Christine Feehan - Dark Celebration 17

«Shea is close, this night or the next. Raven, like Alexandria, feels the party will create a feeling of family among the Carpathian couples and give hope to the remaining males, especially with the female children and Shea having a successful birth.»

«Alexandria is in the kitchen. Joshua and Josef invented a high-speed mixer to help her prepare the dish she is making for tonight's event. I think they wanted out of peeling potatoes. You will have to come in and meet her, although she's a little anxious about meeting you.»

«Me?» Mikhail scowled. «Why would she fear meeting me?»

«I have heard you can be intimidating,» Aidan said with a small grin.

Mikhail's smile was slow in answering. «These women.» He shook his head, then paused, looking suddenly hopeful. «Unless it was Josef…» He watched the furious battle taking place on the television screen. Alexandria's brother Josh, curls bouncy on his head as he used a controller, laughed aloud as his character did a backflip over Josef's character. Josef, directing his character with his mind, had the man whirling around so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet.

«Alexandria came up with this game? It is good practice for Josef-for any of our people,» Mikhail said. «How did she think of such a thing?»

«Josh and I like to play video games together and we make poor Alex watch us all the time. She still does graphics for a video company and when she realized I could direct the characters with my mind, she came up with this game for Josh and me as a Christmas gift.»

«She is a very intelligent woman. Are you thinking of marketing these games?»

«Yes. So many of the others have seen it and wanted it. Alexandria already has ideas for a couple more of them. Because we have Josh, who is human, and Falcon and Sara have the seven children they adopted, she is planning to set the game up to be able to use controllers if necessary. It gives us one more thing we can interact with and appear human. We'll be able to play online with one another as well.»

«It is a wonderful idea. Hopefully, it will help bring us all closer when we live such distances apart.» Mikhail rubbed his jaw. «I need to speak to your brother about Dimitri. As I recall, Julian and Dimitri were fairly good friends in their youth.»

«Yes they were,» Aidan said. «Is Dimitri here?»

«He has come from the forests of Russia to join us, yet he remains in the form of a wolf most of the time and is prowling the woods. If you see Julian before I do, have him make contact. I believe he knows Dimitri better than any other Carpathian. They may have even exchanged blood after a battle. I want Dimitri monitored while he is in such close proximity to our women.»

Aidan's head went up alertly. «You are concerned that Dimitri has turned?»

«We can no longer count on reading minds and feeling the disturbance of power or evil. The vampires could very well send an enemy into our camp. I do not believe Dimitri has turned, but I am concerned that he is struggling. With so many women close to him, it is possible he will have the necessary hope to continue his struggle, or it will push him in the wrong direction. It is just better to be careful.»

«He has long battled the vampires alone in his area,» Aidan agreed. «Too many kills so often take its toll on the hunter.»

Mikhail sighed. «I cannot save them all, Aidan.»

«No, but you do what is necessary for saving our people, Mikhail, and that is all you can ask of yourself. Come meet my lifemate.»

Mikhail followed Aidan down the long hall toward the kitchen. «Raven asked me to play Santa Claus. St. Nick. You know, the character in the red suit with the long white beard.»

Aidan halted so abruptly that even with his graceful, flowing strides, Mikhail nearly ran into him. «You are going to play Santa Claus?»

Mikhail shook his head, wicked amusement gleaming in his eyes. «That is what my son-in-law is for.»

«Gregori?» Aidan's white teeth flashed. The clouds shifted and the light from the moon spilled across the Carpathian turning his hair and eyes to an ancient, antique gold. «I have to be there when you tell him.»

«I suspect his house will be overrun with spiders, mice and a few birds,» Mikhail said with evident satisfaction. «I would enjoy meeting your very talented lifemate. Lead the way. Just the thought of Gregori in that ridiculous getup has lightened my mood considerably. Alexandria will not find me in the least intimidating.»

Aidan hesitated, his hand on the door. «Alexandria first knew of our race through the

vampires. She was captured along with her little brother. The vampire chained her and fed on her, wanted her to kill her brother and both would feed on him. She still has nightmares. I catch echoes of them when she is in between our sleep and waking. Joshua no longer remembers, but she doesn't want to hide what we are from him. And that means he has to know we are hunted. It was courageous of her to come here-to put aside her fears and meet the other women.»

«Have you discussed having children?»

Aidan shook his head. «Not yet. She is well aware of the mortality rate of our infants and she lost so much so young.»

Mikhail nodded. «Gary has mentioned that it is possible that the closer the birth of the baby is to conversion, the less likely it is that we will lose it. He thinks the longer the women are Carpathian, the more likely miscarriages will occur and the less likely there will be female children, but why that would be we have no answers, especially as Francesca had a daughter.»

«At least we have Joshua, who is more of a son than a sibling to Alexandria. So far she has been unable to conceive, so there has been no choice for us one way or the other.»

Mikhail continued to look at him, straight in the eye, a relentless, driving command. Aidan sighed. «I will discuss it with her.»

«You do that. Our people need every child, every female we can possibly get at this point. Our hunters are desperate, Aidan.»

«I was one of the desperate hunters, Mikhail,» Aidan said quietly. «I know my duty to our people.»

«Aidan!» Joshua come up behind him and tugged at his arm. «Aren't you going to play with us? Josef put the game on pause so we could wait for you.»

Aidan affectionately ruffled the boy's hair. «In a minute, Josh. Alexandria hasn't met Mikhail yet. He is the leader of our people, a very important man.»

Josh's eyes widened and he stared up at the prince.

Mikhail looked down at the boy with his slight build and head of curls, at Aidan's hand tugging at a curl, and he felt a sudden ache in his chest. He wanted another child. One that looked at him the way the boy was looking at Aidan. He wanted a village filled with children, with their laughter and their bright eyes and hope shining on their faces.

His gaze rested on Josef who had followed Joshua, and for the first time he felt kindly toward the boy. Josef had gained a few inches in height, taking on more of the look of the Carpathian male with broad shoulders, but he was still gangly, as thin as a rail, and with his black hair cut into spiky sticks with the tips dyed blue, he looked like a bizarre scarecrow.

«Hello, Josef. It is good to see you again.»

The boy looked scared for a moment, and then he flashed a cocky grin. «You too, Your Royal Highness. Are we supposed to bow?»

Aidan smacked him on the back of his head with a low warning growl, and Mikhail scowled, his black eyes glittering with sudden menace. The house pulsed with sudden energy and the walls undulated.

Josh pushed open the kitchen door and ran. «Alex! There's someone here.»

At the fear in her younger brother's voice and the danger shimmering in the room, Alexandria whirled around with preternatural speed, her body a blur. The high-speed, souped-up mixer was in her hands, still on. Garlic-cheese mashed potatoes splattered onto the walls and ceiling. One glob hit Mikhail squarely on his left cheekbone. Alexandria gasped aloud and stood frozen, holding the mixer upright-sending more potatoes flying around the room. Her horrified gaze remained fixed on the prince.