Kanya had lived for three days. It was the full moon. Annika stared into the star filled sky. Her family was around her, singing and laughing. Every full moon they went out into the woods, to the family clearing, and sang. Oliver had taught Annika and Griffin to play guitar, Tabitha had taught everyone else how to drum.
The firelight lit everyone's faces, creating mystery. The night around them held comfort.
"Sing Annika, sing!" Griffin called out. Annika laughed, tossed her hair out of the way and stood up.
"When the mooon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Then peace will guide the planet, and looove will steer the stars! This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius, the age of Aquarius. Aquarius! Aquarriouuus. Aquarius. Harmony and understanding, sympathy and trust abounding. No more false hoods or derision, golden living dreams of vision, mystic crystal revelation, and a mind through liberation. Aquarius, Aquarius."
She gave an elegant curtsy and sat down. Her family clapped. Tabitha started a up beat rhythm on her drum. Everyone started dancing. Griffin and Fawn did acrobatics, flipping over and under each other, and were encored.
Annika snatched Kanya out of Celyn's arms and danced with her, singing again. "Hiyipiei, Going into Mississippi got a flinty kind of woman and you don't act smart and you don't touch my children if the young man wants to see the sun go down." Kanya laughed and gurgled when Annika handed her back to Celyn.
"Dancing Queen!" shouted Natika.
"Feel the beat from the tambourine!" Shira added.
"Oohh yeah!" called out Fawn.
Forrest stood up and belted out, "We don't need no education," Annika jammed the tune on her guitar, "We don't need no thought control. No dark sarcasm in the classroom. Teacher leave them kids alone!"
Griffin, Fawn, Natika, Shira, and Raoul called, "Hey teacher, leave them kids alone!"
Tabitha, Oliver, Annika, Celyn and Danica, sang, "All in all it's just another brick in the wall."
The youngsters sang again, "We don't need no education, We don't need no thought control," Raoul shoved Forrest teasingly, "No dark sarcasm in the classroom, Teacher leave them kids alone. Hey teacher, Leave them kids alone!"
Everyone sang the last line, "All in all it's just another brick in the wall!"
All of them fell down laughing.
Oliver straightened up. "Food time!"
Tabitha smiled and doled out the vegetable stew that had been cooking on the fire. Silence fell over the fire circle, while everyone ate. Celyn nursed Kanya. Griffin made a noise of disgust and was hit on the head by Fawn.
This started Raoul laughing so hard that he choked on his soup. Danica pounded him on the back. Others offered her advice.
Everyone laughed and burst into song once more.
Andre watched from a distance, masking his presence. More then once he had felt a scan, but he remained undetected. He stared at his lifemate. She was so beautiful, laughing joyously with her family. She sang beautifully, each note full of passion. Finally, she began to shoo her younger family members toward the house, reminding them of bedtime. He sent a faint compulsion for her to stay behind.
She either obeyed the compulsion, or that was her plan to begin with. She, the old human couple, her sister Danica, and the couple with the baby, stayed where they were and talked. Unashamedly he eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Do you remember when we first came here, Tabitha?" his lifemate, Annika, asked.
"Yes I do. Finding seven starved youngsters with too many scars on your porch isn't something you forget in a hurry. You looked at me, cool as a cucumber and asked if you could stay. We agreed and you started to help in the garden almost immediately. You youngsters have been a huge help. I don't care where or who you came from. You're ours now and anyone who tries to take you away will be shoved underneath the back end of Betsy," Tabitha joked.
All of them laughed. Andre assumed it was an inside joke.
"I remember the crop after you started helping, Annika. I had never gotten that many vegetables before. I asked you and you said that you had improved the soil. I shrugged and handed you a mint leaf to chew on," reminisced Oliver.
"That reminds me, we have to thin out the mint patch in the south garden," Celyn said.
"You aren't doing anything. You need to rest and take care of yourself," Forrest said.
She glared at him. "I have been waiting for nine months to go down on my knees and put my hands in some good old fashioned dirt," she snapped. "You were so over protective of me."
Forrest kissed her. "No, I was simply right and you were wrong," he teased. She squawked and smacked him.
Andre chuckled silently. He reveled in finding something amusing.
"I remember coming here, seeing all of you for the first time. It was three years ago now," Celyn mused. "We were in Burlington I think, no memories, no past, it's just blank. We wandered for about five months before finding you guys. This family." Tears pricked in her eyes, "You accepted us."
"Of course! What's a couple more freaks?" Annika hugged Forrest. Andre had to fight the beast rising up in him. How could she touch another man? A small growl escaped. Their heads came up,
"Maybe we should go inside," Tabitha said. "Griffin's palls might be hungry."
The others nodded uneasily and rose to go. Annika volunteered to put out the fire. Danica stayed back with her.
"I hate talking about the past. I was so afraid," Danica said. Annika went over and put her arm's around her and cuddled her close.
"I know. I can't promise that it will never happen again, but I can promise that I'll fight to my last breath for you guys to have a normal life."
"What happened? I don't remember most of it."
"Don't try!" Annika sighed, "You're old enough to know, I took most of bad memories, keeping them inside me, so they wouldn't bother you. I didn't want you to remember, the horrible sick things that were done to you. If you want, you can have them back when you're old enough."
Danica gasped, "Is that why you have--"
"The nightmares? Yes. They play themselves inside my head."
"Annika, I'm so sorry, I didn't--"
"Don't be sorry. I made my choice, and I'll stick by it. I left Raoul some of his to work with. Even then I knew he was going to be a warrior. Go inside, I need to think," Annika said gently.
Danica walked slowly back to the house. Annika sat down on a log. She stared up at the starry sky.
