Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

silvery mist, incredibly beautiful, each drop a shimmering crystal prism. He felt the individual beads on his skin, and for the first time, the sensation was sensual. He opened his mouth and tasted rain, looking around him in wonder even as he opened his mind to share the precious gift she’d given him. He heard her gasp as she comprehended the enormity of their bonding. It was a sharing he had never expected to experience, and her presence heightened his body’s reaction.

    He breathed deep as blood rushed to his groin, as every nerve ending in his body went on alert and his skin seemed to sizzle just with the touch of the rain. Strangely, the parasites were quiet, almost as if they’d been as mesmerized by her presence as he was. The hideous whispers in his mind ceased completely.

    He allowed himself to just feel, to drink in her presence, to enjoy that moment of not being alone. They shared the same mind, and for that time, everything in him settled, was at peace. He could sense the rightness in her as well, although he knew she was horrified at the things she’d revealed to him about herself in their shared dreams. She was embarrassed that she’d been so vulnerable, that he’d seen that one side of herself she kept hidden from every other person in the world.

    I feel both honored and privileged to know you so completely—to know the woman, not just the warrior.

    A very male part of him rose up, dominant, protective, a hint of jealousy at the idea of another man uncovering her vulnerability. The woman belonged to him alone—as he did to her. The world could see the warrior in them both, but the man and the woman were an intimacy no other needed to know.

    Above, the last of the light faded away to shadow the land in complete darkness. Everything stilled—the rain forest holding its breath. There was no wind, yet a dark cloud moved fast through the canopy, the flutter of wings loud in the stillness of the descending night.

    Bats . Dominic hissed the warning in his mind. The undead are rising .

    From the tangled caverns formed by the finlike roots of the Kapok tree streamed thousands of tiny bats, answering the call of the masters . The ground erupted with ticks and armies of ants, swarming up the trees and over rocks.

    They will be hungry. Shift and hide, get to safety. It is unsafe to communicate this way. Any surge in power will alert them.

    He was on his feet, already moving fast, sliding into the familiar persona of a warrior unsurpassed. Being a lifemate was new to him, but this—this he knew how to do. He took to the air, streaking across the sky, a dark cloud among the dark clouds, the form of a thousand bats, all with fangs and claws, all ravenously hungry—as he was. He let his hunger amplify, heard the howling wind high above the canopy, protesting the unnatural things traveling across the sky. Any in their path would be destroyed. The animals went silent, the night predators slinking under cover. Lightning forked in the night sky, splitting it with whips of white-hot electricity. Thunder boomed, shaking the ground.

    Come to me, Dominic. There was a command in the male voice.

    A deep, strong voice of authority—a man used to instant obedience. Dominic recognized the voice. It had been so long ago. They had been friends of sorts, warriors together in the old days. He had much respect for the man and his amazing fighting skills.

    Zacarias. Leave this place.

    I will aid you. Word was sent of what you have done. You will need every aid possible for such a task. I am to the south, an old man walking alone by the river.

    Dominic felt the old camaraderie welling out of nowhere. He would die on this rising or the next and yet his lifemate had given him this powerful gift of emotion. He could feel, not just remember, how much he had enjoyed Zacarias with his quick intelligence and fierce fighting skills. He didn’t question that any vampire might mimic the oldest De La Cruz brother’s voice, the resonance was too perfect—no one could adequately portray the power of the man with just his voice alone.

    It would be good to see you, old friend, but dangerous. If the five could get their hands on you, they would probably be happier than if they managed to capture the prince. Dominic sent the warning, certain Zacarias was well aware the ones leading the vampire rising were the Malinov brothers. Once, the De La Cruz brothers and the Malinovs had been as close as family; now the Malinovs hated