He leapt back and pulled his weapon. He'd been developing ways to fight vampires since he'd first become Gregori's friend. He'd perfected several. He flew back, his body now protecting Gabrielle, as he drew and fired his weapon. Aleksei simultaneously whirled and came at him, his features sheer stone, eyes blazing with fury.
The small gun was lightweight and fit in the palm of Gary's hand. To kill a vampire wasn't all that easy. One had to extract the heart and incinerate it. The gun rapid-fired several lethal circular bullets--claws of steel. The discs, high velocity, were sharp enough to penetrate through flesh and bone and designed to burrow deep.
Once fired, the disc locked on to a target--the withered low-level beat of the undead's heart--surrounded the organ and clamped down. As soon as the claw had the heart in its grip it emitted a high-pitched screech that signaled, even during a loud battle, the heart was ready for extraction. The second trigger on the gun activated the extraction. The entire process took the same amount of time it took to fire a bullet.
The disc hit true. Aleksei stumbled back under the impact, his hands going to his chest. Gary fired a second disc as Aleksei reached into his own chest to pull the claw from inside his body. The ancient didn't make a single sound. Not one. He didn't even blink. If he felt pain, he didn't show it, but he did dodge the second disc with blurring speed, coming at Gary so fast there was no time to move, no time to think of anything but survival. All the while Aleksei rushed, his hand continued to remove the claw from his chest.
Aleksei had no time to puzzle out the reason his lifemate continued to cry out for his opponent's safety. He couldn't take the chance that Gabrielle would be hurt in the battle, and a Daratrazanoff was between them. Close to her. Far too close to her. He felt Andre moving in his mind, telling him to stop, but that didn't make sense either. Andre knew that a lifemate was never to be touched by another man. Never. To break that sacred rule was punishable by death, no matter the lineage of the offender.
As he whirled toward Gary, using both speed and movement to prevent the crazed Carpathian from using his weapon, Aleksei sent the wind rushing around them, driving the man away from Gabrielle with a series of fireballs aimed at him raining out of the night sky. The two combatants came together in a fury of blazing fire. The flames came out of the wind, firebombs dropping to surround them, to hold the two in the center, moving them back away from Aleksei's lifemate. He was careful that the fireballs were well away from her, but the flames prevented Gary from getting near her.
"Stop them, Andre," Gabrielle shouted, terrified for Gary. She struggled against the vines, and the more she struggled, the harder the tough wood bit into her skin, until blood began to trickle down her arms. "He's going to kill Gary."
She could see nothing now but the wall of flames. Strangely the fire wasn't in the least bit hot to her skin. Still, not seeing what was happening between the two men was far worse than witnessing it.
"I cannot," Andre said quietly, and indicated something to her left and then to her right.
Gabrielle turned her head, and her breath left her body in a rush. For a moment she went still, her heart pounding so hard it nearly came out of her chest. There were others. Others like the one called Aleksei who had claimed she belonged to him. She felt their darkness. It was oppressing. Frightening. Sad. So sad that even in the midst of her fear for Gary, she felt the weight of their sorrow pressing down on her.
She could see they were watching the combatants intently, and they also were very aware of the blood trickling down her wrists. They could smell it. Sometimes eyes would move over her and then become riveted on her wrists. Terror mounted. If Gary didn't save her, these horrible ancient Carpathians were going to feast on her. Devour her. Drink her blood until there was nothing left of her.
"Gary." She whispered his name. Her only salvation. Her love. Her fear. "Please, God, help him."
She didn't care if every one of these horrible ancients ripped her to pieces. If Andre wouldn't help Gary, then she would. She turned her head and stared at the bracelet on her wrist. She'd seen her brother Jubal's bracelet become a weapon. He did it by tuning himself to the metal. It worked only for him.
Gabrielle closed her eyes and tried to block out what was happening around her. She concentrated on the delicate links of metal surrounding her wrist. At once she heard the low hum that she'd noticed before. Instantly she locked on to that and sent her own command. She needed the vines gone. Right. This. Moment.
