Seduced by Darkness (The Seduced Saga)(11)

"No, you have to kiss me."

So I did, deeply, passionately, wishing we could go back to that night we let go of our inhibitions, but Ana toddled into the living room and squealed, "Daddy's going to fly!" and so we pulled away from each other, grinning.

I bent down to pick up our child, who patted my cheeks. "Mommy is sad, but I'll be here to make her happy."

I kissed her pudgy face and smiled. "You do make me happy, my little muffin. Now say goodbye to Daddy. He's going to learn how to be an angel."

She leapt into his arms and kissed him, then wrapped her little arms around his neck. "Daddy’s already an angel."

She pulled back and grinned. "Daddy, will you take me flying? I want to fly too!"

He laughed. "We'll see."

Beleth showed up at the door and stood like a dark statue made of ebony. Ana looked at him, wide-eyed. "That man has lots of pain," she whispered.

Beleth's lips twitched, and I could tell he heard her even without reading his mind.

I'd been trying to stay out of Drake's mind, but his thoughts floated to me and I knew he was worried about losing control around us, about hurting us. As much as I hated him leaving I hoped this training would give him the confidence to control his powers and know we were safe with him.

We'd already gone through too much in the past with his powers for this to come between us again. I couldn't deal with that; I refused to deal with that.

After Drake left, I took Ana for a walk to find Luke and Lucy and the four of us sat by the lake throwing stones into the water and watching them ripple over the smooth surface.

"Remember when we'd do this back at Rent-A-Kid?" I asked.

Luke grinned. "Back when life was simple."

"Ha! Our lives have never been simple," said Lucy as she threw a stone.

"Back when your hair was long," I said, tweaking her short brown bob.

Lucy pulled Ana onto her lap and gave her a smooth stone, showing her how to throw it. "But we didn't have this little angel with us then, did we?"

It had felt normal for a moment, throwing stones with my two best friends. But when I looked at Ana I remembered something I'd been trying to forget.

She had Nephilim blood in her, just like Drake.





NINE





To Be Most Happy





ROSE





If it were now to die,

'Twere now to be most happy, for I fear

— William Shakespeare, Othello




DEREK HEALED. I held his hand as his body stitched itself back together with the magic from his Druid roots and Shifter genes.

I couldn't stay mad at him, not with this. Not with what we'd just seen. As soon as he could walk on his own, we left the infirmary and went outside.

The cool air chilled my skin, making bumps appear on my bare arms. Derek draped his arm over my shoulders and held me close to him. I clung to his torn shirt, hiccupping a cry that I'd been holding back. "I was so scared. So scared he'd kill you, but I couldn't shift, couldn't do anything. Nothing worked. I had no control over any of my powers. I'm so sorry!"

He tilted my chin up and gazed into my eyes. "It's not your fault. And besides, you saved Sam. You made the Beast leave."

I shook my head. "I don't know what happened. It didn't make sense. None of this makes sense."

He kissed me, which shut me up. And I kissed him back, happy to be lost in his arms, tasting him and holding him and feeling him against me.

He pulled back and wiped a tear from my eye. "Does this mean we've made up?"

I considered a moment. "We still have things to talk about, but I can't fight with you anymore. Life is too short. Too fragile."

"I love you, Rose. I'd do anything for you. Anything."

"Then can you support me in my practice with Talon. I have to learn to control what I can do. It could get me killed if I don't. I need to train. Tonight."

I didn't want to leave him again, but I had no choice. We didn't know how long we'd have before the Beast came back for Round 2 and I needed to be ready.

"Can I join you?"

His request surprised me, but I nodded. "Sure. It's not as exciting as it sounds, so be prepared. Talon made a tent outside in the woods, said he'd feel too trapped in the mansion. I'm heading there now if you want to come."

In truth I was glad he came with me. It comforted me knowing neither of us would be alone tonight.

Talon had made a camp fire in front of his tent and sat meditating into the flames. He looked much like he did the first night I met him.

I sat across the fire and Derek sat with me.

I jumped straight into my worries. "I couldn't shift tonight. The Beast attacked and I couldn't do anything. I need to get better."

"I am sorry I was not in attendance," he said in a gravely voice, looking up from the flames. "I've been isolated too long to mix well in crowds. But I would have only been in the way. I was injured long ago," he said, his eyes taking a far away look and his voice dipping into a cadence of oral storyteller that had been lost in our print and digital time. "I once had a family like Derek's. A pack of Shifters. I was the eldest and it was my duty to defend the pack and teach them. We were attacked once, by hunters. I did what I could to save them all, but it wasn't enough. My family was slaughtered. It was that day that I shifted into something other than wolf. I transformed into a giant elk and killed the hunters with my horns. But when I turned back, I was not myself." He pointed to the horns on his head. "For days I writhed in pain and agony, until I taught myself to control my form bit by bit. Unfortunately, I learned too slowly and I was weakened because of it. In the years to come I mastered more and more of my powers, but never regained my physical strength, and often I retained a feature of an animal I struggled to control."