Fateful (42 page)

“You could have turned me instead of killing
me.”

“No! I remember the curse! You shouldn’t have
to live like that! I’ll suck it up!” he said using her phrase for
fighting through the pain.

“Are you sure? You really want to do this for
me?”

“No, Danielle, for us. I did this for
us.”

Ethan slid his chair back from the table and
said, “Come hither.” He patted his lap with one hand as blue eyes
smoldered her way. Studying his expression, she realized he really
meant what he said, and rose from her seat to accept the
invitation.

“Does this mortal still enchant you?” Ethan
asked as his warm arm moved around her hips to keep her in
place.

“Uh-huh,” she breathed.

“Just not dizzy anymore?”

“That’s right,” she confirmed, then drew
breath from his deliciously scented neck.

“Do I still smell good to you, or has that
worn off?”

“Still yummy … let me see if it’s still as
potent,” she requested with a longing gaze set on his kissable
mouth.

An amused sparkle flashed in his eyes and he
tipped forward, pressing his parted lips to hers, letting his
breath escape into her. She drew his essence into her lungs and
held it there.

“Well?” he asked, leaning back to look at
her.

“It’s still the same luscious flavor, except
without the potion-like influence.”

“Yes!” he exclaimed, triumphant, as if he’d
just scored the winning point in basketball. He then closed his
eyes and rubbed his nose against hers, while he tugged her into a
firm bear hug.

“To tell you the truth, I was a little
worried you might change into a smelly, belching, gassy boyfriend
like every other male on the planet.”

“That could still happen now that I’m on
solid food. Will you still take me if I do?”

“Of course,” she said, figuring he was too
handsome to not overlook something like occasional odor issues.

“Still hungry?” He loosened his embrace.

“Yes.”

“What would you like, my lady?”

“You know what I like.” Showing him how much
she trusted him, Danielle closed her eyes and opened her mouth.

Ethan chuckled, and she felt him lean forward
as he made a selection for her. Feeling something touch against her
tongue, she closed her lips around his fingers, and then he slid
them out. “Mmm, good choice,” she said around a bite of creamy
chocolate with a smooth mint filling.

Sophia bustled out carrying tea service for
two, but paused abruptly and frowned. “Ethan, put her down! She
doesn’t have any clothes on.”

“I’m not naked,” Danielle protested.

“Darling, you’re only wearing a bathrobe. Why
didn’t you put your clothes back on?”

“My blouse was ripped,” she explained.

“Oh, right. Well then, we’ll get you
something to borrow.”

Sophia set the tea on the table and
instructed Danielle to sit in her own chair. She obeyed, thinking
it wouldn’t be a good idea to get a grandmotherly vampire angry
with her.

Just as they’d finished their tea, Nadia came
bursting in, and shouted, “You really are okay!” She dropped the
grocery bags she was carrying and wrapped her arms around Danielle,
nearly knocking her from the chair.

“Thanks, Nadia, it’s nice to see you too,”
she said, but it came out muffled since Nadia had buried Danielle’s
face into her shoulder.

“Hold on, I need to take these bags to
Sophia.” She released her and took the bags into the kitchen, but
returned promptly and sat down next to her. “Sophia sent me
shopping for food when we knew we were going to have two mortals in
the house.” Her bright green gaze shifted to him. “Ethan, how? How
did you figure out the cure?”

“Danielle helped me figure it out … just as I
was about to sink my fangs into her neck. It was a close call,” he
admitted apparently still feeling guilty about it.

Nadia’s eyes rounded at that.

“But you didn’t,” Danielle said
supportively.

Ethan continued, “She said ‘humanity,’ and
she said, ‘I love you,’ when she could feel my fangs against her
skin. Her words triggered something in my head. It was a wild
guess, but I told her to bite me instead, and that’s what
worked.”

“Can you bite me and make me mortal too?”
Nadia asked with hope shining in her eyes.

“I guess either one of us could, but do you
really want that, Nadia? You chose this life,” Ethan said.

