"Hold on to me, ainaak'sivamet jutta, I fear this will hurt like hell." Vikirnoff's eyes held panic, something Natalya had never seen in him, just as she'd never heard that particular tone in his voice.

She reached for his hand, tangled her fingers with his. "I'm not the first woman to do this, you know. We'll get through it." As the pain radiated through her with all the intensity of a

blowtorch, she wasn't altogether certain she was telling the truth. It took her breath, leaving her gasping.

Vikirnoff turned pale. "Damn it, I should never have let this happen."

He startled her with his swearing. He often said things in his ancient tongue, but rarely did he curse. His blatant lack of control shocked her into focusing on him rather than the pain tearing through her body. Vikirnoff was already sweating, his eyes alive with fear for her.

When the first wave eased enough to allow her to breathe again she pushed her hand through his hair, her touch tender. "You're such a baby. It never occurred to me you'd be a baby."

A baby? He wanted to kill someone with his bare hands. He didn't feel like a baby. He felt like a berserker, a wild, out-of-control demon, ready to rend and tear anything in his path. He couldn't believe the conversion would be like this, the pain ripping through her body with the force of a tidal wave. Against such agony, his tremendous power was utterly useless. "This is..." He spat out a series of words in his ancient language, his voice low and mean.

"I so don't want to know what any of that means," Natalya said, trying to smile. The smile died swiftly as the pain began swelling again, gripping her so hard her body convulsed. Fire, hot and ferocious, tore through her body. She bit back a scream, desperate to hide the extent of the pain from him.

Small beads of blood formed on Natalya's brow. Vikirnoff swept back the tangled mess of her damp, tawny hair. Small stripes banded over her body, shades of orange, white and black, faint streaks tinged with blood. Raw fury burned through him and he cursed who and what he was. The way she tried to be so damned protective of him shredded his heart. He came up on his knees, soaked his shirt in the coolest pool in the cavern and wiped the sweat from her face as gently as he could.

Natalya suddenly pushed at him, tried to pull out of his mind, turning her face away from him, but he stayed firmly merged, his blood pounding through his veins. This was emotion at its worst. He rode the wave out with her, striving to find a way to help her, searching for calm. For centuries, his world had been unemotional, and now, when he needed it most, he couldn't find the balance that was so necessary to aid her.

She went white, so pale her skin was nearly gray. The bluish tinge to her lips had his heart pounding in alarm, but his hands were gentle as he wiped her face and throat.

She caught his arm. "Stay with me."

"I am not going anywhere."

"You can't possibly become vampire, can you, Vikirnoff?"

He knew her fears were because of her twin brother. She had lost him. The last person in her life to really love her. Now, she feared losing Vikirnoff. He brought her hand to his mouth, kissed her knuckles, opened her clenched fist and pressed a second kiss to the center of her palm. "Thanks to you, no. Not ever."

She attempted a smile, trying to tease him, wanting to reassure him. "Then you owe me big time. Big time. And I intend to collect." It was starting again, the torch in her stomach, burning through her lungs and heart and every organ. She tried to breathe through the pain, was desperate for air, for a way to stop the agony just for a moment so she could regroup. Tears burned in her eyes and streaks of blood ran down her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her fingers tightening around his. "I'm going to be sick."

"That is good." He swallowed the bile in his own throat, feeling desperate. He wanted to wrap his body around hers, find a way to protect her, to take away every second of the pain. "That is a good thing. It will help you rid your body of toxins."

She tried to crawl away, wanting to get into the shadows, but she was too sick, her body shuddering with pain, collapsing before she could reach the darker edges of the cavern. Vikirnoff tried to touch her, to help her, but she shook her head, pushing his hands away, unable to bear being touched with her skin so sensitive. He waved his hands at the candles flickering closest to her and the lights went out, leaving her with a semblance of privacy as she was sick over and over.