Gary Daratrazanoff hit him with the force of a freight train, driving him back toward the wall of flames. Aleksei dissolved and came up behind Gary, re-forming, catching at his head and wrenching with enormous strength to break the neck. Gary shifted out from under him, becoming a huge, powerful python, coiling around him fast, the head eye to eye, the constriction deadly.
Aleksei didn't fight it; instead, he shifted his body to that of a python as well, a feat many Carpathians weren't able to do. Few could shift when they were being held captive in any form. The two snakes coiled and thrashed, upright, standing on their tails, facing each other with big, angry, curved teeth. Once those teeth sank in, it would be difficult to extract them, even in his present form.
The head of the python came close and, without warning, small, wiggling snakes erupted from its mouth, leaping to fill his. Aleksei allowed the rain of fire to stop in order to combat the multitude of snakes leaping at him, trying to get inside his body. He turned his snake's head to buy a couple of seconds, all the while following the beat of the heart inside the snake. There was always a heart, no matter how one tried to protect it. No matter how withered and black it had become.
He concentrated on the sound until he pinpointed it perfectly and then he shifted, one hand shooting out from his python's body to slam into Gary's python, his fist penetrating deep.
Gabrielle screamed, the sound piercing the night. A wail of utter despair and terror. Her terrified screams filled his mind. Filled his heart and soul. Still, to fight a Daratrazanoff with the kind of power and skills they had, he would have to shut her terror out. He couldn't feel anything at all. Nothing. Only the power running through his body. The confidence born of centuries of battles. He knew fighting and killing this man was dangerous to him as well. One more kill, even with his lifemate to anchor him, could send him over the edge into madness. He was in the monastery to prevent having to hunt and destroy lives--even the undead.
Once he penetrated the chest cavity, he shifted, and to his shock, Gary shifted as well, something extremely difficult under the circumstances, but it didn't matter. Aleksei had him now. He knew it. And then Gary's eyes held triumph, and Aleksei knew he was fighting something altogether different than the vampires he had fought over the centuries.
Gary's fist smashed through his chest toward his heart, coming from an altogether different direction, and the form in front of him simply disintegrated. Gary had deliberately misled him with the python, with the heartbeat. A genius in battle. Now it really was life or death, and Aleksei had no intention of dying now that he had found his lifemate.
Genius didn't mean experience in battle. Aleksei slammed his head into Gary's forehead, shifting just enough to put a sledgehammer there. Gary fell back and down, and Aleksei went down to one knee, his fist going in for the kill. Something hit him from behind and he caught the attacker with one arm behind his back, circling the small waist and nearly hurtling the featherlight body toward the gate of the monastery. At the last moment he realized his attacker was his own lifemate. Simultaneously he heard the low protest of his brethren and Andre's sharp command to stop.
He set Gabrielle down gently and rose slowly, shocked at her behavior. He could see that his brothers were stunned as well--all but Andre, who appeared to stare at her with compassion. Her wrists were bloody and he could smell her, the faint, almost elusive feminine scent that called to every cell in his body.
She had betrayed him. With another man. The man she was trying to protect. The man that wasn't him. No Carpat
hian woman would do such a thing. She stood there, staring at him with huge, frightened eyes. He knew why. Everyone knew why. There was absolute silence. Even the wind held its breath while he decided whether to kill her, or keep her. She didn't deserve to live, and neither did Gary Daratrazanoff. He had been betrayed by his own kind. By a family he knew and respected.
He let his breath out slowly, his eyes on her. She was beautiful even in her fear. Her entire body trembled. She lifted a small, delicate hand to her mouth and he could see that it shook. She was tall, with a lot of curves, but she seemed fragile to him.
He heard the murmur of his brethren and turned his head to see Mikhail Dubrinsky, the reigning prince of the Carpathian people, and Gregori Daratrazanoff, his second-in-command, materializing close to him. Close enough for them to be a threat to him. He felt that threat emanating from Gregori, and his brethren did as well. They moved closer, ringing the newcomers, forcing Andre into the middle. Andre was a wild card, but the others would stand with him. None of the ancients residing within the monastery had sworn allegiance to the prince. Not him. Not the others.
