It is possible she can aid him as well.
Gregori took a deep breath, glided a step closer to Gary as if he would shield him from what was coming in the future.
Gary glanced at Gregori, held his eyes for a long moment and then nodded. It would give him time and distance, something he needed to separate himself from Gabrielle. He would either find a solution in that time, or he would learn to accept that he had lost her forever.
3
Gabrielle streaked through the dark sky. She was going to be too late. She felt it. That terrible buildup of tension. Of dread. It was there, a tremendous pressure in her chest. Her belly was in knots. Her heart hurt. An actual pain. No one would tell her where Mikhail had sent Gary, but he'd definitely been sent away. He was gone the following rising when she went looking for him. She'd done what she'd never attempted to do before. She'd used her deep connection with him to call to him--and then she had tried shapeshifting on her own. Flying on her own.
The echo of his answer was faint--very faint. She knew he was a very long distance away from her, but it didn't matter, she could follow his psychic trail. She'd had time to really think about what her life would be like without him, and she knew she didn't want to live in the Carpathian Mountains. She would go away, far from everything and everyone she knew. Disassociate. That was what she did. She lost herself in her research so she didn't have to face life. A lonely life. Gary was the only one who "saw" her. She needed him to be real. To exist.
She didn't even care if she was chasing after him, needy as hell. Psycho ex-girlfriend. Because she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he loved her. He would walk through fire for her. If she didn't get him away from the prince and Gregori, she would lose him forever and she would lose herself.
Below her the mountains streaked by. She caught glimpses of the dense forest and craggy mountaintops. Ahead were the mists surrounding the monastery where the ancients went when they wouldn't walk into the sun but could no longer be trusted around humans or Carpathians. When they could no longer safely hunt the undead. They were dangerous men.
Gabrielle didn't want to go anywhere near the monastery. She didn't want anything at all to do with them, but if that was Gary's destination, then she was going to be there first. She knew, from sliding into her sister's mind, that he had gone to see Andre and his new lifemate, Teagan. Together, the three would approach those in the monastery to see if they would be willing to have Teagan try to help them. Gabrielle intended to catch them outside the gates. She had followed Gary's psychic trail and found her way.
The air had gone cold, unnaturally so. She could feel the safeguards woven into the mists broadcasting a warning that got under her skin even when she knew why and how it was there. Inside the mist things moved. Shapes. Voices whispered warnings. The mist swirled, dense and heavy, so that even in the form she'd taken, she was saturated, the water penetrating her feathers, a nearly impossible feat.
She could easily see how the ancients had stayed undiscovered for so many years. Their warning system was brilliant and cleverly in play all year round as well as both day and night. The actual location of the monastery appeared to change as well. She'd catch a glimpse of it, the mist would close over it and when the veil parted again over what she could swear was the exact same spot, the buildings were gone.
She was fully Carpathian with all the powers. She had never really utilized her gifts before. No one had really talked to her about what she could and couldn't do, and she hadn't asked. She should have asked. She knew most humans were converted by a lifemate and their lifemate taught them everything they needed to know. She'd been converted and, although grateful to be alive, she had disappeared into her work so she wouldn't have to face a life that was very alien to her.
Perhaps if someone had worked with her, she wouldn't have felt so cut off, but no one thought to do so, and she couldn't ask. Not the prince. Certainly not Gregori. She had counted on Gary. She had always counted on Gary. He would teach her what she needed to know.
Now, she used her mind to keep herself in the air. She knew everything started in one's mind. Her feathers might be soaked, but she could shift in the air if she had to. Whatever the ancients tried, she would not be afraid. She would not back down. Gary belonged with her. No one was going to take him away from her. She'd seen in his eyes that he was close to capitulating.
The owl began to falter in the center of the mist and she forced a shift, one she'd never attempted before, but she was very familiar with molecules and the molecular structure of the human body, so she wasn't as afraid of becoming molecules as she had been when she'd first learned how to shift into the form of an animal or bird.
