Carpathian 12 - Dark Melody

time."
    With her new awareness, Corinne sensed when Dayan further distanced her from what was happening.
    As though in a dream, she observed one fingernail lengthening into a single long talon, dagger-sharp. He slit his chest, opening the heavy muscle, pressing her mouth to him so that his blood ran into her.
    She was astonished to find herself drinking almost ravenously, astonished to find she wasn't in the least repulsed. Strength seemed to pour into her body, a richness unlike anything she had ever experienced.
    This time she felt his power, felt the greedy way her cells and tissues absorbed the gift of life he was sharing with her.
    Dayan was holding her with exquisite tenderness, looking down at her as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world, a treasure, a priceless gift he was guarding. Corinne felt tears burning in her throat, in her eyes. He was so handsome, so tortured, his face etched with lines of worry and sorrow she had put there.
    "You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care." He whispered the last of the ritual words, binding them together in the Carpathian ceremony as old as time. The words were imprinted upon him and all other males even before they were born. Each male had the extraordinary ability to bind his lifemate to him for eternity.
    Corinne felt it immediately, her soul, her heart, even her mind, reaching for his. It was as if thousands of Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    threads were weaving them together, forming an unbreakable bond. She became even more aware of what was happening inside her body. Gregori was working hard to repair the damage to her disintegrating heart, while Darius was monitoring the baby for potential problems caused by the rich blood pouring into her body. Inside Corinne, organs and tissues were actually reshaping, and the same thing was happening to her daughter.
    Corinne knew the moment the richness and power became too much for the baby. She heard her own protest, made the effort of movement away from Dayan even as Darius gave him the command to stop. It was Julian who closed the wound on Dayan's chest with his own healing saliva. For a moment Corinne lay there, afraid to think or breathe, wrapped in the soothing quilt and the shelter of Dayan's strong arms.
    Her baby was struggling to survive. The blood was changing her tiny body too fast – it was uncomfortable and frightening for the infant. Corinne heard Darius whispering to the child, conveying images more than words. Beautiful, tranquil, soothing images.
    The child was aware of her environment deteriorating, of the changes taking place rapidly in her body.
    Corinne added her own voice to comfort her daughter. Dayan joined with her, merging them together, offering his love and comfort and commitment to the baby. And then Gregori joined them. Corinne was astonished at the power and strength emanating from Gregori, the skill he used to keep the baby from leaving the uncomfortable home she was dwelling in. The baby's body was hot, her insides on fire.
    Gregori soothed her and provided a cooling balm for the twisting pain.
    Corinne blinked rapidly as tears ran down her face. 'She's suffering because of me, what you're doing for me!' The cry was torn from her heart. 'It hurts her. I can feel that it hurts her!'
    At once her heartbeat was irregular, sounding loud and uneven in the cave. Desari reached around Dayan to squeeze Corinne's hand. "Corinne." Desari spoke aloud so the sound of her voice would be an anchor of calm. "Dayan's blood is the only thing keeping both you and the baby alive. Conversion is difficult on the body, and it is painful. Darius is doing what he can to minimize the baby's pain, and we are adding our strength to his, but we cannot take all of it away. Her body is tiny, and a small amount of blood will cause major changes in her. You have need of conversion. The repairs to your heart are not going to hold more than a day or two, perhaps only hours. The child will be born, and we must be ready for that. We are giving her time you can ill afford. With this blood, with her body changing, we hope her heart and lungs will be mature enough to withstand the outside world. It is a trade-off none of us are happy making, but it is deemed necessary."
    Dayan leaned down, his dark eyes moving lovingly over Corinne's face. "You cannot panic now, my love. We have chosen a path and have already embarked upon it. We are on the