Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series) (27 page)

Ethan spoke up.”It’s my fault, Garrett. I should have looked at the maps. We should have stayed in our territory.” He pushed his dripping hair out of his face and pulled his collar up in a feeble attempt to protect his neck from the rain.

Garrett turned his glare toward Ethan and spoke, his voice icy, “You should have done a lot of things differently. Everyone of you acted irresponsibly. The fact is that this could have happened even if you’d been in our territory. Vampires don’t always pay attention to boundaries set by shifters or even other vampires.” He looked directly at each one of us and we looked away. He was right, we were idiots who could all be dead or worse right now. “I’m going to make sure they've gone. I'll see you at my house in forty-five minutes.” He was gone when we looked up.

They stared at me, probably wondering why Garrett hadn’t taken me with him. He knew I was exhausted and that the trek back to the car would be rough in the cold rain. I sighed, put on my hooded sweatshirt and started walking.
Payback’s a bitch
. Halfway there, Ethan picked me up and threw me on his back the way Kyle had. I’m not sure I would have made it on my own. By the time we crawled into the car, we were soaked and cold and miserable.

When we got to the house
, the door was unlocked and a fire was blazing in the fireplace. Pizza and hot coffee was laid out along with a stack of towels. We dried off as best we could and then dug in, grateful for the food and the fact that Garrett wasn’t there glaring at us while we ate. Despite the warmth of the flames, the mood was somber and tense. We knew that he was pissed and none of us were looking forward to facing him, especially me.

He entered the room after we’d mostly finis
hed eating and sat in an arm chair facing us. He looked from Ethan to Kyle to Sinc to me and said, “Who’d like to begin?”

Ethan and Kyle took turns explaining their idea of testing out Kyle and Sinc’s great new invention and that I was able to make the weapon work using my mental abilities after only a few tries. They were getting very excited as they rattled on about how accurate my shots had been and what this could mean in the future when Garret
t raised his hand to stop them.

He turned to Sinc. “And why were you there?” he asked.

“I did a lot of the programming. I wanted to be there to see if it would work.” She was nervous around Garrett, probably more in tune than the guys were with what might be coming.

He turned to me. “And so they called you, and you just agreed to go? You didn’t think that maybe Rob should know where you were?” Our emotional connection was in full swing, his disappointment, anger and concern making me squirm. “I know that Liam tried to discourage you.”
Another well deserved jab.

I nodded and sighed,
remembering my reaction when Liam had objected to my leaving. “Liam told me that it was dangerous. When I told him I’d be safe with the team, he said I was being arrogant and should tell Rob. I was sure nothing could happen if we were all together.” I watched the anger glow in his eyes and felt ashamed that I’d played a part in putting us all in danger, including him.

Garrett wasn’t yelling; that would have been easier to take. Instead his voice was calm with an intensity that made the hair stand up on my arms. “You foolishly disobeyed my orders and pu
t yourselves in danger. You've been told previously that these two vampires have been seen in the area causing trouble." He looked at me, and his gaze made my mouth dry. "Lily likes to drain her victims slowly as they scream and struggle. She particularly likes to torture shifters because your life force is so strong. You usually take a long time to die. Your deaths would not have been easy."

He
looked back at the others, and I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. "I know how Eleanor trains her nest. Lily would have drained Ethan on the spot and given Sinc to Antoine, since he likes to rape his victims as he feeds. " He looked at me and Kyle. "You two would have been forced to watch them die. Then they would have taken you to Eleanor. There you would have wished you could have died like the other two."

We sat
in silence, our faces pale, while he watched us. Kyle made a move to protest how Garrett had described Lily, but when those silver streaked eyes met his, he thought better of it. Ethan and Sinc were holding hands in support while I thought seriously about crawling under the rug and hiding there for about a month.

Garrett continued. “You’re being trained as a team that will one day be able to take on vampires like Lily and Antoine. You would have put up a fight today, one of you might even have escaped, but over time, that would have been a worse fate.”

“Rob and I see great potential in all four of you. Don’t do anything else to make us think we might have been mistaken.” No one spoke. Really, what could we say? We all felt that we’d let Rob and Garrett and each other down. “Go home and rest. I’ll see you here tomorrow night at 8:00. Bring the crossbow.”

Ethan, Kyle and Sinc quietly filed out the door, mumbling their apologies to Garrett. I could see in their expressions that they felt badly for me, since I’d have to face him alone. He closed and locked the door behind them and then sat next to me on the couch, but I couldn’t look at him. He touched my cheek turning my face toward his and I was quickly drowning in his concerned eyes.

“I’m so sorry. I made things worse for you.” I blurted out.

“It would only be worse if you’d been hurt. Eleanor’s plans mean nothing to me.” He sighed and released my chin. “You ask me to treat you like an adult, but today, by refusing to listen to Liam’s advice, you acted like a child.”

“I did. I’m an idiot.” I rubbed my head where Lily had yanked on my hair. It still hurt, but I'd deserved it.

“Not an idiot,
but you are extremely stubborn, and you've had no experience with other supernaturals. Kyle and Sinc should have known better."

He trapped my chin between his thumb and index finger keeping my eyes locked with his. "Jackie,
in the future, I have to insist that you take Liam's advice seriously. A 1500 year old fae knows what he’s talking about when he says that a situation is dangerous and that you should call Rob."

He
released me and rubbed his face, huffing in exasperation. "I haven't felt this protective toward anyone since I was with my family. I’m trying not to overreact, but it’s impossible when I think you’re in danger. Tonight you were all in severe danger.” He pulled me closer. "I need to be able to trust you to make intelligent decisions regarding your safety."

I felt awful
, he was so upset. “Why didn’t Liam rat us out right away?”

