Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

failures. Was that not far worse? Was that not an act of cowardice?\"
    Nicolas shook his head. \"I believe it was an act of desperation. I walked the streets this very night intending to meet the dawn, yet I did not trust myself to make it one last night. It is the way of our people, Mikhail. Every hunter faces that moment, yet we do not have the added burden of an entire species resting on our shoulders.\"
    Mikhail clapped him on the shoulder. \"We are flawed men, my old friend. Every last one of us. We sin and our women redeem us.\"
    Nicolas answered with a wry grin. \"That is the truth.\"
    \"Tell me of your life mate. Where did she come from? The Dragonseeker blood runs strong in her.\"
    Nicolas\'s white teeth flashed in a real smile, one that lit his eyes. \"She is the daughter of Razvan, and she is amazing. I cannot even begin to describe the way I feel inside. I barely know her, but I want to spend every moment with her. She just came out of nowhere at the perfect moment and saved my life, my sanity and my soul. I look around and I don\'t know how I survived all these centuries without her. The world is alive again for me. I had forgotten the beauty of nature. In truth, I had forgotten what it feels like to truly love my brothers.\"
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    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    Mikhail let out his breath. \"Another child with Dragonseeker blood is most welcome. As for the joy of life mates, I have had Raven in my life for many years now, and yet each time I awaken from the earth, I am overwhelmed anew by the gifts she has given me.\"
    Nicolas cleared his throat. \"I am uncertain that my life mate sees a reason to be with me.\"
    \"There is no reason for our women to be with us other than the way we are able to bind them. They are light to our darkness and the darker our souls, the stronger the woman must be. Guard your life mate well, Nicolas.
    She is a treasure beyond price.\"
    Nicolas turned Mikhail\'s words over in his mind. There was no reason for their women to accept them other than the binding words that locked their souls together. His hold on Lara was fragile at best. He needed time to establish his bond, to form some sort of trust between them, although truthfully, he felt she should follow his lead without question.
    He glanced around him, feeling the subtly flowing influence, the focus of the crystals, the energy of the cavern with the magma flowing far beneath it and the snow gathering a thousand feet above. Nicolas spread his arms wide. \"And this place of power. I had forgotten the beauty of this cave. And the clarity one has when in it.\"
    Mikhail nodded. \"There is no other place on earth quite like this. Ice and fire meet as one. Passion and control. The earth always holds the answers for our species.\" He looked around him at the wondrous display of nature. \"Hopefully we will come closer to finding answers this night.\"

Chapter 5
    As Mikhail spoke the Daratrazanoff brothers arrived. Four of them. All tall with striking looks, flowing black hair held back with leather ties. Faces cut from the same classic mold. Wide shoulders, broad chests, narrow hips, a warrior\'s straight posture and easy, fluid movements.
    Darius, the youngest brother, every bit as battle-experienced as the eldest. Intelligent, cunning, able to do the impossible. He had the black eyes of the Carpathian race, and the grim mouth that came with too much knowledge of death. Beside him were Lucian and Gabriel, legendary twins who had hunted and battled for the Carpathian people. Gabriel flashed a smile of greeting as he clasped arms with Nicolas. Lucian and Darius remained expressionless, although their eyes held genuine warmth when they greeted their prince.
    The very petite woman beneath Lucian\'s shoulder was his life mate, Jaxon. Pixie face, short platinum hair, dark shrewd eyes, she had been a cop, maybe even still was, but now hunted the vampire alongside her life mate. Nicolas disagreed violently with the modern idea that women-even trained women with the ability to fight-should ever be allowed to place themselves in danger, but Jaxon wasn\'t his woman. She belonged to Lucian, their most legendary warrior, and yet he allowed her to fight beside him. Perhaps it was sheer arrogance on the warrior\'s part, a confidence that he could protect his life mate no matter what, but Nicolas felt she should be kept far away from the vile creature that was the undead.
    Women were to be protected and cherished, not put at risk on a