Author's Note:
Hello my wonderful readers! Thanks so much to those who have returned to this story and I am pleased to finally bring you a brand new chapter! Had a bit of a laptop meltdown last week and had to get a new one, but thankfully I got all my files recovered so this only briefly slowed my writing. To answer the question I received in a review, yes I will likely introduce some other Carpathians in later chapters, likely once our main characters return to the Caprathian mountains. On that note I would like to thank those who did review my revised chapters; escape5 and Hanaeru! You both are awesome!
Anyways on to the main event, and without further adieu I present to you the newest chapter!
Remember to read and review!
When the sun set the following night Diederik was quick to rise from his resting place in the ground. Exiting the closet his dark eyes instantly snapped towards the petite figure lying so peacefully in the bed. He smiled to himself as he strode towards her, at the bedside he leaned down and touched her, his hand brushed over her hair and his lips pressed against her forehead. The hunter was still is such awe of her, she was so beautiful, so good and so utterly perfectly. He knew she was too good for someone as dark as he was, but he knew he would never actually give her up. He so utterly needed her in his life.
Breathing in her scent he was tempted to wake her in that moment, he was eager, very eager. With how well his lifemate had dealt with all the information he had shared with her the previous night Diederik was hopeful that she would easily be able to slip into the role of lifemate and into his world. Inside his beast called for it's lifemate, wanted to bind her too him in every way possible.
But that was not the only thing that the beast craved.
Currently he also felt his hungry, raw and aching inside of him. Sighing lowly he stood up and looked down at Everlet.
"I will be back for you very soon." He murmured to her sleeping form before he turned and quickly left the room, knowing that if he did not he would be unable to tear himself from her. As tempted as Diederik was to feed from his lifemate as he was suppose too he did not want to spook her. She was doing so well so far.
Walking upstairs he misted his way through the house and out the front door, and as he replaced the safeguards on the house he again scanned the area in search of the vampire's presence. Partly to his surprise the vampire that had lurked through the city the past few days was nowhere to be found. Had the creature moved on? He was not sure, but he knew with his lifemate now in his care he could not give chase. Perhaps he would contact another hunter to take up the hunt.
Flying across the sky he headed to the first place that he could find some humans to feed from. He ended up at a local strip mall and he was quick to find a few people who were walking through the parking lot and sent out the compulsion to draw them to him.
It was one man and two women and for a moment Diederik hesitated in taking blood from them, now that he had his lifemate it did not seem appropriate to feed from other women. However since he had not feed in a few risings he had little choice, but he hoped from now on the only woman's neck he would feed from was Everlet's. Diederik was careful to remove all pain, thought and memories from those he fed from before he sent them on their way. They would return home and sleep and by morning they would only remember a pleasant evening of shopping.
Once the humans were gone he launched back into the sky and raced back to his home and back to his lifemate. He could barely stand even being away from her for even an hour. Rushing back to his underground chamber his mind reached out for Everlet's and his circled her mind with warmth and comfort as he broke her from his compulsion to sleep.
'Open your eyes Grádhág. It is time for you to wake.' He whispered lowly into her mind as he walked back into the chamber. At his entrance the candles in the room flared to life, and quickly filled was room with the sweet scent of the herbs they were infused with. His clothing shimmered around his body and changed to a loose fitting poet shirt and relaxing slacks on his legs. As he eased onto the bed beside his lifemate and pulled her into his arms she started to rouse and shift.
A soft groan threatened to undo him, desire for her increased tenfold and his arms tightened around her petite frame. His nose brushed against the side of her head and nuzzled her gently.
Everlet slowly woke to Diederik's voice, at first it seemed like a dream, the first thing she was aware of as a shifting beside her and then warm arms around her pulling her close. Her groan as she slowly escaped the clutches of deep restful sleep and she felt herself being clutched tighter. Opening her eyes she turned her head against Diederik's and she sighed softly.
"I thought it had all been a dream." She murmured lowly as he pulled back from her and she was able to look up at his face. Her stomach clenched, she had forgotten how handsome he was, or how his dark eyes seemed to smolder when he looked down at her. Lying next to him she realized how much smaller she was than he. The brunette shifted slightly in his arms.
"I promise you it was no dream." Diederik murmured back to her with a warm grin.
"So really aren't human…." She breathed lowly as the reality dawned on her. He had told her straight out that he wasn't human, he was Carpathian. An immortal and powerful being… and that she was his.
"No. No I am not." He responded evenly.
"And… I am…?" Everlet started to speak but found her voice fading down as she tried to remember what he had called her the night before.
"You are my lifemate. The one I am meant to be with, we are two halves to one whole." The hunter explained gently, he knew it was a lot for a human woman to try and understand. Very few humans believe in such a connection or bond.
"Yeah…. That." She breathed still in some shock. "-Are you sure? I mean… you didn't make a mistake?"
"No." Diederik said suddenly which made Everlet blink in surprise by how sure he sounded. He shifted slightly leaning over her his hand coming up to cup the side of her face tenderly. "There is no mistake. When I saw you, I saw color for the first time in centuries. I felt emotion only when I saw you. You were made for me and I was made for you. There will never be another."
The hunter paused for a moment and watched his lifemate carefully as she silently nodded. In her mind he could tell she was slowly trying to digest all the information. There was still so much he had to tell her still.
