Immortal Blood (16 page)

Bain was stiff as he escorted Izzy to Rowan’s study. Darnell had woken them early this
morning, letting them know that Rowan needed to see them immediately.

“Do you think it’s Zander?” Izzy asked as she struggled to keep up with Bain.

Bain answered with a grunt.

Izzy stopped and waited for Bain to finally stop and look at her.

“What are you doing?” Bain asked.

“I’m not moving until you talk to me
,” Izzy said stubbornly. “There has been something wrong with you since yesterday. Talk to me.”

Bain’s face melted
, the stern man on a mission look fading and a small smile taking place of it. He walked back to her and pulled her to him.

“I’m sorry
, Izzy. I’m just distracted and, trust me, I realize what a dick move it is after yesterday. My mother is a difficult woman, and she has her hooks in me. And yes, I believe Darion and Zander have graced us with their presence.”

“What did your mother do?” Izzy asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about, sweet Izzy. Now let’s go see what we can do to help you.”

Bain laced his fingers with hers and walked at a much slower pace, allowing her to keep up with him.

****

Bain held Izzy’s hand tightly as he scanned the room. Cree was there of
course, standing close to Rowan. Darion sat smug as ever. His crown covered most of his brown hair, but his eyes were that same startling silver color they always were, lending an air of evil to his appearance. Bain’s gaze landed on the tall, irksome man who lurked in the shadows at the far corner of the room.

Zander smiled at Bain
. “Hello, Bain, I see you survived our little scuffle the other night.”

Bain glared at him.

“Ah beautiful Isabelle, I had hoped you would survive. It’s a shame you won’t be around in a hundred years. You were a sweet one to feed from. So much pure, undiluted luck… it was like ambrosia.”

“
Shut up
,” Bain growled low and dangerous. “You don’t get to talk to her.”

“Darion
,” Rowan warned the Dark Fae leader.

He scoffed and raised a silencing hand towards Zander
. “That’s enough, don’t prod him. Give the girl what we agreed upon. I’m ready to return to my lands.”

Zander pushed off the wall and looked to Cree
. “Hold on to him.”

“Why?” Bain asked.

“Because I have to give it back the same way I took it. I plan to at least enjoy myself while giving up my luck.”

Bain growled louder this time
. “It was never your luck.”

“Come on
, big guy,” Cree said. “You don’t need to watch this. I believe your mother wants to see you.”

Bain glared at Cree
. “I’m not leaving her alone with him.”

Izzy was completely with Cree on this one. She didn’t want Bain watching her kiss another man, but she understood what was going to happen here. She was going to have to let Zander kiss her in order to get her life back.

“Bain, it’s all right. Go see your mother.”

His eyes narrowed on her, but she smiled.

“Not until you get Kale and Uriah or Lothar in here. I won’t leave either of them alone with these two.”

“You got it
,” Kale spoke up from behind them, Lothar at his side.

Bain pulled Izzy to him, slamming his lips to hers in a passionate, bruising kiss
. He kept his eyes locked on Zander, making the kiss a statement of possession. Izzy knew what Bain was doing, but she didn’t mind him claiming her. Although she felt a little exposed kissing him like this in the presence of his sister and brothers, not to mention the Dark Fae leader. Izzy dropped her face, pulling her lips from Bain’s before the kiss turned into something more and she tried to jump him right there.

“It’ll be fine
,” Izzy whispered, resting her hands on his chest.

Once Bain had left the
room, Zander stepped close to Izzy, a satisfied smile on his face and a suggestive brow wag as he pulled her to him.

“I’ve been waiting to do this ever since we were interrupted after dinner.”

There was a rumbling growl coming from both Kale and Lothar

“Get on with it
,” Kale warned.

Zander lifted his head to sneer at both Immortal brothers.

“You’re an evil prick,” Izzy said as Zander lowered his lips to hers.

“I’m just trying to survive,” Zander
said, just before he sealed his mouth over hers.

****

Bain started to turn and head back into Rowan’s study. He couldn’t leave Izzy alone in there. Not with that bastard Zander and that smug son of bitch Darion.

