"Don't let her looks deceive you," Fen warned. "She's Carpathian, from a very powerful lineage, and she is a warrior born and bred."

Zev nodded his head. "She moves like water flowing over rock, so fluid and graceful," he said. "I have to meet her, Fen." He looked over his shoulder at his pack. Some were eating. A couple of the hunters were drinking, and Daciana danced with a Carpathian male. "Now, Fen," he added urgently. "I want to meet her now."

Zev wishes to meet Bronnie, Tatijana. I know she came here for you, to make certain you were all right, and she's terribly shy around so many people, but would it be okay to bring him over?

We're trying to make a good impression on the Lycans, Tatijana said, so I guess we can hardly refuse. I'll let Bronnie know you're bringing him over.

I heard, Branislava said. I'm not that fragile. Truly. She turned her head and looked over at them.

"Sure," Fen said. "Let's go before everyone swamps her. She'll be surrounded in another minute."

Zev let out his breath. "I'm not exactly suave with the ladies."

"That's just as well. Look around you. Every one of those men will be defending her if they think you're a player. This is a tight-knit group."

"I'll chance it," Zev said, once more pulling off his gloves and tucking them inside his jacket pocket. "That's a woman worth getting killed over."

Fen knew both Branislava and Tatijana heard the whispered remark. Their hearing was far too acute even with the wealth of conversations and music around them. Tatijana's sudden grin gave them away as they exchanged a quick telling look.

"Bronnie," Fen greeted.

She turned fully to face him. Fen took her into his arms, grateful that she had come for Tatijana. He hugged her close. "It's so wonderful to see you like this. You made the evening complete for Tatijana. She really wanted you with her."

"I'm happy to come," Branislava said. "I could feel her happiness, Fen."

Be careful, Bronnie. Zev is Lycan and must believe Fen is as well, Tatijana cautioned.

I may have been recouping beneath the earth, sister, but I can assure you, I have a good grasp on what these people would do to my brother-kin should they find out what he is.

Fen wanted to smile at the fierceness in Branislava's tone. She was ready for combat should anyone attack her sister's lifemate. Yet she turned to Zev with a smile that could melt entire glaciers.

"Branislava, this is my friend, Zev," Fen introduced them. "He's an elite hunter for the Lycans."

"How lovely to meet you," Bronnie said, extending her hand. "Any friend of Fen's is certainly welcome here."

Zev took her fingers in his hand and gallantly lifted them to the warmth of his mouth. Lycan sense of smell was very acute and Branislava's enticing scent was so alluring he found himself entranced by her. Nearly hypnotized. It shocked him that he could be so completely mesmerized when he had been shaped and trained from the time he was a child to be a killer.

He'd been taught a woman could be a warm body or comfort, but was of little use to his role as a hunter. His entire focus was on hunting and destroying the threats to the Lycans.

"I'm honored to meet you," he said, looking into her eyes.

Staring into those deep pools of emerald green, he felt himself falling. A man could get lost there. He knew better than to spend one more moment in her company, but he couldn't resist that sensual allure. The feel of her bare skin, even if it was her fingers, set his heart racing. Her skin was satin-soft, but so warm in the coolness of the evening it shocked him. She seemed to burn from the inside out, which only made him wonder just how hot she would burn for a man she loved.

"I am not the most elegant of dancers, but I would love to dance with you," he said.

The words came out of their own accord. Frankly, he was shocked at the invitation. He certainly hadn't come over to her with the idea of asking her to dance. He'd make a fool of himself the moment he stepped out on the dance floor, but the thought of holding her in his arms, her body close to his, was more than he could resist.

"I would love that," she answered, with an elegant nod of her head. "But I must warn you, sir, I do not dance either. I have never danced."

You don't have to do that, Fen said. You're a great ambassador for the Carpathians, but you aren't required to dance with him.

I think I will enjoy it, Branislava admitted, astonished.

She really does want to do this, Fen, Tatijana added. She seemed as surprised as her sister.

"Never?" Zev's eyebrow shot up.

What the hell was wrong with the Carpathian males? He couldn't imagine why this woman was unattached. He hadn't been able to bring himself to let go of her hand. Afraid she might change her mind, he led her to the dance floor. The moment he wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her in close to him, he knew he was lost.

She fit into him perfectly, melting into his body, so that when they moved they appeared to be one body, not two. She matched his steps intuitively, as if they had been dancing forever together. Her hair was silk against his face, strands catching in the dark shadow along his jaw, tangling them together, and he found he wanted them to stay like that. He swore, even the beat of his heart matched hers.

He knew he shouldn't hold her so close, or so possessively, but he felt possessive of her. He didn't want the music to ever end. His life was one of battles, of killing, cold nights out in the open, horrendous wounds, blood and death. It wasn't holding a beautiful woman in his arms, drifting around the dance floor in a mixture of desire and pleasure.

"I thought you didn't know how to dance," he murmured against her ear. Even her little shell-like ear was beautiful. He had it bad, whatever "it" was. He wanted to sweep the hair off her neck and press featherlight kisses all over her soft skin.

"You apparently are a very good leader," she whispered. "You're so very easy to follow."