Very gently she picked up her guitar and started playing. "I was eleven years old he was as old as my dad and he took something from me I didn't even know that I had, so don't tell me about decency, don't tell me about pride, just give me something for my trouble 'cause this time, it's not a free ride!"
She said the words fiercely, then let out a sob.
Andre wanted to go to her, she looked so forlorn, but something stopped him. He had to strain to catch her next words.
"You said that once we were outside, we'd be safe. That you couldn't hurt us anymore. That he couldn't hurt me anymore. But the memories hurt, Dad. They hurt more then your teeth. They hurt worse then him forcing me. The memory," she sobbed, "of me leaving you there. Leaving you to be tortured, when you loved us, even when he took control of you. You fought him, for us."
He loved you. He couldn't bear to see you harmed. Couldn't bear to be the one hurting you, Andre whispered into her mind. He felt her alarm.
Who are you?
"Your lifemate," Andre said as he stepped out of the shadows. "And you are my soul."
Annika was on her feet immediately, with a knife in her hand, "Lifemate? What is there to be a lifemate to?"
"You," was his answer as he came forward. Her stomach flipped when she saw him clearly. He had deep black hair and commanding black eyes. His jaw was strong, his face chiseled, classically beautiful, all male.
His eyes swept over her, filled with heat, she blushed. Gently he came forward and quickly plucked the knife out of her hand. She didn't fight, she was caught in his gaze, mesmerized like a mouse before a snake.
He leaned forward, taking possession of her mouth. She gasped, his tongue swept in, claiming her, branding her as his. Lightning shot through her blood, she melted, turning into liquid. He kept her upright, holding her against him. He sought her mind with his, merging them together. Annika gasped again at the intimacy of the merging.
He showed her his past, the desperation to find a lifemate. He didn't hide the beast crouched inside him, waiting. He showed her his need to bind her, to make her his own.
All the while, he kissed her, persuading her, cajoling, desperate, begging. Yes, she whispered.
He kissed his way down her jaw, to her throat. His teeth scraped over the pulse, she keened, moving so he had better access. This was what had been missing. This was what she had been searching for.
He teased her, taking slow licks over her pulse, tasting her. She felt the firestorm inside her blood, Please, she begged.
Andre bit down, savoring the sweet tang that was her taste. She tasted like fire, warming him when he had been so cold. He showed her how she tasted, how he felt.
Annika cried out when he bit her, gasping as the deep erotic sensation came welling up. She felt the binding as he whispered, You are my lifemate. I claim you as my lifemate. I belong to you. I offer my life to you. I give you my protection. I give you my soul. I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life will be cherished by me for all time. Your life will be placed above mine for all time. You are my lifemate. You are bound to me for all eternity. You are always in my care.
His tongue swept across the pinpricks. He opened his shirt, drawing her head over his pulse. Finish it, he commanded.
Annika moved her mouth to his skin, tasting. She looked up at him, his eyes were closed with anticipation. Her teeth sank deep. His flavor burst through her, musky, filled with the forest, wild and male. He groaned.
Sivamet, he whispered.
She closed the wound, looking up at him. He claimed her mouth with his once more.
Let's talk, she pleaded, not entirely trusting herself.
Of course, Andre complied. They sat down on a log. He ran his fingers through her hair. "How much do you know of our people?" he asked.
"Not much. I know that we are part Carpathian. I know that I am the great granddaughter of Xavier and the daughter of Razvan. I know that he is hated and feared by the Carpathians. He is not evil! He is not vampire! He is a broken man who tries desperately to do the right thing even when he is being controlled."
"I know. I know. We are trying to find him, to rescue him," Andre said, kissing her hair. It was so soft. "And to kill Xavier." He felt her tense at the name. "He will never touch you."
Annika shook her head. "It's a little too late for that promise." Andre knew that she wasn't going to say anything else.
"How did you come to be here?" He asked.
"Razvan helped us escape when I was 13. He distracted Xavier and told me and Danica to run. We took the others, all that we could find. There were several of us. We all had different mothers, but we are siblings. Griffin and Fawn helped bring Natika, Shira and Raoul. We didn't have names then. Tabitha and Oliver gave us names. We addressed each other by our ages. I was Thirteen, Danica was Six, Griffin and Fawn were both Five. And, well you get the idea." She sighed. "We walked for a long time. I don't know how long. It took us about a year. Finally we came here. I talked to Tabitha and Oliver. We've been here ever since. Tabitha and Oliver are very strange." Her mood picked up. Andre remained silent.
"They believe strongly in psychic power, but they don't possess it themselves. They were hippies, before they settled down on the farm. Oliver used to teach English at a College. When ever they go to town, they bring back CDs. We know all the oldies, all of the songs that were sung by hippies." She directed a sharp look at him. "I suppose you heard."
Andre smiled and inclined his head. "My story is not nearly so interesting as yours. I trained to hunt the vampire at a very early age. I've been doing it ever since."
"Annika?" The voice was drawing nearer. Annika immediately shielded Andre, hiding his presence. Andre accepted the protection. He was not afraid, but if it put her mind at ease, he would accept it.
"I'm here, Shira. Why aren't you in bed?"
"The foxes were calling me. They said that somethings stalking you. Natika said that you were okay, but..."The girl trailed off.
Annika went to the youngster. Andre watched as she smoothed the child's red curls. "Shira, would I ever let anything take me away from you? Baby, I'm never going to leave you or the others. Raoul's not a full blown warrior yet. Even when he is, he's gonna need help. I protect you guys with my life. I'm never going to leave you."
Shira nodded into Annika's shirt. Tears were soaking it through. "Can I sit with you for a while?" she mumbled.
"Of course darling. It'll be boring though," Annika warned. She threw an apologetic look toward Andre. Sorry, but...
It's alright. You're her mother. I would never take you away from your family. They need you, Andre whispered.