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
He was about to continue ahead when he slowed and turned back to them."Have you seen anything untoward?" he asked tersely. If anyone was watching, there would be no indication of who he was asking the question. All three shook their heads in the negative, recognising what he was really asking, and ensuring that no one would be any the wiser that it was to Natalia his hidden gaze was fixated."We will stop at the next clearing," Agony announced, keeping his voice low. "Mila, please stay close to Natalia when we do. I will need confirmation all is well with Louis. Once you are all sure, Dante and Louis will meet with Dara and I away from the main group. I will provide an update then." He didn't wait for confirmation, heading forward once more to catch up with Dara."He's such a charmer."He heard Natalia's droll words and his lip twitched at her aggrieved tone. She thought he was being misogynist having Mila and her stay behind. While there was an element of wanting to protect her beca
Natalia watched the others disappear from the clearing and smothered down an irritated sigh. Agony's excluding her from whatever was being discussed annoyed her, and she was confused about the level of irritation she was experiencing. It shouldn't matter to her one way or the other being left out of the loop, but for some reason it did. Pulling a bottle of water out of her backpack she took a long drink and then nibbled on a packet of chips. She was hungry and there wasn't much to eat. She guessed she should have been thankful that someone had at least thought to pick up water and snacks for her, but it wasn't exactly proper food."You're not happy," Mila commented, her ebony hair swaying as her head turned towards her.Her silver gaze should have been disconcerting, however Natalia found it comforting. Her eyes reminded her of Agony's, without the red band around the irises. "How do you put up with Alpha males' overprotectiveness?"Mila laughed, a sweet tinkling sound that soothed th
Her friend nodded; her expression solemn. "When he was first turned, when the guilt was most raw, Dante destroyed the order he used to be a part of. He killed every single member of the order and destroyed the Amort poison...or so we thought until we found out that it had been discovered again recently. He carries guilt over that too. These were men and a handful of women who he'd fought beside for years. They hadn't realised he'd been turned until it was too late. He used the trust they had in him as a weapon and ended the order forever. Sometimes something happens and it reminds him of one of his former friends and a shadow passes over him. It can take days for the guilt to recede enough for him to get back to normal. It's heart-breaking to watch."It was too much for Natalia and she wrapped her arms around the petite vampire, giving her the tightest hug she could. No one should feel such pain, should sound so hopeless, especially not the vampire who had quickly become one of her cl