Zephyr listened to Alesia shout her rage and oddly enough, the sound eased something inside him. Similar feelings held him captive and he was pretty sure that her venting somehow gave expression to his own deep frustration.
Now that he’d grappled with all that had happened in the last few hours, he knew they were in trouble. The incredible taste and effect of her blood on his system and how extraordinary it was to make love to her had thoroughly disrupted his view of his world.
For one thing, he hadn’t been free of pain like this from the time he’d first become a mastyr vampire over thirty-five years ago.
Now he was free, yet at the same time, he felt possessive of Alesia, something she really didn’t need to hear. Gerrod had warned him that other mastyrs would be drawn to her from this point forward and unless he was willing to complete the bond with her, she’d be fair game. In addition, she’d feel compelled to serve any mastyr who came to her.
The thought of Alesia with another men set him to pacing in front of the living room fireplace. He couldn’t bear the idea of anyone having access to her body either from sex or from her vein.
But the worst part was that nothing about Alesia being a blood rose changed their substantial differences. The fact that she could relieve him of his chronic blood starvation didn’t eradicate her belief that what he did night after night was a great evil. During the past year, she’d made her opinion clear a hundred times over.
He didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do.
But as he paced and as Alesia’s shouts finally grew fewer and fewer, he knew one thing for certain, that he didn’t want to go back to his life without her. He loved her and he needed to be with her and it sure didn’t help that he’d been celibate since they’d broken up.
He didn’t know how to make this work, but he wanted to bond with her, more than life itself.
But how he was going to persuade Alesia to get on board, he had no idea.
* * * * * * * * *
Alesia slipped into her work jeans, red t-shirt and thick-soled diner shoes. Using Zephyr’s blow dryer, she even achieved a fairly decent look for her hair. Her shoulder bag had disappeared—probably left behind in the gravel parking lot during the attack.
Above all, however, the earlier feel-good from the sex had disappeared entirely in the face of her new, horrifying reality.
A blood rose.
How could she be a blood rose? From what she understood, only the most powerful women in the Nine Realms had that capacity, which didn’t exactly describe her.
But was that really true? Or did she have more ability than she thought? More potential?
After all, she’d seen the red wind of the Invictus before the first pair had arrived and as far as she knew, very few realm-folk could do that. Add to the equation that she’d actually knocked a power-enhanced Invictus vampire out of the sky with her battle energy, and maybe, just maybe, she possessed greater capacity than she’d ever thought possible.
But what was she supposed to do with this information? Was she supposed to bond with Zephyr?
And while the physical part of her did the happy dance at the sheer notion of getting to share his bed full-time, the rest of her cringed. He held an opposing view about what should be done with wraith-pairs and she saw no way around that, since deep in her heart, she hoped that one day her mother would be found, rescued and rehabilitated.
Alesia, and the fae part of her, was absolutely sure that one day her mother would come home.
She sat down on the long bench at the foot of the bed, and called for Zephyr. They needed to talk, get everything out in the open.
Zephyr appeared in the doorway and the mere sight of him filling her with tremendous longing. But she could never be with a man who slaughtered wraith-pairs, something she had to make him understand.
She would have opened the subject, but he spoke first. “I want us to form the blood rose bond.”
She blinked. “What?”
He then paced the east side of his bedroom and spoke for a long time about things Gerrod had told him, about how all the mastyrs in the entire Nine Realms would be after her, how he couldn’t bear the idea of her servicing other men in that way, how she’d be tempted, and on and on.
She finally covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. “Stop it. I can’t listen to this anymore. I won’t bond with you and I certainly won’t bond with any other mastyr, most of whom are warriors of one kind or another, just like you. I reject everything about being a blood rose.”
When she opened her eyes, he was standing over her.
He spoke softly. “I didn’t intend to overwhelm you. But I need you to understand that you’re vulnerable right now.”
“Well, you’ve made that clear, but please back off.” She lifted her hands up and patted the air.
He took several steps away from her and finally she could breathe again.
Glancing toward the east window, she saw that the dusky part of the evening was almost gone. “I’ll need to be at the diner in a few minutes. Will you fly me there?”
“Alesia, you can’t be serious. You can’t go back there, not yet anyway.”
“Why the hell not?” She rose to face him.
His eyebrows dipped. He looked mad as hell. “Because they’ll be back, all three wraith-pairs, if not here then at your diner, that’s why. They’ve marked you as someone dangerous and they won’t stop until you’re dead.”
She shook her head. “But, why?”
“Because you used your battle energy against that vampire.” His voice was softer as he said, “Listen, I want you to know that I’m so sorry about your mom. I had no idea and I wish like hell you’d told me sooner. Given what happened to you, I can see that I must have sounded harsh, even unkind, on the subject. And now I understand why you broke up with me.”
She lifted her chin. “But it doesn’t change anything with you, does it?”
He frowned. “The truth is, I don’t know.”
She’d never been more shocked. “Well, that’s something, I suppose.”
