Carpathian 06 - Dark Fire

snarled, exposing long, razor-sharp canines, but at least he wasn't sinking them into Barack's throat. The cat crouched low, vicious, its body frozen into utter stillness, only the tail twitching restlessly, angrily, back and forth. Barack lay under the cat, totally submissive, well aware of who had attacked him. The silence was filled only with his heavy breathing and the cat's snarling rage.
    "Darius." Tempest was a heartbeat from the cat's teeth. Cautiously she laid a hand on the heavily muscled back. Her voice was soft, warm honey. "I'm all right. Look at me. He didn't hurt me. He really didn't."
    A collective gasp went up, as much for her knowledge as for her courage. It was now obvious to all that she knew the identity of the great cat. Desari clenched Julian's hand in hers, suddenly afraid. No human could know of their existence and live. It placed them all in jeopardy. How did Tempest Trine know?
    Neither Darius nor Barack would have been so careless as to forget to expunge her memories. Yet how could they do such a thing as destroy the woman who had the courage to save one of their lives, as Tempest was clearly attempting to do?
    The black panther moved, ever so slightly shifting its weight, placing its neck beneath Tempest's palm.
    Please, Darius, I'm hanging on to my courage by a thread. Help me out. I want to get away from everyone. This is very frightening. All of it. And I don't understand it, so come to me and explain it. In spite of her determination to be brave, her hand was trembling as it lay on the great cat's back.
    Tempest felt Darius's control seeping slowly back into his mind, felt the man overcoming the beast's rage. The panther moved against her, inserting itself between her and the fallen man. It pushed her away from Barack's supine figure, farther even, toward the trees and away from the prying eyes of his family.
    Then the leopard padded behind her, directing her into the deeper woods, its walk so silent, she felt she could hear leaves falling.
    Back at the campsite the group released a long, collective sigh of relief. Dayan moved first, reaching down and pulling Barack to his feet. "Close call. What the hell did you do?" His voice was accusing. No one ever crossed Darius.

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    Barack held up his hands. "Nothing. I swear it. I was going to feed, that's all. Nothing else happened. He went berserk on me."
    Syndil's slender hand fluttered to her throat. "Could Darius be turning? Darius is never out of control.
    Could it be happening?"
    "No!" Desari cried out, somewhere between fear and outrage at the betraying thought. "No, Darius cannot turn. He is too strong."
    Julian slipped an arm around her waist, a slight grin on his face. "None of you know, do you? Darius has not turned. He will never turn. Not now. He has found his lifemate."
    "What are you talking about?" Dayan asked.
    "These things were never taught to you," Julian mused softly, more to himself than the others. "You were not raised among other Carpathians. What is often second nature to us is not even known to you." His grin widened. "It is not known to Darius. Life is about to become quite interesting around here, boys and girls."
    "Stop spouting nonsense, and tell us what you mean."
    Desari commanded, her soft, dark eyes beginning to smolder. "Should we be protecting Rusti?"
    "The only one safe is Tempest. Each Carpathian male must find the light to his darkness. It is his only salvation. Without that woman, his lifemate, he will eventually be forced to choose the dawn and eternal rest, or he will succumb to the madness of the undead and lose his soul for all time. Become vampire.
    There is only one woman for each male, one other half."
    "But Tempest Trine is human," Dayan objected. "This cannot be. We have been aware that there exists the other half of our heart, our soul, out there somewhere. A quest to find the proper mate must be made, as you found Desari, Julian. But Tempest is not a Carpathian."
    "There are a handful of human women," Julian answered slowly, "all having some form of psychic ability, who can be lifemates to Carpathians. No doubt Tempest Trine is one such female. She wandered into your midst seeking a job but was likely drawn to do so because she was connected to Darius," he explained. "Funny, is it not, how fate has a way of bringing two linked souls together? Do not attempt to intervene between them and, for God's sake, do not touch