Her voice wrapped him in intimacy, making him forget for a moment that they were not alone and other couples-including Tatijana and Fen-danced on the same small dance floor. Branislava was lethal and he had no defense against her. If it was possible for a Lycan to fall for a Carpathian, he was well on his way, and it was forbidden, especially for an elite hunter.

He pulled her closer until her body imprinted on his. Hot. So hot. She burned through his clothes-his skin-every muscle in his body until she was branded in his very bones. No, deeper still. Like molten lava she flowed into him through his pores, until her brand found his heart and then his soul. Until he belonged to her. Body. Heart. Mind. And his lost soul.

The music ended and his heart nearly stopped. She smiled up at him and he had no choice but to wrap his arm around her waist and escort her from the floor, back to the corner where he'd first found her talking to her sister. The far corner. Farthest from where the Lycans held casual conversations with the Carpathians.

"Thank you, Branislava," he said. "You certainly can cast a spell."

She blinked several times and he wondered if he'd said something wrong.

He doesn't know about our mage background, Bronnie, Tatijana hastily explained. He means he finds you very attractive.

Strangely, I find him very attractive.

"I really enjoyed dancing with you," Branislava admitted. "Tatijana told me it was like floating. I could hear the music right through my body."

And his heart, matching the rhythm of mine, Tatijana, she added in wonder.

Branislava searched his face. It was a strong face. Lines etched deep, telling her he'd seen war. His eyes fascinated her. They were wolf eyes, pure and simple. They showed his piercing intelligence. There was no disguising the predator in him. When he locked onto his prey he would be merciless and unswerving. Right now, in the room with Carpathian hunters only feet away, those eyes were wholly focused on her.

She should have been frightened, but she was more intrigued. She might be shy around people-she'd never been around them before-but she would defend herself and her family with everything she was, every weapon in her arsenal.

"You're a beautiful dancer," Zev said. "I hope we get the chance to do this again soon."

"Me, too," Branislava said, meaning it.

She slipped away from him, back to her sister. At once the Carpathians seem to close ranks around her. Zev observed her for a few minutes, all too aware Fen was watching him.

"I understand now, why you have chosen to become friends with these people," Zev said with a sigh. "Tatijana and her sister are beautiful women."

"Yes they are," Fen agreed.

"You know it is forbidden. We are to avoid the Carpathian people just for this reason. We can't take the chance of falling in love with one."

Fen not only heard the reluctance in Zev's voice, but felt it as well. "Carpathian men and women don't have the luxury of falling in love until they meet their lifemate," he explained. "A Lycan might fall in love with a Carpathian, but he or she couldn't or wouldn't reciprocate. There is only one."

"I still don't understand."

"I've learned that they are literally two halves of the same whole. The soul of the male contains the darkness needed and the soul of the female the light. The ritual binding words are imprinted on the male before birth. When he finds the woman with the other half of his soul, he recognizes her, says the words and they are bound. There are no others. If one dies the other follows."

"So even if it wasn't forbidden, you're saying she's out of reach," Zev said with real regret. "She's definitely out of my league." He was afraid she'd taken his heart and soul away with her, but then one didn't need those things to kill.

"Let's get you something to drink. You're here to have fun." Fen clapped him on the shoulder and led him back to the rest of the pack and the Carpathians there.

16.

"Either we have to keep a Carpathian with us at all times so the women can communicate from the air, or one or all of you has to be brave enough to allow them to exchange blood with you," Fen explained for the third time.

It was one thing to eat and be merry with the Carpathians, but a blood exchange was repugnant to every Lycan. They gave one another blood in battle, but to them, that was entirely different than what Fen was asking of them.

"Fine," he said with a small sigh. "I'll have to be the one to do all the communicating with our squads in the air. I'll ask Tatijana to exchange blood with me." They'd done so just this rising when he'd made passionate love to her, but he wouldn't mind the rush before they set off to try to pick off the pack one small unit at a time.

"The woman will take your blood?" Zev asked, his gaze shifting to where Branislava and her sister were laughing together beneath the forest canopy.

"Her name is Tatijana," Fen said, beginning to feel annoyance that he had to continue the charade of being fully Lycan. They were wasting time while the pack could be moving into position to attack.

The women were going up into the air because their energy output was far less than the men's in any shape they chose. Tatijana, Branislava, Destiny and Natalya were all going, each taking a different direction. It could be dangerous if the Sange rau detected them and chose to defend their pack. Fen would be undetectable by any of them, yet he had to keep up appearances. It was frustrating to know Tatijana might encounter trouble.

"Would Branislava be the one taking my blood?" Zev asked.

Silence fell on the pack. His pack mates looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. Convel shook his head, his expression grave. "You can't, Zev. We don't know what could happen."

"What will happen," Fen said, gritting his teeth, "is we can get to work. We have four riders and four groups of hunters. I'm volunteering, but just in case we have another pack discovered, we need someone else able to hear. Destiny and Natalya are communicating with the Carpathian hunters."

