Stefan drove the car up close to the side door and ran to lock the heavy iron gates behind them, nervously checking the skies. When he returned to the car, he was shocked to find that the situation in the back seat had changed so dramatically. Now it was Aidan sitting upright and alert, covered in blood but his color returned, while Alexandria lay motionless, gray-faced, like one dead.

She looked small and lost in Aidan's arms, almost like a child.

Stefan looked away. He had spent a good portion of his life with this man, yet the reality of Aidan's existence was almost too much for him to accept. He knew in his heart that Aidan would never harm the woman, yet to see her like that, so still and lifeless, after she had displayed so much courage...

"Clean the car, Stefan. I will go to ground for a day or two. It will be up to you to field any questions if the police come around. You must protect the child and Marie from any intruders. Remember, no harm can come to you in this house at night, but vampires can use humans to do their bidding."

Stefan helped Aidan from the car, watching as he reached into the back seat to lift Alexandria's limp body into his arms. "I know what they and their minions can do, Aidan. I will be alert for an attack," he a.s.sured him gruffly.

"Place blood inside the chamber for me this night, and then leave and stay away. Keep Marie and the child far from the chamber. It will not be safe for any of you until I replace the volume I have lost." He said it tersely, his strength already waning. Alexandria was a small woman, and he had taken all the nourishment he safely could from her, then had placed her in the deep sleep of his people to keep her alive until he could replace her blood loss.

He allowed Stefan to a.s.sist him through the house. Marie came running, crying out when she saw him. He heard the boy's feet on the hardwood floor. Aidan swung around, his golden eyes flaming with warning. "Keep the child away from me," he snapped, beating down his voracious hunger.

Marie stopped in her tracks, one hand pressed to her throat. Aidan was covered in blood and dirt, Alexandria lifeless, cradled in his arms. Blood and soil littered the hardwood floor on a trail from the door. Aidan's eyes were flaming red, his white teeth sharp and gleaming like a predator's.

"Marie!" Stefan's voice propelled her into action. She rushed to intercept Joshua before he could witness the horror of this night. Tears were pouring down her face as she caught the child up and began to run down the hallway toward the stairs.

Joshua touched the tears on her face. "Don't cry, Marie. Did someone hurt your feelings?"

She made an effort to gain control of herself. The house would have to be cleaned before the boy could come downstairs, so somehow she had to get him to sleep. "It's nothing, Joshua. I had a bad dream. Don't you ever have bad dreams?"

"Alexandria says if you say a prayer and think about really good things, you know, things you like, you'll have good dreams." Joshua rubbed his cheek against hers. "It always works when she does it with me. I'll say prayers with you like she does, and you won't have bad dreams ever again."Marie found herself smiling at the simplicity and innocence in Joshua. She had three children, now grown, and Joshua brought back memories of the sweetness of childhood. She hugged him close. "Thank you, Joshua. Your sister is a very smart woman. You're lucky to have her." She stifled a sob. "And what are you doing out of bed at this time of night anyway? It's nearly four in the morning. Shame on you, young man."

"I thought Alexandria was in her bedroom, but she wasn't. I was looking for her." Joshua's eyes betrayed his fear of losing his sister.

"Aidan had to take her to a special place of healing. She's still sick, Joshua, so we have to have patience until he makes her better."

"Will she be all right?" he asked anxiously.

"Of course. Aidan would never let anything happen to her. He'll watch over her very closely. You know that."

"Can I talk to her on the phone?"

Marie laid him in the bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. "Not for a while. She's sleeping, just like you should be. I'll stay with you until you're sound asleep."

He smiled, a sweet, angelic smile that put warmth back into Marie. "I can teach you the prayer."

She pulled a chair up to the bed and took his hand, listening to his child's voice saying soft, innocent things to G.o.d.

Stefan wrapped an arm around Aidan's waist to support him. He could feel Aidan's disturbance at his touch and knew it stemmed from his battle with the ever-present demon within him fighting for control.

Aidan's enormous strength was drained, his hunger voracious, his need for blood so strong it ruled his every sense. It wrapped around his organs and crawled through his mind with burning need.

"Hurry, Stefan, get out of here," he said hoa.r.s.ely, trying to push the older man away from him.

"I will get you to the chamber, Aidan," Stefan said firmly. "You will not harm me. You hold your woman in your arms. She is your salvation. In any case, I have offered my life to you on more than one occasion. If it is your wish to take it at this time to save yourself and your woman, I have no objection."

Aidan gritted his teeth and clamped down hard on his predatory instincts. The will to survive was strong, the need for fresh, hot blood paramount. He tried not to hear Stefan's heart beating strong and steady, the pulse of blood surging through the body of this man he was so close to.

