Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

hard with a frightening crunch just as Nicolas yanked his arm back. A terrible sucking sound made Lara\'s stomach churn, but she fought back the need to get sick. The werewolf\'s teeth sank hard and deep, hitting the titanium collar. The vampire roared as its teeth shattered into pieces and the heart was drawn completely from its rotted cavern. He lumbered after Nicolas, who was backpedaling, throwing the blacked organ onto the snow and calling down the lightning at the same time.
    Thunder cracked and a white-hot bolt of energy slammed into the heart, incinerating it, and then jumped to the vampire. He glowed, burst into orange-red flames, sending noxious fumes into the air. The vampire burst into ashes, and Nicolas directed the energy bolt to burn everything until it disappeared. Only then did he sag a little, reaching into the energy to bathe away the acid blood from his arms and chest.
    He turned toward her, his expression a dark mask, his eyes brooding, hooded, concealing his thoughts as he took a step. Nicolas staggered and recovered. Lara stood up slowly, her entire body shaking. There was blood everywhere, and he had wounds on his face, chest, abdomen and back. How he could be standing, she didn\'t know.
    He glanced skyward, and leapt the distance between them, crowding her body behind his as he faced the trails of mist forming out of the lightly falling snow. The mist began to shimmer and a tall man with nearly waist-length black hair came striding out of the snow.
    \"Nicolas?\"
    Page 110

    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    The black eyes took in the wounds as well as Lara pushed behind him. The gaze jumped from her red-gold banded hair to her eyes swirling between green and blue.
    \"I did not recognize the vampire, Vikirnoff,\" Nicolas said. \"He was fairly young. No more than three or four hundred years old. Why are they turning so young?\"
    Natalya was quickly making her way to stand by Vikirnoff. She always was near her life mate, especially if a vampire was in the area. Nicolas didn\'t want the couple there. It was petty of him and made him feel ashamed and even stupid that he wanted more time alone with Lara. He had always been so self-assured, but now he feared losing her, feared she would leave him-or stay with him because of the life mate bond, but never find it in her heart to love him.
    It was pitiful to think that he wanted love from her. He had been self-sufficient all of his life and it made him angry to think he needed her. Yet here he was afraid-afraid-she would ask sanctuary from her kin.
    Nicolas turned to Lara and held out his hand. \"Let me take a look at your injuries.\" He pulled her to him and lifted the hem of her sweater.
    Lara caught at his wrist and glanced toward the strangers, obviously uncomfortable. \"The fire spear cauterized the wounds for the most part. I lost a little blood, but not enough to worry about, especially once I packed it with soil. But you\'re a mess.\" She touched his face with gentle fingers.
    Fél ku kuuluaak sivam belso. Beloved, allow me to see. I must heal you before I can see to my own injuries.
    Give me a minute. Her fingers sought his, tangled and held on.
    Nicolas tried not to be so happy about her clinging to him. He brushed his lips against her forehead before performing the introductions aloud. \"Lara, this is Vikirnoff and his life mate, Natalya. She is your blood-kin.\"
    It set his teeth on edge that he was so petty that he rejoiced she was distressed in the company of her father\'s sister, but he couldn\'t help the rush of satisfaction. Nor could he help the need to heal her wounds without a moment\'s delay. It hurt to see her injured. He swung around to face her, his palm sliding beneath her sweater to press his hand over the wound. At once heat leapt from him to her. Startled, she looked up at him with her enormous green eyes and he felt dizzy-drowning.
    It was a strange feeling to be so off balance and he didn\'t like it much.
    Nicolas slid his hand away as fast as he\'d touched her, stepping to her side so that he could draw her beneath his shoulder, one hand sliding around to her back where his fingers snaked beneath the sweater to lay over the wound.
    Natalya stared at her twin\'s daughter, her eyes filling with tears. \"You look like him-like me-us.\" She leaned back against Vikirnoff for comfort. \"I\'m Natalya, Razvan\'s twin sister.\"
    Lara swallowed the ball of fear blocking her throat, locking her body so she didn\'t stumble back and