The veil of mist parted again, and way down the mountain she caught a glimpse of four men and a woman hiking the mountain trail above the human village. They looked tiny, like ants. She was grateful they couldn't possibly see her in the thick, swirling clouds of living fog miles and miles above them.
Without warning a wrenching sickness took her over, so that even in her present state, without a body, she felt as if she might tumble from the sky and be sick over and over. Fear seized her. She couldn't tell why. It was unreasonable. She knew that, but it didn't help to lessen the effect on her. Fortunately, the veil parted again, and this time, she actually saw the gates of the monastery. More. She saw Gary. He was with Andre. She recognized the Carpathian others referred to as "the Ghost." With him was a woman. She was shorter than Gabrielle and had beautiful, mocha skin. Her hair was a deep ebony, and even braided it was very thick and hung to her waist.
Relief flooded through her and she dropped down fast, afraid if she didn't get through the small hole in the mist, she would lose the location again. She saw Gary turn his head toward her, as she came out of the mist to shift only feet from him. Andre stepped in front of his lifemate.
"Gabrielle." Gary breathed her name.
The unguarded look on his face was everything she could ask for right before a mask dropped down.
"Gary. I've had enough time to think about everything, and I'm willing to take the chance. We have too much for me to be afraid of reaching for what I want," Gabrielle said hastily, moving right into him.
She ignored Andre and his lifemate, Teagan. She ignored the fact that she was nearly pressed against the huge, thick gates of the monastery. She knew better than to touch them, but she stayed firmly inserted between Gary and the gates. She knew she only had a few minutes before everything was lost. She knew because she felt the two Carpathians trailing after her. If they arrived before she managed to convince Gary they deserved their time together, she would lose everything.
"Gabrielle." Gary said her name softly. Just that--her name.
She closed her eyes at the love in his voice. So real. So raw. So honest. How could anyone ask them to give up each other? As humans they would have married, had children and lived a happily-ever-after life. She knew that with every breath she took. She could hear the same knowledge in the sound of Gary's voice. In her name.
She held out her hand. "Come away with me. Right now. Andre can do the prince's bidding. We can take fifty years. Fifty. That's all we're asking for ourselves. We have an endless amount of time ahead of us." She couldn't think about that long eternity of loneliness stretching in front of her--not without Gary. "Fifty years isn't too much to ask, Gary."
She held her breath. Looked into his eyes. Let him see how much he meant to her. How much she loved him. They deserved to be together. They belonged. She felt it in her heart. No, in her very soul, the soul she supposedly shared with another man.
"Gabrielle." The melting sensation in his heart told Gary he was so far gone in this woman he was going to lose the battle. He didn't want to ever hurt her. Not again. The look on her face before she ran down the mountain, the rejection and pain so plain in her eyes had gutted him right along with her.
"We've given to them. We both have." She stepped closer.
Her scent was elusive, mesmerizing, beautiful and delicate like sh
e was, wrapping him up and surrounding him with her. Gary always got lost in her when she was so close. He couldn't help it, he had to touch her. All that soft skin. It felt as soft as it looked. He framed her face with both hands, ignoring Andre, who had stepped close, his lifemate, Teagan, who had tears in her eyes, one step behind her man.
Gary stared into Gabrielle's dove gray eyes and fell hard. He always did. She was right. They both had given much to the Carpathian people. Both had suffered. Nearly died. "Fifty years," he whispered.
Her eyes searched his, hope creeping into her expression. "We'll come back after and give the rest of our lives to them. If we find lifemates at that time, fine, if we don't, we had our time."
"Honey," he said, still trying to do the right thing. "I could lose my emotions. Any time. Any day. What then?"
"You'll know before it happens. They fade away. Over time. We have time. That's one thing we do have."
"My ability to see in color left when you did on our wedding night." He would always remember the sight of her running from him, taking the vivid colors with her, leaving his world gray. "My emotions could go the same way."
"I get that you're saying there's a risk. I know you would never hurt me, Gary. I know it. If you lose your emotions, we'll deal with that. But it should be my risk. My choice. I should have that right. I work with hot viruses; do you think I wouldn't risk everything for you? I'm fighting for us, Gary. I need to know I'm just as important to you as you are to me. I need you to fight for me."
