In the Beginning... (4 page)

“It’s alright, little dove. I’m not going to
feed from you; you’re going to feed from me.”

Emily barely heard the words he’d whispered
in her ear. Instead, all she could focus on was the sound of the
blood rushing beneath his skin. It called to her, in a way she
couldn’t describe or understand. She pressed against him, the hands
she’d tried to ward him off with now pulling him closer.

His skin smelled like the finest of spices,
hot and enticing. Her tongue flicked against his neck, tasting the
salt of his skin. Even as the inner part of her mind was telling
her no, her tongue lingered.

“Your body knows what to do, just let it.”
His whisper was hot against her ear; his hand ran the length of her
back, the other held her thigh. She wanted closer. The sound of his
blood pounded louder in her ears.

Emily bit him, teeth sinking deep into the
skin over that pulse. As the taste of his blood filled her mouth,
her eyes closed and she dragged deep. For the first time, she was
aware of the nagging hunger that pulled at her. And for the first
time, she realized that the only way to satisfy that hunger was
through...him.

****

Rydere didn’t know how long they stood in the
hall, but he knew he’d never forget how it felt to be holding her,
feeding her for the first time. He murmured endearments as she fed
voraciously from him, her tiny teeth and soft lips making the
experience more erotic than he’d ever imagined. But finally he
sensed she’d gotten her fill and he pulled her away. Just enough
that he could look into her eyes.

It was then he saw the dawning horror.

“No, no, no. It’s not real. It’s not!” She
shook her head as she trembled in his arms. Rydere tried to pull
her head to rest against his shoulder but she resisted. “It’s not
real! Rand will be coming for us; he’ll get us out of here and kill
you!”

“Yes, it is real.” He
carried her down the hall, not stopping until he had them in his
suite. Rydere fought the darkness urging him to lay her beneath him
and assert his claim. Only the knowledge that she would see the
mating as force kept his body in check. “And any human who enters
this compound in order to find you, I will kill. I expect you to
obey me when it comes to your safety. I expect you to learn about
my people, our people. I expect you to eventually be happy, here
with me, ruling by my side as
Dhan
."

****

He instructed her to bathe, after providing
her with a set of clothing. He slipped turquoise bracers over her
wrists and pushed them up until they rested above her elbows and
then stood back and stared at her; she got the impression he was
extremely pleased with the results. Proud, even. "Come, it's time
for dinner."

He must have read the fear on her face. He
laughed. "No, not that type of food. You'll only need that about
once a week, now. Come, you'll see."

He led her to a large dining room with a
table filled with food. Her cousins and the other men sat waiting
for them. Emily scanned each of her cousins, wanting to reassure
herself that they were all unharmed. Her gaze lingered on Josey.
She'd bathed and was dressed in a white outfit similar to Emily's,
but with a green sash instead of orange around her waist. Her dog
lay in the corner of the room, next to a menacingly large beast
that Emily swore was a wolf. Josey's eyes were scanning the room,
lingering on faces, waiting for someone to speak.

Mal and Mickey sat across the table from
Josey and the empty seat next to her. Emily slipped into that seat,
her hand going beneath the table to grab Josey's. The king took the
chair beside her. Nobody spoke for several long moments.

"Tomorrow, Cormac, you'll need to send out to
your contacts, see what state the Kind are in. See how much they
know." The king broke the silence, speaking in English, as he began
filling the plate in front of Emily with fresh fruits and steaming
rolls of bread. "Aodhan, have you heard anything yet regarding the
Taniss family?"

Emily stiffened, her hand tightening on
Josey's. Mal's gaze sharpened as she looked up from the plate in
front of her.

The man called Aodhan hesitated. "The state
police have not been called to the Taniss farms to investigate the
disappearance, strangely. From what my sources tell me it’s being
handled as a family matter.”

"And Taniss Senior?" the king demanded.

"Still underground, as far as I can
ascertain."