“No, no
.” Cree grabbed Bain’s arm and twisted him back around. “I can’t have you going in there and ripping Zander apart.”

Bain glared at Cree. “Why not? That prick has been a thorn in our sides for far too long.”

“You don’t want Izzy or Rowan to see you lose it, and you definitely don’t want either of them to get hurt if you do. We both know based off the way you’re acting over Izzy that watching what is going on in there is not a good idea.” Cree continued to escort Bain to his mother’s study.

Bain pulled in a deep breath
. “You’re right,” he confessed. “I don’t like it, but you’re right.”

Cree’s lip quirked.

Bain hesitated when they reached his mother’s door. Cree was right. He’d just admitted that; it wouldn’t be safe for anybody if he were in that room. Watching Zander put his hands anywhere on Izzy, it would eat away at him. He didn’t even want to think of Zander’s lips caressing the soft curve of Izzy’s mouth. Not wanting to witness any of that, yet knowing it was happening, made him want to deal with his mom even less.

Cree swung the door open, smiled at
Bain, and patted his back. “I’ll come get you when Zander and Darion have taken their leave of us.”

Esperanza’s cool gaze studied Bain. “Take a seat
, Bain, we need to talk.”

Bain sat across from his mother, this scene all too familiar. Flashes of the last time he sat with her stung him deeply
. He would never forget her words, her disdain for him.

“What is
it, Mother?” Bain asked, clasping his hands in his lap.

“We need to finish our conversation from yesterday.”

“I happen to think you said enough yesterday, and I told you I’m not discussing Isabelle with you.”

“You are right, there will be no discussion. There will simply be you listening to me and answering my questions.”

Bain raised a brow. “This should be good, please continue.”

“I want to be clear that this human
—”

“Isabelle, her name is Isabelle
,” Bain interjected.

“Fine
,
Isabelle
is not a suitable addition to this family, and certainly not a suitable mate for you. Rowan has brought Zander here, and has insured her safety. Thus, it is time to take her home and cut the ties.”

Bain continued to watch his mother talk, using a massive amount of control to keep from simply getting up and walking out.

“You will take her home tonight, and you will leave and not go back again.”

Bain’s silence broke then.

“I love you, Mother, but you have no right to place demands of me, especially not of this nature.”

Esperanza smiled softly
. Something about it felt wrong; there was trouble brewing behind it.

“I thought you might say something like that, so here is where you get the ultimatum that will likely leave you very angry with me, so before I say it
… I want to emphasize that I am doing this for you.”

That did not sound good. Bain kept a level stare on his mother as she continued.

“You have a choice to make your human… or your
daughter.
”

Bain’s blood instantly
boiled, and he shot out of his seat.

“You are about to make a very costly mistake
, Mother. I suggest you drop whatever you have planned and keep whatever else you have to say to yourself.”

“Sit. Down. Bain
,” she emphasized the order, “and listen closely. Kyra and Kathleen are already gone. If you want to see them again, you will take that human back to her world and leave her there.”

Bain didn’t sit
. His feet hit the floor, pounding in thunderous steps as he fled from the castle to Kathleen and Kyra’s home.

Bain felt murderous. His blood
boiled. He feared that his mother was more than serious and had taken his daughter away from him. That feeling that made him want to crush anything and anyone who got in his way was soon replaced with dread. When he pushed open Kathleen’s door and made his way through the dark home, calling out for both her and Kyra, he was met with silence. It was an ominous lack of sound for a house that was usually bright with the laughter of his little girl. The house was cold and empty. The only thing that indicated his daughter had ever been there was a sweet drawing scribbled in crayon, a depiction of him and her with a lake behind them and her scratchy writing that read ‘
me and daddy’.

“I told you they were gone already
,” Lady Esperanza said coolly from behind him.

“What have you done?” Bain roared
, Kyra’s drawing held tight in his hand.

“I told you, this is not the right choice for you. You can choose to keep the human and
, in fifty to sixty years when she perishes from her mortality, you will see your daughter again. Or you can take the human home and leave her to her life, while you live out the proper one for yourself and your daughter. I suggest you choose the latter.”

