Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

Again, that soft tone was so intimate, Fen almost felt as if he’d slipped into a private encounter between Dimitri and his astonishing lifemate. She gave of herself so freely, and yet he could feel her energy beginning to wane. She did then have her limits. She must have been afraid that she would not complete this healing in time before she gave out, but if she did feel that way, she didn’t betray herself.

Tatijana closed the wound on her wrist herself, with a single swipe of her tongue. She glanced up at Fen, her eyes meeting his. His breath caught in his throat. Her eyes nearly glowed, changing color until they were such a deep shade of green he felt the very coolness of the forest blowing over him.

Now from your brother, Dimitri. He is strong. Ancient. Like you, he is a good man and has survived long against nearly impossible odds without his lifemate. He is patient and kind and holds you dear to him. Take what is freely and so generously offered.

Fen rejoiced when this time, Dimitri turned his head toward him. For one moment those long, dark lashes, two blackened crescents against the stark white of Dimitri’s skin, finally opened. He saw him there, present, his spirit back in his own body. The lashes drifted down as Fen pressed his wrist to his brother’s mouth. Again he had to help Dimitri take in the blood, but at least he knew Dimitri was alive and fighting.

Fen began to hear a sound, much like the cavernous boom of a drum below them, around them, surrounding them. He recognized the rhythm as that of a heartbeat. Each single beat vibrated through Dimitri’s body, his every organ, sinew and bone. Because all four were connected, each of them felt that strong pulsation. Each beat seemed to send pain crashing through his body, but Dimitri didn’t fight.

Mother Earth has accepted you, beloved, as her son. You are now a part of her. You are hearing her heart beating through your body, making you one with her, one with all nature. We are bound together now, the four of us.

With every ounce of energy he possessed, Dimitri reached toward his lifemate. The two spirits brushed against one another and Dimitri’s light spread and grew brighter.

It is enough, I think, beloved. I cannot stay. Be strong for me. Skyler’s voice was already fading, her strength draining fast.

Dimitri stirred, lashes once more lifting, almost in a panic that he hadn’t seen her. Fen closed the wound on his wrist and watched the momentary heat in his brother’s eyes fade when he realized Skyler was present only in spirit.

Rest, beloved. I must go. Josef is with me. He’ll keep me safe. You live, Dimitri. Stay alive. Just live for me.

The moment the soil stopped churning, Skyler was gone abruptly. She’d given everything she had and must have passed out there in the library so far away from them. Fen could only hope that her friend Josef knew what he was doing.

“Sleep my brother,” he whispered to Dimitri and smoothed his hand over his brother’s forehead. There was raw love in the gesture and he was grateful only his lifemate witnessed his vulnerability.

“We’ve done what we can here, my lady.” He offered his hand to her. “We must safeguard his resting spot, revive ourselves, reassure your sister and then, I suppose, we must go see a prince.”





7

Mikhail Dubrinsky’s home was so well-crafted and the safeguards so strong, that even with Carpathian eyes Fen found it difficult to see at first. Deep in the forest, higher up toward the cliffs, the house was both mountain and wood. The air shimmered around the home, a veil not so easily pierced. Abruptly that veil dropped away, and Gregori strode toward them.

Tatijana’s fingers brushed his and he caught her hand without looking down at her. Jacques Dubrinsky jumped out of the uppermost branches of the trees and landed easily on his feet. On their left, Falcon Amiras did the same, essentially creating a funnel—a polite chute—but one all the same.

“Welcome, Fenris Dalka,” Gregori said formally. His silver eyes slashed over them both, taking in far more than either would have wished. “You are much later than anticipated, but I see why. Dimitri?”

“He is alive,” Fen said.

He didn’t know these people. He had never sworn loyalty to this prince, nor would he until he knew the heart and soul of Mikhail Dubrinsky. He certainly wouldn’t trust any of them with the life of his brother without knowing the truth.

“How many weapons do you carry on you?”

“Enough to take down a rogue pack,” Fen answered vaguely, his eyes steady on Gregori’s. He never once turned away. If necessary, Tatijana could fend off the two men flanking them, but he would have to defeat the prince’s second if this was a trap.

“That is not really an answer,” Gregori pointed out mildly, a slight edge creeping into all that charm.

“In truth, I do not know. When an elite hunting pack is in the area during a full moon, I am always fully armed if I am not beneath the ground.” Fen accompanied his answer with a casual shrug. If they wanted him to speak with the prince, it was going to be on his terms. He was exhausted, still not fully healed and was risking his life just to come there. If they wanted him to leave, he’d be more than happy to oblige.