"Well, little dove? Care to tell us where
your grandfather is hiding?" He stroked a hand over her shoulder,
tangling in her hair. His fingers were hot against her back. Emily
shivered.

"Will you let us go if I do?" Emily stared at
him. "It's him that you hate, that's responsible for all of this,
correct?"

"Yes. It's him. And no, we will not be
letting you go." He said it mildly, motioning to her plate for her
to begin eating. "You would not be able to survive in that world,
anymore. You're not human anymore, none of you are. It's best if
you stay here where you'll be safe."

"Why?" It was Mickey who asked the question
on Emily's mind, startling her. Mickey was the reserved one, the
one most at home in the quiet of the legal department at Taniss
Industries. "Why do you hate Grandfather so much that you would do
this to all of us?"

****

"Thirty years ago, your grandfather created a
new drug, D-Palitren."

"I know of it."
Rydere’s
Rajni
nodded. Theo's young
Rajni
began to sign for the benefit of Cormac's. "Go
on."

"The D in D-Palitren stands for Dardaptos.
The drug is made from the harvested blood of my people."

"But D-Palitren is
synthetic," Theo's
Rajni
said after a furious round of signing between her
and Cormac's. "Josey says she's seen the research and duplicated it
several times."

"If anyone could, it would be Josey," Emily
said. "She's in the lab most of the time and is brilliant."

Cormac nodded after studying
his
Rajni
closely.
"She's telling the truth."

"Is it possible the research she's seen could
have been doctored by the old bastard?" Aodhan asked. More signing
ensued.

"It's possible."
Theo's
Rajni
translated reluctantly. "Josey worked strictly from
photocopies of Grandfather's original research. Or, rather, what he
gave the lab thirty years ago."

"How do you know Grandfather is using the
blood of the Dardaptos?" his little dove asked. "I want to see this
proof you have."

"I can show you everything you need to see."
Rydere picked up his fork, stabbed a bite of fruit and held it to
her lips. "After dinner. You must eat now."

She took the fruit warily,
watching him as she chewed. He continued to feed her, enjoying the
task of caring for his
Rajni
once again. His. She was his, and he wasn't
letting her go.

An hour later he sat behind
his desk, with her standing at his side. Her cousins and
their
Rajni
stood
on the other side of the desk. "We also have video of your
grandfather and a man named Boltier involved in murdering several
of our people. Including Cormac's brother-in-law. You will not be
seeing those tapes."

"Why not?" She picked up the first file and
read, before passing it to the two sisters.

"Because the things that were done to those
people are horrific. Enough to give anyone nightmares. I don't want
you watching them." He handed her the stack of photos. Leo Taniss
at varying ages was featured in all of them. "These are
enough."

He watched her face as she flipped through
the evidence. It sickened her to see the tortures her grandfather
had been involved in, had ordered. That was evident. When she was
finished she turned to her blonde cousin and signed a question. The
blonde replied quickly. Cormac watched her, then ran a possessive
hand over her hair.

"And how are we to know this isn't fake?"
Emily swept a hand over the files spread on his desk. "Something
you concocted in order to fool us into believing you?"

"You aren't." Rydere gathered most of the
files into a stack. "We want your grandfather but can't find
him."

"That's because he's retired. We had a family
meeting and forced him out four weeks ago. I'm the head of Taniss
Industries now."

"That still doesn't erase the fact that we're
looking for him." He kept one hand on the stack of files that
hadn't shocked Emily as much as they should have. Hadn't she
already known her grandfather was a ruthless monster?

"And once you find him?" Emily looked into
his eyes, trying to determine if he was lying to her. How could she
trust him? "What are you going to do to him? Us?"

"He'll pay for his crimes." He lifted a hand
to her hair and Emily forced herself not to flinch. If what he'd
shown her was authentic she could almost understand the rage that
pushed him to go after the man responsible. Almost.

"And us?"