"This sucks," she announced, rolling over to lie still, conserving her strength for the next round. "I know you can make that go away"-she pointed to the mess she'd made-"and I really detest throwing up, so remove it please." She took the water bottle he handed her and rinsed her mouth, grateful he was thoughtful.

Vikirnoff complied, making certain all evidence that she had been ill was removed. "I want to try to do this together, Natalya. Do not hold yourself away from me or try to protect me. You are my life and I need to do whatever I can to help you through this. Let my heartbeat lead yours. Let my breath be yours." He couldn't be a bystander while she suffered so much. He had to find a way to help her.

Natalya reached out her hand for his. It was almost comical to see him so shaken. Her big bad Carpathian. He was actually trembling. Worse, he looked ready to kill something, or someone. Who knew he would react like that? "What are you going to do if I ever have a baby?"

His face paled visibly and his eyes darkened even more. "I cannot think about it now. Not for a long time. Centuries maybe. Perhaps never, if it is anything like this."

The next wave began building and she shifted her gaze to his face, her expression desperate. He brushed back her hair, noting the stripes once again stood out against her skin and hair in bands of orange and black and white. She alternated between the stripes and her pale, almost gray complexion. "Hang on, love, breathe with me. A long slow breath and

ride above the pain."

Her gaze clung to his, her grip on him so tight he thought she might crush his bones, but she followed his breathing, long slow breaths, moving air in and out of their lungs, staying above the worst of the pain. Her body shook and the pinpoints of blood seeping through pores alarmed them both, but she was able to get through the wave without convulsing.

"I don't want to lose my tigress." She lifted her head when he put his arm around her neck to hold her up so she could rinse her mouth again. "It wants my tigress and she is fighting it, I don't want to give her up. She's a part of me, just like breathing." There was anxiety in her voice, a plea in her eyes.

"The conversion is reshaping organs and tissues; essentially you are reborn as a Carpathian. I can still see the stripes. It is your nature to be a tigress, not part of your species. I do not believe you will lose who you are." He brushed the damp strands of tawny hair from her face. "You will always be Natalya and the tigress is part of your soul. I feel her locked with me. You will not lose her." He repeated the reassurance a second time as the next pain welled up sharp and fast, lifting her from the cavern floor and slamming her back down so hard her bones seemed in danger of breaking.

Natalya kept her gaze fixed on Vikirnoff. He was her lifeline. As long as she looked at him, saw desperate love and worry etched into his face, in the black eyes, she knew she could be strong. She'd never had a man look at her like that, as if his world was shattering because she was suffering. She could feel him trying to take the pain from her and it only made her love him more. He was such a powerful, steadfast man, yet all his personal stoicism dissolved in the face of her suffering.

She stroked his face, her fingertips smoothing the deep lines as the pain subsided. "I'm not afraid of this, Vikirnoff. I'm really not."

He swore again. She hadn't heard him say so many swear words in all the time they'd been together. "I am. I knew it was bad, but not like this." He pressed his forehead against hers, smearing blood across both of their brows. "It has to be over soon."

"It will be." She was calm now, resigned to the waves of pain, able to hang on because she could get through anything for a short period of time and he was there with her, looking ravaged and drained, so distraught she wanted to soothe him.

Vikirnoff thought he might lose his mind. Time dragged, each second agonizingly slow, an excruciating endless anguish that had him praying when he hadn't prayed in centuries. He had never felt so helpless-or useless in his life. His Natalya, so courageous, undergoing such torment for him. For his way of life. When finally he thought it would be safe to send to her sleep, she smiled at him. Smiled.

Vikirnoff wanted to weep. The way she looked at him, with such love in her eyes, humbled him. He couldn't believe she could see him that way, not after such an ordeal.

There was love in her eyes, a warmth that seeped into the coldness of his bones and brought him back to life.

You really are a baby, you know. There was utter weariness in her voice. She was so tired, yet she couldn't help wiping at the blood-red tears streaking his face.

