Christine Feehan - Dark Celebration 17

«I could hit a rock with my eyes closed by the time I was fourteen,» Nicolae boasted. «That's what we played with in the old days.»

«Did you really?» Skyler was intrigued.

«Yes. We spent a great deal of time seeing who could feel a small attack coming and divert it before it hit. I was darn good at it too. I won't mention my brother, who excelled at it and slipped one or two past me to give me the occasional black eye.»

«All this manly beating on the chest is making me weak. I need to fly home soon to my beautiful Seattle,» MaryAnn said half-jokingly.

Destiny made a single sound of distress and reached for MaryAnn's hand. «You can't leave me.»

«You'll do fine, girlfriend. You know you will. You're strong and whole…»

«That's taking it a little too far,» Destiny said. «I'm never going to be like everyone else.»

«And no one wants you to be. You're Destiny and you're unique. Right, Skyler?» MaryAnn drew the girl into the conversation. «We wouldn't want Destiny to be any other way.»

«I like you just the way you are,» Skyler admitted shyly.

«I don't know what way I am,» Destiny whispered, gripping MaryAnn harder, as if she might be able to keep her in the Carpathian Mountains.

«You accept people the way they are,» Skyler said, her gaze too old, memories swirling

to the surface before she could stop them. «You just accept people.»

MaryAnn put her hand on Skyler's shoulder. «That's right, Destiny. She's right about you. You never ask anything of anyone and you don't expect them to be anything they're not. You're a very accepting person.»

«I'm not any different than the two of you,» Destiny objected.

MaryAnn blew out a trail of white vapor and watched it float away. «Yes, you are,» she said without meeting her friend's gaze. «I could never do what you've done. You have the courage to take on a man like Nicolae. I can't do that. I'll never do that. I intend to remain alone all of my life rather than chance being with someone who is dominating and possibly destructive.» She spread her hands out. «I don't want a man in my life and I always judge them too harshly.»

«If some handsome hottie came out of the forest and claimed you, you wouldn't accept him?» Skyler asked. «No matter how hot he was?»

MaryAnn shook her head. «Absolutely not. I would catch the first plane back to Seattle.»

«Lifemates don't always let you do the things you want,» Skyler murmured.

«Ha! Gregori promised his protection, and I'd hide in his house until I could get safely home. I would never, under any circumstances, live with a Carpathian male.»

«I feel the same way,» Skyler said, and looked out toward the forest, blinking back tears that were suddenly close.

The smile faded from MaryAnn's face as she looked at the other girl and really backtracked in their conversation. Skyler was fighting the pull of her lifemate, and with all the things MaryAnn now knew about their species, she knew it was difficult, if not impossible. «I was being humorous, Skyler,» she said softly. «Things we think are forever are often just a short space of time. I have no idea what I'd really do if a Carpathian man came out of the forest and claimed me. How could I really know?»

Skyler shook her head, tears swimming in her eyes in spite of her efforts to keep them at bay.

«Sweetheart,» MaryAnn's voice was infinitely gentle. «You feel that way now only because you haven't worked out all of your problems. You need to find out who you really are and what strengths you have. No one can get ahead of themselves and make decisions when they haven't given themselves time to grow. Have patience. Give yourself time to grow up. There's no hurry at all.»

Skyler ducked her head. If there was no hurry, why did she feel such a sense of urgency? Why did the woods beckon her every time she looked at them? The pull was strong to go find Dimitri. She hoped it was to tell him she couldn't be what he wanted, but she feared he

had already tied them in some way. She couldn't stop thinking about him, and worse, her body reacted when she did-and she detested her reaction. Heat spread through her veins, her breasts ached, and lower still, she felt damp and uncomfortable, tension building. She felt his hunger. His need. She felt his silent call to her, even though he tried to suppress his needs and keep a barrier between them. His blood called to her. She knew it was Dimitri. And she didn't want anything to do with a man or what that would entail.

«There's a likely candidate,» Nicolae said, pointing toward a particularly full tree. «We could do a lot with that.»

The tree was deeper in the woods, and Skyler hesitated to follow as the three adults raced each other across the snow, occasionally throwing a snowball at each other. She was filled with dread when she looked into the shadows. Something lurked there. Something dangerous. It watched them with hungry eyes. Watched and waited for one wrong move. She could feel the waves of menace, and didn't understand how Nicolae or Destiny couldn't feel it as well.

Skyler wanted to run back to the safety of the house, but that meant telling the others or going by herself. If she told the others and it was Dimitri, there would be problems between Gabriel and him again and she couldn't bear that. She'd already caused far too much trouble for both of them. And going back to the house alone was out of the question. She hurried after Destiny and MaryAnn, casting anxious glances toward the thick stand of trees.

For one horrible moment she thought she saw the fiery glow of eyes staring at her, tracking her every move. She blinked and the illusion was gone, but something was there. She was certain of it. And it was watching them with hungry eyes.

«Absolutely not. I would catch the first plane back to Seattle. Gregori promised his protection, and I'd hide in his house until I could get safely home. I would never, under any circumstances, live with a Carpathian male.» The feminine voice came to him quite clearly, each word distinct, carried on the night itself.

He was blinded. Dazzled by the brilliant white of the snow on the ground. His eyes failed him and he had to cover them, dropping to his knees to keep from crying out at the unexpected pain of such glaring brightness. Color blazed into life, like a living flame, so that he had to squeeze his eyelids shut, yet it still was there, absorbed by his mind. Vivid. Astonishing. Beautiful.

His breath left his lungs in a rush. He tried to look again, his fingers helping to shield against the brightness so he wouldn't be completely blind. There was color in the trees, not a dull gray, but green peeking beneath the coat of sparkling white. He was seeing in color. Elation swept through him. It was no wonder his demon was roaring to follow that

heartbeat, that melodious laughter.

The woman belonged to him. At last. After centuries of waiting. She was created for him, would be bound to him. He stood, swaying with the strength of the emotions pouring into him. It was overpowering to feel so much, every sense vividly alive. Every cell vividly alive. It was all there, every single emotion he could ever want. From lust to hunger, filling his mind, creating erotic images and testing the years of lost dreams and fantasies. His mouth watered as he thought of the taste of her, the texture of her skin. He had dreamed of her, needed her, and at long last, she was within his grasp.

Even as he moved quickly to catch her, her words sank in. Protected by Gregori. A soft growl escaped. She meant to elude him. To deny his claim on her. She was his by right, by law, by everything their world decreed, and he had held out for centuries-centuries– waiting for her. No one would keep her from him. No one. He would take her if necessary and damn the consequences. There were few hunters equal to him-or to his brothers, and they would stand with him. The De La Cruz brothers always-always-stood together.