Carpathian 23 - Dark Storm

vibrated from the floor. Waves of warmth radiated upward, and she started
     laughing, too. Carpathians definitely knew all about teasing. That realization eased
     her fears that her Dax could possibly become vampire. Evil creatures taunted, but
     they didn’t tease. Teasing was gentle, friendly. There was a difference. Somehow,
     she got the feeling that he wanted to touch her, even if he couldn’t physically be
     there right then. And somehow he had. Tingles coiled inside her and her shoulders
     relaxed.
    You called me your Dax.
    She stiffened. She had called him her Dax. She thought of him that way and she had no idea why.
    Yes, you know why.
    That voice could melt a glacier. If she didn’t quit she’d be tripping over her own
     tongue. “I am leaving. You”—she pointed to the ground—“stay there.” See? She could
     be funny, too. Laughing at her own joke, she exited the tent.
    Gary followed her out, and as they left the sound of Dax’s laughter faded, leaving
     her with a small empty feeling that she quickly tried to push aside. Riley stopped
     Gary with a hand on his arm. “How do we keep him from becoming a vampire?”
    Gary looked at her for a long time, obviously choosing his words carefully. “The Carpathians
     are born with a soul that must find its other half. The light to their darkness. Only
     that soul can restore colors and emotions and prevent a Carpathian male too long in
     the world without those things from turning. Without that one woman who is the other
     half of his soul, he will choose between giving up his soul and becoming the very
     thing he hunts, or he must seek the dawn and suicide. He must find his lifemate.”
    At the word her heart clenched. She pressed her hand over her heart, suddenly barely
     able to breathe, her mind racing. “Gary, what’s the Carpathian word for lifemate?”
    Gary looked her straight in the eye. “Päläfertiilam.”
    Riley slowly nodded her head, trying hard not to notice that her blood surged hotly
     at the word, or that her mind continually reached for Dax. She pressed her lips together
     to keep from smiling. “I understand.”
    “Do you?” Gary asked.
    She shrugged. “Not really, but I’m certain I’ll figure it out.”
    Outside the tent, ash blanketed everything. It was still falling through the canopy
     of trees, turning everything a snowy gray. Riley looked around, easily spotting Jubal
     and Ben along with some natives gathered around a central fire pit. The camp was surprisingly
     large. As she walked toward Jubal and Ben, another group of men came in from a trail
     off to her right.
    She spied Alejandro, one of their guides, along with Miguel, Hector, Don, and Mack
     Shelton. They were obviously one of the returning search parties, but since there
     was no sign of Marty or Pedro among their numbers, it seemed clear their search hadn’t
     been successful.
    Jubal approached. “Hey, Riley. Good to see you up and about. You feeling okay?”
    “I’m good, thanks.” She turned to watch the returning search party. “Gary told me
     Marty and Pedro went missing.”
    “Yeah. Looks like they still are. Can’t say if that’s good news or bad.”
    “Vampires like to play with their victims,” Gary explained in a quiet voice. “Turning
     people into walking puppets isn’t uncommon. If Mitro is the reason those two are missing,
     whoever finds them will probably get a very unpleasant surprise.”
    Riley spun around in shock. “Did you tell them that?” She nodded her head in the search
     party’s direction, lowering her voice so they wouldn’t hear.
    Gary and Jubal’s silence was all the answer she needed.
    “Why wouldn’t you tell them? If you’re sending out a search party and putting them
     in harm’s way, shouldn’t they know what they’re dealing with?” She scrubbed her hand
     over her face. “Gary, Jubal, how fair is that?”
    For the second time since waking, she felt the sensation of a warm hand touching her
     back, calming her and drawing the focus of her anger away from Jubal and Gary. She
     turned to glance behind her, but no one was there.
    “We considered it highly unlikely they’d find Marty or Pedro,” Gary said. “Before
     Dax went to sleep, he ran a preliminary search in a five-mile radius around the camp,
     and found nothing.”
    “Riley, you have to understand,” Jubal added when she continued to shake her head.
     “Gary and I swore an oath, to keep the Carpathians’ secrets at all cost and