Nightshifters (10 page)

“No. You’re not.” It sounded more like a command rather than
an agreement.

Rana’s eyes widened. “Please take me home. I can take care of
myself.”

Alexandru swallowed a grin.
Always Miss Independent.
He’d take her home, but he’d also keep an eye on her. Just in case. He nodded
and reached for her hand.

A worried look passed over her. “Uh — we — uh, didn’t use
anything.”

A muscle throbbed in his chin. “What do you mean?”

Rana’s face reddened. “When we — uh — made love. We didn’t
use protection.”

Alexandru inhaled sharply. “You’re worried you might get
pregnant?”

She nodded. Her hand moistened in his. He could feel her
nervousness.

“You wouldn’t want my child?”

Rana swallowed hard. “I-I don’t think it would be a good
idea right now.”

“I see.”

“Surely, you understand. Considering―”

Alexandru held up a hand. “Don’t worry. You won’t be
inconvenienced with an unwanted child. I cannot have children.”

Rana’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

“I’m sterile. Have been since I contracted the mumps as a
teenager. I thought you knew.”

Rana paled. Her eyes grew wide and she let out a strangled
cry. The sound jackknifed through Alexandru like a heart ripped from a chest.
Alexandru caught her as she swayed. “What’s wrong? I would think you would be pleased,
since the idea of having my baby repulses you.”

Rana blinked. Horror flittered across her face. “That means
you can’t be…” She turned ashen. “Omigod! You’re not Damien’s father.”

Chapter 5

Rana bolted upright and squinted into the darkness.

Where am I?

She patted the air beside her until her hands connected with
… a satin comforter? She strained until her eyes adjusted to the dark. A sliver
of moonlight streamed through the window. She could just make out her bookshelf
against the wall. Her bedroom?

I’m in my bedroom? How?

Something rustled in the corner. Rana’s heart slammed
against her chest, and she gripped the covers.

I’m not alone!

Alexandru stepped out the shadows into the moonlight. Rana
swallowed. “Why are you here?”

“You’re awake.”

“How did I get here?”

“I brought you home after you fainted. You’ve been out for
several hours now.”

“You’ve been here the whole time?” Alexandru nodded. Rana
fell back against the headboard as the events of the night came back to her.
The passion they’d shared. Pleasure beyond her imagination. Hands that caressed
her until she…

Then the realization that Alexandru wasn’t Damien’s father
punched her in the stomach. She inhaled sharply. How could that be? It wasn’t
possible. Alexandru was the only man she’d ever been with.

Damien!

Rana jackknifed upright again and swung her feet to the
floor. She had to see her son. Make sure he was all right.

“He’s fine for now.” Alexandru crossed the room and sat down
beside her. The bedsprings creaked under his weight. Rana didn’t bother to
block him from her mind this time. He already knew about Damien now, so what
was the point?

“But his fever?”

“It’s been the same all night. No better. No worse. He’s
resting now. You don’t want to wake him.”

Rana glanced at the bedside clock. After three in the
morning. No, she didn’t want to wake him, but she needed to see for herself
that he was all right.

Alexandru gently laid his hands over her eyes. Immediately,
a vision of Damien’s small body asleep in his bed popped in her mind. “See?
He’s fine. For now.”

 “How did you…”

 “A perk of the afterlife.” His words held a note of
dryness. “Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

Rana’s shoulders deflated. “I thought he was your son. When
Vladmir turned you, I didn’t even know I was pregnant. Two months later when I
realized I was it was too late. You were already a … a…”

Alexandru’s lips curved into a rueful smile. His fangs
glinted in the moonlit room. “A vampire.”

Rana nodded miserably. “So you never planned to tell me
about Damien. Even though you thought he was my son.” The words were clipped
and raw with tightly controlled emotion.

Rana shook her head. “I didn’t want him to grow up like I
did. Knowing his father was an … an abomination,” she whispered dropping her
head.

“Is that what I am? An abomination?”

Rana shuddered. “No — yes. I don’t know anymore.” She buried
her face in her hands. Tears burned her eyes. “I thought you were, but now…”

“Now…?”

She jumped to her feet and paced the room. “I don’t know how
I feel or what I think anymore. I loved you so much, Alexandru. It nearly
killed me when Vladmir turned you. When I saw you lying there, morphing into a
creature of the night, all I could see was my father and what he had done to my
mother. She died a broken, frightened woman.”

Rana whirled with gritted her teeth. “He did that to her. I
hate him. Everything about him.”

“I’m not your father, Rana.”

But you’re just like him. You can’t tell me you’re not.
Anyone who knows what you are shrinks away in fear.”

A muscle throbbed in his chin.

He didn’t deny it. Had Damien’s babysitter, Jill, been
suspicious when Alexandru brought her home tonight, or had he charmed her into
accepting his presence in her home?

“Jill never flinched. She took the money I gave her for
babysitting and headed home. Anything she saw or thought she saw tonight has
been erased from her memory.”

Rana nodded, then suddenly stopped pacing and stared at him
as it suddenly hit her. Why wasn’t he asking who Damien’s father was? Why
didn’t he accuse her of cheating on him? Her mouth went dry and she clasped her
hands in front of her.

“You know, don’t you? You know who Damien’s father is.”

Alexandru didn’t pretend to not know what she was talking
about. He reached for her. “Rana.”

