Carpathian 03 - Dark Gold

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    was enormously strong. "It will be taken care of."
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    "You said vampires can't take the dawn! Who else would hurt him? He's just a little boy, Aidan.
    Bring him back to the house!" Her voice was veering out of control, bordering on hysteria.
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    "Joshua needs to live a normal life. Nothing will harm him. Vinnie and Rusty, very reliable bodyguards, will protect him. Joshua is not like us, Alexandria. He remains in the world of humans. We must return to the house and the sleeping chamber until the sun begins to sink."
    
    She hated his voice. So gentle, so compelling, mesmerizing her into doing anything he wanted.
    So reasonable, while she was out of control. He appeared not to notice her struggles, her hysteria. He made her feel her protests were childish, her behavior unreasonable. She took a deep breath and fought to regain control. "Let go, Aidan. I'm all right now."
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    "I think I will hold you just a bit longer, piccola . I am in your mind, and I know that you seek to deceive both of us with your false composure. Relax, now, just breathe with me, and you will see that I have taken care of everything. Joshua will be safe with the arrangements I have made."
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    "I don't think you quite understand," she enunciated distinctly. "I am Joshua's sister. I am the one to decide what is safe for him or not. I want him with me."
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    "He cannot be with you, Alexandria. It is impossible," Aidan said patiently. His thumb found the frantic pulse at her throat and gently stroked it. "Joshua will remain in school."
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    "It isn't your affair. I want him home."
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    "Do you think arguing with me is going to change what is? You are what you are, cara mia .
    There is nothing that can be done." When she tried to move away from him, his arm prevented her escape.
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    "This arrangement is not going to work, Aidan. I refuse to allow you to dictate what I can or can't do with Joshua. It isn't your business." Furious, she strained harder to get away from him, but she was beginning to feel so very tired.
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    Aidan cradled her head against his chest, his hand wrapped around her throat, her life's pulse beating into his palm. "There is no way for you to live apart from me, Alexandria, and in your heart you know it is true. Perhaps that is why you struggle so desperately. You are not yet ready to surrender your freedom into my keeping."
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    "I hate you." He didn't understand at all. From a very early age, she had been forced to take control of situations. She was used to it now. Liked it. She was good at it. Having someone else dictate her actions, tell her what she could or couldn't do, was terrifying. And she feared that Joshua was slowly but surely being taken from her.
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    She made herself go limp, and she did what Aidan said. Breathed in. Breathed out. She felt the familiar push at her mind and tried to resist it. But even that was not something she could control any longer. He was too familiar with her blocks, her defenses. She blanked her mind, picturing a chalkboard and erasing everything that came across it.
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    Cara, trust me a little longer. I know what is best for Joshua. He will have to learn to face some things on his own, just as Marie and Stefan and their children have had to do.

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    Bodyguards will ensure that he is safe .
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    She did not respond. Where had her life gone? How had things gotten so crazy? So out of control? Perhaps Aidan had simply hypnotized her, and all the things that were happening were merely tricks her mind was playing on her. Or the truth could be even worse. If he was a vampire, if vampires existed, and the legends and tales were true, he could make her his slave.
    Make her do anything. She had to find out if Aidan spoke the truth or if she was under some spell.
    
    She feared now that she had stayed because every time his golden eyes rested on her with possession and need, she had melted inside, had wanted him, wanted someone to feel that intensity for her. Sex. Had she allowed him to try to separate Joshua from her for sex? God, she hated herself. Hated what she had become. She needed to find a doctor. A psychiatrist. None of this could possibly be real. She belonged in a padded cell. She needed help. Desperately.
    
    The car pulled into the garage, but it was still not dark enough for her vulnerable eyes. Stefan opened her door, holding out a hand to