The bond was not supposed to stay this strong for this long, but all I could do was endure.
We arrived before the White sisters. The place we were meeting was an underground crypt. It was a single room that wasn’t very large with four benches and the polished stone coffins lying behind them.
I expected Cara to choose a bench opposite me, but either the bond, her sleepiness, or her fear of what would happen when the White sisters arrived compelled her to sit beside me. The bench wasn’t very large, and her choice to sit beside me pressed our legs and shoulders together.
After only a minute or two of silence, I felt her slump against me. I grinned to myself, then put my arm around her.
When she was awake, it was easy to forget how fragile Cara was. Her personality was full of fire and spunk. But asleep, all I could see was how easy it would be for Bennigan to take her from me.
That lost thought replayed in my head again, gaining significance as the meaning sank in. To take her from me.
I had to shake my head, trying to re-write the script I seemed to be creating. Cara was not mine. I’d bonded her out of necessity, and as soon as it was physically possible, the two of us would go our separate ways.
Besides, if I really cared about her, the best thing I could do for her would be to get her out of my life as soon as I could.
Mortals who became entangled with my kind rarely lived long, full lives. They either wound up turned to vampires themselves or a casualty of the crossfire.
Kira and Violet White arrived silently. They were a rarity among vampires because they’d been turned at an older age. Both women had stark white hair and wrinkled skin. They still carried themselves upright and proud, reminding any who might get ideas that they were just as powerful as any other vampire their age would be.
Kira was the shorter of the two with the shrewd eyes and expression of a businesswoman. She was always angling for a better deal or a way to put her own twist on any arrangement.
Violet was permanently frowning and suspicious. She was also known to lose her temper and start wars for the Whites. The fact that their family was still standing despite Violet’s warlike nature was a testament to their strength—and to why I needed their support to help keep Bennigan at bay.
“Who is that?” Violet asked. She wasn’t making any direct threat to Cara, but I found myself holding the small woman closer all the same.
“She’s—” I cut myself off. Mine. I was about to say mine. “She’s a human who had the misfortune of crossing paths with me. Don’t worry about her.”
Kira tapped her lips thoughtfully. “You said you were coming alone.”
“I came as alone as I could.”
“Ah,” Kira said. “So you’ve bonded yourself to this one?”
Idiot. There were a dozen ways I could’ve chosen my words and I’d stumbled into the combination that told Kira exactly what I’d meant to hide. The fewer who knew about the bond, the safer Cara would be. I certainly hadn’t wanted the Whites to know about it before we struck some sort of arrangement. “Yes. For now.”
I could see her calculating the possibilities. But if she tried to blackmail me, I’d tell her that Bennigan almost certainly knew about the bond. They’d used her as bait to draw me out in the first place. I’d expected them to make some sort of move by now, but there had been nothing.
I wished he would show himself so we could sort this out like men. All the hiding and games were grating on my nerves. But that was how Bennigan operated. He hadn’t lived as long as he had by being reckless or taking risks. He’d wait until he thought he saw an opening and then strike. And when he did strike, he’d make sure he had an army of support so he wouldn’t have to put his own neck on the line.
“Am I correct in assuming you want my family’s protection?” Kira asked.
“No. We don’t need protection, but you can ally yourselves with us. With the order.”
Her smile was crooked, but Violet’s was sinister.
“There are three remaining Undergroves. Much has changed since you were last roaming freely. The order and its support are growing as thin as your family tree.” she said flatly. “I don’t particularly care how old or hard to kill you supposedly are, Lucian. You need us. We don’t need you. It’s that plain. Why should we ally with you and risk war with Bennigan?”
“Because we’ve already gathered allies,” I said. It wasn’t precisely true, but it was the line we’d been going with. The full truth was that I hadn’t even gotten in contact with leadership yet, and Kira’s warning that support of the order was growing thin came as news to me. “Bennigan may not be on the winning side of this war he insists on pursuing.”