Hysteria rose in her throat. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Rana. Don’t”

“Tell me!” Rana twisted her hands. A flood of emotions raced
through her. Fear. Disgust. Hatred. Somewhere in the back of her mind shadows
emerged and dark, deep-seated memories struggled to surface. She just couldn’t
wrap her mind around their meaning.

“Please understand. I never wanted you to remember.”
Self-loathing thickened his voice. Moonlight streamed through her bedroom
window and reflected off his eyes. They brightened to a reddish-orange glow. “I
didn’t know about Damien.” Alexandru’s shoulders shook. “I didn’t know.”

“Tell me!” Rana’s stomach recoiled and fear skittered along
her spine.

“Forgive me,
cara
.” The misery in his voice stabbed
Rana in the heart. Then with one quick deft movement, Alexandru waved his hand
in front of her. “Forgive me.”

A blinding pain shot through Rana’s temple. She grabbed her
head and fell to the carpet. Memories rushed at her from every corner of her
mind. Images flashed before her. Terrifying images. She blinked and tried to
sort them all. Then one suppressed memory reared its ugly head…

Alexandru’s hand felt warm and safe in hers as they
strolled along the carefully landscaped park just outside the French Quarter.
The September night breeze brushed against her sleeveless arms like soft
feathers. Alexandru pulled her to a nearby bench nestled behind a hedge in a
secluded area of the park. “Did you enjoy the show?” A smile touched his lips.

“Of course. I always love the theatre.” Rana grinned up
at him. “You know that.”

“You love anything that involves the arts.”

“Guilty.” She laughed. Then she touched his cheek. “I
love you more.”

Alexandru slipped his arm around her. “Not as much as I
love you. Let’s do it tonight. I can’t wait three more months to make you my
wife.”

 Rana swatted him on the arm. “Are you trying to
deny me my dream wedding?”

“I could never deny you anything, my darling.” His eyes
grew serious as he lowered his head. “Ever.”

His lips felt warm against hers, his kiss soft as a
butterfly’s wing. Rana’s heart fluttered. She had to be the luckiest woman in
the world. Life couldn’t be any more perfect.

A chill passed between them. Alexandru lifted his head,
and Rana’s heart stilled. The man stood directly in front of them.

Watching.

His eyes resembled two black coals, his face hard and
pale. Heart in throat, Rana whispered, “Give him your wallet.”

Alexandru reached behind him and pulled his wallet out of
his jeans. He held up his hand flashing the leather wallet. “Look, man. We
don’t want any trouble. Take it. Take all of it.”

The man hissed, then his hand curled into a claw, and he
knocked the wallet to the ground.

Rana’s extraordinary sense scented it then. Bad blood.
Vampire blood. This man was no mugger. She inched her hand toward her purse,
careful not to draw attention to her movements. If she could just get the
wooden stake…

The vampire snarled, his lips stretching across his
teeth. He reared back his head, and Rana saw the fangs. Her hand slid inside
her handbag, and she grabbed the stake. The vampire jerked Alexandru to his
feet and threw him into the bushes as if he were weightless.

“No!” Rana lunged for Alexandru. The stake slipped from
her grasp and fell to the ground. The vampire pierced her with a hypnotic
stare, his eyes glowing like embers.

She fought him with all her will, but he was too strong
for her. Her body froze in place. “Who are you?” she whispered, unable to move.

“Vladmir Gustovez.”

Rana drew a sharp breath. Vladmir Gustovez. Master of New
Orleans Nocturne Society. Leader of her father’s sector and the deadliest of
creatures from the other realm. She had hunted for this vampire for years, and
she hated him.

Vladmir grinned knowingly. “You may despise my kind, my
lovely, but you are a part of us. Your father’s blood runs through your veins.”

“I am nothing like your kind. Vampires are detestable
creatures worthy only of death. I have no father. I never have. I will send you
back to the pit of darkness where you belong. Where I sent my father.” Rana’s
heart pounded in her chest.

Not many knew she was the one who had hunted and killed
her own father, but Vladmir did. And he was hell-bent on revenge. Which was why
she had to destroy him.

Vladmir laughed, an evil sound that echoed throughout the
park. “You will never be strong enough to destroy me, my lovely. Never. And now
your lover will join me in the Underworld.”

“No!” Rana screamed as Vladmir turned back to Alexandru.
He leapt toward the bushes, and Rana saw his fangs glittering in the moonlight
as he lowered his head. She heard Alexandru’s strangled cry. Then nothing. Her
feet refused to move. Her body refused to comply with her racing mind. The
vampire’s hold on her was strong. She tried to move again. She had to get to
Alexandru. She had to save him. Her body never responded to her silent pleas.
Tears stung her eyes as Vladmir lifted his head, blood dripping down his chin.
His lips curled into a sadistic grin. She looked past the creature and her
heart plummeted. Alexandru lay on the ground, his body pale and lifeless. Rana
blinked back the tears.

Suddenly, Alexandru howled and his body convulsed.
Seconds later, he crossed over to the other realm, and Rana’s heart broke. She
had just lost her fiancé forever. He was one of them now, a repulsive predator
of the night.

Vladmir materialized before her. “And now for you, my
lovely.” He reached for her.

Her mind screamed for her body to move. To run. But she
couldn’t. He came to her. Just like her father had done to her mother. And
before she could stop him, they were on the ground. She could feel rocks
pressing into her back as he lowered himself on top of her. Her stomach
retched, and she turned her face away as tears slid down her cheeks. She could
taste the salt as the tears trickled onto her lips. She bit the inside of her
mouth to keep from slipping into blackness. He took her then and made her his
lover.