Carpathian 17 - Dark Celebration

birth."
    "Alexandria is in the kitchen. Joshua and Josef invented a high-speed mixer to help her prepare the dish she is making for tonight's event. I think they wanted out of peeling potatoes. You will have to come in and meet her, although she's a little anxious about meeting you."
    "Me?" Mikhail scowled. "Why would she fear meeting me?"
    "I have heard you can be intimidating," Aidan said with a small grin.
    Mikhail's smile was slow in answering. "These women." He shook his head, then paused, looking suddenly hopeful. "Unless it was Josef…" He watched the furious battle taking place on the television screen. Alexandria's brother Josh, curls bouncy on his head as he used a controller, laughed aloud as his character did a backflip over Josef's character. Josef, directing his character with his mind, had the man whirling around so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet.
    "Alexandria came up with this game? It is good practice for Josef—for any of our people," Mikhail said. "How did she think of such a thing?"
    "Josh and I like to play video games together and we make poor Alex watch us all the time. She still does graphics for a video company and when she realized I could direct the characters with my mind, she came up with this game for Josh and me as a Christmas gift."
    "She is a very intelligent woman. Are you thinking of marketing these games?"
    "Yes. So many of the others have seen it and wanted it. Alexandria already has ideas for a couple more of them. Because we have Josh, who is human, and Falcon and Sara have the seven children they adopted, she is planning to set the game up to be able to use controllers if necessary. It gives us one more thing we can interact with and appear human. We'll be able to play online with one another as well."

    "It is a wonderful idea. Hopefully, it will help bring us all closer when we live such distances apart." Mikhail rubbed his jaw. "I need to speak to your brother about Dimitri. As I recall, Julian and Dimitri were fairly good friends in their youth."
    "Yes they were," Aidan said. "Is Dimitri here?"
    "He has come from the forests of Russia to join us, yet he remains in the form of a wolf most of the time and is prowling the woods. If you see Julian before I do, have him make contact. I believe he knows Dimitri better than any other Carpathian. They may have even exchanged blood after a battle. I want Dimitri monitored while he is in such close proximity to our women."
    Aidan's head went up alertly. "You are concerned that Dimitri has turned?"
    "We can no longer count on reading minds and feeling the disturbance of power or evil.
    The vampires could very well send an enemy into our camp. I do not believe Dimitri has turned, but I am concerned that he is struggling. With so many women close to him, it is possible he will have the necessary hope to continue his struggle, or it will push him in the wrong direction. It is just better to be careful."
    "He has long battled the vampires alone in his area," Aidan agreed. "Too many kills so often take its toll on the hunter."
    Mikhail sighed. "I cannot save them all, Aidan."
    "No, but you do what is necessary for saving our people, Mikhail, and that is all you can ask of yourself. Come meet my lifemate."
    Mikhail followed Aidan down the long hall toward the kitchen. "Raven asked me to play Santa Claus. St. Nick. You know, the character in the red suit with the long white beard."
    Aidan halted so abruptly that even with his graceful, flowing strides, Mikhail nearly ran into him. "You are going to play Santa Claus?"
    Mikhail shook his head, wicked amusement gleaming in his eyes. "That is what my sonin-law is for."
    "Gregori?" Aidan's white teeth flashed. The clouds shifted and the light from the moon spilled across the Carpathian turning his hair and eyes to an ancient, antique gold. "I have to be there when you tell him."
    "I suspect his house will be overrun with spiders, mice and a few birds," Mikhail said with evident satisfaction. "I would enjoy meeting your very talented lifemate. Lead the way.
    Just the thought of Gregori in that ridiculous getup has lightened my mood considerably.
    Alexandria will not find me in the least intimidating."
    Aidan hesitated, his hand on the door. "Alexandria first knew of our race through the vampires. She was captured along with her little brother. The vampire chained her and fed on her, wanted her to kill her brother and both would feed on him. She still has nightmares.
    I catch echoes of