Dalton, Tymber - Brimstone Blues [Brimstone Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (18 page)

Arlo smiled. “I know it’s early, but it’s the best time of day. Ready?”

Matthias nodded. They followed him to a Park Service truck. With Taz seated between the men, they set out.

* * * *

She didn’t ask where they were going. All she cared about was the steaming cup of wonder in her hands.

God help the man who tried to part her from it.

She didn’t pay much attention to where they were going, but they left the main road. After traveling more than twenty minutes, she noticed dawn touching the skies to the east, but it was still dark in the valleys.

They finally parked near the top of a hill, and Grunyon opened his door. “Ready?”

Matthias nodded. “Come on, Taz, you’ll love this.”

Grunyon retrieved a large case and a tripod from the back of his truck. Taz followed the two men to the edge of an overlook. As Matthias helped the ranger set it up, Taz realized it was some sort of scope. When they finished, Grunyon peered into the scope for several long minutes then stood back, smiling.

“Go ahead, Taz,” Matthias said. “I’ve seen this. I want you to see it.”

She looked at him, but took her place behind the scope. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, then—

She gasped. “Wolves!”

The ranger nodded. “Aren’t they gorgeous?”

Taz breathlessly watched for several long minutes before a crick in her neck forced her to stand up. Matthias took a turn, then stepped back for the ranger.

“They’re down there,” Matthias pointed. As the light slowly changed from deep purple to grey, Taz could make them out, barely, on the valley floor. A pack of about five wolves, but she wasn’t sure if they were adults or pups.

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “Send your mind out to them.”

Taz froze, frightened. “I don’t know if I can.”

Matthias brushed his lips against her neck and murmured, “You can. Trust me. Run with them. I’ve got you.”

She closed her eyes. Before when she’d done this it had incapacitated her while her mind wandered. This time she felt a guiding touch, almost a gentle, mental nudge.

It didn’t come from Matthias.

Taking a deep breath, Taz pushed her mind out and swooped down into the valley with the pack, finding the Alpha and running with him, part of him.

Matthias’ voice came to her, distant, yet clear. “That’s it. Excellent.” Unlike the other times, she still felt his arms around her, holding her, and when she shifted her weight, she felt the ground solid beneath her physical feet, even while running mentally at the head of the pack.

She wanted to run forever with them, the freedom, the joy they felt as they swiftly covered the ground. Then Matthias brought her back.

“It’s time to return,
cara
,” he whispered.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and found herself on the overlook. The ranger watched them, his face full of shock.

“Wow!” he breathed. “Matthias, you never said—”

“And you never will, either,” Matthias warned.

Grunyon nodded. “Of course.”

Taz blinked, turned. “What time is it?”

Matthias smiled. “Just a few minutes have passed. No lost time.”

She contemplated what this meant. “Was that like what I did at West Thumb that day, when I travelled back to Old Faithful?”

He nodded. “Similar. And you didn’t lose control.”

She put her arms around Matthias. “Thank you. This was worth getting up at dark-thirty.”

He hugged her back, smiling. “I was hoping you’d think so.”

* * * *

They watched the wolves for nearly an hour before returning to the ranger station to retrieve the car.

“Breakfast?” Matthias asked. She eagerly agreed, and they drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs to eat. He took them back to their cabin via the west road. As they approached Norris, she felt him tense.

“It’s okay, Matthias. Dad brought me over here the other day. I saw where it happened.”

He squeezed her hand. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“I was so close. I felt it, saw the way to die.”

“I’m so glad you didn’t. You have no idea.”

She smiled, feeling a little more settled now than she had in days. The fact that the disembodied voice hadn’t spoken lately helped a lot.

They napped at the cabin. Before lunch they took a long walk around the geyser basin.

Matthias didn’t speak, knowing she wanted to think and walk, letting her set the pace of their stroll and their conversation. She stopped at the place where she kissed Rafe and turned to Matthias, took both his hands.

“I’m sorry it happened.”

“I keep telling you, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. Let me finish.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know why I kissed him. I know you all keep telling me it was my powers that made me act like Psycho the Wonder Witch, but I have to tell you the truth. I felt like I’d met him before, like he was someone I knew. And I enjoyed it.” She paused, but he didn’t interrupt her. “I’m sorry he’s dead, and I know you don’t blame me for what happened, but I take responsibility for what I did. I’m sorry, Matthias, I really am.”

