In the Beginning... (40 page)

“I know I understand you’re crazy, and that
my brother will be coming to cut off your damned head for what you
have done.” Mallory tried to stand, to slip off the bastard’s lap.
His hands tightened around her thighs.

“No. Don’t move just yet. And your brother
will not succeed.”

Her brother never failed at anything, but he
was human. This...this creature obviously was not. Would it be fair
to expect her brother to fight against him?

Not without an army of men.

“Why me?” It sounded so trite and cliché,
the question. But what else could she ask?

“Fate, in the form of the Goddess Kennera.
The moment a Dardaptoan is born, she whispers the name of the one
that Dardaptoan is fated for. She whispered your name for me! I
know you don’t understand it, how could you? You were human.
Hopefully, in time, you’ll see the wisdom in her fating us
together.”

“Ridiculous. I don’t believe in fate.”

“Tell me this, then, kitten? How do you
think it is that I found you and Theo found your sister? You were
meant for us. I have waited six hundred years, and only you were
for me. I cannot discount the teachings and customs of my people
because of your human beliefs.” His hands tightened on her again.
Mallory stared at him, unsure what to say in response. “You were
meant for me, kitten. And I will provide for and protect you, no
matter what. Do you understand me?”

“Not really. I think you’re
crazy. I want my sister, and I want to go home.”
“I can only help you with half of that. You will
see your sister shortly
”
The knock on the door startled her so much that
she nearly fell from his lap. He caught her, his hands strong
around her waist. He sat her aside as if she weighed nothing, and
rose. She watched him as he answered the door and stepped outside
to speak with the knocker. It was her only chance.

Mal darted across the suite to the patio
door, and slipped out. A single flight of steps led to the ground
level and she scaled them quickly. The crazy bastard wasn’t keeping
her here any longer. She’d find Mickey and get the hell out before
he could do that blood-drinking thing to her again.

Aodhan heard the patio door slide open and
he darted back into the suite. Sure enough, his female was gone.
Quicker than he expected. Why had he not considered something as
simple as the patio door?

He laughed at her spirit and
determination.

He wasn’t worried; there was
only one exit out of the inner garden, and only members of his own
House or those high enough up in the other Houses knew of it. He
would catch her eventually, but for now he would give her a bit of
time to realize that she wasn’t escaping him that way. They had
plenty of time for it, the breakfast with the
Dahr
and
Dhan
wasn’t for another hour. She
might have to forego a shower, but that mattered little to
him.

He whistled again, absurdly amused by her
flight.

He’d found her, but he hadn’t hurt her, and
Mallory wondered at it. Hadn’t it angered him? Why wasn’t he
lashing out at her? Threatening her? Hurting her again?

She walked at his side, trying to ignore the
hand he had at the small of her back. She wasn’t used to just
playing along, or giving in, in situations where she was
threatened. What in the hell was she supposed to do now?

“We will meet with the king, then you may
return to our suite and tidy yourself. An entire wardrobe will be
ready for you upon your return to the suite. I have a bit of
business to attend to, then we will be free to spend the rest of
the day and all of tomorrow learning of each other.”

What was she supposed to say
to that? She remained quiet. Thought about what had happened. She
and her sister were not escaping anytime soon. This fortress was
too well guarded, and the men around her too well trained. They
were stuck here until Rand arrived
but
Mallory half hoped he wouldn’t.

What would these creatures do to her brother
if he tried to take her and Mickey away from them? No, she didn’t
want Rand or her Uncle Jason, or anyone else in her family anywhere
near this hotel. She and Mickey would have to find the way out of
here themselves.

When he led her into a room
and she saw her cousins Josey and Emily, Mal felt sick. What were
they supposed to do? Why were they taken in the first place? Had
these men
these vampires
followed them from the bar?

She kept her attention on the four men
throughout the meeting, only half aware of what Emily was saying
next to her. There had to be some reason they were chosen. But what
was it?

He led her away from the
breakfast room a few minutes later, and though she wanted to
resist
to fight, scratch, claw at
him
she forced herself not to. He was her
most valuable source of information. And like it or not, she needed
that information in order to formulate a working plan.

She did as he instructed
once they were back in what he referred to as
their
suite. The clothes he’d provided
were in turquoise and white, exclusively, along with silk scarves
in the same colors. She slipped a blue tunic and trousers on after
a quick shower, but left off the scarf.

Then she thought better of it and slipped
one around her waist and folded another up and stuck it in the deep
pocket of the pants. She might be able to find a use for the extra
somehow.

Anything could be a weapon if needed. That
was something her brother had taught her long ago.

He waited for her outside the bathroom,
sprawled over the couch like a lion. His hair curled around his
head in dark chestnut waves, wild like a mane. This creature was a
predator. She would remember that.

His wolf, his damned
pet
, was sprawled on the
rug beside the couch. The animal was huge and terrifying. And had
the same gold eyes as his master.

Mallory paused in the doorway to the
bathroom and stared at the two beasts.

Both just watched her.

“Come, kitten. Tajic will not harm you, will
never harm you. Come say hello.”

Mallory bit her lip and stepped closer. It
was then she saw the familiar black and white dog that went with
her cousin Josey everywhere. Little Freedom, a petite Border
collie, wagged her tail from where she lay beside and half behind
the large wolf. The little dog looked as bewildered as Mallory
felt.

“Why do you have Josey’s dog? My cousin goes
nowhere without her dog. She needs to be with Josey.”

“She will be returned to your little blonde
cousin today. She and Tajic were just getting better acquainted.
They are quite taken with one another.”

“You mean, even the damned dog was
kidnapped?”

“I guess you could say that.” He smiled, an
arrogant masculine expression that had her lip curling in
response.