Mikhail stepped closer but Gregori and Andre closed ranks instantly, preventing him from moving toward Aleksei. Mikhail held up his hand as Aleksei remained over Gary, holding the man down with his mind, his fist ready to remove the heart. He heard his lifemate make a single sound. Low. One of terror.
"They deserve death." Aleksei made it a statement, but he knew he didn't want to kill her. He wanted to keep her. He wanted the prince to perform a miracle for him. He thought Gabrielle was his miracle, but he was wrong and the bitterness in his mouth, in his mind, had turned an ugly, dark flavor.
He planned every move in his mind. The speed he would need to kill Gary and then Gabrielle. His brethren would end him when he went into the thrall and he would still have his honor. Still. He waited. For a miracle.
"I know what this appears to be," Mikhail said. His voice was soft. Low. The sound alone carried power. Not the challenging power of a male hunter, but a magnetic, compelling sound that got into one's mind and took away anger. Rage. The driving need to kill. "I assure you, my word as the prince of our people, this is not what it looks like."
"She is mine."
"I am aware of that," Mikhail said, in that same calming tone. "She does not understand, and the fault does not lie with her, or with Gary, but with us." He indicated Gregori. "We are solely responsible for this mess."
Gabrielle cried out. Low. Afraid. He half turned so he could try to reassure her without putting himself at risk. She looked terrified. "Don't," she whispered. "Mikhail, don't."
"You are his true lifemate, Gabrielle. He won't harm you. He will cherish you and protect you."
Gabrielle shook her head, tears running down her face. "No. I won't accept him. I can't. You can't ask me to do that."
She really was frightened, and it was clear to Aleksei there was something he didn't understand about the situation. She was breaking his heart standing there, one pleading hand out toward Mikhail, the blood streaking her soft wrist. Imploring him.
Aleksei sought to reassure her. He spoke in the ancient language. Clearly she didn't understand, continuing to stare at him with frightened eyes. How that could be, he didn't know, but he switched to English and translated for her. "There is no reason to fear now. I am here, your true lifemate. This man will not touch you again."
She shook her head, tears spilling down her face. "No, you don't understand. I refuse. I refuse to be your lifemate. I love him. I'm his."
Fury filled him. He'd spent centuries looking for his woman. Centuries of bleak loneliness. Hope faded, and all he had left was his honor. She would not take that from him because she was afraid. Carpathian women knew their duty. They understood what could happen when a lifemate was stripped of his other half.
She dared to love another man? Choose another man? She was his. His reward. His anchor. His only hope. She had no right to refuse him. He felt the bloodlust rising in him, felt his teeth lengthen. He didn't hesitate, not when a Daratrazanoff was trying to take his woman. Not when she was too frightened to do right by him. Not when dishonor was a breath away.
"Te avio palafertiilam. Entolam kuulua, avio palafertiilam. Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed. Elidamet andam. Pesamet andam. Uskolfertiilamet andam."
"Stop! Stop it!" Gabrielle screamed the words. Frantic. "Mikhail, please. Stop him. You have to make him stop."
He heard the tears in her voice and that tore at him, but he couldn't stop. There was no way to stop. Not even to comfort her. Not even to reassure her that she would be safe with him. Rage was still there. The bloodlust hadn't subsided.
"Sivamet andam. Sielamet andam. Ainamet andam. Sivamet kuuluak kaik etta a ted. Ainaak olenszal sivambin. Te elidet ainaak pide minan. Te avio palafertiilam. Ainaak sivamet jutta oleny. Ainaak terad vigyazak."
He spoke firmly, in a deep, commanding timbre. He used his ancient language and felt every word ripped from his soul. Even as he uttered the binding words imprinted on him before he was born, he felt the ties binding them together. His soul to hers.