"I swore an oath to you earlier, and I'll
reaffirm it right here. I will not harm you again. Nor will your
cousins be harmed."

"Any of them?" Emily asked, "Not just the
ones here?"

He hesitated. "I cannot promise that. My
first duty is to protect my people. If your cousins seek to harm
them or stand in my way, I cannot in good conscience not act."

"Will you ever release the four of us?"

****

Rydere stared at her, seeing the need for
truth in her eyes.

"Then we’ll never agree to your terms." Her
chin rose, challenging him. "We’ll find a way to get out of here,
and you won't be able to stop us. We won't stay here."

"You will die out there, then, within six
months. Here, I can promise you’ll be safe and protected. Served by
all my people. By me for the rest of our days."

"But at what cost? My father? My sister? I'll
never see them again. My career? I've worked hard to get to this
point, years of school, of internships at TI. You took that away
from me, the same as your friends robbed Josey, Mal, and Mickey."
Anger turned her cheeks pink, had her spine stiffening and her
voice hardening. "We'd like to be alone somewhere now. Or are we to
be denied that freedom, too?"

Rydere pulled her to him before he even
realized he'd moved. His lips covered hers; he needed to taste her.
He kissed her for a moment despite her resistance, then released
her. "There's a sitting room that will be yours for whatever you
choose to do in it. Theo will lead you there. I'll come for you
once I finish some business."

****

Emily put one hand to her lips as she
followed Theo down the long hallway. She could still taste the
king, still feel him pressed against her. She said nothing as she
and her cousins walked.

Theo bowed, first deeply to her, then Mickey,
followed by a quicker bow to Mal and Josey. "If you need anything,
there's a button by the door here. It'll ring Jambu and he'll fetch
or send whatever you request."

Emily nodded at him. "Thank you."

Theo turned to Mickey, his hand touching her
arm. When compared with the other three men, he seemed different.
Quiet, almost safe. Almost human. He brushed a kiss against
Mickey's brow then spoke in a low tone. "My love, I'll be back for
you when we've finished. If you've need of me before then, have
Jambu fetch me."

Mickey watched him leave. When the door shut
behind him she shivered and dropped into the nearest chair. Emily
looked around. The room was beautiful, not large, but
well-furnished and comfortable.

"What do we do now?" Mal sank onto a
chair.

"I have no idea."

"Do you think it's true, about Grandfather?"
Mickey asked. "What they say?"

Emily hesitated before replying. "Yes, I do.
Obviously these creatures exist, and they felt they had good reason
for what they've done. And we all know Grandfather is capable of
horrendous things."

I don't want to stay here, Josey signed. He
is strange and frightening. And I think he can read my mind. I can
almost feel him listening to my thoughts right now.

"So whatever we plan to do, we need to keep
Josey out of it until the last possible second, otherwise it'll tip
him off," Mal said. She signed to her cousin. Josey leaned back
against the chair and closed her eyes, shutting out the
conversation between the others. “The gardens are completely
enclosed. We can’t get out that way.”

“And they can track us, by scent I think.”
Emily thought for a moment. “And more, I think they enjoy it. The
hunt.”

“So we’re prey and there is nothing we can do
to get out of here?” Mickey looked ready to cry.

Emily wrapped the youngest cousin in her
arms. “Oh, sweetie. We’ll go home, I promise.”

Somehow.

****

He came for her an hour later, filling the
door and watching her. “Come, little dove. It’s late.”

He didn’t give her time to protest or fight,
grabbing her hand and pulling her from the room. She didn’t speak
until they’d entered his suite. “I won’t sleep with you.”

“Yes, you will. Remove your jewelry. I’ll get
you something to sleep in. I won’t touch you until you want me to.
No matter how much I want to.”

He picked her up and gave her little choice.
Emily bounced on the bed when he dropped her, before scrambling to
the mattress edge nearest the wall. She caught the tunic he tossed
to her. “Turn around.”