Chapter
15
Kaitlyn dreamed of Zack that night. No
surprise, considering the effect his kisses—and his blood—had had
on her senses. In her dream, they were walking hand in hand near
the lake, pausing now and then to kiss in the shadows. A big gray
cat followed them from a distance, its yellow eyes glinting golden
in the light of the moon, its tail swishing with
anger.
In the way of dreams, the scene shifted
abruptly and she was in Zack’s bed, in Zack’s arms. He was kissing
her to distraction when his eyes suddenly went bloodred. She
screamed when his teeth turned to fangs.
In the blink of an eye, the gray cat
sprang up on the bed. Back arched, the cat lunged at Zack, but Zack
rolled out of the way, his body shifting, transforming almost
instantly into a large black wolf.
Fangs bared, hackles raised, ears flat,
feline and canine glared at each other, and then the wolf sprang
forward....
Kaitlyn woke to the sound of her own
screams.
Breathing heavily, her body damp with
sweat, she sat up, one hand pressed to her heart.
“Just a dream,” she muttered. But what
if it foreshadowed a future event?
Rising, she pulled on her robe and went
into the kitchen. After fixing a cup of coffee, she carried it into
the living room. She needed to call her father, to tell him about
Korzha’s attack. It wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward
to.
Drake sat on the dais, his expression
solemn as he glanced at the assembled council members. He had
spoken to Kaitlyn on the phone earlier, listened intently as she
informed him of Korzha’s treachery and how the man, Zack
Ravenscroft, had destroyed Korzha.
Listening carefully, Drake had been
certain there was a part of the story Kaitlyn was holding back,
something about Ravenscroft, but he had not pressed her on the
matter. He trusted Kaitlyn’s instincts, her loyalty to the coven.
In due time, she would tell him the rest. He had suggested she come
home immediately. She had refused, of course, but that was no
surprise. He could have insisted, but something had warned him that
would only make her more determined to stay.
Aware of the council watching him,
wondering why he had summoned them, he stood, his gaze resting on
each of the thirteen members in turn. All were related to him,
bound by the blood of the same sire. The majority of the people in
the Fortress were related to him.
“I have called you here this evening on
a matter that concerns me personally, and perhaps the coven, as
well,” Drake began. “Nadiya’s youngest son has been killed and she
has gone missing. I have no evidence, nothing but a strong
suspicion that she is plotting revenge against me, whether for the
death of her youngest son, or for the death of the son that was
slain in the attempted coup against my father.”
“That was more than twenty years ago,”
Andrei said. “Why would she wait so long?”
Drake shook his head. “I have no idea.
Perhaps it has taken her this long to formulate a plan, or to
gather an army against me. One thing I do know, her youngest son is
dead, killed by a man I do not know.”
“What man?” Gregor asked.
“The one Kaitlyn is dating. When she
was attacked, the man, Ravenscroft, defended her and somehow
managed to kill Korzha. Kaitlyn was vague on how this was
accomplished.”
“You are certain young Korzha intended
to do her harm?”
“Yes.” Drake resumed his seat. “Elena
wishes me to order Kaitlyn home.”
“Do you think that is necessary?”
Ciprian asked.
Drake shrugged. “I have not yet
decided. I want each of you to contact the leaders of the other
Fortresses. Find out if they know anything of Nadiya’s whereabouts,
or if they have heard anything suspicious. Marku, I want you to see
if you can locate her other children. They all seem to have dropped
out of sight about the same time.”
Marku nodded. “It will be
done.”
Drake glanced at the members of the
council. “I want daily reports. And until we find out what she is
up to, I suggest you warn your wives and children to stay close to
the Fortress. That is all. The council is dismissed.”
Drake sat there for several moments. He
had never cared for Nadiya. He thought her a cold, calculating
woman, caring for no one but her own children. He had often
wondered why his father had married her, and when he had found the
courage to ask, Rodin had shrugged, then said, She is cold. She is selfish. But she is beautiful. And no
one else will have her.
Drake’s opinion of Nadiya Korzha had
not changed. How far would she go to avenge the deaths of her sons?
