Christine Feehan: Dark Demon 16

«Don't bother giving me orders,» Natalya said. «I've always had a problem with authority figures. I'm getting you somewhere safe and then I never want to see you again.»

«That will be a little difficult.» Vikirnoff made an effort to rise. He was far weaker than he imagined. If he took his lifemate's blood, he would have the necessary strength to get them both to safety.

Natalya leapt away from him, hand on her sword. «Don't you even think about taking my blood. If necessary, I'll sit here and wait until you become so leaden you can't move before I'll touch you. I'm not the blood donor type.» She pinned him with her gaze. «Not now, not ever. If and that's a big if, I ever give it to you, it will be voluntarily. Don't ever think of taking it by force.»

Vikirnoff forced his body into a sitting position, his back against a tree trunk. «You have a grudge against my people.» He sounded distant, faraway, even to his own ears. The vivid colors around him, faded in and out, blurring until everything ran together. He knew it was

necessary to shut down his heart and lungs to prevent further blood loss, but his lifemate wasn't yet safe. «Go, Natalya, go now.» He said the words aloud, or maybe they were in his mind, but he was already slipping into unconsciousness.

Chapter 3

«Damn it,» Natalya whispered fiercely as she gathered the fallen hunter into her arms and looked around her, feeling desperate. «Don't do this.» Over the years Natalya had tried to gather information about the Carpathians, partly because she knew she carried their blood, but mostly because she believed knowledge gave her advantages. She was fully aware they needed rich earth to heal. She used it on her wounds upon occasion. «I can't even pack your wounds with soil. The vampires have ruined the earth around here.» She gave Vikirnoff a small shake. «What's left of the wolf pack might come back drawn by the scent of blood, or worse-that creature with the claws beneath the ground. Come on, wake up.» The man weighed a ton. Okay, not a ton, but he may as well have. She was not going to wait around for the Troll King and his vamp buddies to make another try for her. They'd slunk off with their hearts in their hands and tails between their legs, but if they knew what a predicament she was in, they'd be back. «Fine, you big lug, I'll carry you. You just had to be a hero, didn't you? You couldn't leave when I asked you to, could you?»

Natalya tried a firemen's lift, but nothing happened. She was strong. She was stronger than most humans, but he was a dead weight and slippery with blood loss. She tied her pack on him, not wanting to lose her things and made a second attempt to hoist him to her shoulder.

Woman. What are you doing? In spite of his seemingly unconscious state, he managed to sound wholly exasperated.

Natalya nearly jumped out of her skin. «What does it look like? Someone has to save your butt and since no one else is waving their hand to volunteer, you're stuck with me.» There was no way she could haul him down the mountain. No way. The dread inside of her was growing as each minute ticked by. «You were supposed to be unconscious, not waiting to see how you can aggravate me.»

Leave me.

«If you aren't going to say anything helpful, just shut up. I need to think. If you hadn't insisted on staying and fighting we'd be long gone.» Natalya wanted to shake some sense into him. She'd never seen anyone so battered and wounded manage to survive. By all rights he should be dead. And the thought of his death was frightening to her. The more

afraid she was, the more she wanted to lash out at his stupidity. It hadn't been necessary to fight. They could have run. He just had to be gallant and save the world.

«I have one shape-shifting ability,» she admitted. Natalya had to deceive just about everyone she met, but she never deceived herself. It was a luxury to be able to admit who and what she was, show what she was capable of for the first time in years. She watched his face for his reaction. «Just one on my own. I'll be able to carry you on my back, but you'll have to stay awake enough to hold on. Do you think you can?»

Vikirnoff didn't open his eyes. Whatever you need.

His voice was far away. She swallowed hard. She needed to pack his wounds as soon as possible and that meant moving him immediately. «It's going to hurt.»

Natalya stripped, folded her clothes and stuffed them into the pack tied to him. She had wandered alone for years, unable to stay in one place too long for fear of giving herself away. She had been alone without friends or family and it had been long since she had experienced the exhilaration of shifting in front of another being. The freedom to be herself was a powerful lure she couldn't resist.

She was not fully human. She was not fully mage. And she was not fully Carpathian but a combination of all three. Her mage father had gifted her with the nature of the tigress in the hopes it would alleviate the needs of her other side for a family and give her some balance as the endless years passed. To some extent, she supposed it had, but the idea of being able to share a real part of her true self with Vikirnoff, that he would know her for what she was, felt wonderful.

She took a deep breath, losing herself in the familiar shape and feel of the tigress. Muscles rippled beneath her luxurious striped fur coat and she stretched, showing the black and orange camouflage bands to their full advantage. Sharp claws raked the ground and she lifted her muzzle to scent the air before arching her back and lowering her body to the ground. She had no idea she was holding her breath, waiting for his reaction, until he spoke, her eyes blazing a vivid blue at him.

His eyes opened and he reached his hand to stroke the deep fur. You are beautiful. Your eyes are the exact color of the ice lakes.

She tried not to be pleased. She didn't want to feel a response to him, only do her duty as a human being, but she couldn't help the rush of warmth his words caused. Can you slip onto my back and put your arms around my neck?

The tiger was a solitary creature and in its form, Natalya didn't feel yearnings for a family and community. For a brief time she was able to have respite from her natural needs as a woman, but she found, even deep within the form of the tigress, she was acutely aware of Vikirnoff as a man.

He lay out full length on his stomach, his arms sliding around her neck. The long walking stick stuck in the loop of her backpack poked her body and hurt. He felt it and adjusted immediately, a groan slipping out as he did so. You do not shift in the same way a Carpathian shifts. Is that why you have only one form?

She knew he was too weak and shouldn't be trying to converse, but her thoughts were tumbling around in her head so fast, frantic to share with someone. I wondered about that when you held the image of mist in my head and I was able to change. It was both frightening and wonderful.

The tiger snarled at a lone wolf slinking through the trees. The wolf backed away from the much larger predator despite the lure of fresh blood.

It is humbling that you gave your trust to me. I will not abuse it.

She started to deny that she'd given him her trust, but she refrained from correcting him. She had wanted to save her life and he had been the lesser of two evils when the underground creature had grabbed her with spiked claws. Even in the form of the tiger, her ankles still burned, a constant reminder of the terror of that moment.

The tiger hurried through the forest, carrying the man on its back until it was several miles from the battlefield, and down near the richer rolling hills. She was much more careful, taking her burden through more open ground cautiously as she approached the farms. Many of the farmers were beginning to start their day. Twice a dog barked at them and abruptly stopped and backed away. Both times Natalya felt the surge of power and knew Vikirnoff had silenced the animals.