Bite, My Love (11 page)

This thought rushes away, and I chase it, clucking, and
calling for it to come back. Hurt
me
? How could he ever harm me when
he feels like this?

Before I
can hunt that pesky thought down, and track what memories and
knowledge created it, I end up backpedalling to hide from advancing
shadows.

Oh
my.

Riffling
through the Eden in his mind are evil sentinels. Horrible
insecurities and doubts are plaguing him. They smear filth from
their sticky hands over our lovely moments, and leave stains he
cannot scrub off.

The
biggest fiend mooches past, making the landscape of his mind
tremble and quake. This waking nightmare leaves stains so corrosive
they sizzle and crackle, like hot oil that spits and burns exposed
skin.

What the
holy fuck is that thing?

What
guilt and shame could possibly be so big that it causes a monster
like that to roam around in your mind?

‘
I wished to protect you from it, but the longer I do the
larger it grows.’
Daniel’s voice is death
incarnate. He’s convinced this is it; this is the moment I turn
from him.
‘Look. See what I am, and what I
have done. Hate me for it.’

There it
is again, large as you like, big, soggy, dripping green ooze and
stinking like offal. Gag. I can taste the sour concoction at the
back of my throat. Retch.

This
disgusting thing is what you’ve been hiding from me?

I’m
watching what happened with Sean. My cousin Daniel left with a
broken neck outside Castle’s steps.

I don’t
know if I can watch this.

Can
I?

Am I
strong enough to deal with whatever I witness?

He’s my
mate, and I have to forgive past transgressions or we’ll never move
forward. But is looking back like this healthy for us?

Lord, how
can I be so insensitive? Selfish, that’s what I am. He’s agonized
over this. He can barely think straight with it, and I want to
avoid it because I’m afraid of what feelings I’ll have to endure to
work my way through it?

If I
can’t forgive him for this how is the Pack ever going
to?

How are
Daniel’s people ever going to?

I feel
his shame at endangering them all. I won’t make it worse by adding
the weight of his Bride’s disapproval.

Right,
hit me with it. Whoa. That’s freaky. I’m sucked into the icky mass
until I’m standing knee deep in the quagmire. Yuck. This memory
stings the eyes and burns the skin. Quickly. Show me the memory
quickly before I hurl and pass out from the nausea.

‘
Damn Ben and damn his soul. He has found his one, his Bride,
and I have to sit here and watch him not only love her, but drag
the rest of us down? Nej. I won’t allow it and neither will the
others. What is that? Growling? I smell wolf. Not possible, this is
Vampire territory. What is a mutt doing so far into enemy
territory? Hells! Jaws snapping. Wild eyes. Sour dog breath.
Disgusting creature. Ripping canines. Damn, my forearm is bleeding.
Rage. Blinding anger. Get off me. Lunging? The creature is mad. A
Lycan is no match for Vampire strength. Suicidal. Charging? Is it
mad? Open maw. Claws. Grab the beast by the scruff of its throat.
Hand spasms. Crunch. I’m so angry. Snap. Confusion. Blood. Death. A
young wolf with fragile bones. Hell! Think. Find the advantage. Use
this. War. A distraction. Deal with Ben and secure the Child.
Protect the legacy. Weed the weak.”

The
memory fades and the stick mass rolls away, leaving a trail of
destruction as it goes. It’s smaller now. Is it because he shared
the horrible memory?

I’m sick to the stomach. I
felt
Sean’s bone break as if
my
hands had delivered
the fatal blow. I felt his life end as blood flowed. Ugh. My mind
is crashing, trying to deal with the loss.

‘
Daniel.’
I sob. I can’t help
it.
‘What happened is horrible, but it was
an accident. I understand why you never asked forgiveness. There’s
nothing to forgive. You never said he attacked first on Vampire
territory.’

‘
It does not matter. Our instincts are different to yours. We
do not attack in blind rage, and we are faster, stronger, and
quicker. There was nothing but shame in killing one so young. I
tried to make his death count for something. I’m sick like that. Do
you see now? The promise of your love is not enough. Love will not
mend this. It won’t fix me.’

I can’t
soothe him because it all becomes too much. My mind’s
self-preservation instincts kick in, shutting me down.

I float
in blackness.

Get up,
Harmony. Your man is probably about to lop off his own
head.

Slowly, I
drag myself back to conscious. Cool hands press down on my
forehead. “Daniel?”

“
He left,” Lee’s says softly. “He tore out of here a moment
before your head hit the floor.”

“
Not once have I seen him cry,” Ben says. He’s standing behind
Lee. “You have affected my Sire in ways I never dreamed he could
be. It is almost as if he feels.”

They have
no idea of the pain he carries.

The
guilt.

“
I don’t think he’ll come back tonight.” Lee bobs her head
towards the window. “The sun is rising. He’ll have to go to
ground.”

I bite my
lip to stifle a sob. “What if he walks into the sunlight?” My voice
is tiny.

Lee leans
her head on my shoulder in comfort. “I can sense him, and he’s
fine. You hear him too don’t you?”

I nod.
“He’s blocking me out. He’s good at that, I didn’t even realise we
were still connected.”

“
Of course you are,” Lee says. “You’re his Bride and you’ve
taken his blood.”

“
Lee.” Ben now stands in the doorframe. His eyes are fixed on
the lightening horizon visible through the sash window.

“
Can’t we close the curtains and stay with her? She’ll spend
all day worrying.”

Ben’s
eyes soften as he looks at his mate. “I know you care, but you must
rest. Not just for you.”

Her hands
drift to her stomach. “Alright.” Her head leaves my shoulder. She
gives me a big smile. “He’ll come back.”

