Why hadn’t he told her about this? She wondered, fear beginning to curl through her body. Had he kept it from her because he didn’t feel that she was his mate? Did he not feel the same way about her, as she did about him? A cold chill curdled in her belly, her skin turned to ice as everything in her went numb. But that couldn’t be true, she had felt his emotions, she knew how intensely he felt about her. But why hadn’t he told her about this then?
He seemed to sense her distress as he pulled her tighter against him. Annabelle’s eyes were questioning as she studied them. Cassie didn’t like the intense scrutiny she found herself under. “I’ll get my things,” Dani interrupted. She turned and hurried swiftly up the stairs.
“Yes… I uh… I should go get my things too, and say goodbye to my mom.”
“She’s not coming with us?” Cassie blurted out, forgetting all about her terror and confusion in the face of Chris’s statement.
He shook his head sadly, his sapphire eyes distant and lost. “No, she doesn’t want to leave. And I suppose there is no need for her to. She’s not one of us after all.”
Cassie heard the pain in his words, felt the sorrow behind them. He may not have been close with his mother, but he still loved her, and he always would. When they left here though, there was a good possibility that he may never see her again. “Do you want me to come with you?” Cassie asked softly.
He hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “No, I’d better do this alone.”
Cassie nodded reluctantly. Chris moved swiftly past Liam, throwing the door open to the sun breaking on the horizon. “I’ll put your car in the garage,” Devon said, stepping forward to claim the keys from Liam.
Cassie watched as he hurried outside, leaving her alone with the two strange vampires studying her intently. She swallowed nervously, trying to shove aside her rising turmoil. “I should grab my things too,” she said quickly.
She scooted quickly past Annabelle and Liam, feeling only slightly guilty about leaving them to fend for themselves. She needed a few moments to herself in order to gather her scattered thoughts and wildly swaying emotions. She had packed two suitcases already, but she still needed to gather her toiletries.
Heading into the bathroom, she began tossing things into her small travel case. She tried not to think as she moved, but all of her doubts and insecurities reared back to painful life. Zipping the case closed, she slid down to sit on the edge of the tub, suddenly unable to move. Why hadn’t he told her about the mate thing?
“Cassie.” She lifted her head when Devon appeared in her doorway. His eyes were dark and questioning as he studied her. “What’s wrong?”
She hesitated, unsure of how much to say to him, not wanting to sound needy. But in the end, her curiosity and doubts won out. “Why didn’t you tell me about the mate thing?” she asked softly.
He sighed as he came completely into the room. He was lithe and elegant as he moved, coming forward with purpose. “It’s not the reason that you’re thinking.”
“And how would you know what I’m thinking?” she demanded fiercely.
The grin he gave her only caused her anger to crank up another notch. “Because I know you, love,” he whispered. “You wear your emotions on your face, and I know how you think. I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t think you were my mate, because I know you are. The reason I didn’t tell you was because it is only one more thing for you to worry about, or to feel guilty about. It’s only one more pressure that you do not need right now. We just need to get through the day, one day at a time right now. I need to keep you safe Cassie. Your safety is the only thing that I can worry about now. It’s also the only thing that you can worry about.”
Cassie stared silently at him as he knelt before her, gently taking hold of her hands. His eyes burned into hers, the need in them nearly broke her heart. “How can you be so sure that I am?” she asked softly.
He gave her a wry grin as he leaned forward on the balls of his feet. “I’ve known since the moment I saw you, I may not have admitted it to myself then, but I knew then. And there was something else…” his voice trailed off, his eyes fell from hers.
“Something else?” she prodded when he didn’t continue.
He rose slowly to his feet, settling himself on the tub beside her. “I’ve never used my ability for mind control over you Cassie, at least not on purpose.”
Cassie’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped. For a moment she couldn’t find her breath. What was he talking about? He had taken control of her mind? Chills of terror and disbelief raced up and down her spine, he wouldn’t even look at her. He had invaded her mind and she hadn’t even known about it! And why would he want to take control of her, what had he done to her? “What do you mean?” she breathed.
His head came slowly up, his eyes finally focused on her again. “There was a night, a time when my ability went beyond my control, while I was sleeping. It reached out to your mind, enveloping it, ensnaring it in a dream…”
Cassie gasped, her hand flew to her mouth as she recalled the dreams she’d had about Devon, and there had been so very many of them before she had accepted him into her life. But out of all the dreams, there had been one that was so vivid, so real that it had haunted her. That it had all but driven her into his arms. “The lake,” she breathed.
He studied her for a moment before nodding slowly. “Yes, the lake.”
“It was so real.” Cassie’s fingers brushed against her lips. It had been the first time she had ever kissed him, and though it had been wonderful, it had been nothing compared to the real thing. “Why?”
Devon took hold of her clasped hands. “I didn’t do it on purpose Cass; I promise you I would never do it on purpose, not to you. If I was ever going to do it on purpose you would have been out of this town months ago, and we never would have been apart for two weeks.” Cassie shifted, hating the reminder of the weeks they had spent apart, and how awful she had been to him. “I think I was growing so frustrated of your continuous rebuttal of me that it seeped out in my sleep.”
He bumped her knee slightly, squeezing her hands gently when she ducked her head, shame washed through her. “The hunt was growing tiresome,” he said lightly, though she could hear the strain in his voice. “I went to sleep that night, and unconsciously my power reached out to you. It did so because even though I didn’t realize it until after I awoke, my subconscious recognized you as my mate, and it needed to connect to you in some way in order to satisfy itself. I didn’t even know I was in your dream until you told me that you had spent your summers as a child there. That’s when I knew.”