“You have crossed the line
. Hell, Mother, you’ve lost all sight of it.”

He was beyond furious, past hurt and
fear, and simply resting on disgust and contempt for the woman he had once revered and loved.

“I don’t know how you could do this to me. How you could betray me.”

“I can understand why you feel this way, but make no mistake, I am the only one who knows what’s best for our family and, more importantly, I’m the only one who knows where they are.”

Bain had never wanted to hurt his mother, but right
now, he could rip her to shreds with his bare hands.

“Take the human
home, Bain, and do not speak a word of this to anyone.”

Bain narrowed his eyes at her. Esperanza knew the fury roaring through Bain, but this was what had to be done
. No matter what anyone else thought of it, she was right.

“I imagine Zander is done with the human by now
. It’s time to make your choice and say
goodbye
.”

Bain’s fist hit the wall
. “At least have the decency to use her name,” he seethed through heated breaths.

“If that will make it easier for you then—I suggest you take
Isabelle
home and get back here, then after I am convinced you won’t be going back after her, I will bring Kyra and Kathleen back and you can focus on your daughter.”

Bain moved past his mother
, stopping next to her, but refusing to look at her face. “I will never forgive you for this.”

“Time changes
everything, Bain. Eventually you will forget about Isabelle, and someday you will understand that I did what I had to do… for you.”

“Do not for one second attempt to delude yourself into thinking this was for me. I always tried to ignore your faults, hell
, I used to deny that they were even there, because you are my mother and I loved you, but this… this is about appearance and your fear of others not approving of me and by extension you.”

They dropped into Izzy’s backyard. Bain found her after leaving Kathleen’s home. Rowan had checked to make sure Zander had actually given Izzy back some of her luck and not taken more. Izzy had been given back more than enough of her luck to insure she would be safe
… alone in her own home, in her own world… without him.

His heart had broken when he saw her after his conversation with his mother. Her smile had shone with the revitalization of her luck, though her eyes showed a little worry when they met his. She saw the anger and pain they held. He smiled softly back at her and shook his head when she would have asked him what was wrong. His shake
was a silent reassurance that the anger and pain she saw was not about what had happened with Zander.

He pulled her to him and kissed her softly
, knowing it would be the last for them. Because if he kissed her again, if he left himself hold her, caress her even one more time, he would truly lose his mind. He was about to leave the only woman he had ever truly loved.

Bain didn’t say a word of what had happened with his mother at Kathleen’s home. He simply pulled Kale aside
, asked him for a favor, and then helped Izzy to get her things together. She had looked at him questioningly, but he merely smiled and told her he was going to take her home.

Izzy hadn’t said a word since they had left, Bain was thankful. He wasn’t sure he could handle any words from her right now. Holding her in his arms as they flew through the night had used up most of his resolve. He still wanted her
. He had fallen hard for this beautiful, perfect, understanding, and accepting woman. He hated his mother right then, hated her with thick venom that ran acidic through his veins. Ah hell, he hated himself too, for the position he and Izzy were now in, but most of all, he hated himself for letting her fall for him.

Bain wasn’t blind or stupid
. He knew he probably couldn’t give her what she deserved, but he would have loved trying. It was, however, apparent that he was too weak to fight for her. He was a coward, forced to compliance by one of the two women he had always loved and had always thought he could rely on.

He didn’t know how he was going to walk away from Izzy
. Part of him prayed she would accept what he was about to do, what he had to do, and let him walk out of her life, while the other part of him ached at the thought of her not fighting to keep him with her.

Izzy pushed her long hair out of her face and smiled up at him. “I’ll have to remember to tie my hair back next time.”

Bain tried to smile at her, but there wouldn’t be a next time.

“Come on
, let’s get you inside. Kale already checked the house and brought Garcia, your stuff, and your car back. I also had Hawk’s Eye install a security system,” Bain told her as he showed her how to arm and disarm the system.

Something was off
. Izzy’s smile fell a little, but she turned and headed through the back door. The house had a chill in it. Apparently, Kale hadn’t thought to turn on the heater. She immediately made her way to the thermostat to get the furnace up and roaring.