Only where you are concerned. I am going to lock you in a tower and keep you safe for well over a hundred years. It will take at least that long to get over this night.

I really hate to have to admit this because I've almost worked out the counter spell to undo the binding ritual, but I have fallen madly in love with you. There was a small deliberate sigh in her voice, as if she were annoyed that she could possibly have fallen in love with him.

His burning lungs found air. That small sigh was enough to tell him she was still Natalya, his warrior woman and she wasn't going to cave in because she was flat on her back. I hate to disagree with you when you are obviously unable to defend your position, but the ritual binding words are not a spell. You cannot undo our marriage.

She closed her eyes but a faint smile curved her lips. Then I shall endure.

He burst out laughing, a mixture of relief and amusement, tears still leaking from his eyes, gathering her up in his arms as he opened the ground, exposing the rejuvenating soil rich in minerals. "I am putting you to bed where you will not be able to torment me. I need recovery time from this ordeal."

Her eyebrow shot up. You need the recovery time?

I nearly had a heart attack.

The pain was welling up again, seizing her organs, squeezing like a vice so it felt as if she might really be having a heart attack. Stop talking and more action.

Vikirnoff sent her to sleep instantly, a strong command that was probably unnecessary, but he wasn't taking any chances. He sat for a long time cradling her in his lap, rocking gently back and forth, more to soothe himself than her. He stared down into her beautiful face. When had he become so consumed by her? He couldn't imagine his life without Natalya. Her lashes were thick and black, feathery crescents under her eyes. He noted the dark circles that hadn't been there before.

He had never considered himself a man of violence. He lived in a world of violence and did what he had to do. Hunting was a way of life. Battles and wounds and destroying evil were simply how he lived. It was never personal, never emotional. Yet now, with Natalya, all that had changed. He couldn't bear her to be in pain. Not physically and certainly not emotionally.

He buried his face against her throat. He had a demon in him and it wasn't the monster

who had lived and roared for blood. This unexpected demon had risen up, demanding retribution, wanting to smash and destroy simply because Natalya was in pain. He couldn't stand to see her that way, so pale, in agony, trying valiantly to protect him. Vikirnoff didn't like discovering he was a violent man, but it was there, deep inside and he wouldn't hide from it. Natalya had seen him, demons and all, and she hadn't turned away from him. For that alone, he loved her.

He carefully unraveled the safeguards surrounding Natalya's weapons and her backpack. The book would have to be with them at all times until he could convince Natalya to turn it over to the prince. He could understand why she wanted to safeguard the tome herself. She knew next to nothing about the Carpathians, a dying species, with too few women and even fewer children. And that meant she didn't know the prince or his capabilities. Mikhail was one of the most powerful Carpathians alive and if anyone could keep the book safe-or find a way to destroy it, it would be Mikhail.

The backpack floated into his hand and he settled down into the rich soil. He would need to rise first and feed enough for both of them before taking her to the great healing caverns where Mikhail and Falcon would give Gabrielle the third blood exchange to convert her. In spite of the tremendous odds against it, Gabrielle was still alive, and Vikirnoff was still guarding her spirit. He needed to be there when she underwent the conversion. The idea was unsettling, especially after he had just gone through it with Natalya.

Vikirnoff stretched out in the welcoming soil, feeling it cushion and embrace him. He settled Natalya's limp body beside him, while he curled up around her, the backpack under both of their palms where it would be safe and she would see upon awakening that he had kept his word. The safeguards were some of the strongest he'd ever woven, wanting to ensure Natalya's safety. He swept his hand across her bare skin. "Sleep well, sleep deep." He brushed a kiss over her lips and lay still beside her, calling to the soil to cover them.

Vikirnoff woke hours later at the precise moment the sun set. All Carpathians were aware of the rising and setting of the sun, yet it was so ingrained in them they gave it very little thought. He scanned the caverns above and below them and then finally the open areas surrounding the caves before opening the earth. As he gathered Natalya in his arms, he thought for the first time in centuries about the sun and how important a part it had played in the life of his lifemate.