Zev didn't continue to argue. He crossed the ground between Branislava and him, hoping she wasn't as mesmerizing as she had been the night before. He could feel the gaze of his pack mates boring holes into his back. The weight of their disproval was heavy in the air. Still, his feet kept moving, striding now, covering the ground faster.

She turned and watched his approach, her emerald eyes a deeper green than he remembered, nearly glowing. And then she smiled and the very air left his lungs in a rush. He couldn't decide if it was her hair, all that fiery red contained now in a fancy braid as thick as his arm, or her amazing eyes that sometimes, like now, appeared to be multifaceted, or her mouth with her full, inviting lips, that drew his gaze the most.

She let him come all the way to her. He was aware Fen had followed him and Tatijana had gone to meet him. They had stepped into the shadows and were shielded from sight by a large tree. Branislava simply stood motionless, waiting for him.

"My dancer," he said, wishing he had some elegance to him, "I was told it was possible to communicate telepathically with you if you took my blood and I gave you mine. Would you be willing to exchange blood with me?"

"Yes, of course," Branislava said. "Telepathy is the easiest form of communication. You can rest assured that I would never pry into your mind. I will simply relay information."

"You could do that? See things in my mind?"

"Perhaps," she answered, "but there is no need for such a thing, and you are Lycan. Lycans have different brain patterns and most of us can't read your thoughts easily. I would think you have a rather good shield."

He didn't want to think too much about the consequences. "Let's do it then. Tell me what to do."

She took his hand and led him deeper inside the trees where the shadows would keep them safe from prying eyes. "Would you prefer not to feel anything at all? Or taste anything at all?"

"I've tasted blood. I'm a Lycan. I want to know what's going on at all times," Zev said firmly. He wouldn't mind tasting her blood. Everything about her intrigued him.

She stepped close to him. So close. There wasn't more than a scant inch between them. Her scent wrapped him up in velvet and left him reeling just as it had the night before. She put her arm around his neck and drew his head down to her. Her mouth moved over his skin, featherlight, but oh, so sensually. His entire body reacted, going hard with urgent need, blood surging hotly, every nerve ending alive and aware of her.

"You'll feel the bite. A sting of pain but it will be gone quickly," she whispered in his ear. "Trust me, I would never do anything to harm you."

He didn't even care. His every sense was fixated on her mouth and the way it moved over his pounding pulse so seductively. Her lips touched his neck and his gut clenched into knots of anticipation. His cock jerked strong, hard and alert. Her teeth sank deep and pain added to the intensity of his desire, and then it eased, giving way to pure pleasure. The way she took his blood was the most erotic thing he'd ever experienced.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him, feeling his blood pounding hotly in his veins. His pulse thundered in his ears. He didn't want her to stop. He wanted more, so much more. His hands moved beneath her shirt to find bare, satin skin. He slid his palms up her rib cage to cup the weight of her breasts, thumbs seeking her taut nipples beneath her shirt. He was so inflamed he would have taken her right there, in the deep shadows of the trees, but she lifted her head, closing the pinpricks with her tongue.

Their eyes met. The amazing green emeralds pressed into her face looked glazed, as if she'd just been made love to. She also looked a little confused.

"Sir, I believe you are trespassing into areas we never discussed in our negotiations."

Shocked, Zev slid his hands from beneath her shirt. Her skin had been so hot to the touch that he actually felt the cold of the night on his fingers.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. Every time you take someone's blood do they feel like I do?" If so, he was just a little bit jealous, although he wasn't familiar with that particular emotion and was guessing at it.

She shook her head. "No. It's never been like that before."

"Good." He wanted to be her first. Maybe she'd remember him the way he knew he'd always remember her. "Do I get to bite your neck?"

She laughed, breaking the slight tension between them. "I think it would be safer if we just use my wrist."

"Safer, but not as much fun," Zev pointed out.

She bit into her wrist and offered it to him. Bright drops of blood seeped along the laceration. He took the proffered wrist and raised it to his mouth. Even her wrist gave off that beckoning scent of wild honey and citrus that he'd come to identify as Branislava. He licked at the ruby droplets. She tasted as good as she looked-better even. She could be addicting, and that was dangerous for his species. Hot, fresh blood this good was a temptation none of them dared have.

Lycans always had to be cautious ingesting blood. They were predators. Feral. Civilization had come to them, but deep in their hearts, they would always be wild. Blood sang to them. Called to them. Whispered and cajoled. Her blood was exceptional-the taste exquisite.

Branislava put her other hand on his shoulder, her eyes meeting his. The feeling was nearly as erotic as it had been earlier when she'd taken his blood. He let himself fall into her unusual eyes, let himself feel that moment fully. He would never again have a chance to be this intimate with her-and it was intimate.

Fen had said she couldn't fall in love with anyone else but her lifemate, but she felt that same magnetic pull toward him as he did to her. He saw it in her eyes and felt it in her mind. Her blood was rich and hot. So hot. So good. It energized him.

"Enough," Branislava cautioned. "I can't be weak when I'm in the air." She tugged at her wrist.

Zev let go immediately. He was rough and crass compared to her, but still, she didn't take her gaze from his and she closed the wound in her wrist with her tongue.

"It's done then?" he asked. "You can talk to me telepathically?"

Yes.