“Are you hungry?”
she asked. “I can order in some food.”

Bain shook his head
. “No, I—I have to go.”

Izzy forced a slight smile
. “Oh, okay. Is Cree sending you on a super-secret Fae mission?”

Bain shook his head.

Izzy frowned. “Okay, when will I get to see you again?”

Bain took a deep breath and closed his eyes
. Preparing himself to say goodbye to Izzy was heartbreaking and far more difficult than he could ever have prepared himself for.

“
Bain?”
Izzy’s voice was strained as she said his name.

Izzy was picking up on the fact that there was something very wrong here. He was taking too long to say the unavoidable.

“You won’t, Isabelle. This is where we say goodbye.” Bain’s answer came out in a shaky whisper.

Izzy felt a small burst of panic that gave way to a deep sting of pain
. She had not heard him correctly. He had not said that… he had not just said she wouldn’t see him again.

“What are you talking about?” Izzy finally asked.

“You’re safe now. You don’t need my protection anymore.”

It wasn’t his protection she wanted; she hadn’t wanted it from the beginning. “It’s not about my protection, Bain. What’s going on with you?”

“I’m sorry, Isabelle. I have to go.”

Izzy reached for him, stopping him as she wrapped her small, elegant fingers around his arm and tugged him to a stop. He could have shook her off
… he probably should have.

“No,” she said fiercely
. “You don’t get to just leave like this; you don’t get to just walk away from me. What the hell is happening here?”

“We’re done
, Isabelle. I did my duty, I did what was asked of me, and now I need to go.”

Izzy let out a disheartened laugh
. “I think you did more than what was asked of you.” Her anger was starting to seep through.

Anger was good
—Bain could handle anger. It was better than pain. He knew deep down that her anger was fueled by pain, but he tried to ignore that fact. Leaving with her mad was easier then leaving with her hurt.

“Maybe,” he agreed
. He
had
done far more then was asked of him. “But it doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter? Are you kidding me? None of it mattered to you?”

It was killing Bain, but lying was better than telling her he loved her, loved her like he’d never loved another, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they couldn’t be together. Telling her he loved her would just make things harder on the both of them.

“Goodbye
, Isabelle.”

“Why are you calling me Isabelle?” she screamed at him.

Bain’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s your name.”

Izzy scoffed
. “No shit, but it feels a little formal after everything that’s happened between us.”

“At this point
, I’m guessing you and I aren’t friends anymore. Considering only your friends call you Izzy, I figured it was only right I call you Isabelle.”

“Are you for real
? You’re a jackass.”

“It was
fun, Isabelle, but now you need to go back to your life… and I need to go back to mine.”

“Fun?”
Disbelief was running rampant in her features. “That’s how you’re categorizing making
love
to me? That’s what making me fall in love you was about? It was all fun, huh?”

Bain shook his head and turned to leave
. She just said it, and he couldn’t stand there any longer and not admit that he loved her too. Izzy was quick though, blocking the front door.

“No! We’re not done here—” she yelled.

“We are done, Izzy!” Bain roared at her.

He needed to get out of there, away from her now. She was infusing him with her scent and her home was reminding him of their first few days together
. Those fun easy days when they had gotten to know one another.

He slammed his hands against the door on either side of her head, caging her in his arms, her back pressed flat against the paneled steel.
He glared at her, causing her to wrap her arms around herself protectively.

“Nothing you say now
… no matter how much you read into what happened with us, no matter how much you question and hound me, nothing will change this situation. This. Is. Over.”

Izzy’s eyes started to glisten, making them look like liquid navy.

She hated the weakness those unshed tears threatened to show.

Bain hated that she was about to cry
, he hated that it was possible he had actually scared her on top of hurting her, and he would never forgive himself for any of this.

“You’re a real son of a bitch
,” she said, as she ducked under his arm and hurried away.

“Don’t I know it,” Bain
whispered, dropping his head for a second before exiting her front door. Bain switched the lock on the doorknob, and then shut the door behind him, locking himself out of Izzy’s life.