She took another deep breath. "I'm sorry, Gary," she whispered. She had to let him go if she was going to save Aleksei and herself. She didn't mind dying, but she couldn't live with Aleksei's death on her conscience. She couldn't. That meant she had to let Gary go to his own fate, and she had to try to figure out her own.
Gabrielle stood up slowly and followed Aleksei out into the center of the monastery grounds. She didn't hurry. There was no point. She knew he would be waiting out there for the sun, and it would be a long wait. The sun wouldn't rise for several hours.
She felt the other ancients watching. She couldn't see them, but she knew they were there. Her stomach clenched. Knots formed. Terror kept her from breathing, but she forced her body forward. She knew the ancients had surrounded Aleksei--from a distance--but they were there to destroy him if the dawn didn't. He had been telling her the strict truth.
She walked straight to him and sank onto the ground beside him. Close. Her thigh touching his. Just that small brush of her leg against his sent a shiver of awareness through her. She saw his body jerk and knew he was just as aware of her.
"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Get back inside and put yourself in the ground."
His voice was scary. The look on his face was even scarier. She shook her head and stayed.
"I will not allow this, Gabrielle. I am capable of forcing your obedience, as you well know."
She lifted her chin and looked at him, really allowing herself to see him for the first time. Up close, he was all male. All hard edges. In a way, a very scary way, he was striking. She couldn't imagine anyone fighting this man and coming out on top. He appeared extremely lethal, and she was very certain he was every bit as deadly as he appeared. Still, she looked him straight in the eye.
"I'm your lifemate, Aleksei, whether or not you or I like it. That means you don't get to sit here and wait for the sun without me. Whatever happens to you, happens to me. I'm willing to do this if it's what you want to do. With the mistakes I've made, I think you deserve to make that call--but know, whatever you decide, it's for both of us, not just for you. As your lifemate, it's my right to make the decision to follow you, wherever you lead."
She made the statement quietly. Firmly. In a low tone, so that he had to listen to hear her speak. She meant what she said and she knew he could hear it in her voice. It was the first time in her life, outside the laboratory, that she had ever been confrontational, scared out of her mind, but determined.
5
Have you got him?" Andre asked. "We cannot lose him. What happened? How could this happen? She was not his lifemate. This is not supposed to happen."
"Gary lost everything all at once, just as if he had lost his true lifemate," Mikhail explained. "Colors and emotions are gone. All. At. Once."
"Do you have him?" Andre asked again.
Gregori jerked his head. "Not without Mikhail. He's strong. I did not expect this."
"We did not factor in the possibility that a human's love can be as strong as that of a lifemate. We do not see it that often," Mikhail said. "But this loss is from the ancients, not from the loss of a lifemate. It happened far too quickly. We were saved such an event because we lost emotions and color over a long period of time, so we barely realized they were fading over those two hundred years. To have everything wiped away in a moment would send a man insane."
Gregori shook his head. "That is not going to happen. We have to get him out of here. We are vulnerable here."
"I felt them, too," Mikhail said grimly. "Human hunters. The society is on this mountain, trailing after someone. Still, they are miles away."
"I can stay behind and hunt them," Andre offered. "You take Gary home and put him in the ground. Try to heal him, Gregori. We cannot lose him."
"There is greatness in him," Mikhail said softly. "He is destined to do great things for our people. I should have sat Gabrielle down after I converted her and explained her duties as a Carpathian woman. I did not. I thought her sister would. I thought others would aid her in learning, but ultimately it was my responsibility and my failure."
"None of us could have foreseen this," Gregori said, reaching down to pull Gary to his feet. Gary's eyes burned with dark fury. He could hold his brother in check with Mikhail's help because they shared the same bloodline.
"No, but we could have helped Gabrielle adjust to our way of life so she would not have felt so dependent on Gary. We practically threw them together. From the beginning, I was uneasy over their relationship, but still, I did not interfere," Mikhail admitted. "I thought, once Gary became fully Carpathian, they would understand they were not destined for each other. I did not factor in human love, which is very real."
"Mikhail," Gregori warned. "We have to leave now."
"They are a distance away." Mikhail glanced toward the gates of the monastery, a frown on his face. "I do not like leaving her to her lifemate. Aleksei did not understand what was happening, and he is very close to turning."
"None of those inhabiting the monastery have sworn allegiance to you," Gregori said. "You cannot risk going in there. Gabrielle has a lifemate, and how they choose to fix this mess is on them, not you. We have to leave. Right. Now."
A stirring in Gregori's mind startled both of them. The thrall was there, a killing frenzy brought on by the sudden loss of all emotion and the pouring in of centuries of too many battles, too many deaths far too fast for one mind to cope with.
I feel them. Down below us. Eager to kill. Leave me behind and I will keep them from the prince. Gary used the more common telepathic path of all Carpathians, so that not only could both Mikhail and Gregori hear him, but so could any other Carpathians in the area, including the ancients.
Gregori heard his brother quite distinctly. He was still there. Different. But his mind was there. Gary's intelligent mind was quick and fearless.
It is too dangerous for you, right now, Gregori responded. Andre can take care of this threat. You come with me back to our home to guard Mikhail.
They have new weapons. Weapons Andre has not yet seen. I have been researching the society and found some of their schematics. They could kill him or those inside the monastery.
They knew Gary spoke of Gabrielle. Already, his memories would be fading fast. She would be the last for him. The memory of love that most Carpathians tried to hold on to. Love of family. Of siblings and friends. He would lose even that, and if it was anywhere as fast as the loss of color and emotion, his memories of those emotions could go
at any time. He would be left with only his honor to sustain him. And he would hold the darkness of all the ancients that had gone before him.
They will not kill me, Andre assured. Nor will they kill the ancients.
"We need to get word to the De La Cruz brothers. They need to watch over Luiz. The same thing will happen to him," Mikhail said.
"I'll call them on my cell." Andre flashed a faint smirk. "Imagine Zacarias with a cell phone. His brothers call him just to make him crazy. And Josef texts him. How do I know this? Zacarias had a few words to say about it to me the last time I saw him."
Even Gregori gave pause at the idea of anyone calling Zacarias De La Cruz on a cell phone.
We need to get the prince out of here. Gary clearly was pulling it back, taking control back.
Gregori was a little shocked that he was already strong enough to do that. He exchanged a long look with Mikhail. He had taken hold of his brother with the prince's help, keeping him from moving, preventing him from killing anyone. It had taken both of them, and both together were exceedingly strong. Still, it was a struggle. Now, Gary was exhibiting signs of that strength by thinking clearly when his brain shouldn't be able to process anything but killing.
"Gary's right, Mikhail," he agreed. "We need to get you out of here. Andre, no trace of us left behind."
Mikhail sighed. "You will never change, Gregori."
"Not when it comes to your safety."
"And Gary is going to be just as bad."
Release me.
Not with a threat so close to the prince. Not with Gabrielle trapped in the monastery. Mikhail answered Gary, sparing Gregori.
I can do nothing to help Gabrielle. I can help to guard our prince.
Mikhail raised an eyebrow at Gregori and shook his head slightly. It was there, that clarity, but Gary was also an extremely intelligent individual. He worked out many of their battle strategies. He could so easily, even in his present state, lull them all into a false sense of security. He was thinking and that was a good sign, but they were too near Gabrielle, and if those starting up the mountain truly were members of the society hunting them, Gary could easily be tipped over the edge into permanent darkness should he kill, even to save the prince.