Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to update. I knew what I wanted, but I was having trouble puting it into words. Anyway I want to thank both Rose3521 and murgatroid-98 for idea-bouncing with me. Sometimes it just helps to talk it out. And I would also like to thank all of you who reviewed and kept my muse happy. Those of you who did not review, Why the heck didn't you? All you have to do is click a button a type a few words! How hard is that? I'm hoping to have at least 23 reviews by the time I upload Chapter 5, so if you read this fic, REVIEW. That is all. What are you waiting for? Read!

Chapter 4

"Zohra. Zohra."

Zohra was floating on a sea of nothingness. A voice was calling her, pulling her back through the fog of her mind. She was too tired and weak. She could not bring herself to open her eyes. She needed to rest.

"Zohra you must rise. You must rise or all will be lost."

The voice was getting clearer now, stronger. All will be lost? What was all? And who was speaking. The voice sounded familiar, but it was all so hazy. "Who are you?"

"Zohra, how can you not know me? We are one." The hurt in those words was so tangible Zohra could feel the anguish pouring into her.

"You feel familiar, like an old friend, but how is that possible? I see connections in everyone, even in myself although they are sometimes muddled. Surely I would remember you."

"It has been long since we have last conversed. The dark mage silenced me through his magic, but I have never once deserted you. I am Denae, your guardian and protector of your soul. My power is yours and yours is mine. We are one being."

Zohra struggled to pull herself out of the depths of sleep. She needed to be alert. This could be a trick. She sent out her senses, trying to get a feel for the one who called herself the guardian of her soul. The familiar feeling of acquaintance gave way to a sense of safety and comfort. Instinctively, Zohra pushed further seeking more. In her mind, Zohra could find no memories of her guardian, but her soul recognized her protector as a child knows its mother. The feeling was one of love. Something Zohra had not felt from anyone in centuries. She wanted to bask in its warm glow forever. "I know you speak the truth. I am sorry I have forgotten you, but a love that powerful must be true. Perhaps in time, my memory of you will return." Suddenly, Zohra remembered her protector's earlier words. "What is happening? Why can't I seem to wake up? And what did you mean all will be lost?"

"Our lifemate is losing the battle with his inner beast. He nearly killed last night while feeding off a pregnant woman. He didn't even notice until both hearts were laboring. Luckily he was able to save them both, but with the beast rising in strength he will have no control during his next feeding. He will make the kill and turn to the darkness."

"NO! He can't. He wouldn't. How could he go after a woman with child? After living for honor for nearly three thousand years, how could he let this hunger consume him? How can he allow this?" Zohra was frantic. She desperately tried to open her eyes, to awaken herself, but she felt drugged. "I have to get to him! I have to save him! This can't happen! I won't let him turn vampire!" From the depths of her soul Zohra cried out. She reached for her guardian for reassurance but her warmth left something to be desired. She was holding back. "What else do you know that I do not? If we are truly one Denae, then you must tell me."

"Guardians cannot exist inside a broken soul. Dominic, although not yet bound to you, is indeed your other half. If he were to die or to turn vampire, your soul would essentially be just that—broken. I would die as well and you would truly be alone."

Zohra pushed deeper into the warmth and sent her guardian a feeling of determination. "If I cannot find my lifemate, my lifemate shall find me. When he awakens, he will be ravenous. I must be the one from whom he feeds. The healing fire Razvan put in my blood should pass on to him and kill the parasites in the vampire blood. He will be healed and his color and emotions restored." Zohra once again strained to dig past the heavy fog of sleep to no avail. "Why can't I wake up?"

"The Carpathians placed you in a deep sleep. You cannot shut down your heart and lungs and go to ground, so they put you in the deepest sleep they could to make sure you could heal properly. As your guardian I can break through the bonds holding you to sleep, but it will limit my powers should you have need of me later. I am still regaining the strength that Xavier's magic depleted. If you plan on sending a strong enough compulsion to our lifemate, there is only one guaranteed solution. You must pass the message through a blood connection."

"How do I do that?"

"Follow the path to Dominic while feeding from the blood of his line."

"But Dominic has no children."

"No, but his sister did. And five of Rhiannon's descendants are currently nearby."

Zohra didn't want to hurt anyone. She never liked feeding. She was unable to influence the mind of the one she took from. If she were to feed, the person would have to be completely aware and willing.

"We don't have a choice Zohra. If we cannot find one willing to give, just this one time, we must take by force. There is no other option."

"I know this is true. But I don't have to like it."

"Are you ready Zohra? What we must do, we must do quickly."

"Yes. Let's go save our lifemate."

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Skyler sat in the nursery watching baby Tamara sleeping peacefully in her crib. If only I could do that. Skyler had been having difficulty sleeping for months now. Ever since Dimitri had saved her life at the Christmas gathering to be precise. She was hardly able to catch a nap without aid from Gabriel or Francesca. Skyler stood up and went to look at herself in the mirror. Just as she thought, dark circles were forming under her eyes. Her face was pale too. She had forgotten to eat again. Well, she had a lot on her mind. Okay, one thing. But the one thing refused to vacate her head for a single afternoon.

After making sure the baby monitor was turned on, Skyler went into the next room and sat on her bed. She grabbed the small plush wolf from her pillow and held it in front of her so she could stare into its glacier blue eyes. "Why do you have to look just like him?" she addressed the wolf. "You are supposed to help me feel calm enough to sleep, not keep me up all the time thinking about him." Skyler turned the wolf around so she couldn't see its face and then placed it in her lap. "This is infuriating. Dimitri is buried in the earth sleeping like the dead. Even unconscious he's dominating my thoughts." Skyler looked down to find her fingers absently stroking the wolf, caressing it. Skyler had a fleeting thought. What would it feel like to touch Dimitri like this? Skyler jumped off the bed at the same time she threw the stuffed animal across the room. "I'm possessed," she muttered to herself. "There is no way I would ever have a thought like that on my own."