"You are taking this well… most women like you aren't this calm when they are found by their lifemates." He told her honestly, for him it was almost a relief. Some women were stubborn, or so he heard from other Carpathians. But Everlet was accepting everything he told with almost no anger.
"Women like me?" the petite brunette asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes. Carpathian males like myself have lived in despair because there has been very few female Carpathians born… we thought we would all turn dark, but we found that human women who had psychic abilities were able to be our lifemates. Slowly hunters have found their lifemates and these women sometimes struggle with the situation they find themselves in." Diederik told her and Everlet felt some surprise at this knowledge, so it was because she was psychic that she was his lifemate?
"Do not be afraid Grádhág. Your ability is a gift it is something you should be proud of."
"I never thought my visions…. They always seemed to cause more harm than good. I couldn't help anyone, I could only make things worse." She lamented lowly.
"Grádhág. Do not be so upset, your gift is something to be cherished just as you should be. You can learn to control your visions if you wish. I can help you with that." Diederik assured her, he could tell that she felt that her ability was only a source of pain. No doubt her ability likely made her feel isolated from others.
"So it is only because I am psychic you want me?" she asked lowly.
"No. It is much more complicated than that, we were made for each other Everlet. Before either of us were born our souls were made as a whole and then separated and placed into two bodies. I have waited lifetimes for you to come into the world, I have looked for you. I want you because we are made to be together, because you have so much kindness and goodness in your heart. Not because you are psychic." Dieerik explained softly as he held her face and connected their eyes.
Everlet could not deny how true his words sounded. She could just tell that he wasn't lying to her. But it seemed like such a dream or a fairytale and she still expected at any moment that she would wake up and find herself alone again, still on the run. As this thought passed through the brunette's mind, the Carpathian caught it, and it made him frown slightly at this.
"Tell me Grádhág, when I first found you, you were so afraid. Even when you woke last night you were afraid, and that hotel room… please tell me what it is you fear." He asked as he leaned down and let his forehead brush against hers. It was his job to protect and cherish her, and most of all he had to make her safe from anything, either physical threats or fears. Though it was very clear that Everlet was in very real physical danger given the state of her hotel room, what worried Diederik the most the darkness and very clear evil intent that hung in her room.
If he didn't know any better he would think that it was the nearby vampire that was hunting her.
Everlet felt her heart skip a beat and start to race. Just even thinking about what she was running from started to send her into a panic. Memories threatened to surge forward in her mind but she kept them at bay. Sensing how panicked his lifemate became Diederik sent calming waves into her mind to soothe her as his hand ran over her hair to further calm her.
"Please… I do not ask to frighten you, I want to help you. It is my right and duty as your lifemate to protect you. Whatever it is you fear I will remove, you are safe with me Everlet." Diederik assured her gently. From his mental touch and his words Everlet did calm, but she still worried. Looking up at the man who held her, promised her that she was now safe, that he would protect her. They were things she desperately wanted, she knew that she had been growing weary of running. Living constantly in fear and in such danger, Everlet knew she had been close to her breaking point. Either she would give in or the thing she was running from would finally catch her.
"I don't know how to explain…" she murmured gently.
"Try your best, I can see into your mind so whatever you want you can share with me."
Everlet blinked in surprise at this, "Really? You are reading my mind?"
"Yes. It is one of my many powers, but for lifemates it is essential. We were meant to be together in every way possible. We will crave the touch of each other's mind, and we have our own private way of communicating to each other. It is natural for lifemates to do this." The hunter explained gently, and yet again his lifemate seemed to be rather accepting of what he was telling her as she nodded slowly, and he felt her mind also slowly open up to his. He eased his mind against hers as not to frighten her, being human she wouldn't instinctively know how it felt to connect her mind to another's.
Everlet felt a warmth in her mind, it felt like her mind had been expanded into a vastness that wasn't nearly as frightening as she had expected it to be. The presence that connected to her mind was distinctly male and yet it seemed so comfortable and familiar.
"Whoa…" Everlet breathed as she opened her eyes, having not even realized she had closed them.
"It will grow with time, the intimacy of our mental connection."
"I find that hard to believe… this is so intimate already. I can feel you…" she murmured in awe. Diederik smiled and a low chuckle escaped him and he pressed a kiss to her forehead, which to his delight made Everlet blush a rosy red.
"And I feel you Grádhág." He murmured lowly as he nuzzled her temple. Everlet unconsciously let out a sigh of contentment at the affection and leaned her head against his.
A moment of silence passed between the pair, both lost in the little world they had created. Everlet spent a moment exploring how their minds were molded together. She found that like their bodies which melded together as if they were two pieces of a puzzle, their minds were also like this. There was no beginning or end to either of them.
After the few moments had passed Everlet sighed gently and she softly spoke, "So you wanted to know… about why I was on the run?" she asked gently, though she knew the answer.
"Yes. Whatever it is you fear I will protect you from, but I need to know what it is." Diederik said gently to her. He did not want to frighten her or push her but he was desperate to know.
"Well I suppose that I should start at the beginning."
Sorry to leave it there! But I will be quick to start working on chapter six!
Any ideas on what you think is hidden in Everlet's past? Any correct guesses will earn you a mention in the next chapter's author's note! Please review with any comments or thoughts you have I love hearing from all of you!