He carried her body to the pool where he could wash all evidence of the conversion from her body along with remnants of the rich soil. He didn't want her to wake afraid-or worse, sorry that she had chosen the Carpathian way of life. He loved the night, embraced it as his world, but someone who had walked in the sun might have trouble adjusting.

He nuzzled Natalya's throat, whispering to her to awaken. He caught her first breath in his mouth, took it into his lungs and held it there, feeling her heart flutter against his hand. She sighed, a soft sound of love that made his heart leap. The pads of her fingers trailed

over his chest, a wisp of movement so light it felt like the flutter of wings, yet it seemed she burned her brand forever into his skin. Her fresh scent rose up to torment him, to tease his senses and harden his body.

Natalya's long lashes lifted and her brilliant green gaze stared into his, darkening with hunger, with desire. "Hello." Her voice was soft, incredibly sexy and every muscle in his body tightened and hardened.

"Hello." She couldn't fail to notice the evidence of his desire, thick and pulsing with energy and heat.

"I'm alive." Her fingertips smoothed over his face. A slow smile curved her mouth. "Hang on one minute and let me make certain everything is working properly."

Vikirnoff frowned as she rolled over and jumped to her feet, stretching lazily. He propped himself up on one elbow, a faint smile on his face as she shifted shape. The tigress bounded around the cavern, joy in the playful leaps, before she rubbed her fur along his body. He sank his fingers into the thick pelt and caressed her face as she lay beside him.

Natalya shifted back again, laughing up at him. "She's still there."

"I knew she would be."

Natalya sat up, a fluid movement of grace and elegance, shifting to straddle his lap. Her body was already hot. He could feel her wet and slick pressed into his thigh. His hands caught her hips, trying to position her where he could join them, but she resisted, shaking her head. "I want luxury this evening. I think I deserve it."

He swallowed hard. Luxury might be the death of him. "You deserve anything you want."

"I want to touch you." She lowered her head so her lips could skim his chest, featherlight, just enough to drive him mad. "Like this. I love touching you." She wanted to make love to him. A long slow passionate time where every touch showed him her love. Where her new senses could heighten what she already felt when he touched her. She needed this time with him to feel loved in every way.

His hands cupped her buttocks, lifted, massaged and rubbed, pressing her closer to him, his body so eager for hers his heart was nearly exploding out of his chest. She lifted her head, her gaze slumberous and sensual, her mouth finding his, teeth tugging gently at his lower lip, her tongue teasing his with tiny stroking caresses. He felt each one vibrate through his body, coming together in his groin. The ache grew into a distinct pain, his erection heavy and stiff and throbbing for relief.

Her mouth left his and she alternated tiny kisses and bites across his throat and down his chest. Her hands pushed at the wall of his chest until he leaned back, resting against the side of the pool. Water lapped at his thighs and legs, splashed droplets over him. Natalya didn't

seem to notice, intent on tracing every muscle with her tongue and teeth. She was tortuously slow as she moved down his chest to his belly with slow licks and tiny kisses. The fire racing through his veins found its way to the building volcano in his groin. "I am not going to live through this."

"Well, you'll just have to, because I want to feel the way I love you and the way you love me back."

She moved her hips, sliding the moist heat of her mound back and forth over him until he groaned, his fingers digging into her hips to set her on him. Smiling, she slid lower, pressing kisses against his flat belly, her legs sliding into the water, giving him a delicious view of her curved bottom. He couldn't stop his hands from massaging her, fingers dipping low to invade her body. His breath was coming in ragged gasps.

Her breath moved over the head of his erection, warming the glistening drops there, and stilling his heart. "This is what you did to me. I couldn't think or breathe. I could only feel, Vikirnoff. I want you to feel how much I love you."