“I’m not saying this lightly, but if I’d been in your shoes, if I’d seen my mother carried away by a wraith knowing she’d be forced into an Invictus bond, I’d probably have spent every single minute of my life hunting for her, trying to rescue her.”
“You would have?”
“Yeah.” He nodded several times. “That’s exactly what I would have done.”
She finally crossed to him and put her hand on his arm. “Thank you for that, Zeph. I think that’s the kindest thing you’ve ever said to me on this subject.”
His frown deepened. “Again, I apologize for being so insensitive.”
Alesia stared into clear blue eyes, the eyes of the man she loved. She had no doubt about what she felt for him, not even a little.
But the idea of bonding with him still gave her shakes. She didn’t want to be this close to him, or to anyone, and maybe that went to the deeper part of the issue for her. She’d lost so much when her parents had been attacked and she didn’t want to go back there, having that much to lose ever again.
So, no, for her, being a blood rose, being close to any mastyr, would never be a simple thing.
She wanted to go home, to regroup, but Zephyr wasn’t likely to honor her request, not with an impending attack on the horizon.
She was about to suggest that he call Mastyr Gerrod so that he might send some of his vampire Guard all the way south to escort her home, when suddenly a loud banging sounded on the metal roof of his home, just like the night before. She flung herself into his arms.
He surrounded her quickly and held her fast. “It’s okay. I’ve got this. I’ll use some shock therapy again.”
“Yes, do that.”
He released her and moved quickly to his desk in the living room.
At the same time, another wraith shrieked at the front door and set up a second loud banging.
Alesia covered her ears.
More wraith-pairs arrived. She joined Zephyr by his desk and leaned her forehead against his shoulder. I can hardly bear this.
“Something’s wrong. I think they’ve cut the electricity to the house. I can’t even turn my computer on.”
By then, however, he had his phone to his ear. “Gerrod, we need back-up at my hilltop home. We’re under attack. We’ve got at least five wraith-pairs trying to break in.” He gave him the location and afterward returned his phone to the pocket of his jeans.
He said something but the pounding was so severe that she couldn’t make out his words.
Zeph, I can’t even hear you. What did you say?
Three squads are on the way, maybe ten minutes out.
When a booming sounded at the front door, which meant the Invictus were using some kind of battering ram to try to break in, he pathed, This place has a tunnel that leads a couple hundred yards out into an oak grove. You game?
Sweet Goddess, yes.
He led her to a door that looked like a closet opposite his kitchen.
He opened it and ushered her inside. Once within the narrow space, he tried to use the key pad, but again the electricity wasn’t working. He opened a separate, hidden panel and using a mechanical handle, twisted it swiftly which caused a metal door to slide open.
A rush of cool air poured into the space. Closing the secret panel, he moved into the tunnel and she followed him. Once across the threshold, he turned and repeated the secret panel process so that the door closed behind them. He then led the way on a jog.
They’d run for a few minutes when he pathed, We’re almost there. As soon as I open the door, I’m taking you into the night sky.
Got it.
I’ll swing east about three miles before going north again.
The Invictus were slightly less active in the southeast than the western portion of the realm.
Reaching the door to the outside, he once again opened a panel, turned the handle and the door slid open.
* * * * * * * * *
Zephyr took a long moment to listen to the oak grove. The tunnel exit was well-hidden in a dense part of the grove where very few realm-folk ever went and no wraith-pairs that he knew of.
He grew very still and felt that Alesia did the same as she remained standing behind him, holding her breath.
The wind blew in his direction and no unusual smells came at him. He stepped outside, and listened a little more, then gestured for Alesia to join him.
But just as he reached for her, something heavy dropped on top of him, taking him to the ground.
He came up fighting what proved to be a male wraith. He grabbed him around the neck in a wrestler’s hold. Normally, he would have just snapped the thin bones, but not this time, not with Alesia nearby and staring at him in horror.
Alesia shook her head and cried out, “No, don’t do it. Zeph, please. Let this pair live.”
The wraith’s mate, however, dropped from the hillock that housed the tunnel exit, a knife in hand. He could see by the way she held the dagger that she’d had a lot of practice. She looked familiar to him, though he couldn’t place her. Perhaps he’d known her before her abduction.
Zephyr tried to launch his battle shield, to throw a layer of protection around Alesia, but he couldn’t, not while holding the wraith pinned against his upper body.
At the same time, he felt Alesia’s battle vibration gaining energy. He caught her eye as he pulled the wraith backward away from his mate.
Then suddenly, Alesia lowered her arm, her expression stunned. “I can’t believe it.”
“Alesia, what are you waiting for. You’ve got to fire. She’ll kill you with that knife.”
“I won’t hurt her. I can’t. Zeph, that’s my mother. I knew one day this would happen. I knew it. I’ve always known.”
“Holy fuck.”
Zephyr had been in too many battles, however, not to know exactly how this one would go because Alesia hesitated. Her mother wasn’t aware of her actions and had only one intention, to kill.
But Zeph knew better. He tossed the wraith aside and leaped in the air at the exact same moment that Alesia’s mother threw the knife at her.