“Why? I think I deserve to know why you broke
into my home and took me. Don’t you? And why my sister and my
cousins.” Mallory crossed her arms and tried to ignore the wolf. It
wasn’t quite tame, and she could easily see that. And wolves had
always made her nervous for some inexplicable reason. She’d had
reoccurring nightmares about wolves since she was eight or nine
years old.

“You owe me an answer.”

She was still so frightened of him, though
she stood arms crossed over her chest and glaring at him. Who would
have suspected that his fierce little cat would be so achingly
frightened and vulnerable? Certainly not Aodhan. Tenderness rushed
through him. He straightened on the couch, rested his elbows on his
knees as he looked up at his female. “Sit down. Let me explain what
brought me to you.”

She did so gingerly, sinking into the chair
next to the couch. He would have preferred she sit beside him,
close, but knew it was way to soon for that. The dog hopped into
her lap and she ran her fingers through the animal’s fur, obviously
something she’d done multiple times. Perhaps he should get her a
puppy? Something for her to focus on while she was adjusting to
life here in Dardanos. He’d think more on that later.

“What do you know of this area, kitten?”

“That this city was populated by a tribe of
an obscure religion from Tanzania. My brother told me to avoid it.
Said it had a high crime rate and few resources.”

He smiled, but filed that
information away for later. That was an odd thing for her brother
to tell her. “That is false. Perhaps your brother wanted you to
avoid this city for a reason, but crime and poverty are not a huge
part of our city. My people
and now your
people
the Dardaptoans have lived in the
American West since the time shortly after Christopher Columbus
claimed he’d discovered this land. It took very little effort for
our people to make their way to this land. I was a young man of
around eighty and I remember the journey clearly. This area has
changed much, though my people have always lived at the foot of
these mountains. Only our lodgings have changed with the times in
which we lived.”

“You’re crazy. You really think you are six
hundred years old?”

“Five hundred and
ninety-eight. I was born in the fourteen hundreds,
sweetheart.”
“Prove it.

“I can’t exactly be carbon
dated, now can I? But my version of a family Bible is right over
there. It lists all the members of the
Adrastos family, going back to the year 1066
before
the time of your
Christ.” He stood, ignoring the way she flinched when he passed
her. It would take her time, but she would grow accustomed to him.
The book was old, and one he’d had originally on leather scrolls.
Theo had painstakingly transcribed it into a book form centuries
ago, before he’d lost his eyesight. He flipped open to the page
that recorded his birth, his fifteen younger brothers, and his
younger sister. “Here I am, right here. Aodhan Peol Ranam
Adrastos.”

“Anyway...what does your birthday have to do
with why you took me?”

Stubborn kitten. She would learn. “My people
have lived in this area for centuries, and only recently have we
noticed members of our families disappearing. Over the last thirty
years or so, more than eighteen hundred Dardaptoans have
disappeared. Some we know exactly what has happened to them. That
is why your family was targeted.”

“You think we have something to do with
vampires disappearing? Maybe they went into the sun and fried!” She
jumped to her feet, dislodging her cousin’s dog.

“We don’t fry in the sun. In fact, we like
the sun. We are highly susceptible to the cold. But we’ll get into
that later. Come here.” He stopped her mid-pace with one hand.
Pulled her toward the couch, ignoring her resistance. He wanted to
smell her, to feel her close. “I know you and your sister have had
nothing to do with it.”

“So why us, then?”

“Because your family is responsible. Your
grandfather specifically, and we suspect some of his sons.”

“No!” She pushed against his arm. “My
grandfather is a dick, but my uncles wouldn’t hurt anyone! And
neither would my dad!”

She loved them, it was quite obvious. How
was he ever to tell her that if they found her father and uncles
were involved in her grandfather’s activities, they would be tried
and executed in the Dardaptoan court? Perhaps that would best be
something he kept to himself for a while. “We do have proof of your
grandfather’s activities.”

“His, maybe. But not the others. And I want
to see the proof of Grandfather’s involvement.”

That had him hesitating. The
images and videos they had of Leo Taniss’s involvement were
horrific, full of torture and suffering. And death. He wasn’t
certain he wanted those images in his
Rajni
’s head.

“Well? Can I see it or not?”

Her eyes were directly on
him, determined. “I would prefer you not.”
“Why? Is it faked?”

He shook his head. “No. The information came
directly from his laboratory.

I found it myself some thirty years
ago.”

“Then why can’t I see it?”

“Because your grandfather is responsible for
what amounts to genocide.”

Her eyes widened. “What do you mean? I know
he’s not a nice person, but genocide?”

“He experimented on, and murdered, hundreds
of my people, kitten. Probably thousands. Genocide is the cleanest
term for it I can think of. And I don’t want you seeing the things
he’s done. I don’t want those images in your head.”

“If it’s true, I can handle it, vampire.”
She ran a hand over the silk scarf tied around her waist, playing
with the gauze absently. Her fingers were long and thin, feminine.
Nails broken and ragged from fighting him. Guilt filled him once
again. His female had bruises. Bruises he’d caused, and had no
difficulty seeing on her arm and wrist.

He covered the marks on her skin with his
hand. He lifted her arm to his mouth and brushed his lips over the
marks. “I am sorry. For these.”

“You’re sorry? Then let me go home. Let me
take my cousins and my sister and go back to our lives.”

“I cannot do that. Not now. You must know
that.”

“How am I supposed to know anything? So far
you’ve kidnapped me, hurt me, forced me to drink your damned blood,
and now you are telling me I am a vampire and my grandfather a
monster. About the only thing I believe is that my grandfather is a
monster. Everything else is the stuff from fiction.” Did she know
her eyes, those green eyes so like her grandfather’s, pleaded with
him?