She laid it all out. Courageous. Right in front of Andre and Teagan. She bared her soul, leaving herself exposed and vulnerable to him. There was no resisting that. He felt the smile start somewhere deep inside of him. She was right. She was so right. Fifty years in a Carpathian's life was nothing. For them, it would be everything they wanted.
"I love you, Gabrielle," he stated. "I love you with every breath in my body. And honey, never, for one moment, think you aren't worth fighting for. I'd die for you. You aren't second to anyone. You're my number-one priority."
Her face lit up. Like sunshine. Like the stars over his head. Lighting his world. He might not be able to see in color, but he could see the light shining like a beacon--for him. His heart jerked in his chest.
"I think Andre and Teagan can handle this assignment without me. I was here to observe, if the ancients even wanted to try Teagan's experiment. We can leave now. Go to the States, live out our time there."
Gabrielle flung herself at him with a glad cry, her mouth turned up to his. He caught her in midair, wrapping his arms around her at the same time she wrapped her legs around him. His mouth found hers, tasting her. Tasting the wild in her. The wild she never let anyone see, but he always knew it was there, under the surface. His. She'd been his from the moment he laid eyes on her.
He kissed her. Hard. Wet. A kiss that promised there was a lot more to come. Her mouth was a kind of paradise, her taste addicting. Sweet. Pure honey. Her body jerked hard, nearly pulling her from his arms. He lifted his head. Saw her eyes wide with shock and fear.
"Gary," she whispered. Scared. Terrified.
Her body jerked again. Hard. Hard enough to tear her from his arms. She screamed as she flew backward, slamming into the thick wooden gates of the monastery. Vines, like snakes, circled her wrists and drew her hands above her head. More vines wrapped around her waist, pinning her to the massive wall, holding her there, a prisoner.
She screamed again, her eyes on him. "Help! What's happening? What's wrong? Help me!"
A voice woke him. A soft musical murmur. Sound. Melodic. The notes pushed through the darkness of his mind. Silvery notes that left a small trail in their wake. He could almost see them, tiny, narrow streams of liquid silver penetrating the dense sheet of unrelenting darkness. The streaks left trails through his mind, much like a comet. The light spread. Sank deep.
Aleksei waved his hand to remove the soil surrounding him. The musical notes went from silver to gold. Gold. Not gray. Not a dull, dingy white. Gold. Silver and gold. He could see the notes dancing through the sheet of darkness, bursting like stars, ripping the sheet to shreds. Each note tore more of the dark from his mind, letting in the light until the backs of his eyes burned.
He blinked rapidly and looked around slowly, his eyes hooded, lashes fanning down to protect his vision. The carefully cultivated plants were in bloom and he could see the riot of colors. So bright. So vibrant. His eyes burned and the intensity of the colors caused a lurch in his belly. Disorienting. Still. Colors.
He took a deep breath and drew in the air she breathed. His lifemate. She was close. Right outside the gates. He heard her, that soft murmur. Plea. She was arguing with someone. He drew her into his lungs. Deep. Deeper. Holding her right there with the miracle of silver and gold notes burning through his shredded soul. Cauterizing. Attempting to repair the damage done by centuries of killing. Of being alone, hoping and then losing hope. The darkness didn't win and yet it had--until now.
He forced his eyes to shutter, to reduce the vivid colors enough that he could rise without the lurching, disorienting feeling that was so disturbing. Her voice rose outside the gates, carried to him on the wind. Soft. Pleading. Tears in her voice. A man's murmur followed. Rage hit him. Deadly. Dangerous.
Help! What's happening? What's wrong? Help me!
Emotion was something he didn't even remember, and the intensity was overwhelming. He could barely contain elation at finding his lifemate, and fury that another man hurt her enough to make her cry. The storm inside him was violent, relentless and demanding. He did his best to tamp it down. He had to be in control. He was far too dangerous not to be.
