Maybe Adrienne was just as much a victim as Nya had been.

Maybe she needed to be saved as much as her daughter needed to be.

Chapter Twenty Four

Santarém, Brazil

Nicholas stood at the bottom of a small, untidy garden. Litter and used cans were discarded among the over grown grass. A black can of rubbish rocked back and forth in the slight breeze, spilling more and more rubbish onto the ground.

Nicholas tilted his head, to look at the whole house. Small, he imagined it was no more than 4 rooms in total. Peeling white paint, a crack down the bottom right of the door. Dirty lace hanging over the windows. Small figurines stood along the window sill.

This was Nya's old home. He had traveled here in search of her mother.

He tried not to picture her as a child, playing in this garden, with broken glass and rubbish littering the grass. The whole house and garden screamed neglect and Nicholas knew the house and garden weren't the only things Nya's mother had been negligent in caring for.

Nicholas strode up the cracked cement tiled pathway to the house, never taking his eyes from his destination. He had come to bring peace to Nya's mother. As long as this woman suffered, so would Nya. And this was unacceptable.

He opened the door, instantly angry that the door was unlocked. It wouldn't have matter if it was, he would have gotten in another way, what bothered him was this women's lack of self preservation. Had she left the door opened to intruders when Nya had lived here?

Nicholas tried to ignore the thick, black emotion welling in his stomach. He hated to imagine his lifemate, the other half of his soul had been here all along. Centuries he had waited, and she had not only been right before him, but she had been in need of him for many years.

As soon as he was within the house, the smell hit him hard. Alcohol.

If he had to guess, he would say a combination of Gin and Cider. The whole house smelt as if it had been doused in the stuff. And looking at the state of the interior, it may have been.

The house was unsafe and unclean, no place for a small child to live happily. He saw more broken glass on the matted brown carpet, and visions of a young Nya running barefoot around here made him shudder.

The stairs were steep and narrow, leading up into the dark upper hallway. To his right was a room. The moonlight shone in through the lace curtains, casting an unusually beautiful pattern over the room. The light only made the room appear more lifeless and ugly.

An old sofa was placed along the far wall. He could hear a TV playing somewhere in the house. There were no photographs of Nya, no evidence a child had ever lived in this place.

Ignoring his immediate errand, he walked up the stairs silently, his feet not causing the usual squeak of the floor boards. Only silence.

There were two doors, one was a bathroom he guessed, from the vomit beside the door. So that must mean, the other door was the bedroom.

Nicholas opened the white door, and looked into the dismal room. Little furniture was present. And what was there was old and didn't match. A small bed, with dirty, used sheets was in the centre of the room, some woman's clothes were scattered on the floor, some pantyhose with holes in over the corner of the bed.

Nicholas leaned down and picked up a small, pleated dress. Nya's.

It must have been her school uniform.

Nicholas rubbed the harsh fabric between his fingers and thumb. His eyes drifted over the room and landed on some blankets on the floor beside the window. Nya's bed.

His hands fisted the small pleated dress, as he looked upon Nya's sleeping conditions.

There had been more comfort in the cave!

He growled low, without realizing it. The smell of alcohol and urine was strong in this room. He hated to imagine Nya falling asleep here alone, with no one to comfort her.

Nicholas laid the small dress across a chair, and smoothed out the creases with the palm of his hand. One last glimpse of the lifeless room, and he left. Descending the stairs again to find Nya's mother.

She wasn't difficult to find.

The alcohol emanating from her, as well as the slight evil taint drew him instantly. He looked down upon the woman as she slept, hung over her chair arm. A bottle in her hand. Blond curls, dirty and unkept, fell over one shoulder.

Nicholas entered the woman's mind. Her name was Adrienne. She reminded him of… Damn it! She reminded him of Crina, so like Nya, but never anything like her.

How could he have forgotten about Crina?? Instantly, Nicholas reached out for his brother in question.

Zacarias, the werewolf in the rain forest, what-

Nicholas was cut off immediately by Zacarias.

Nicholas, Rafael is going in search of her immediately. She couldn't have gotten far, she was badly injured, not even a werewolf could regenerate that quickly.

Nicholas ran his hand over his silk shirt, remembering his own tender wounds beneath. How had he forgotten about Crina?

She was dangerous, injured or not.

Nicholas sighed and focused on the situation at hand. His life mates mother was currently inebriated and passed out over a couch.

Nicholas skimmed the edges of her mind, watching back her most recent memories and thoughts. His anger rose at the lack of Nya in her mind, no recent thoughts or concerns for her safety. Not even a flicker of hope she would return.

He tried to image what he would be like in her situation, and he was positive he would be standing at the window all night long waiting for his child to return, if he wasn't out searching every inch of the world. And yet Nya's mothers previous months had been spent drinking and sleeping, rarely eating anything, just self destruction was on her mind.

He looked beyond her recent actions and found the darkness. It was embedded deep within her mind, the need to destroy herself, lock herself away, not care for her child. Nicholas skimmed through the dark mass in her mind, and was caught unaware for the building grief he felt.