What had been her intentions where Kaitlyn was concerned? It was
obvious that young Korzha had been sent to keep an eye on Kaitlyn,
but why? Were his instructions merely to watch her? Given what
Kaitlyn had told him, that seemed unlikely. Had Korzha intended to
kidnap Kaitlyn and hold her for ransom? Or had Nadiya intended to
demand his life in exchange for his daughter’s? Knowing Nadiya, he
thought it more likely that she planned to kill Kaitlyn, knowing
the loss of his only daughter would cause him endless heartache,
and more suffering than anything else she could do.
He grunted softly. Could Nadiya really
be that cold-blooded? Surely she realized that if she harmed so
much as a hair of Kaitlyn’s head, he would hunt her down and
destroy her, no matter where she went, or how long it
took.
Muttering an oath, he stalked out of
the council chambers.
Whether she wished it or not, he feared
it was time for Kaitlyn to come home.
The nightmare was still fresh in
Kaitlyn’s mind when she woke the next afternoon. She hadn’t told
her father that Zack was one of the Others. If she was lucky, her
father and Zack would never meet, and her father would never
discover the truth.
Later, standing in the shower, she was
overcome with guilt for her omission. She had never kept anything
from her father. Not that she had ever done anything truly
horrible, but from the time she was a little girl, she had
confessed her misdeeds—from sneaking a cookie before dinner to
sneaking out of the house for a midnight swim with her girlfriends.
She had never been inclined to try drugs or cigarettes. She had
been curious about sex, of course, but not curious enough to
experiment with any of the boys who had offered to enlighten
her.
She turned off the shower and then,
after drying off with a big fluffy towel, she went into the bedroom
to get dressed. She had wanted to tell her dad about Zack, but
doing so could put Zack’s life in danger, and that was something
she simply couldn’t do.
She put on clean underwear, pulled on a
pair of black sweats and a pink T-shirt, then ran a brush through
her hair. Maybe it wasn’t just lust she felt for Zack, she mused as
she went into the kitchen. Maybe it was love. She smiled as she put
two slices of bread in the toaster. In love with Zack. The mere
thought filled her with a delightful warmth from head to
heel.
“I love him,” she said, hearing the
wonder in her voice. “I love him.”
Hard on that realization came the
unwanted thought that he might not love her in return, that he was
just toying with her affection, that she was just another in a long
string of women. After all, he had lived for centuries. He must
have had dozens—hundreds—of women in that time. How could any woman
resist him?
She shook her head. She was being
ridiculous. And whether he loved her or not didn’t change the way
she felt about him. He was gorgeous, yes, but he was also sweet and
kind, and funny in his own way. He had been the soul of patience
last night, not to mention brave, to let her drink from him. Even
though he had insisted he hadn’t been in any danger, she might have
drained him dry.
She wasn’t sure exactly what had
transpired between Zack and Korzha since Zack had not elaborated,
but it was obvious they had fought and Daryn had lost. Perhaps Zack
had saved her life. At the risk of his own. She wondered again
about Daryn Korzha’s intentions. What would her fate have been if
Zack hadn’t come to her rescue the night Daryn drugged her? And why
had Daryn attacked her in the first place?
Would she ever know?
She buttered the toast, daydreaming
while she ate it—she pictured herself spending the rest of her life
with Zack, maybe here, in the States, maybe in Romania, although
she doubted there was much chance of that. Hatred for the Others
was deeply embedded in her people. She shook her head. The war
between her kind and the Others had ended centuries ago. It seemed
an extraordinarily long time to carry a grudge.
She wondered if Zack liked being a
vampire. What was it like, to have your whole world turned upside
down?
She could relate, in a way. After all,
her people were mortal for a time. Still, they knew the change was
coming, knew it was normal and natural. There was no fear involved.
Had Zack been afraid? Or was the change something he had wanted? If
not, did he yearn to be mortal again?
Once the questions started, they just
kept coming. Did he kill to survive? Did he miss the taste of food?
He could tolerate wine, but what about milk and water? Had he ever
been married? It was believed the Others couldn’t have children. If
that was true, did he regret not being able to father a
child?
He was much in her mind that day,
whether she was trying to watch a movie, folding a load of laundry,
or fixing an early dinner since she hadn’t bothered with
lunch.