“I really think I do,” she replied,
thoughtfully studying the now mortal Ethan, but then she changed
the subject, as she turned her gaze to Danielle. “Sophia said you
need to borrow some clothes. Shall we go do that now?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll be in the drawing room, Danielle,”
Ethan said.

“All right.”

Unable to picture Nadia as a mortal, she
followed the Middle-Earth creature to her bedroom. They found
another outfit for her and then went to the drawing room, once she
was dressed.

Many of the Order members were there and she
felt a little uncomfortable entering the crowded room dressed in
Nadia’s clothes. Nadia really was built like a forest-elf—tall,
thin, and sleekly beautiful with subtle curves. But Danielle’s
figure was more like an hourglass, so on her, Nadia’s clothes
tugged and pulled in all the inappropriate places.

She knew exactly what Ethan was thinking when
she walked in and that roguish, yet noble, smile pulled at his
lips. “Sorry, I know her clothes don’t fit me properly,” she
whispered sitting down next to him, while tugging at the skirt that
was much too tight around her hips.

“You do look indecent, but I’m not
complaining,” he replied with an impish tone.

Beon cleared his throat. “We have some urgent
matters to discuss.”

All eyes turned to Beon. Worry crept forward
from the back of her thoughts, because he appeared to be consumed
with distressing thoughts.

“We still need to keep close watch over you
two when it comes to Celeste and Lucas. They will find out Danielle
is still alive. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.
They will then start plotting again, and they may actually recruit
other vampires to help them.

“Danielle, I need you to understand that your
life remains in great danger, and I don’t think it would matter if
you moved back to the States, they’d just follow you. We can
protect you better here. I’ll be giving you a new cell phone to
replace the one taken from you, so that you may call me if ever you
need help.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, wondering
what he meant by
here
. Was he
talking about here as in England, or here as in at Order
headquarters? She was thinking maybe she didn’t like the second
option so much but said nothing until she’d learned
more.

“And, Ethan, you were safe before you became
mortal, but now you’re also in danger.”

“I am aware of that. What would you like us
to do?” Ethan asked, displaying his willingness to cooperate. And
Danielle realized that while she was so proud of their amazing
escape, she had foolishly forgotten that their situation had become
even more precarious. With a glance at Ethan’s face, she knew that
he hadn’t forgotten.

“Ethan—”

He cut her off gently with a shake of his
head, and she decided to drop it for now.

Beon continued, his expression grim, “We need
you to keep similar curfews, and we need to know where you are at
all times. I will post bodyguards for both of you.”

“Bodyguards?” she repeated as her eyes
enlarged.

“Yes, vampire bodyguards,” Beon said.

“Will they be trustworthy?” she asked
nervously. Will they be the “repentant killers” amongst them or
ones who’d remained clean of mortal blood? And how would she know
which ones were which?

“Max and I will take shifts, but we can’t
watch both of you all of the time, we need others to help. I do
know other vampires whom we can trust,” he said, perhaps suspecting
her doubts. “And I’m sorry, Ethan, but you’ll need to remain in
your room at night, we don’t need another incident like we had at
the ball.”

Danielle cringed at that.

“Yes, sir,” Ethan said obediently, then
leaned toward her ear. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t know what else to say, but she did
appreciate the reality of their jeopardy. Danielle really had
immersed herself in a dangerous world by getting involved with
Ethan, and also knew he’d sacrificed a great deal by escaping the
curse for her.

“I want to be mortal too,” Nadia abruptly
announced. “Beon, can they try it on me?”

The others stared at her all looking rather
shocked.

“Nadia, are you absolutely certain this is
what you want?” Beon asked.

“Yes, I’m certain. I want to be able to eat
food, and I want these fiendish cravings to leave me.”

“You’ll lose your supernatural powers, and
you will eventually die someday,” Ethan said, and Danielle again
worried if he regretted his choice.

With her sable brows twisting up, Nadia said,
“I understand perfectly, I still want to do it.” She turned to
Danielle. “Will you bite me?”

“Um … now?”

“Yes, please.” Nadia laid down on the sofa
and motioned for Danielle to come to her.

Danielle stalled, and turned to Ethan,
certain she looked terrified. He smiled and nodded. “Try, let’s see
if it works.”