She cried out with each completed vow. As if he'd struck her. As if, somehow, he'd ripped out her heart and soul. Before he could step close to her to soothe her, he heard the warning growl from the Daratrazanoff on the ground. And it was a growl.
"Gabrielle." The single name was spoken softly. The raw love was so strong it hurt to hear it. The sound made the man exposed, vulnerable, and showed his loss. His despair. The knowledge that she was lost to him for all time.
Aleksei jumped back as Gary Daratrazanoff leapt from the ground. He was even more shocked when he looked at the man's face. He'd witnessed the killing thrall of a Carpathian male who had lost his lifemate on more than one occasion. Each time, he'd been the one to deliver the mercy killing to prevent them from dishonor.
"Gary!"
His woman--Gabrielle--cried out, more frightened than ever. She couldn't fail to recognize the way the man shut down completely. It was a terrifying thing to see darkness claim a good man. Aleksei moved his body squarely between Gary and his lifemate. The man was in a killing rage. The thrall was impossible to stop, but it was only brought on when a lifemate died. What was going on? Surely his woman couldn't have been Gary's lifemate as well.
He'd had enough. He'd taken all he was going to take from any of them. He whirled, snatched up his woman, tossed her over his shoulder and was inside the gate before anyone could stop him. Behind him, his brethren joined him, sealing the safeguards against all outsiders.
He cared little what the prince, Gregori and Andre would have to do to the Daratrazanoff who had tried to take his lifemate from him. Lock him down, send him to the earth to heal or simply kill him. None of that mattered now. Only his lifemate. The woman who had betrayed him with another man.
He set her down, and she flung herself back toward the gate. He caught her in an iron grip around her waist and walked her backward. Her back hit the wall of their gathering building. Instantly he caged her there, using his large frame to hold her in place. He put one hand on her belly and the other beside her head. She looked up at him with tears swimming in her eyes and a look of utter terror on her face.
His eyes blazed down at her. He refused to be swayed by her fear. "Now you will explain your unseemly conduct and know this, woman, you will suffer punishment should you not obey me."
4
Gabrielle glared defiantly up into Aleksei's face. She hated him with every cell in her body. She detested the fact that his face was purely masculine and she noticed. She hated that she felt the heat of his body, or saw that his eyes were a clear, startling green. He wasn't handsome in the accepted sense of the word; he was far too dangerous and rough-looking for that. He didn't try to hide the fact that he was a predator from anyone, least of all her. And she didn't care. Not one little bit.
"Obey you? That's what you expect? That's never going to happen." She spat the words at him, hoping to goad him into killing her.
"You took everything from me. I will never do anything you say."
His breath hissed out and his eyes went flat and cold. Hard. Terrifying. His hand wrapped around her throat and for one moment she thought he'd actually break her neck. Or strangle her. Her pulse beat into the palm of his hand. She held his stare, but it was difficult. Very, very difficult. The gaping wound in his chest was already closed, his shirt clean of all blood. How he'd managed that she didn't know, but it made her all the more angry at him.
"Do not ever say I did not give you a chance to explain."
She stuck her chin in the air. "I don't owe you an explanation. I have nothing at all to say to you. Nothing." She nearly spat the last word at him.
Her heart nearly stopped beating when he transferred his hold from her throat to her hair. He bunched the long strands in his fist, and there was nothing gentle about the way he twisted his hand so that his grip was anchored close to her scalp. He turned and walked rapidly in the opposite direction, forcing her, by her hair, to go with him.
She bit back a scream of pain and beat at his hand and arm. When that didn't slow him down--in fact he didn't even appear to notice--she tried to concentrate on activating the bracelet. Even that let her down. She fought, but the hold on her hair was relentless and every movement she made, from attempting to kick him to hitting him as hard as possible, only increased the agony in her scalp.
Aleksei thrust his lifemate inside the walls of his home. Each of the ancients had their own personal space and this was his. The bare bones of a house. Nothing on the walls. No furniture. What was the need? The ground was the floor. The soil his bed. He waved his hand and instantly there was a soft carpet covering the dirt. That was all she was going to get.