Serenity in a very deep sleep. She won't wake up until I tell her to, so don't be alarmed. I could put you in a similar sleep too, if you—"
"Thanks, but I'll sleep on my own," Izzy interrupted, closing her eyes. "Good night, Marach."
He didn't respond for a long minute. Izzy nearly jumped out of her skin when lips brushed over her own and she snapped her eyes open. "What are you doing?!"
"Giving my Sleeping Beauty a good night kiss," he murmured against her mouth before straightening again.
"Sleeping Beauty awoke with a kiss," Izzy corrected. "Or at least she did in the Walt Disney movie."
"Try reading the tale by the Brothers Grimm. It's quite…interesting." He stood up from the bed. "I'll be going now. After I meet with Falcon and Sara we'll have to go to ground. But I'll be here for you this coming evening. We'll need to make fast preparations to get Serenity and you to Gregori's house."
"All right," Izzy said reluctantly. It was still hard to believe all this really happened to her. She closed her eyes again, feeling the drowsiness overtake. "Thank you, Marach. You're helping us so much, and we've only just met."
"Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed. Élidamet andam."
He said those words in her head, but she knew he'd spoken them before. Now more than ever their meaning touched her deeply. I belong to you. I offer my life for you.