Had he misjudged this woman?

This wasn't a negligent mother, who cared nothing for her own life or for the life of her child, this was a victim of a vampire, an intelligent, beautiful woman who had been poisoned against herself and her baby daughter.

He saw the woman she had been, the laughing, social young woman. And now he looked down upon the woman, Razvan had made her. The dirty clothes, stringy hair, the alcohol.

He scanned her organs, and cursed at the extent of damage done to her liver.

Closing his eyes, Nicholas dealt with her liver first, her health was of paramount importance before he concentrated fully on her mind.

He healed her as much as he could, moving through her body, trying desperately to rid her body of the damage. Returning to himself, he skimmed her mind once more, locating the darkness and beginning to remove it. The removal was difficult, the mind had long since accepted the darkness being there, it was old and embedded deep, its effects easy to see.

Nicholas had his eyes closed as he felt the extent of damage done by Razvan upon this woman. He realized now as he stood over Nya's mother, healing her mind, that he had done the right thing by coming here.

He wasn't sure how Nya would react when he brought her mother to her, he had no idea if they could rebuild their relationship, but he knew at that moment, as he saw what Adrienne had been and what she had become, that he needed to help this woman either way.

She was his responsibility now, she had given him a lifemate, light to his life, colours so bright, and a love so pure, he couldn't leave this woman to destroy herself any longer. She was under his protection now and always. Just as his precious Nya was.

Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he battled against the dark stain within Adrienne's mind. Never before had he removed something so integrated, so permanent. And after he had given Nya a large amount of blood to heal and calm her before he came, he was draining fast. His energy weakening quickly.

He pulled out of Adrienne's mind and rocked slightly on his heels, before he steadied himself. His hand clutched his forehead as he breathed in deeply.

The stain was still there, but it was substantially removed, only a small amount remained. He feared part of the darkness would always be with her.

"Who are you?"

Nicholas's eyes snapped open as he looked down at Adrienne. She was awake and staring at him with hazy blue eyes, blood shot and tired.

Nicholas had planned his visit here, planned how he would heal her, look at where Nya had been raised and then bring her mother back. But he had failed to prepare himself for talking with Adrienne.

"I am Nicholas De La Cruz, lifemate to your daughter, Nya" He nodded his head towards her in respect and waiting for her reply. He knew from her memories how he expected her to react, with cold and malicious comments, and an uncaring attitude, which was why he was so caught off guard when she began to cry.

Tears rolled down her cheeks before she covered her face with her hands as she wept. Her shoulders shuddering with her tears.

Nicholas was completely unprepared for her reaction. He stood immobile in the room for a few moments before he laid a gentle hand upon her trembling shoulder. Her head instantly snapped up as she looked upon him with tear filled eyes.

"Nya is OK?" Her question caused anger to boil within him.

No, Nya was not OK, she had no childhood worth remembering and until a month ago was an exotic dancer. But as he looked into her eyes, he knew the question held more emotions that he could comprehend.

The stain was gone now, and this woman was the mother she was supposed to have been. The mix of fear and hope in her eyes showed him, how much his answer meant to her. Her hands minus the bottle she had dropped to the floor, were trembling with her emotions.

He buried the anger he felt about Nya's upbringing, he couldn't change it, he could only ensure her future was happy and safe.

"Nya is well, she is at our home." He kept his voice emotionless, not wanting her to know about the battle raging within him.

Should he bring this woman to the ranch? Would it help or hinder Nya's happiness?

"May I…" He watched as Adrienne swallowed almost nervously, before shaking her head "No… No.. she wouldn't want to see me" The admission was spoken quietly before she got out of her chair and walked over to the window. Her pale hand clutched the dirty lace as she stared out through the diamond patterned lace.

Nicholas looked at Nya's mother properly, now she was awake. He could imagine how beautiful she had once been, he saw alot of Nya in her, but he could also see the effects of alcohol and darkness.

Nicholas wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel towards this woman.

He was a chaotic mix of anger and sympathy.

He knew she would have made a good mother, he could tell from her earlier memories, but the evidence of her behavior towards Nya were too real to him to forget.

But maybe he was hating the wrong person.

This woman had been infected against herself and her baby. The years of raising Nya had been stolen from her, and lost forever. Never again would this woman be able to see Nya as a child, to hold her, comfort her, and teach her. Those years had been stolen by alcohol and dark magic.

Maybe Adrienne was just as much a victim as Nya had been. Maybe she needed to be saved as much as her daughter needed to be.

"If you wish it… You can come with me" Nicholas' words were loud in the room of silence, and as he said them he knew he had done the right thing. Either way both woman needed to be safe, and free of evil. And now it was his responsibility to do it.

He watched as Adrienne turned away from the window to face him, her eyes still tear filled, and blood shot, her hands idle by her sides.

With a small nod from Nya's mother, Nicholas knew that for the first time in months Nya would see her mother, and for the first time in her life, she would see her as a true mother...

Thank you so much for reading... :)

Next chapter Nya meets her mother at the ranch...

Let me know what you think.. :)

Take care

xemmalisax