I smile
back. It’s wobbly, but hey, a smile is a smile. “I
know.”

Lee and
Ben drift away together. Their love surrounds them, a radiant
nimbus safeguarding them from anything that means them
harm.

I
secretly hope Daniel will come back before the sun rises, but I get
an impression of him digging into the earth and sigh
sadly.

He’s not
with me, but at least he’s safe.

He didn’t
allow me enough time to respond to what he showed me. He thinks I
hate him. That my loss of consciousness was because I couldn’t deal
with him when I was merely overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of
emotion that came from him. It swallowed me whole, dragged me
under, and it took time for me to swim to the surface.

He should
have waited. Instead he ran.

“
Please come back,” I whisper.

If he
chooses to run it could take me years to find him. Maybe I never
will. I’m not immortal, like a Vampire.

Why is it
so hard for us to have a conversation without arguing or running
from each other?

Lee and
Ben have been through a lot and look at how close it’s brought
them. They exist for each other. They have a reason to go on; each
other.

That’s
what I want for Daniel and me.

Our
mating gives me freedom, but I want to spend that freedom with
him.

Otherwise, what’s the point?

CHAPTER NINE

Two days.
He left me for two days, and here he stands looking like butter
wouldn’t melt.

I smile,
but my face warps and drops into a worried scowl. “You smell like
wolf. What have you been doing?”

Lee
sniffs him then groans. “Something he thinks is clever, no
doubt.”

“
I
am
standing right here.” Daniel glowers at us. “Ask
me
your questions rather
than plucking stray thoughts and making half formed
opinions.”

Lee puts
her tiny fists to her rounded hips. “Well then?” She goes very
still, hearing the answer formed in his mind before he speaks it
aloud.

“
I went to see the South-western Pack Alpha.”

Rearing
back, I wobble. Panic amasses inside, putting pressure on my chest.
It invades my pores and wafts off me in pungent waves.

It’s
spine chilling to smell your own fear, to taste it in the back of
your throat.

I choke back hysteria. I never knew what the hell
hysteria
was
before I met Daniel. “I think I hallucinated. Did you say
you
visited
the
South-western Pack Alpha? Visit? Like you went for high tea or
something?” I look at Lee. “Is that what he said?”

Stumped,
she nods.

Ben
charges into the room. His red lips pull back to bare his fangs.
Silky hair brushes his bumpy brow, and his aura is jagged with
terror. Wild eyes glow silver with starlight. His gaze lands on
Lee, and flicks over her at warp speed. Tormented expression
easing, he scans her again, slower.

Happy his
Bride is not in peril, Ben’s hunched shoulders relax.

The
Vampire will lose his mind if he wakes in such a bother each
night.

Wooden,
he stalks over to Lee, expression beyond relief. “You could not
wait for me to rise?”

“
I wanted to see if she was well.” Lee is sheepish, blushing.
“I didn’t want to force you awake. You haven’t been sleeping
well.”

Ben
points at Daniel. His arm’s rigid, and his finger stabs the air
damningly. “The reason stands not ten feet from you.”

Hands
flying to my hips, I step in front of that finger. “Hold a grudge
much? He wouldn’t hurt her for the world.”

“
He already has.”

“
He feels regret for that.” I tap my chest. “I feel it when he
looks at her.”

Daniel’s
cool presence is suddenly right behind me, his chest brushing my
back. “I do not need you fighting my battles for me.”

Crossing
my arms over my chest, I move so I am standing between the two men
and motion him to continue. “Battle away then.”

The men
eye each other.

Both are
gorgeous, and frightening because of it.

I’m used
to brawny, hairy, gruff men who’d fuck you just as soon as rip your
throat out to establish their dominance.

These
Vampire males are tricky and subtle. Their power is understated,
something that sinks into your skin, and burrows so deep it’s
impossible to shake no matter how strong or resilient you
are.

There’s
Ben. With his dark hair, and dark eyes that are bottomless. His
compact body, camouflaged in dark natural fabrics, accentuate his
lean shape.

As he
faces his Sire, his body draws taut. Not the kind of tension that
indicates preparation for a battle of wills, but one that screams
of physical readiness. His face is composed. Patient. But those
eyes are sucking everything in – showing how impatient the creature
inside is for this to come to blows.

Then there’s Daniel; my mate,
with his rangy body and rakish looks. His tapered face, prominent
brow, and cleft chin are strong. On a body with less character it
would be ugly as sin. His cheekbones are so sharp his lower face is
shadowed. Dramatic blue eyes capture all respect and attention.
They are that powerful. He’s taller than Ben. At a glance, Daniel
appears willowy. His body too lanky to be a suitable match for
someone built solid like me. Look again. Under the black denim and
fine-knit jumper there’s gracefully honed muscle. The corporeal
power of his monster heightens the strength of his character.
Without it, Daniel wouldn’t be the petrifying force of nature he
is, and always will be.

In this
stand-off, Ben is the Protégée. The Sire can read his former pupil
like an open book.

Daniel’s
face is self-possessed. His deportment is straightforward, and open
to immediate change for good or ill. The slight up curve of his
lips is mocking, and the wicked glint in his eyes a
challenge.

I’m
already bored of this male showboating. It’s distracting us from
the fact Daniel tottered onto the hunting grounds to see my Pack
Alpha without my protection, or back up from his own
kind.

What the
hell had he been thinking? How is he still walking and
talking?

I can’t
see a scratch on him.

Thank
you, Lord.

I take a
bracing breath. “Can you guys call a truce? Lee found out she’s
pregnant days ago, and we should be celebrating, not fighting.” My
crossed arms drop. I direct my ire at Ben. “You should be making
happy memories with her, not stressing her out.”