Suddenly, Skyler was driven to her knees by an anguish not her own. She knew instinctively that the strange woman down the hall had woken up. As Skyler struggled to regain her footing, she examined the feeling. The woman was desperate. Although terribly weak, her only concern was for another. She felt this person would soon be lost to her. As much as Skyler wished she could stay away from this well of tormented emotions, she knew she could not. Just like the wolf last Christmas, she needed to help this woman. At least this time she knew it wasn't a vampire. No vampire could fake what that woman was feeling. Skyler was sure of it. Plus, the sun had not yet set.

Skyler carefully made her way down the hall to the guest room and knocked on the door. "Miss," she called to the person on the other side. "Miss, do you need some help? I can come in if you like." Skyler pressed her ear to the door. She heard a muffled sound that could have been an answer but she could not be certain. Slowly, she eased the door open and crept inside.

Skyler looked at the woman on the bed. The woman's skin was incredibly pale and she was so skinny you could see her ribs through the thin cloth draped over her. Skyler watched as the woman struggled to meet her gaze. A small groan escaped the woman's throat. Unable to bear this woman's suffering any longer, Skyler rushed to kneel by her side. "You should be resting. You are far too weak to sit up let alone run from here. Don't worry. You are safe here. I heard that the prince has given strict orders that no one is to harm you. There is no reason to be afraid."

The woman looked up to meet Skyler's grey-blue gaze. "That is not true, Skyler. I have every reason to be afraid right now." The woman's words were no louder than a whisper, but there was no mistaking her words.

"How do you know my name?"

"You are one of Razvan's daughters. I can see it by looking at you." The woman's lips turned up when Skyler shrunk back. "No, you don't look like him. I have the ability to see connections. It's rather hard to explain, but blood is the easiest kind to track, especially if I've met someone in the family. I can follow the path to him just by looking in your eyes. You are much too young to be Lara or that daughter Razvan never knew. So I figured you must be Skyler. My name is Zohra." The woman closed her eyes and scrunched up her brow as if she was battling a headache. Skyler had to fight her natural urge to comfort to keep from touching her. The last thing she needed was to drown in this woman's emotions.

"Please, you must rest," Skyler urged. "You're hurting yourself."

"There is no time for that." Zohra once again met Skyler's gaze. "I need your help Skyler."

"I will do whatever I can to help. Just tell me what you need and I will try to get it for you. Just please rest. I can't bear watching you suffer like this."

"Forgive me. I should have realized you were an empath. This makes what must be done just that much harder." Zohra sighed. "Skyler, believe me when I tell you that if there were any other way, I wouldn't dare put you through this—"

"Through what?" A tremor entered Skyler's voice. "What do you need me to do?"

Zohra slowly reached out her hand. When it was clear that Skyler would not pull away, she lightly gripped the young girl's wrist. Skyler stared down at their joined hands and marveled at the wonder of it. She felt no pain, only a strong sense of rightness. She felt a kinship with this woman, and knew instinctively that she would do absolutely anything to help her. Skyler looked back up at Zohra. "How?"

"We are kindred spirits. We see ourselves in each other. I guess we've both experienced so much pain that we cancel out each other's torment. Interesting is it not?"

"Incredible."

"Skyler, my lifemate is in terrible danger. The beast is taking control of him. He will turn this very rising if I am unable to reach him. As you have said, I am far to week to even sit up, let alone go find my lifemate. But I refuse to lose him before we even meet. I must make him come to me. That is where you come in."

"But what can I do?"

"The only way I can send a compulsion strong enough, is through a blood bond. Since I have never fed from him, I need the next best thing, a blood relative."

"I'm a blood relative aren't I?" Skyler saw confirmation in Zohra's eyes.

Zohra tightened her grip on the girl's arm as she tried to pull away. "Please. I'm begging you. I have no other options. There is no time. The sun will set soon and when Dominic rises, I must be the one from whom he feeds. Otherwise, he will be lost forever. You bear the mark of the Dragonseekers. You are a descendent of Rhiannon. Your blood will help me find him. If there were any other way, I would use it, but there is not. Please, Skyler. I promise, never again will I put you through this, but I have no choice." Silvery tears were falling down the woman's face. "Please."

Skyler saw the truth in Zohra's eyes. She felt her desperation to the very depths of her soul. She could not deny her. Her need to help this woman overrode her every fear. "Will it hurt?"

"I won't lie to you. Yes. It will hurt. I'm too weak to even attempt to distance you from it. You will feel everything."

Skyler sat down next to her and nodded. Holding out her wrist, she said, "Take what you need to find your lifemate. Now, before I change my mind."

Zohra wasted no time. She seized the girl's proffered wrist and sank her teeth in deep.

The pain was more than Skyler could bear. She screamed and frantically tried to pull away. Zohra refused to let go. Why had she said yes?

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Dimitri tore through the earth, his rage blackening the skies. Someone was hurting his lifemate. The beast demanded vengeance, and Dimitri felt no reason to deny it.

Oooh. How evil am I to leave it like that? I didn't plan on ending it like that but it was getting rather long, so when I found a good place to stop, I took it. But don't worry. More great stuff will come in Chapter 5. Also, In case anyone was wondering, Denae is pronounced (DEN-nay). Thanks for reading. Now review!