Before he could answer, her mouth closed around him, tight and hot, her tongue doing some incredible dance while her fist grasped him with sure fingers. Lightning raced up his body, sizzled in his veins. The sound of his breathing was harsh, even to his own ears. He watched her through half-closed eyes, his body going up in flames. When he thought he would die, when he couldn't feel anymore without exploding into a million fragments, she took him deeper so that his hips thrust helplessly. The small suckling noises coupled with her tight mouth and licking tongue nearly drove him out of his mind.

Her fingernails raked his scrotum, her fingers tightening and squeezing gently, her mouth so hot it was a cauldron of fire wrapped around him. His fists bunched in her hair and he thrust deeper. Her breasts moved against his thighs, her nipples hard pinpoints of heat. He couldn't resist the invitation of her curved bottom, thrust upward in the air as she suckled. His hand came down open-palmed, stroked and caressed, massaging, his blood pumping so hard through his veins he was afraid he might spontaneously combust.

Vikirnoff groaned her name, dragged her head back, needing her body, needing the feel of her wrapped tightly around him, gripping with such force he knew she needed him every bit as much. He could devour her later, her sweetness pouring into him, her cries bringing him intense pleasure, but not now. Now he was too frenzied with lust, too high on love. The two emotions were so mixed together he couldn't separate them.

He rolled her over, coming up on top of her. Her breasts were beautiful, the full mounds tipped with darker pink nipples, rising and falling with each breath she dragged into her lungs. Water splashed around them, her hair floating in strands on the surface. The ledge held her in position, her bottom firmly lodged in the cradle of rock. He stroked her soft skin from her neck to her hip, stretching her beneath him like a sacrifice. "I love the feel of you. Do you have any idea what it is like for me to touch you like this?" He stroked her again, this time his palm taking a path over the swell of her breast to the V at the junction of her

legs. Deliberately he merged his mind with hers so she could feel the fiery sensations in his own body, the driving need of the male of his species to dominate and control.

Her eyes darkened with hunger, with excitement. The tigress in her would never accept a mate less than Vikirnoff. His touch on her breast roughened as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger, but he leaned forward and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips, his tongue sweeping into her mouth with stroking caresses.

The contrast between the tenderness of his mouth and the roughness of his hands sent heat sweeping through her body and left her womb clenching in desperation.

His teeth nibbled on her chin, his hair sliding like silk over her so that every nerve ending jumped to life. He licked her nipple. Paused. Lowered his head to taste again. His tongue flicked her several times making her so aware of the sensual erotic spot. Teeth scraped, lips kissed. Her head thrashed back and forth and when his mouth closed, hot and tight over her breast, suckling strongly, she cried out his name, fingers tugging at his hair, nails digging into his back.

"Hurry up." She panted the command.

He lifted his head, his smile wicked. "You wanted slow and lazy. I am giving you what you wanted." Deliberately he kissed his way across her belly, tonguing the ring, teeth tugging at it, before clipping lower.

"No. I need you in me. Right. Now." She could barely get the words out.

"One taste." He sank his finger into her, watching the shattering pleasure on her face. "That is what I need. To see you like that, Natalya, to see you come apart for me." He pushed a second finger in, deeper this time, finding her most sensitive spot and rubbing with hard, strong strokes. "The tigress is close when you make love. Do you realize that? Your eyes go midnight blue and then opaque when you are very aroused." It was the biggest turn-on, watching her eyes change color, watching her face and body flush for him, her nipples taut and elongated, her breath coming in ragged, harsh gasps.

His eyes, dark with sensuality held her gaze captive as he began a slow assault of her body. His tongue and fingers stroked and thrust into her; his licks and the tiny bites of his teeth drove her to the very edge of sanity. She couldn't think straight, couldn't find the breath to gasp out a protest as he took over her body, playing it like a finely tuned instrument. He was everywhere, claiming every inch of her as his own, building her need and hunger into a frenzied lust. She screamed through two orgasms, her body inflamed, burning out of control.

