"You look beautiful to me," Traian objected. "Which room is yours?"

"Second story, third balcony on the left." She grinned at him. "Are we floating?"

"Is the window locked?"

"That wouldn't stop me. I have second-story skills."

His eyebrow shot up. "I am very impressed. I am a hunter and I am certain those skills could come in handy."

She narrowed her gaze, locking her fingers behind his neck. "They come in handy for a bodyguard. I do have a business, and I'm known to be one of the best."

"I'm sure you are." He took her into the sky fast, enjoying the way she clung to him, tightening her arms and gasping as he shot up.

Don't you laugh at me.

I'm not laughing.

I can feel you laughing. You know, it isn't normal to fly through the sky.

It is normal for me.

The balcony floor felt solid beneath her feet. She let go of his neck immediately. "Great, I would have to do this with a hundred people around."

"They cannot see you. I have shielded us from their eyes."

She glanced at him over her shoulder. "We're invisible? Sheesh. Is your life easy or what? I wouldn't mind being invisible in my line of work. No wonder vampires are afraid of you."

"They fly, and they can cloak their presence as well."

Joie pushed open the door to her room. "How perfectly charming of them. Where do they come from?"

Traian followed her into the room. She heard his heavy sigh and turned around to face him. He definitely looked troubled, and very reluctant to answer her question.

"I'm not going to like your answer, am I?"

"Vampires are Carpathians who have chosen to give up their souls for a brief moment of power, the thrill of the kill-a rush if you will. Our males lose their emotions and the ability to see in color after the first two hundred years of existence. Some earlier, some later, but all of us eventually lose everything we hold sacred if we do not find a lifemate. Only one woman, the light to our darkness, can return those things to us. For several centuries now, our race has few women and fewer children. We are on the verge of extinction. There is little hope, and more and more of our males are turning."

Joie tried to take in the enormity of what he was saying. "There is only one woman who can restore colors and emotion for every male? Just one?"

Traian nodded. "Only one. We can search centuries for her. If we miss one another, or we hunt and kill too long, the need to feel emotions, whatever that is, becomes too tempting and many succ.u.mb. Our choices are to turn vampire, or allow the sun to take us."

It was a brutally grim destiny. Joie removed her harness and carefully placed her climbing gear on the floor beside the closet. She removed her crampons and boots, grimacing a little as she saw the mud she'd brought in with her. She needed the time to digest what he was telling her before she managed to meet his gaze. There was compa.s.sion in her eyes.

"How terribly sad for all of you. So you and the other hunters are forced to police the vampires. Even if they were once boyhood friends ... or family."

He nodded, astonished at the wealth of understanding he read in her expression. She clearly saw what others did not: deep below the surface, every destruction of a childhood friend or cousin had cut pieces out of his soul until he feared there was little left. Yet her understanding, the compa.s.sion washing over him, changed something. He felt it, felt the first healing touch and the power a lifemate wielded.

She stood there in her filthy clothes with mud smeared all over her face, and she was beautiful to him. A lump the size of his fist rose in his throat, and he turned away from her, afraid of allowing her to see the emotion threatening to choke him. How could she possibly understand what she meant to him?

"I'm sorry, Traian. I know I can't begin to understand what it must have been like, but I feel the weight of it in your mind."

More than that, she felt how alone he had been. The intensity of his pain shook her. His life had been stark. Ugly. Bleak. She caught frightening glimpses of scenes in his past. Terrible battles that lasted for hours. Severe injuries. Death all around him. No one to comfort him. No one to care.

Joie closed her eyes briefly, overwhelmed by longing, by the need to wrap her arms around him and just hold him. Very slowly she removed her outer jacket. Although they hadn't heated the room, after the cold of the mountain, she found it almost too warm indoors. She tossed her gloves on top of her jacket.

"It is almost dawn, Joie. I will need to go to ground. I have lost too much blood and the wounds on my body require healing. There is no other way to do it quickly and the separation from me may be difficult for you. You will need to stay in this room where you will be safe."

