Fero wasn’t a trusting man. He had never been one to trust, not that he could remember. He had his brethren from the monastery, and even with them he was wary. Careful. Now, with Elizabeth to protect, he was even more so. He had thought to bring Isai there first, knowing that Elizabeth would be uncomfortable with visitors, but he needed to get to the bottom of how Levon had managed to reach out to her in the compound, in the healing grounds, when she should have been protected.He had that feeling of a threat coming to her from either Tensel or Gary, perhaps both. Now that he’d been in Elizabeth’s mind, he knew she was uneasy at the mere mention of the two ancients coming near her.He would have thought her anxiety was due to just being around others, but it was more than that. The healer had tried to examine her mind. He may have been trying to repair some of the damage the vampire had caused, but it would be unusual to do so without consent—and Elizabeth had closed herself off. Fer
“I have searched for anything Levon may have left behind and found nothing,” Ferro said, keeping his tone mild. He didn’t protest Tensel’s decree, but made it clear that Tensel was going to have to challenge his abilities. That would be difficult in light of the fact that he was an ancient and few could match his skills.He waited for the leader of the compound to make his next move. ‘There is no need to shake until your body falls apart, my little songbird. No one is going to harm you. My brethren are here to protect you. Look carefully around the circle. I want you to try to determine which stayed with me in the monastery in the Mountains.’Perhaps that would take her mind off the fact that Tensel and his guards were regarding his lifemate with piercing eyes, as if they could see beyond her flesh and bones to what lay beneath. She shivered again. He didn’t want to be like Levon, hiding her away in a cage from others, but he felt she was going to be sick if this kept up.‘Elizabeth
He would have liked it better had she referred to him by name, but at least he managed to get her cooperation, and her fear level had dropped tremendously. She was governed by rules—the stricter they were, the more she understood. It wasn’t right, but he was going too fast with her, trying to force her into a world she didn’t yet understand because he didn’t want to appear anything like Levon. He was her lifemate and he had to be what she needed. Right then she needed someone to tell her what to do and to allow her to lean completely on his strength.“She will submit to your examination, Gary, but only yours. I will be with you.” He kept his voice as neutral as possible, knowing no matter how he worded it, the threat was there.The healer didn’t hesitate, moving out around the others and coming closer to crouch beside Fero. The moment he did, Sandu came up behind Fero’s chair and Siv followed the healer to stand behind him. Fero and Gary both shed their bodies at the same time, becom
“Gary,” Fero said, still holding Elizabeth’s gaze. “But you will be merged with me at all times, healer.” He decreed it. If Tensel and Gary were looking for anything but what they were telling the others, or they planned on hurting his lifemate, he would be there to stop them. He glanced at Sandu, then to Andor. Both men were tied soul to soul with him.Fero felt Elizabeth’s unshed tears, but there were none in her eyes as she stared directly into his. He saw her make a tremendous effort to pull herself together. To still her mind. To let her heart calm along with her breathing. She took her direction from him, choosing to follow his lead. He was very proud of her, knowing how difficult it had to be and knowing she was doing it for him to avoid him having to fight their way out of the compound.Gary was already shedding his body, once more becoming a healing light. Fero didn’t want to leave her alone, but he didn’t like the idea of anyone entering her without giving her his protectio
No matter how hard Gary and Fero tried not to see the ugliness of Elizabeth’s life in order to spare her the humiliation of having others see things she didn’t want seen, there was no getting around it when shuffling through the years of her life. Fero found he couldn’t be as detached as he thought he could be. He’d had centuries of no emotion. He could switch emotion off to hunt, and yet he found when it came to his lifemate, it was nearly impossible not to feel.His gut churned, knotted, an unfamiliar sensation that made him very aware the woman was getting inside him, a dangerous thing for him when he might have to leave her and go to the monastery after she gained her independence. The ties between lifemates couldn’t be broken. He knew that. He understood what they were, but he also knew he wasn’t the same man born to be Elizabeth’s lifemate any more than she was the same woman. They had both changed over the centuries. He had to provide her with what she needed because everythi
‘He is not your master.’ Fero couldn’t keep the clipped, fierce note from his voice. He went directly to dominant in seconds, without thinking. Just the idea that his woman would think of Levon that way set his teeth on edge. ‘He was never your master. He was a cruel ancient who kidnapped an innocent young girl. He will pay for what he did to you.’At once that soothing breeze swept through his mind, clearing out his need to find the vampire and rip out his heart. There was only Elizabeth and her sweetness, that gentle soul with her light and the courage to guard his soul for centuries.‘You are right,’ she agreed. ‘He is not my master. The point is, I can look a little closer at him with you here holding me and see things I could not before. I would not have the courage if you were not with me. I would fear he would find me the way he did when I was in the healing grounds. He always told me he could find me anywhere.’Gary’s spirit emerged from her body, his light much dimmer than wh
“We have no option but to once again examine those in the compound who have been near the healing grounds,” Max said, sounding weary.Tensel sighed. “The children have been put to the test repeatedly. I am not certain how much more they can take. Certainly Charlotte will be very distressed by the idea of having to examine them again, but we cannot risk everyone here.”‘My heart, there is another answer, one that will be difficult for you to put to the test, but these are children who you saw the vampire torturing. Do you remember?’‘Yes.’ How could she forget? Juliet had allowed herself to be taken prisoner in the hopes of rescuing her. There were children down in the tunnels, and they were used cruelly by Levon and his brother. Elizabeth had been in a tiny cage, hidden in the room, unable to do anything but watch the horror unfolding before her eyes.‘You would have to be very brave and trust me. I know it would be difficult for you, but if I am right, it would spare these children mo
Isai rose immediately and held out his hand to Juliet, who stood reluctantly. “Are you certain, Elizabeth? I would help you through this.”“She is certain,” Fero said. “This is difficult for her,” he added when Juliet continued to hesitate. “I ask that you go.”Juliet nodded and went with Isai from the house. Elizabeth didn’t look at her. She couldn’t. She already felt abandoned by her lifemate. The moment Juliet and Isai were gone, the remaining males immediately began weaving safeguards.Fero continued to hold Elizabeth while her mind went crazy with all sorts of possibilities that this was the moment when the axe was going to fall and she would see what was really in store for her. Was it possible that this was one of Levon’s many cruel tricks? He’d played so many over the centuries he’d held her. Was Fero an equally vicious master and now was the moment when he would reveal his true character? She couldn’t stop the thousands of likelihoods from pushing forward.Very slowly Elizab