Aleksei took to the sky, something he hadn't done in a very long while, whirling like the mist, carried on the sudden forceful wind. His lifemate's screams tore at him, sent streaks of pure rage rushing through his bloodstream. He had never heard the fear and anguish in anyone's voice as he did in hers, and it ripped him apart, ripped away the last veneer of civilization, leaving him solely what he'd always been--a predator at the very top of the food chain. There would be no escaping him. Not for her. Not for the man who caused her tears.
From the air he saw the woman he knew belonged to him and the man she faced with tears running down her face. She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Her back was against the gate, both arms stretched above her head, wrists bound by the guardians. Another binding circled her slim waist. She wore a man's garb, something he didn't care for at all, especially when another man was looking at her as if she was his entire world. It was too form-fitting, revealing her luscious curves. The plants Fane used as safeguards to protect those in the monastery had done their job, recognizing this woman belonged and holding her. Should any approach her, the vines would protect her.
He immediately noted Andre was there with his lifemate--a woman he recognized from a few days earlier when she had tried to heal Andre after he'd battled a master vampire. Fane, keeper of the monastery, had given them aid, but Aleksei and two others had stayed close to protect them.
The stranger stepped toward Aleksei's lifemate and something animalistic in him roared a protest. He dropped from the sky to insert his body solidly between the stranger and his lifemate.
"You dare to touch my woman? My lifemate? You dare such a thing?" He switched to English, realizing they had been using that language. "I am Aleksei, and the woman is mine."
Aleksei was utterly confident in his skills but he was surprised and a little taken aback to recognize the man--his enemy--was a Daratrazanoff. There was no mistaking one from that lineage or the power emanating from one of them. He had never known a Daratrazanoff to be a man without honor, but to try to take another man's lifemate was a crime punishable by death--even for those second-in-command to the prince.
He exploded into action, and he was fast. These last years in the monastery could never take away the speed and experience of his centuries of battle. To keep fit and in practice, each evening the ancients gathered to fight, u
sing weapons and hand-to-hand combat. They stayed sharp that way, and it helped to occupy their minds.
He knew he was risking his honor to go into battle; that risk was the very reason he had entered the monastery in the first place. He was far too powerful. Had lived too long. He would be a vampire few could kill. This was his lifemate, and he would defend her with his last breath even if he risked the ultimate dishonor.
Gabrielle screamed and fought the vines holding her in place. Andre barked a command to Teagan and she disappeared, obeying him instantly. Gary was only barely aware of those things. His attention was centered on the raging beast claiming Gabrielle. The man was tall and strong--abnormally so, even for a Carpathian. His shoulders were broad, his chest heavily muscled. His eyes glowed red, vicious, predatory. He hit like a jackhammer, slamming his fist straight at Gary's heart, his white teeth exposed. His teeth showed his state of mind and it wasn't good.
Gary dissolved fast before the fist could penetrate his chest. He came up behind the Carpathian, reaching to circle his neck with his arm, to lock around him in an effort to break his neck. Thick black hair spilled down the intruder's back, and the hair went wild, became alive, slashing ropes of razors that cut flesh when touched.
Around him, Gary could feel the frenzied energy spilling out in every direction. Gabrielle, nearly hysterical, desperate to be free, terrified for him. Terrified of the predatory creature that had attacked him. He could feel the energy pouring off the stranger, so broken, so far gone, the darkness in him absolutely crushing. Surprisingly, Gary's own emotions were much easier to control in the face of the threat.
He had no idea who Aleksei was, but so far, Andre hadn't made a move toward them, which he would have had the crazy ancient been a vampire. Still, Gary wasn't about to allow anyone to hurt Gabrielle, and this man had to be responsible for the vines holding her prisoner. She'd been jerked backward a good fifteen feet and slammed hard against the monastery gates.
With Aleksei's razor-blade hair, Gary had no choice but to release him and jump back. He needed to keep his distance and use modern weapons. This was an ancient Carpathian, possibly a vampire, and no matter how much power and knowledge Gary possessed, he didn't have this hunter's experience. He needed to use intellect to defeat him, not brawn. He was outmatched and he knew it, and that meant he had to press and press until he was completely played out. The one thing he couldn't allow his opponent was time.