He rose above her, gripping her thighs, desperate hunger running through his body. Every muscle was strung so tight he felt coiled and ready, an explosion waiting to happen. Looking at her face, so beautiful, so filled with hunger and need for him-for him. There it was, the miracle he had been gifted with. She had been made for him. Her body, this body,

fit so perfectly with his; it was designed for pleasure, and he meant to take every drop and give her back tenfold.

He sank his shaft deep, a hard, driving stroke to take him as far into the hot inferno of her channel as he could get. She was so tight and wet, gripping him with her inner muscles, that he let loose a guttural growl of sheer bliss. Catching her legs, he wrapped them tightly around his waist, forcing her closer to him, so that he could pound deeper and harder with long, sure strokes. He felt her body tighten and shudder around him, but he kept thrusting, in and out, over and over, never wanting it to end. Her second climax began before the first had faded away, throwing her into another much more violent one.

Her hands clamped onto his shoulders, an anchor for her when he kept going, taking her even higher, forcing her into an explosive third orgasm. It shuddered through her body with the force of a freight train, rocking her, setting off the same explosion in him. He felt the drawing, the tightening until his very bones ached with the contraction. Her sheath, so hot and tight, gripped him, squeezing him to the point of pain, convulsing around him, a fist of hot velvet, until he was helpless to stop the volcanic eruption, spurting into her over and over.

Natalya stared up at him, dazed and slightly shocked. Her body refused to relax, refused to release him, every aftershock sending shudders of pleasure through her. She couldn't talk, couldn't find a way to drag air into her lungs. She could only lie there with the water lapping at her body, staring into his face.

"You are more beautiful than any woman I have ever seen." And more sensual. She looked a siren there, spread out before him like a feast. "Again, Natalya. I want you again. And I want your blood and I want to give you mine. I want everything this time."

She shook her head, a faint smile curving her mouth. "You already took everything. I can't move."

"I do not want you to move. I want you to feel."

Natalya couldn't move. Exhausted, her body still crying for more, she looked into his eyes, so dark, so intense with desire. His hands were everywhere, his teeth and mouth and his tongue. She pressed her mouth to his chest, drinking when he demanded, fire pulsing through her, multiple orgasms rocking her when his teeth pierced deep and his body thrust again and again into hers. She couldn't believe she could want more, but desire consumed her, Vikirnoff's needs feeding her own. She couldn't seem to get enough of his body and there didn't seem to be enough ways for him to sate himself with hers. "We're going to die if we keep this up," she warned, when she could talk again.

"I have centuries to make up for." His hands stroked her breasts. "I will never get enough of touching you like this."

Natalya rolled over into the heat of the pool. "I'm going to be so sore I won't be able to

walk. You look pale. I think you need to feed." Even as she said it, a flare of jealousy spurted through her. What if he bent his head toward another woman, knuckles brushing her breast? What if the woman looked at him with desire, her body growing wet and hot as he approached her? A low snarl escaped and Natalya swam toward the center of the pool. If she ever smelled another woman's scent on him, he would find out what it was like to rouse the tigress.

Something was wrong, but Natalya couldn't figure out what it was. They'd made love, she had been so happy, but with her mixture of heightened tigress and Carpathian senses, she suddenly felt the presence of another woman. She did. He might deny it all he wanted, but there was another woman in his life.

Vikirnoff watched her with speculative eyes. Very soft stripes banded her hair and flesh as she moved through the water. He touched her thoughts and smiled. How she could think he might want another woman was a puzzle to him. He followed her, pacing right beside her.

Natalya flashed him an irritated glance. "I need space." She sent up a column of water with a single bat of her hand. Or paw. In the flickering candlelight, even with his amazing night vision, he couldn't tell whether she had partially shifted. Her blue cat's eyes had gone stormy, opaque, shimmering with translucent colors and a warning.

His body tightened all over again. Natalya's warrior woman brought out the dominating male in him. He couldn't help it or the intense desire sweeping through him. "You need me."

