Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“I agree,” Nicu said. “I do not ever have the kinds of thoughts that are running wild in my mind.”
“We are lucky that you haven’t been caught in this compulsion, Mataias,” Benedek said. This was his quest, the finding of his lifemate. He was the acknowledged leader. It was up to him to find solutions. “You will have to be the voice of reason when any of us are out of control. I think if we all put our heads together, we can come up with a plan to defeat our enemy.”
“I agree,” Tomas said. “We aren’t going to allow this vampire to get us to forget our honor. I have a lifemate waiting for me. Each of us does. I refuse to give in to temptation now, when I know she’s alive and I can find her.”
Benedek liked the utter resolve in Tomas’ voice. “I find it telling that I am seeking my lifemate as all of you are, and we’ve been attacked in a way that would eternally prevent us from uniting with them.”
“Diabolical,” Lojos said. “And brilliant.”
“So, what are we going to do?” Nicu asked, looking straight at Benedek.
“Stick together. Trust each other. Have one another’s backs. We can’t trust ourselves when we feed, so it is imperative Mataias is watching us, ready to pull us back. We’ll have to feed in pairs until we figure out how to counteract the compulsion and hopefully reverse it. Or if worse comes to worst, Mataias will have to hunt for all of us and feed us, as the gatekeeper in the monastery did.”
“Do we attack the watchers in the clouds?” Tomas asked.
“It’s possible once the storm is gone the compulsion will be, too,” Mataias said. “I don’t hold out a lot of hope, but it is a possibility.”
“If they wanted us dead, they would have attacked us when they knew we were disoriented,” Nicu ventured. “Killing us isn’t the goal.”
“Clearly, they want us to turn,” Benedek said. “Can you imagine the triumph if they managed to get five ancients to join their ranks? We would be powerful weapons in their fight against this village. The guardian of the gate and the demon slayer must scare them. They would have attacked that village long before this when they realized we were on the way. Lilith can’t make her move yet for a reason we don’t know.”
“That makes it all the more important we don’t allow this to delay us any more than necessary to shake this compulsion,” Lojos said.
Benedek wasn’t as certain as the others that they could figure out what dark art had been used and how they could counter it. He didn’t have any real ideas. Not yet. His mind was still roaring for fresh blood. He had managed to find his control and discipline, hidden as he was in the small shelter away from the violence of the storm. That didn’t mean his control would stay with him once he left the cave.
And what of the demon slayer? His lifemate. He knew nothing of her other than that the enemy regarded her with enough respect to hold off attacking. He didn’t trust the unknown woman. He knew Nicu and the others held on to their honor through the vows they made to stay strong for their lifemates. He had that code carved into his back. He had done so with the hope that he would feel the way the others did, but he was already too far gone. His code of honor kept him alive, refusing to give in to any temptation so he could rid the world of every vampire, every demon, anything that threatened his people.
Over and over, throughout the centuries, he had learned not to trust anyone. Once, he had saved an entire village, fighting off a pack of vampires. He had nearly died from mortal wounds, wounds that should have killed him. Several of those in the village gave him blood, but three women tracked him to his shallow sleeping grounds. He had been unable to protect himself during their attack, which came before the sun set. He was in the paralysis of his kind.
The three women had been the very ones he had prevented the vampires from killing. They had been subjected to horrendous abuse before he had arrived on the scene and come to their aid. That didn’t earn him loyalty or even mercy. Their hatred of him was palpable as they dug at the earth above him to expose his helpless body to the rays of the sun.
He had learned so many times not to trust anyone, male or female, human or Carpathian. He kept those lessons close so he would never make the mistakes he had when he was younger. Unfortunately, he knew every bit of his heart was dead. He had lost all hope and belief in the true bonding of lifemates. He hoped his lifemate would settle for loyalty, fidelity and respect in place of love. Love seemed to be fleeting, one minute there and the next gone. He’d witnessed betrayal in human bonds thousands of times over the centuries.