Gary shrugged. “I didn’t say I thought it was too risky, only that it is a flawed system. There are weaknesses and they have to be addressed if all of you want to be safe.”

Dragomir noticed the healer had said “all of you.” He hadn’t included himself as if it didn’t matter one way or another that he was safe. It hadn’t to Dragomir before he’d found Emeline. He knew it still didn’t to Sandu, Andor or Ferro. He looked around at the other ancients. So many without lifemates. The burden of an entire species fell squarely on the shoulders of a very few couples.

“Emeline wishes to remain here. She wants to have a home here near her friends,” Dragomir said. “She will go with me if I choose to leave, but she would much rather be here. I would like to buy property bordering this one and add to the compound. I would also like to go through the entire compound with you, Gary and Tariq, to see if some of these weaknesses can be addressed.”

Tariq inclined his head. “I’m grateful you wish to stay. Blaze would have a difficult time without Emeline. Already, Maksim has said, she’s been very sad that their relationship has deteriorated. I’m aware it was necessary, or at least Emeline thought it was, but it is difficult for a Carpathian male to see his lifemate unhappy.”

Dragomir was instantly aware Tariq was warning him. It was imperative he keep Emeline from Amelia, but Emeline wouldn’t be happy about it. “I understand, or I’m beginning to. Still, I can do no other than what my nature dictates to me. Emeline must be out of the line of fire. Healer” – his thoughtful gaze rested on the man – “is it possible that if we try together, we could rid this child of the splinter?”

“We have no idea of the location. He would know before we did that we were close. If he thought we were there to extract the splinter, he would attack and kill her.”

“We do have a location. The splinter must be in her brain. It is directing her actions.”

Gary frowned in contemplation. “I still don’t see how we could sneak up on it.”

“Divert his attention,” Sandu said. “Go in to heal her and check it out.”

“I will think on this,” Gary said. “In the meantime, before the night fades, I need to hunt.”

Dragomir agreed. “I need more blood as well. The night is fading and the healing soil will be welcome.”

“I will plant the story with Amelia,” Tariq said. “Give me the location of the lair.”

It was Ferro who supplied it, pushing the information into Tariq’s mind. “We will hunt near there and take him down when the sun is rising.”

Tariq shook his head. “That’s cutting it too close. Do you have a death wish? You’ll fry in the sun.”

Sandu shrugged. “I’ve fried before. We all have. As old as we are, with not so much as a whisper to tempt us, it is the sun we defy. Our defiance comes at a high price.”

“Yet you still take the chance.”

“We are hunters first,” Andor pointed out. “Hunters hunt. There is little left for us. Hunting is something we can do.”

Tariq nodded. “Go, then. It will be natural for me to visit all the children before we go to bed. I’ll have Charlotte with me and just out of Amelia’s room, where she can hear. I’ll let slip the plan to attack the lair at first rising.”

“You will need someone at least a little resistant to Vadim’s compulsions watching her. Otherwise the children aren’t safe. Vadim might use the opportunity to force her to kill one of them,” Dragomir said. “I know that’s not something you want to think about, but it is a very real possibility and one I think Vadim would choose. He would want the girl to know what she was doing, but be unable to stop herself.”

Tariq nodded. “I hoped he would wait, fearing she might get caught and then she’d be of no use to him.”

“Hoping when lives are at stake is a poor choice,” Gary said. “Find a reason to lock her up.” He pushed away from the others, closing down, the weight of his ancestors on his back and in his mind. He strode away from them without another word, his movements fluid, his body rippling with muscle beneath the thin material of his clothing.

Dragomir watched him go, sadness settling. Eighteen or twenty years in Carpathian time was nothing, a blink, no more – or it was centuries of endless waiting for a lifemate. Sandu, Andor and Ferro were at that other end. Gary was clearly there. It mattered little that he’d been reborn into their world; the ancients had poured themselves into him and now he carried every single one of their memories. The man was living in hell. Twenty years would be more than a few lifetimes for him waiting for his lifemate to grow up.

“How many men do you have working for you? Human men that you can trust.”

“There are twenty in my security team that I trust. I’ve taken their blood so I can monitor them at will, but more than that, I’ve looked into their minds and the men I see are honest, loyal and capable. I respect them,” Tariq said. “There are a few others but they’re relatively new and I’m not certain of them yet.”

“How many there?”

“Another seven. I’ve taken their blood, know they live by their word, but haven’t seen them in battle against vampires. The first time human fighters see the undead in action, especially in their true form, it is… disconcerting. That’s when I know whether they’ll be able to handle it. I wipe their minds clean if they can’t. These are good men and valuable assets.”

Dragomir nodded. He had never considered drawing humans into their fight. Humans had always seemed very vulnerable. Tariq had always had the reputation of being fascinated by them. He spent a great deal of his time with them. He’d studied them, and now, he surrounded himself with them. He fit into their world with ease.

Dragomir wasn’t the kind of man to dismiss an idea just because he wasn’t comfortable with it. He’d seen the security force in action and they’d helped tremendously. They hadn’t flinched in the face of the enemy, and Vadim had brought a strong force with him. The weapons they’d developed were impressive. Matt Bennett had been a huge help in the battle with Vadim.

“The Waltons. I’ve seen them on the property,” Dragomir admitted, “but I avoided them. Who are they? Are they capable of defending this place?”

Tariq smirked a little, his warning to Dragomir of the answer. “Both were in the service. That’s where they met. They lived for years together as survivalists. They can handle guns and, in fact, have quite an arsenal in their home now. They’ve lived on the estate for a few years, before the children. They were gracious enough to say they would help with defense.”

Dragomir had to admit, Tariq hadn’t just gathered a group of humans and brought them under his protection without thought.

“You didn’t have problems convincing them vampires exist?”

“They were already aware. No one believed them.”

Dragomir nodded. “I see. Still, you realize, even with training, these people will always be at a disadvantage. Vampires can easily take over their minds.”

“Not with shields in place. I got the idea from the De La Cruz family in South America. They have ranches in various countries and human people, people loyal to them, take care of the ranches in their absence. The families know about them and protect them during daylight hours. The family members, throughout generations, began to be born with natural shields. I thought it would be a decent idea to gather my own force.”

Dragomir had heard of the families protecting the De La Cruz brothers. He hadn’t considered the idea good or bad. Now, he thought this was another reason why Tariq was a leader. His thinking had far-reaching consequences. He’d planned for his human army. He’d bought up land. He’d gathered other like-minded Carpathians and they had begun the task of setting up compounds in other places, much like the stronghold of the prince in the Carpathian Mountains.

“Perhaps I was wrong about your weakness, Tariq,” he ventured, still not quite convinced. Yet, he couldn’t have kept the vampires from inflicting a terrible blow on the compound without the help of the security force. There were too few Carpathians and too many vampires in the United States. It was a big territory to cover. Matt Bennett, the head of the security force, had delayed Vadim enough for Dragomir to complete his task and return to confront the master vampire. He’d even managed to get a piece of Vadim’s heart and that had to have weakened him just a bit.