"What do you mean, difficult?" Joie couldn't help that her voice was filled with suspicion. Traian didn't just throw things out there for dramatic effect. Clearly he was warning her about something she had yet to experience.

"The pull between lifemates is very strong. You will not be able to reach me telepathically and yet your mind will insist on reaching for mine. You could, if not prepared, believe me to be deceased. My heart will cease to beat and my breath will still in my lungs while the rich soil of my homeland heals my wounds and rejuvenates me. It would be best if you allow yourself to sleep through the day. You are exhausted as are your siblings, who, by the way, are very anxious to reunite with you."

"I don't think I'll have any problem sleeping the day away," Joie a.s.sured him. "I'm almost too tired to take a shower, and man, do I need one." Exhaustion had definitely set in.

"I can take care of that."

Joie didn't know what she expected-perhaps for him to throw a bucket of water at her, but she ended up clean with a wave of his hand. It wasn't as satisfying or as soothing as she found a very hot shower was, but she did feel clean. She sank down on the bed and pa.s.sed her hand over her face.

"Do what you have to do, Traian. I'll survive."

"I will put heavy safeguards on your door and windows. No one will be able to penetrate those safeguards without you opening the door for them," he warned.

"I thought vampires couldn't be in the sun."

"That is true, but do not ever think they work alone. They create puppets of humans, servants to do their bidding. They promise them immortality, but in the end, these puppets go insane and live off the flesh of mortals. They cannot be saved. They are abominations of nature with rotting flesh and brains. They will only do as their masters command. You cannot allow yourself or your siblings to fall into their hands."

Joie considered a smart-a.s.s reply, but pressed her lips together. Traian's world was fraught with more danger than she'd ever faced. It had become a way of life for him. He looked at her as if she was everything to him. While it was exhilarating and a little s.e.xy, it was also very frightening. How could she possibly live up to his expectations?

"If you can put safeguards at my door, can you do the same for Gabrielle and Jubal?"

"Of course." He glanced out the window. "I really cannot stay much longer. I will be here when you awaken. Give me your word that you will remain here waiting for me."

Joie nodded. "If that will give you peace of mind, Traian. I'm tired. I just want to see my brother and sister and know that they're all right."

Traian crossed the room to stand in front of her. He reached down to take her hand and draw her close to him. "I know you are afraid of what is between us. In truth, for me, it makes perfect sense. Lifemates are natural to us, but it is not the same for you. If you wake without me, promise me you will not try to run from this. It is overwhelming for you. I want to be with you and see you through the fears of such a permanent and fast bonding, but I have no choice. I must go to ground before the sun is high."

Joie nodded. "I'm not going anywhere, Traian. I'm pretty good at facing things I'm afraid of. I've got Jubal and Gabrielle with me. We'll be fine."

He cupped her face in his hands and lowered his mouth to hers. His mouth was a hot temptation, masculine and demanding. She felt her body going boneless as everything feminine in her reached for him, responding to his kisses. Joie reached up to circle his neck with one arm, leaning into his strength, still a little shocked that she could respond without inhibition to this man she barely knew.

Sivamet-my love, he whispered. At long last I have found you.

When he lifted his head, his dark gaze roaming her face she laughed softly and shook her head. "Technically, I found you."

His smile warmed her. "So you did."

Joie! Jubal's voice was very demanding in her head. Gabby and I are coming to your room right now.

Joie's laughter spilled over. "I'm going to have to report all these voices running around in my head. I'll let my brother and sister in and you get out of here. I'll see you when I wake up?" It was definitely more of a question than a statement. Her heart stuttered a little at the thought of him leaving. She wasn't a clinging woman, yet the thought of him going away made her body react physically. She kept her smile firmly in place. She would not be a baby and beg him to stay with her. Jubal and Gabrielle would be there any moment.