Disclaimer: I do not own the Carpathian Series, and definitely do not own the amazing characters in Christine Feehan's wonderful books. This is just a fanfic.
Andreas breathed a sigh of relief as his lifemate left the company of the other Carpathians. When the unmated male had touched her, Andreas had felt an overwhelming desire to blast into the room and tear the offending hand from the girl's arm. It was only after the mated male had placed himself protectively by the young woman that Andreas was able to calm himself, but the beast still seethed just below the surface. Truthfully, he didn't like the thought of any male near his woman, unmated or not.
His head turned unerringly to the upper story, where he knew her room waited. Alana. The name breezed through him, breathing life into every dark corner of his broken soul. The name was beautiful, but it could not quite match up to the exquisite creature that was his lifemate. He would go to her, but not now. There was still the matter of the blue-eyed male. Dimitri.
Andreas had heard of him, of course. Had known when the male was taken and his Dragonseeker lifemate who had rushed headlong to save him. He knew of the Lycan blood that flowed through Dimitri's veins, understood just how dangerous the Carpathian hybrid could be. But it did not matter. Nothing would keep Andreas from his lifemate.
Sure enough, only minutes after Alana climbed up to her room, Dimitri stepped out into the night, his icy eyes surveying the night with suspicion. Andreas blended into the trees, taking the form of a small night creature whose only thoughts were of food and shelter. Though the hunter's gaze swept over Andreas's hiding spot several times, the male could not find the ancient Carpathian. Eventually he returned to his lifemate's side, stride confident and sure.
Andreas waited until the others left the inn before stirring. Knowing that they had sensed his presence, sensed the beast roaring within him, Andreas was certain they would send a warrior to guard their young guest. He had precious little time to stake his claim.
Her room was not hard to find; his body was already tuning itself to Alana's. He was capable of finding her anywhere. He might have determined to end his life, but now that he had recognized the light to his darkness, Andreas was unwilling to let her slip from his grasp. Somewhere in the tattered remains of his soul, he knew he would intimidate her. He was an ancient long used to obedience in all things. And while she appeared to be a hesitant young woman, Andreas had already recognized a spine of steel. He knew it had not been easy to ignore the silent call he had sent out to her, but she had done so with a determined set of her shoulders. Their joining would not be easy, but Andreas knew that even the honor he had held on to for so many long centuries would not stop him from using any means possible to bind her to him.
Alana was already dressed for bed when he approached her balcony, her small frame swallowed by a large T-shirt. Every time she moved, Andreas glimpsed the pair of tight black shorts that clung to her shapely thighs. Her hair was braided into an intricate design that only tempted him to run his fingers through it to free the lovely strands.
She climbed onto the bed, rubbing at her tired eyes as she snuggled under the heavy comforter. He thought she would fall asleep then and there but then she sat back up, suddenly alert. Andreas felt that same hesitant brush against his mind and he worked to keep his mind shielded from her surprising query.
But it was what she did next that had him most taken aback.
Lying there in the dark, a gentle glow began in Alana, an awakening of power that glimmered just beneath her skin. As Andreas watched, that power snaked out of her, vines that reached for the floor, the walls, the windows. Her energy worked tirelessly to wrap Alana in a web of shimmering protection. Within moments, the light faded, leaving the room shrouded in darkness once more. But the power remained, emitting a low hum of warning.
Andreas drifted closer to the window, testing the safeguard the human woman had constructed for herself. Its presence was subtle and hard to detect; if he had not seen its awakening, he might not have noticed it at all. His dark eyes flew to his lifemate in brooding assessment. What was she? he wondered.
He reached out to her with his mind, finding only the slightest of resistance from the safeguard she had woven. Beyond the barrier, the air around her was filled with colors and images, dreams so vivid and imaginative they nearly sent Andreas to his knees. The sheer amount of energy that pumped out of her in her unconscious state was astounding. It was no wonder she had sensed his presence outside of the inn. Without her waking mind to keep herself in check, Alana's very essence seemed to bleed out into the world.
He reached out a hand to touch the barrier she had erected, examining it thoroughly before attempting to push through. It wasn't so much a wall to keep predators out, but a bubble to keep her inside. Andreas wondered how long it had taken the girl to realize just how important this simple safeguard was for her protection. Without it, she would shine like a beacon, drawing Carpathian and vampire alike to her side.
Even as Andreas glided to her bedside, he was sifting through the intensity of her dreams to connect with Alana's mind. In it he found an incredibly solitary girl, her every waking moment filled with the bombardment of others' thoughts and feelings. The effort to keep everything out, to keep herself from reaching out, took a heavy toll on her and Alana seemed to often suffer from headaches and fatigue. Still, her mind was quick and inventive, spotting connections and threads between people, events, ideas. It was fascinating to explore her lines of thought, even in dreams.
He reached out to brush back a lock of shockingly pink hair. A smile touched his lips and Andreas rejoiced in his ability to feel the amusement that welled up within him. Despite all of her reservations, her determination to retreat into her own little world, his young lifemate was more than a little rebellious.
His attention dropped to the line of her throat, the steady rhythm of blood flowing through her veins and his body came to painful attention, incisors lengthening at the vanilla scent of her. Andreas bent over her, the beast inside clamoring for just one taste, for just a sip of his lifemate. His tongue swirled over her pulse in a gentle caress before he pierced her skin.
Her blood hit him like a fireball, her taste so immediately addicting that Andreas could do no more than gather her small form into his arms and hold her closer as he nuzzled against her. In all the long centuries of his existence, he had never tasted anything so sweet and pure. The terrible beast in him crowed with pleasure, demanding he take more, to bind her to him that very moment and damn everything else. The ancient words rose in his mind to tempt him with the joining ritual. It didn't help that she moved restlessly against him in her sleep, her thin clothing hiding nothing of her shapely curves from him.
Only when the bright colors and vivid images around him began to fade did Andreas's sanity return to him. He paused in his ministrations, head lifting to find Alana's skin pale and cool. Silently cursing his lack of self-control, he closed the pinpricks over her pulse and opened his shirt. He issued a soft command into her mind, taking control of his lifemate even as he slashed at the place above his heart.
Drink, he whispered silently, pressing her to the thin wound. For a moment there was no response but then Alana stirred, body sensuous as she drew in his life-giving blood. Andreas threw back his head and groaned at the sensation of her mouth against his skin, trying desperately to tamp down on his wilder nature. It would do no good to reveal himself now; he would only scare her.
After she had taken enough for an exchange and to replace the volume he had taken, Andreas inserted a hand between them and gently settled her back onto the bed. He did not bother to remove the memory of what happened, knowing she would remember only a dark dream of desire and an enigmatic stranger. Not trusting himself to remain with her without touching her once again, Andreas left her side, pausing only to add his own safeguards and push her into a deeper sleep before winging off into the night.