“He waited as long as he could, but then woke me and took off after you. He would have stepped in if Lily or Antoine had attacked before I got there. But his loyalty is to me, so for me he would ha
ve protected only you. You might have been the only survivor. He took a real risk, because he’s been told by the Council of Elders that he can only remain with me as long as he doesn’t interfere in the affairs of other races.”

I shivered and hugged him tighter, wondering how I would have coped if my three friends had died violent deaths; deaths that possibly could have been prevented by me. “Should  I thank him or apologize or what? I don’t really know much about the fae.”

“Tell him that his actions were appreciated and that his advice will be heeded the next time he offers it. And mean it, Jackie. He can smell a lie as well as I can. I’m inviting him to tomorrow night’s meeting. I think he’ll be interested.” I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Liam tomorrow, although I owed him the apology.

He looked at me with a gentle smile so I reached for his hand and kissed his palm. His skin felt much colder than usual. “Have you
fed?” I asked, my meaning clear.

“No.” He didn’t pull his hand away, but his smile curled up crookedly. “I’ll go out later, after you’re asleep.”

“Feed from me Garrett. I’m feeling fine now that I’ve eaten. I’ll take a shower and then you can curl up next to me and feed and I’ll just fall asleep and be fine in the morning.”

“Go take your shower and then we’ll see.” I stood and walked to my room, showered quickly, threw on a pair of PJ pants and a tank top and got into bed. Garrett crawled in next to me, barefoot, dressed in dark sweatpants and a tee shirt.

Sitting on the bed, I ran my hand down his arm, feeling how cool he was. He leaned over smiling and whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my body. “It’s not too late to change your mind.” I shook my head and he laughed gently. “Then sit in my lap and I’ll take energy like before.”

I looked into his eyes and shook my head again. “I want you to take blood from
me tonight, not just energy.” I ran my hand over his biceps and he shivered too. “My blood is strong, isn’t it? Let me do this for you.”

“Jackie,
I’m not angry now. I was just worried about all of you. You don’t need to give me blood to prove anything or because you feel guilty.”

“I’m not d
oing it out of guilt, Garrett. I love you.”

He grinned at me, looking nineteen again. “And I love you, my sweet.  But you should know that the saliva from my bite will make you feel slightly euphoric.”

“Sinc said it’s erotic.”

“Oh,
so you want to run your own little experiment?” He laughed then looked at me seriously, running his knuckles along my jaw and then down my throat. “We’ve shared two parts of the ritual, so it will be more than you imagine.”

“I want you to need me
.” I leaned in to kiss him and we were lost in each other for a few delicious moments.

“My lovely cheetah, I’ll always need you.” His love washed over me as we leaned back on the bed and lay on our sides facing each other. He lifted my wrist to his mouth.

“Don’t you want to take blood from my neck?” I asked.

“I want to watch your face. Tonight we’re going to play un peu,
a little
.” He whispered in my ear, “When you feel it, open your mind to the lines.”

My heart started beating quickly as he pressed his nose under my wrist
, smelling my skin and causing his fangs to extend. I trembled as he licked then bit down swiftly, attaching his lips and sucking rhythmically. The pain was sharp at first making my wrist grow numb, followed by a comfortable warmth which spread up my arm and then down my chest and over my body. I felt myself floating as if rafting on a peaceful stream under a sunny sky. We stared into each other’s eyes, his a swirling silver blue pool, mine a vast emerald forest, both pairs full of love and desire for the other.

The warmth from his bite began to change to a heat, traveling everywhere, making my heart speed up and my skin crave his touch in an almost painful way. As soon as we felt the change we opened to the magic, looping power between us. His free hand slid to my waist, pulling me closer, his touch making me burn. As his feeding grew stronger and more urgent, my other hand moved up his arm, my fingernails digging into his skin. The magic between us moved in tangible waves causing our burning bodies to arch in pleasure and explode in exquisite release. After a few more amazing moments he pulled away from my wrist and kissed me deeply as the pulsing of the energy slowed and we let go of the lines. When our kisses ended, I nestled into him and sighed out loud against the warmth of his chest.

“If that’s what your donors feel when you feed from them, I think I’m more than a little jealous.” I wasn’t really. I felt so loved at that moment it would have taken a naked woman crawling out from under him to make me even the tiniest bit jealous. Okay, so that’s an exaggeration.

He kissed my head. “I don’t take blood from them. Taking blood is more intimate and I only want that with you. Tu es mon coeur.
You are my heart
." He licked my wrist to close the wound. "Sleep, my love.”

I closed my eyes and snuggled even closer, then drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Thirty-four

I dreamt.

I was in a doorway looking into a bedroom. Garrett was facing away from me standing in front of an exquisitely beautiful woman. She was about 5’4” with voluptuous curves. Her golden blonde hair fell in long thick tresses and her striking blue gray eyes shone with a silver desire.  She kissed him and pressed her body against his and he responded, kissing her back and running his hands over her bare arms and down her sides to her hips, then pulling her closer. She looked at me and smiled a wicked smile, her fangs extended, and she bit into his neck, all the while watching me. He was groaning with pleasure as he raised her wrist to his lips and bit into her. With Garrett’s blood dripping from her mouth, she pulled away from his neck and said to me, “Jacqueline, come share with us. What belongs to Garrett is mine also. I will see you very soon.” Her silver eyes looked alien and her bloody mouth made me sick with fear. Her magic pulled at me to join them and I took two hesitant steps forward.

I bolted upright and cried out.  Garrett appeared in a flash asking, “Jackie, what’s wrong?” It was still two hours before dawn.

“I dreamt about you and a beautiful vampire feeding from each other. What does Eleanor look like?”  I described the dream and the female vampire who’d beckoned me to join them.