Movement caught her eye once again, and she made her way towards it quietly, her flight or fight instincts remaining subdued as she grew closer. Whoever or whatever was up ahead wasn't a danger to her. In fact, a sense of ease wafted over her and she acknowledged reluctantly that it had to be Agony. That sense of ease around him had been steadily growing as they made their way up the Carpathian Mountains. The longer she remained in the volatile Vârcolac's presence the stronger the feeling became. It irritated her as much as it intrigued her. She had to admit to herself that Agony fascinated her in a way no person ever had. She didn't like it, but she was honest enough to admit the truth.With a small sigh, she broke cover of the trees into a clearing that contained a small lake of water, her breath catching as she watched the naked back of the dark-haired male before her, muscles bunching and flexing as he worked through flowing motions of arms and legs in a rhythmic pattern. For a mo
Agony didn't like the quiet desperation he could see and scent around Natalia. He had felt each moment of her distress and pain as she'd related her story, and her pain had set off a spark of rage deep within. He was furious with the girl Carly for binding Natalia to a promise that had ultimately culminated in her blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault. He was furious with himself for not realising she was close, for allowing her to see him at his lowest point as he fought his inner demons.The human girl beside him was compassionate, sensitive to the darker aspects of the world. His instincts screamed at him to protect her, to try to shelter her, even though he knew she was stronger than she appeared. Natalia had stood up to him on the train when everyone else had been afraid. Just the thought of her flashing eyes and stern words were enough to tempt a smile to his face. Yet, the instinct to protect her was becoming stronger the more time they were together, and it irrit
"See! If the adults couldn't understand your needs then why on Earth do you expect yourself, a tiny a baby to have understood it? It wasn't your fault, Agony. I know it. Your mother knew it, which is why she reassured you. It's time for you to know it too. Forgive yourself for something you couldn't have done anything about. As you've just told me to forgive myself for what happened to Carly."She was so good, so pure; she was perfection in a fragile human package. He yearned for her words to be true, to give in to her compassion, and forgive himself for the past. His parents were missing though, and they were in extreme danger. Agony was their only hope of surviving their abduction. He couldn't let his parents down again."You are a child in a supernatural world, Natalia," he bit out harshly as he whirled to face her, showing just how much of a monster he could be. He snarled furiously, ratcheting up his darkness so she would scream and run away. "You presume to make me weak with you
Dara chuckled, nodding her head. "Yes, I know that feeling. I've had it a few times myself with Kothari."It made her feel a bit better to hear that. Her thoughts were still in turmoil though. With a frustrated sigh Natalia gathered her hair up and dug a hair tie out of her pocket and secured it in place "I am so confused, Dara. I don't understand this strange sensation I have inside me that seems to connect me to Agony. Do you know what it is?"She should have guessed that she wasn't going like what the other woman was going to say just from the startled, and then, apologetic expression that crossed her stunning features."I can't really say, Tali. Be yourself and understanding will eventually come. What I can tell you is the thing to understand about Kothari is that his actions are all a defence mechanism. No matter what he does or says, it is all designed to protect everyone from the monster he believes himself to be. He isn't a monster and has never been one. One day I believe he
Dara jumped up too, and placed herself between Agony and the coven leader. Not that Agony needed any protection, but it was preferable to prevent any misunderstandings as quickly as possible. They still had a long way to go. "She was compromised, Louis. We couldn't risk whoever was in her mind knowing that we were on to them." Her words made the coven leader pause though he remained in his feral state, raw fury wafting off him in waves."You have five seconds to explain 'compromised' or we will be gone from here and I will go to every European coven leader and tell them you are a threat to all. If I do that you will have a war on two sides, Vârcolac, and blood will flow until only one group remains standing. Do not presume that the Vârcolac will be the last ones standing.""If I slaughter all of you right here there will be no threat," Agony growled softly, his own feral side fully in control at the threat the coven leader issued."Hold, Louis," Dante interjected, joining them with Mi
Demetri switched off his phone not bothering to hide his disquiet. The news Rafe had just imparted was cause for concern so it was churlish not to let the others know there had been a development."What?" Nors asked.They had just alighted the train at Brașov, and though they were a couple of days behind Dara and Kothi, they hadn't been particularly concerned about it as they could move much faster than the others as they didn't have to cater to a human in their group. Still, the news Rafe had imparted now had Demetri feeling a sense of urgency that hadn't been there before.Sighing, he ran a hand through his black hair. "Dara checked in with Rafe. It appears our enemy knows they're on their way to find Gard and Rayne. One of the vampires with them was mentally compromised. It appears that the human girl has developed an ability like aura viewing, but not quite the same. She can see when someone's mind has been compromised. The group dealt with the issue, and they've implemented a che
Gard sighed, relaxing a little and sending soothing thoughts her way. "I guess we would have been surprised if the boy hadn't taken matters into his own hands," he said ruefully. "It's exactly what he would do if someone he loved needed help. We must trust that he has some kind of plan in mind, and he isn't alone. Our boy can take care of himself, Rayne. You know he can."His confidence did soothe her to a certain extent, but her maternal instincts were stronger. "I know how fierce he is, Gard. I also know that when he takes on his Agony persona he doesn't think logically, he just reacts. What happens if they capture him too? He won't submit, and there's nothing to say whatever drug they used on us will work on him. They may kill him if they can't subdue him."She couldn't hide the fear that threatened to overwhelm her. She had to know their son was safe. The only way to do that was to reach out to him. Taking a deep breath she called out to their son, part of her desperate for a resp
"The drug potency has almost failed," she mentally projected to Agony. "If it's been less than half an hour since they last dosed us and we're awake already then we should be able to assist in our rescue. Thank goodness we're so ancient that we can survive without nourishment for longer than others. Our captors will probably expect us to be weak due to lack of food.""What about the wolf they've just brought in?" Gard asked. "They said he was part of the human girl's pack. We can't leave him behind." It went against everything in him to leave a captive behind even if he didn't personally know the wolf.Agony interjected, his tone becoming alert. "They brought a wolf and said he was part of a human girl's pack? They must be talking about Natalia. Why else would they bother with a wolf unless it was something to do with her?"The way he said the girl's name piqued both his parents' interest. They'd never heard him speak a girl's name with that tone before, not even Dara, and he was part