The blade struck just below his sternum and he fell to the ground in immeasurable pain. Worse, however, he knew that the dagger had hit the artery that ran along his spine.
“Zeph!” Alesia shouted.
“You’ve got to destroy them, Alesia, or we’re both dead.”
He was mortally wounded and if she didn’t take charge and either kill or at least incapacitate the wraith-pair, they’d both die in the next few seconds.
Left alone, he could self-heal, but the Invictus wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter them both right now, if given the chance.
And it was all up to Alesia.
* * * * * * * * *
Alesia had her worst fear realized. Her mother, in a vicious Invictus state, moved swiftly in Zephyr’s direction, just as the wraith leaped toward Alesia.
The choices she made were instantaneous as she released her battle energy toward the wraith first and then her mother.
But just as the frequency would have struck her parent, Zephyr rose up and blocked the vibration, taking part of the hit with his hip.
He fell limp as did her mother.
Alesia remained frozen for a long moment. She took in the horror all around her. The wraith was dead. She’d taken out his entire chest with one blast.
Moving swiftly toward her mother and Zephyr, she saw that her battle energy had torn away part of his hip and side and that he gasped for breath. Her mother, with one arm almost completely gone, was unconscious but still breathing.
She heard battling in the distance and knew that Gerrod’s forces had arrived at Zephyr’s house.
Drawing Zephyr’s phone from the pocket of his jeans and with shaking hands, she called Gerrod, telling him where she was as well as Zeph’s condition and that he was near death.
Within seconds, several of the Merhaine vampire Guard surrounded her and a few seconds more a fae medic dropped down beside Zephyr. The medic immediately went to work. Many of the fae, male and female, were gifted in advanced healing arts.
Zeph had a chance.
When one of the Guardsman bent over her mother, she hurried to kneel beside her. “Is she dead?”
“Not yet.”
When he reached down with a dagger to finish the job, Alesia intervened. “Please don’t kill her. She’s my mother. And if she survives, I want her to go to the rehabilitation prison. Please, sir.”
The Guardsmen glared at her and perhaps for the first time since her mother had been abducted, she thought she understood why the Guard and warriors like Zephyr didn’t hesitate to kill the Invictus pairs. She might lose Zephyr tonight because of her failure to act and she wasn’t sure that if he died, she’d ever be able to forgive herself because of it.
“Guardsman, fall back.”
Alesia looked up and saw that Mastyr Gerrod, the ruler of Merhaine Realm, levitated nearby. He was an awesome sight with long black hair caught back in a woven clasp and wearing the traditional Guardsman uniform of long black leather coat, hips boots and battle leathers. “Get this realm-person to the prison, as Mistress Alesia has commanded. Are we clear?”
The Guardsman, though disgruntled, responded, “Yes, Mastyr.” He then lifted her mother in his arms and flew toward the east, in the direction of the closest rehab center.
Alesia turned her attention to Zephyr, who was unconscious and very pale. She could see that he barely clung to life despite the work of the powerful medic. “Feed him,” Gerrod commanded.
“What?”
“You’re a blood rose and you can do this for him.”
“But how? He won’t be able to drink.”
Gerrod dropped to the ground to kneel in the dirt beside her, then took her wrist in hand. “May I?”
She nodded. She’d do anything for the Mastyr of Merhaine. He was bonded to a blood rose so he knew what he was talking about.
Gerrod took her wrist and extended his fangs. He scored her skin until her blood flowed, then held the wound to Zephyr’s mouth. “Stroke his throat. That will help him know what to do since the swallowing reflexes are strongest there.”
The medic continued to work on Zephyr, holding one hand to the chest wound and the other to his severely burned hip. She could see that he was healing quickly. But the fae part of her told her that without her blood he’d die.
As instructed, Alesia stroked Zephyr’s throat and coaxed him. “Drink, Zeph, please. Take what you need from me. Let me heal you.”
He was so pale, so close to death, that she could hardly bear it. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Gerrod spoke quietly from behind her. “You’re doing fine, just be patient. Once he catches your blood-rose flavor, well, you’ll see. His body will take over and he’ll do what needs to be done.”
Though most of the blood that seeped from her wrist fell into the dirt, enough pooled in Zephyr’s mouth that his entire body jerked suddenly. He brought his hands forward and grabbed her forearm, pulling her wrist tightly to his mouth. Though his eyes remained shut, he began to feed.
Alesia barely held back the sob that caught in her throat. Gerrod patted her shoulder and told her she’d done well. He then ordered three of his Guardsmen to stay with her until Zephyr was fully healed and could return to his house.
But before Gerrod left, he caught Alesia’s gaze. “He’s one of our finest, you know. And he’s saved my life more than once. You would do well to complete the bond with him.”
Alesia nodded. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.”
With that, Gerrod wished her well and took to the skies. Alesia continued to feed Zephyr until at last the wound in his chest closed up and his eyes opened.
“Thank the Goddess, you’re alive,” he whispered, drawing back from her.
That those were the first words he said to her, not caring about his own condition, would forever fix in her mind just how much he cared about her, how much he loved her.
***