Time dragged. Finally, she picked up a
book and settled down on the sofa to read.
She woke to the sound of someone
knocking on the door. A glance at the window showed the sun was
down. Smiling with anticipation, she ran a hand through her hair,
then hurried to open the door.
“Zack, hi!”
He kissed her soundly. “Hi, yourself. I
missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
“What’s on the agenda
tonight?”
She shrugged. “I’m in the mood for a
walk. How about you?”
“Fine by me.”
Something was up, Zack mused as they
strolled down to the lake. He could sense the tension in her
although he had no idea what was causing it. He didn’t think she
was upset by what had happened last night. She had enjoyed it too
much. Maybe she wanted another taste and was embarrassed to ask.
No. He was pretty sure that wasn’t it.
When they reached the bench, she sat
down and after a moment, Zack sat beside her. “Okay, what’s up?” he
asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You haven’t said a word since we left
the house. Whatever’s bothering you, just spit it
out.”
“Nothing’s bothering me except, well, I
still don’t know very much about you.” She raised a hand, staying
his comment. “I only know you’re young and single and rich. And you
taste good.”
“Want another bite?”
“Not right now.” She stared out at the
lake a moment. “Do you like being a vampire? Was it something you
wanted?”
“Is that what’s got your panties in a
knot? You’re worried about whether I’m happy being a
vampire?”
“Of course not. Like I said, I just
want to know more about you.”
Zack shook his head. Women. “In the
beginning, I hated it and I hated the vampire who turned me, but
once I got the hang of it . . .” He shrugged. “It took some getting
used to, but I’ve got no complaints now.”
“Have you killed very many
people?”
“Define many.”
“Zack.”
“I’ve killed a few, especially in the
beginning, before I learned to control the hunger. I don’t know any
vampire who hasn’t taken a life or two.”
Kaitlyn nodded. She didn’t know if her
father had ever taken a life to sustain his own, but she knew he
had killed at least two men. “Would you be mortal again, if you
could?”
“Hell, no.”
“Have you ever been
married?”
“No.”
“In love?”
Colette’s image flashed through Zack’s
mind. “Once,” he admitted, “a long, long time ago. How about you,
Katy?” he asked, his voice suddenly silky smooth. “You ever been in
love?”
She shook her head, although it wasn’t
entirely true, because she was in love with Zack. “Is it true you
can’t have children?”
“Yeah.”
“Does that ever bother
you?”
“Sure, but . . .” He made a vague
gesture with his hand. “You’ve got to take the bad with the good.”
He stared into the darkness. “I guess that’s something you’re
looking forward to—marriage, motherhood, the whole nine
yards.”
“It’s expected of me.”
“Expected?”
“Our women are only fertile for a short
time each year.”
“Is that why your grandfather had so
many wives?”
“Partly. Our women outnumber the men,
so it’s not uncommon for Master Vampires to take more than one
wife.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Zack
muttered and then grinned. “Your grandfather must have been quite a
stud.”
Kaitlyn huffed a sigh of annoyance. “Do
you think you’d like to have twenty wives and hundreds of
children?”
“Well, I don’t know about raising all
those kids,” he said, waggling his eyebrows, “but the begetting
part doesn’t sound so bad.”
She punched him on the shoulder. “Men!
All you ever think about is sex.”
“Ow!”
“Serves you right.”
Laughing, Zack pulled her into his
arms. “Katy, I don’t want anyone but you.”
She stared up at him. Did he mean it?
“Zack . . .”
“I know, I’m moving too fast. So, what
do you want me to do? Back off? Go away?”
“Just kiss me, you idiot.”
“You sweet talker,” he
murmured.
She sighed as his lips claimed hers.
Falling for Zack was bound to cause nothing but trouble, but
somehow, that didn’t seem to matter, not when he was kissing her as
if he would never let her go.
She wrapped her arms around him as his
kiss grew deeper, more passionate. Maybe she was worrying over
nothing. Maybe her father wouldn’t object to having Zack for a
son-in-law. And maybe she was taking too much for granted. After
all, no promises had been made, no words of commitment had been
spoken between them.
Just because she loved him didn’t mean
he loved her.