Her eyes glowed with heat. "Back off, Vik, before you get into trouble. I feel her so close to you."

He reached out and caught her to him, standing up so the water pooled around his hips. "There is no other woman and there will never be another woman." The words hissed between clenched teeth.

"I feel her." Tears shimmered in her eyes and she tried to push him away with the flat of her hands.

He caught her wrists, seeing her very real distress.

"This makes no sense..." His voice trailed off. "Gabrielle." He whispered the name. "You feel Gabrielle, ainaak sivamet jutta. You feel Gabrielle calling to me." His thumb slid over her bare arm in a caress. "You cannot hold Gabrielle against me when you asked me to save her. You knew what it entailed."

She shook her head. "I didn't. I asked before I thought. I didn't know how it would make me feel to know she is there with you."

"Her spirit is light. She is uncertain whether she wishes to remain when her life will be

changed for all time. I am the holder of her spirit and I can give her freedom. Release her into the other realm. Is that what you wish?"

The tigress fought for supremacy, struggled to rule when jealousy ate at her.

"You are my heart and my soul. You are my woman. It is your body I wish to possess. Your body I fantasize about and your blood I wish to taste. I do not want you to feel afraid that I will betray you, especially after all you have given for me."

Natalya covered her face with her hands. "Stop! Don't tempt me. What a horrible person I am to even consider such a thing. Don't you dare allow her to slip away. I have every confidence in myself as a woman." That might be more bravado than she wanted to admit. Vikirnoff's appetites had not only surprised, but slightly shocked her. He had a way of making her so out of control, so filled with desire she would do anything for him and that not only was terrifying, but fascinating to her. "If you did betray me with another woman, I doubt I could hold the tigress in check."

"Lifemates cannot lie to one another. We are too often in each other's mind for a deception to be effective. I neither want nor need another woman." He drew her closer, pressing his body against hers. "They call us to the healing cave. Mikhail will convert Gabrielle and bring her into our world. Once it is safe, she will be put into the ground for several days to give the soil a chance to heal her. Joie and Traian, Gabrielle's kin, will have a chance to complete their journey to be here when she rises. I will no longer be needed." His arms went around her and he rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"I'll need you." She rubbed her hands down his back. "I'm sorry I'm not those perfect women."

"Perfect women?" He lifted his head to look down at her, confused as usual. He could never follow her train of thought and he even had the advantage of getting into her head. "I have no idea who you are talking about."

"June Cleaver and Donna Reed. Your pinup fantasy women." There was a bite in her voice, even when she tried to tease.

He groaned. "Are you ever going to let me off the hook? I do not want those women. Or any woman like them. I want you." His teeth bit into her shoulder in a small reprimand. "'Only you."

"I can hear the Carpathians calling us now. How many of them will be there?"

Vikirnoff heard the apprehension in her voice. Fighting vampires, coming into his world, being his woman, even making love to him for hours on end was undaunting to her, but meeting other Carpathians was frightening. She tried to hide it, but her body was pressed tightly against his and he could feel her trembling.

He carried her out of the water. They dried their bodies and dressed in the clothes

Vikirnoff wove for them. He provided her with her battle outfit, the one she was most comfortable wearing. She loaded up with weapons in silence and accepted the backpack from him, slipping it onto her shoulders before sliding her Amis sticks into the loops of the pack.

"Mikhail and his lifemate, Raven, will need to be present. I am certain Falcon and Sara will be there as well." He sent a question winging to the prince, waited for the answer and relayed it. "Mikhail said that Jubal is with Slavica watching over the seven children Falcon and Sara care for."

Natalya slipped her arm around his neck, as he shifted shape. "Not too many people. I can handle it." As they took to the night sky, with her clinging to his giant bird back, she hoped it was true. Colors dazzled her eyes. Everything, including her emotions seemed so much more acute. She was far more aware than she'd ever been, to the point where she actually had to experiment with turning down the volume in her ears to avoid hearing snippets of conversations as they flew over the village.

