Charlotte screamed soundlessly, over and over, struggling to move, to overcome the terrible paralysis of the Carpathian people. Not again. He can’t have her again, Tariq.

Be calm, sielamet. He won’t kill her. He’ll use her as a bargaining chip to get Emeline, Genevieve and you. We will be able to retrieve her this rising. Every hunter is well aware of what has happened and they will go with us to take her back.

But she’ll never recover. The trauma. She wasn’t safe. Even here, she wasn’t safe. She’ll always know she wasn’t and she’ll never feel safe again.

We will do our best with her, Charlotte. It is all we can do. Allow me to send you to sleep again. There is no point in lying here unable to move with your mind in chaos and your heart in agony. He would send her to sleep no matter what. He couldn’t stand Charlotte suffering. With her mind so open to him now, she never thought to raise the barrier to protect herself even though it was so automatic with everyone else.

She took a breath and looked at him, tear tracks little red streaks down her face. She nodded and instantly he sent her back to sleep and then turned to direct his small band of men to cleaning up and seeing to Emeline. He wanted the two men who had aided Emeline held until he could examine them and find out what they knew and why they had changed sides.

18

Liv is still terrified, Val whispered to Tariq on the common path two hours before sunset. I have promised her we will come for her, but the puppets are deliberately taunting her. I fear she will try to force them to kill her.

Tariq and Val had taken turns staying in her mind, a task that had been daunting when both were so weak. The giant of a man Fridrick had put in charge of the attack on Tariq’s home seemed to be the one who had taken Liv. He protected her from being torn apart and eaten alive by the insane puppets, but he didn’t stop them from scaring the child; in fact he seemed to take great amusement in her fear. Throughout the day, he’d mocked, sneered and assured the puppets in front of her that Fridrick would give the girl to them to eat.

She says his name is Billy and that he took her to an abandoned warehouse. She can hear water. Tariq supplied the information. I will rise in another half hour. How soon can you join me?

I cannot follow you until the sun has set. You will only have Maksim to back you until that time, Val said with regret.

Tariq could hear the weariness in his voice. Val had taken the last shift with Liv and he was still healing from his time spent with Vadim. Torture took its toll on the body, even that of an ancient Carpathian.

Tariq had programmed himself to wake well before sunset. He needed to get a jump on Vadim and Fridrick. Vampires couldn’t protect themselves, even by manipulating weather and clouds, from the sun. His lifemate, coming into his life, provided some protection for him. She’d brought light back into his soul and that would allow him to awaken in daylight and plan his battle. Unfortunately the other hunters would not be able to go with him.

Blaze will come with us and Charlotte. Tariq didn’t want his lifemate anywhere near the vampires, especially Fridrick, but he knew exactly what the undead would do. Fridrick will insist on an exchange. Liv for Emeline, Charlotte and Genevieve. They are determined to have those three women. Charlotte will know this and she’ll insist on making the exchange.

There was a stunned silence. You cannot possibly allow your lifemate to put herself in such danger.

Tariq sighed. Val, Dragomir, Siv and Nicu had rarely mingled with any culture or society of humans. They hunted in cities at times, but they struck fast and hard and got out without ever having to interact with humans. He had lived with humans throughout his long existence. He studied them and he studied their women. He wanted to be the best man he could possibly be for his lifemate, trying to learn as the world around him changed.

He knew modern-day women often expected a partnership, not a dictatorship. Blaze was such a woman. Charlotte as well. She wanted to make her own decisions, and as long as he felt he could control the danger to her, he was more than willing to give her what she needed. He wanted a partner, someone with ideas and opinions of her own. Now, with the children, he understood that need in him more.

Charlotte will do whatever it takes to get Liv back. Vadim will know that we don’t have Emeline to give him. She’s in need of medical aid. My team has been attending to her and she has a concussion. Blaze will appear to be Genevieve.

Again there was a silence. Val wasn’t happy with the decision. That is two women we cannot afford to spare. If they kill them, we will lose two of our warriors. This is a bad time, Tariq. The enemy has grown strong while we have been complacent. I never expected the Malinov brothers to amass such knowledge and to be able to bind vampires and humans alike in their war against us.

They were always intelligent, Val. Always thinking of ways to overthrow the prince. No one thought they meant the things they said. We thought they liked to debate. By the time anyone knew they meant every single word and had planned the assassination of the prince and his entire family, it was far too late. They chose to become vampires, and they put their plans into motion.

Three are destroyed.

Others, such as Fridrick and his brothers, seek to take the places of the dead, Tariq pointed out, because it was true. As fast as they killed the undead, more rose up.

Fridrick is cruel, but he lacks the intelligence and patience of the Malinovs. There is great care in their planning. Vadim has sat like a bloated spider in the middle of his web, pulling his strings together slowly, so that no one noticed until he was ready to challenge us. He’s ready, Val, and he needs Emeline, Charlotte and Genevieve in order to carry out his plans. He targeted them months ago and everything he has done has been to acquire them.

Val flooded the Carpathian pathway with assent. No vampire would stay in the vicinity with so many hunters gathered in one place unless he could not leave for some reason. He goes out to sea to regroup, but he does not leave. That is all the more reason to keep your lifemate close.

Tariq knew he would never convince Val that Charlotte should be a part of the rescue, so there was no reason to continue to try. It was getting close to the time that he needed to be up and planning his assault on the warehouse where Liv was being held.

Sleep while you can, Val. When you wake, bring the others with you. Someone will have to stay behind to guard Emeline, Genevieve and the children. I’ll keep them asleep as long as I’m able. At the moment they are in their safe rooms sleeping under compulsion, all but Emeline.