He pulled her to him. “It’s all right. I already told you I don’t blame you.” He kissed her, long, hard, and passionately. He felt her slight resistance at first, then she melted against him, into him, and returned it.

When he was sure he had her full attention again, he whispered in her ear, “You are my love, Anastazia. I know you felt a connection with him, that you loved him, and I don’t begrudge it. Especially now. I don’t claim to have all the answers. One day, you’ll be able to make sense of it, I promise.”

“How can you just forgive me like that?”

“It’s not a matter of ‘just’ forgiving you. Again, I’ve seen a lot in over six hundred years. I have a perspective that you do not. Trust me to know my feelings and my heart.”

Taz didn’t want to pull her gaze away from his. No disembodied voice tormented her, and maybe now she’d remember her kiss with Matthias in this exact spot. Not that she wanted to forget Rafe, but she had to move on.

“Let’s go eat,” she suggested.

“Lunch?” he asked, with a playful smile.

She hesitated, then gently shoved him. “Yes, lunch. Pervert.”

“You love it.”

She hooked her arm through his, enjoying the solid feel of his body beside her. “Yes, I love you.”

* * * *

She wasn’t in a romantic mood by the time they returned from lunch. Not because of anything he said or did, but because she felt crampy. She cuddled next to him in bed, and he took the time to talk with her. “What do you want to talk about?”

She thought about it. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? “What’s going to happen to Caroline?”

“I don’t know. Before you yell at me for that answer, I truly don’t. I’m guessing your question is, will they execute her?”

She nodded.

“Sometimes, in extreme cases such as this, especially since she’s taken a life with her own hands, it is best the rogue is executed. It hasn’t happened for a long time, well over forty years, but it has happened.”

“Who makes that decision?”

“The Tribunal. They’ll hear our testimony, and Tim and Albert, and those who were there. Remember, several members of the Tribunal were at the meeting.”

“Oh, great,” she groaned. “Fan-fucking-tastic. They’ll hate me.”

“No, Taz. They were upset at first, but once they realized what happened, they understood.”

“How will they kill her?”

“The traditional method was beheading, but that was, as I said, a while ago. Now we have drugs that can do the same thing. I would imagine if they choose that sentence, that is what will happen.”

“And if they don’t choose to execute her?”

“We have a special prison. No Harry Potter jokes, please,” he said before she could get that far.

She fell quiet for a while. “Can I ask you about your wife?”

He tensed but knew it was a conversation that had to happen sooner or later. “What do you wish to know?”

“What was she like?”

He closed his eyes, felt Taz’s warm body in his arms. She was here, real. He could do this. “Sarah was a lot like you in many ways. She was very strong willed, and I think that’s one of the things that drew me to her.”

“Why’s that?”

He tried to picture Sarah’s face, hear the voice of his long-dead love. “Back then it was expected women did what they were told. Strong-willed women were frequently labeled witches.”

“Why wasn’t she?”

“Her family was well connected, and she was very smart. She had three brothers. Since her family was rich, they could afford private tutors. She learned along with them.”

“She was already ahead of the bell curve.”

He nodded. “She could get her hands dirty if necessary, like any peasant. She didn’t tolerate injustice. Her parents were very well-liked, fair people. They had money but treated others justly.”

“Because of that she was given more leeway?”

“Exactly.”

“Where did you meet?”

“I was hunting with another cousin. We came across her while she was riding, and she challenged us to a race.”

“Really?”

“I chased her for a year before she finally said yes.”

“Love at first bite?”

He started to continue, realized what she meant, and laughed. “My story to tell.”

“Sorry.”

“I married her when I was seventeen. She was sixteen.”

“You were babies!”

“Not back then. Remember, it was a long time ago. We were nearly middle aged by then.”

“True.”

“I didn’t know about my family history. My father was waiting to tell me. He was away visiting family. We married while he was gone.”

“Oh, naughty!”

He sighed. “I was seventeen, a horny teenager.”

“Let me guess, she was more than willing to let you ravish her?”

“Father was very upset when he returned, but what was done couldn’t be undone. Not that we would have annulled the marriage even if we could. Needless to say, I didn’t believe him at first.” He paused to collect his thoughts. “Then he gave me a demonstration that convinced me.”

“If it was anything like the demonstration you gave me with the waitress at Gardiner, I bet it was a doozy.”

He nodded. “I am my father’s son. Let’s just say Sarah wasn’t hurt, and he got his point across.”
Boy, did he.

“Did she know? About you being a vampire?”

“We did tell her. She was willing to keep my secret. She loved me.”