Reluctantly she seated herself next to Nadia,
and brushed her long hair from her neck. Danielle swallowed, took a
deep breath, then leaned over her neck and bit down on her
flawlessly smooth skin. She tried as she’d done with Ethan,
grinding her teeth—but she couldn’t break through. After attempting
longer than she had with Ethan, she sat up. “It’s not working this
time.”

Ethan stood. “Let me try.” He took her
position and tried biting Nadia. But he too was defeated. “I can’t
do it either. Nadia, do you even feel that?”

“No.”

“We’re missing something,” Ethan said
tunneling his fingers through his hair.

He and Danielle met eyes while they attempted
to recall the difference. She realized when he began shaking his
head that it had dawned on them simultaneously.

“We’re missing a few things,” he said.

“You were weak with thirst,” she said.

“And it was at night,” he said.

“And it was a sacrifice. Ethan willingly
allowed me to bite him when he was starving.”

Nadia looked horrified. “But I’d kill you!
Ethan, how did you do that? It’s impossible!”

“I love Danielle,” he whispered. He hadn’t
taken his eyes from hers. Silently he returned to her, and held her
close, placing one reverent kiss at her temple. They were only just
then beginning to understand that what they’d really done was
nothing short of a miracle.

Tears welled up in Nadia’s emerald green eyes
as she wrapped arms around herself in sorrow.

It was obvious Max didn’t like seeing Nadia
like this, when he offered, “What if we held Nadia down? We could
have other ‘well-fed’ vampires there to help.”

“No. It must be a sacrifice. It must be done
willingly. ‘The one who gives himself to humanity will find the
cure to the curse,’” Ethan quoted.

Nadia moaned. “Thank you for trying. I guess
I need to wait for this.”

Beon bent forward and leaned his
forehead on his palms. “This cure will never be widely available to
all who want it. Even vampires who
really
wish for it will have difficulty
succumbing to the bite of a mortal while horribly thirsty. It will
be very dangerous for the mortal to administer this
cure.

“We’ll need to protect both of you from
vampires who will soon hear about this and want the cure for
themselves.” Beon paused and then continued, “Nadia dear, I will
research this to see if we can make it possible for the curse to be
lifted from you—without killing either of them in the process.
Ethan and Danielle have given us the hope we couldn’t see before.
Have faith, my dear. There may be a way, but it will take some
time,” Beon said kindly to his daughter.

Nadia nodded silently, and pushed her tears
away.

The doorbell rang, and Danielle jumped,
wondering who it could be.

“That’s your aunt and uncle, Danielle. I
called them over so they would know they needn’t worry about you
any longer,” Beon announced.

Sophia left to invite them in.

“And what am I telling them this time?” she
asked as uneasy feelings overtook her. She hated to lie, and had
been forced to do it far too often since she’d begun dating a
vampire. She felt as though it chipped off a little piece of her
conscience every time one drifted past her lips. But what could be
done? She knew the truth wouldn’t go over well at all.

“Don’t worry about that, dear, I’ll take care
of it,” Beon said gently.

He had no idea how much that relieved her as
she watched Sophia return, followed by her guardians along with a
police officer.

“Danielle!” Charlotte cried. Her aunt forced
her to her feet, as she yanked her into an embrace. “Dear, we’ve
been so worried.”

“I’m sorry. I’m okay,” she said while her
aunt hugged the air out of her but luckily missed the bruising on
her arms.

Nick’s face twisted with fury. “I hope
someone has a good explanation for her being gone for twenty-four
hours straight! If this keeps happening, Danielle, I swear, I’ll
have a nervous breakdown!”

She sat back down on the sofa when Charlotte
released her, cringing, because she’d never seen Uncle Nick so mad.
He was normally such a jovial and mellow man. “Uh—”

“It’s not her fault.” Beon jumped in,
rescuing her and she wanted to kiss him for it. “She was the victim
of a fraternity prank. They’d been challenged to kidnap an
American. She just happened to be the one they chose. They didn’t
harm her and they only kept her one night.”