The healing cave was beautiful, made of crystals and flowing water. Heat and humidity blended together so at first Natalya found it heard to breathe. Ice-cold water flowed from one wall, dropping several feet into a hot mineral spring so that the steam was thick and white, floating above the shimmering water like clouds.

Gabrielle lay in the center, the earth already open to welcome her, the soil nearly black with richness. She looked pale, so still and white, Natalya's heart went out to her and she was ashamed of her earlier jealousy. She touched the other woman gently, determined to help Vikirnoff do whatever it took to save her.

Sara and Raven greeted Natalya with a hug and very welcoming smiles. The men greeted Vikirnoff by gripping his forearms in the way of the ancient warriors. Both Mikhail and Falcon bowed from the waist at Natalya with old-world courtesy. A third man stepped from the shadows, startling her so that she drew her sword before she realized he, too, was Carpathian.

"I did not mean to frighten you." If there was amusement on his face, it didn't show. The centuries spent in Brazil had given him a slightly different look. Aloof, aristocratic. Very handsome like his kin, but dressed in a completely different style, looking more like a wealthy rancher. "I am Manolito De La Cruz, at your service."

Natalya lifted her chin. "You didn't frighten me." She met the black eyes without flinching.

Mikhail turned away with a faint smile. "Manolito brought us news of a small group of Jaguar men committing atrocities against their women. His family believes they may be in league with the vampires. He also carried back the news of another Morrison laboratory and a very lethal poison they've developed to use against us."

Natalya turned to Vikirnoff, her eyes wide with apprehension. He moved closer to her, but didn't touch her, recognizing her need to feel strong. "Did you bring back a sample of the poison?"

Manolito shook his head. "I have the images sent from my brother. I have given them to the prince. Riordan broke down the compound and sent it to me to deliver to the Mikhail."

Mikhail knelt beside Gabrielle's still body and gestured for everyone else to take their places in a loose circle. "We must complete this before we lose her. Vikirnoff has guarded her spirit carefully for days, but he tells me she fades more with each rising."

Vikirnoff positioned himself at Gabrielle's head, his hands resting on either side of her. Natalya knelt beside him and merged her mind firmly with his. At once she touched Gabrielle's spirit. It was light and fragile, staying only because Vikirnoff kept her with them, refusing to allow her passing. He murmured to her softly, encouraging her as the others began the ancient healing chant and Mikhail bent to take her blood for the third exchange.

Merged so deep, Natalya felt Gabrielle wincing away, trying to be brave, but doubts and fears rose up in spite of Vikirnoff's comforting voice. Tears welled up in Natalya's eyes as she realized Vikirnoff had been soothing and comforting Gabrielle each time she was awake. I should have been helping you. I should have been there for you.

She was his partner and this keeping of Gabrielle's spirit hadn't been easy for him. He didn't have the connection to Gabrielle the others had, yet he had guarded her soul and refused to let her die. Natalya was determined to rectify her mistakes. She bent close to Gabrielle, brushing her own spirit against the other woman's.

You must cling to life. Natalya told Gabrielle. There are so many who fight for you. So many who love you. Do you have any idea how very precious that is? These people give of themselves freely to you. They offer life with them. Do you want to leave only out of fear? Fear can be overcome.

The answer was a small fluttering in Natalya's mind. In her heart and soul. Gary. A single name. A single cry of anguish.

He would want you to choose life. With life there is always a way. Take my hand. Take the blood your prince offers you and choose life.

I have heard the conversion is painful and I cannot bear more pain. It seems to have become my life. I don't have Gary or my sister here with me. I'm so afraid.

I will be with you. Vikirnoff will be with you, Natalya said.

As will I, Raven murmured it softly, connecting through the prince.

I am here, Sara added, connecting through Falcon.

We have all suffered the conversion and come through to the other side. We will be with you every moment.

Gabrielle opened her mouth and accepted the life-giving offering of the prince.