Once in the chamber, Stefan released him and backed away, knowing he was causing Aidan distress. He knew in his heart that Aidan would never harm him. He trusted the Carpathian far more than Aidan trusted himself. "I will bring the blood, Aidan."

Aidan nodded curtly and placed Alexandria's nearly lifeless body on the bed. He sagged down beside her, his hand curling around the thick braid of her hair. She had saved him, a.s.suming she would die in the process. She had willingly, freely, offered her life for his. Their bond was much stronger than he had realized. She would never have survived his death. They were linked for all eternity, true lifemates. He had uttered the ancient words binding their souls together. Two halves of the same whole.

He sighed and lay beside her, inwardly cursing his need for blood. He could not go to ground without taking in more sustenance. He waited, the demon within him roaring and raging, until he sensed the human near, heard the soft pad of footsteps. The heavy door creaked, and Stefan placed several bottles of blood on the floor, then retreated, leaving Aidan and his lifemate alone in the chamber.

Aidan staggered across the floor and wrapped his hand around the neck of a wine bottle. He drained the contents and reached for the next one. Stefan had brought five full bottles, and Aidan consumed them all, and still his body craved more.

But with renewed energy from the blood supply, he moved the bed with a wave of his hand and opened the trap door to the cool, waiting earth below. It took concentration to peel back the layers of soil to make a s.p.a.ce for his body and Alexandria's. Gathering her into his arms, he floated into the protection of Mother Earth. Aidan settled his frame around his lifemate and began the intricate ancient spells guarding the entrance to his lair. The trapdoor shut, and the bed above moved back into position. He closed the earth over them, around them, and slowed his heart and lungs as he felt the healing properties in the soil coiling around his wounds. His heart stuttered, his lungs rose and fell, and then all bodily functions ceased.

Stefan closed the door to the bas.e.m.e.nt, knowing it could be days before Aidan made another appearance. He hoped he had brought him enough blood. Aidan would provide for Alexandria when he rose again and hunted his human prey. Until that time it was up to Stefan to guard the house, Marie, and young Joshua.

He found Marie cleaning the floor. She turned to him immediately, her eyes questioning. He held her tenderly. "He will live, Marie. Don't worry for him."

"And his woman?"

Stefan smiled tiredly. "She was amazing. She wants nothing to do with him or us, yet she saved his life."

"She will be his salvation. But you're right, Stefan, she doesn't want to be here with us." Marie sounded sad, her heart filled with compa.s.sion.

"She doesn't yet understand what has happened to her," Stefan said with a sigh. "And the truth is, I wouldn't want to have to face what she is facing. She doesn't understand the difference between Aidan and the vampires. She's been roughly used, and her freedom is gone for all time. Even her ability to be with Joshua is restricted."

"We will have to be patient with her."

Stefan smiled suddenly. "He will have to patient with her. And she will stand up to him as no one in his lifetime has ever done. Modern American women are far different than what he is used to."

"You think it's rather funny, don't you, Stefan?" Marie observed.

"Absolutely. Aidan has never understood how you wrapped me around your little finger, but he is soon to find out." He kissed her gently and patted her shoulder. "I will clean the car and driveway, and we'll go to bed." He grinned suggestively.

Marie laughed lovingly and watched him go out into the night.

The sun was high in the sky, burning off the fog coming off the ocean. Marie and Stefan escorted Joshua to his school and lingered for a time outside, making certain no one was watching the boy.

The morning paper had speculated that the two men found dead, burned beyond recognition, had most likely fought with one another. It was presumed that one of the men had accidentally drenched himself when he had thrown gasoline on the other. The blackened gas can found near the scene held the fingerprints of one of the victims.

Stefan avoided Marie's questions, not wanting to remember how he had pressed the hand of Ramon around the can. He wasn't certain he had covered every detail and was still nervous that the police would come knocking on their door.When they returned home, however, it wasn't the police they found, but Thomas Ivan. Dressed in an expensive, tailored Italian suit, he was waiting somewhat impatiently at the front door. He carried an enormous bouquet of white and red roses mixed with ferns and baby's breath. He gave the couple his most charming smile, even managing a slight bow toward Marie.

"I wanted to stop by and see if Alexandria was feeling any better yet. I thought it might be a good time, too, to apologize for my rude behavior the other day. I was worried about Alexandria, and I took it out on you."

"She was happy to have her briefcase returned," Marie returned noncommittally. "She was given your message, and I'm certain she will contact you as soon as she is feeling up to it."

"I thought the flowers might cheer her up," Thomas said easily. He could handle servants anytime.

As long as the lord of the manor didn't show up, he might get past the door this time. "Perhaps I could just take a peek in, wish her well. I'll only stay a moment."

The housekeeper didn't budge from her position. Standing directly behind her, looking every inch the Mafia hitman, Stefan remained deadpan. Ivan pushed down his temper. It wouldn't do any good to alienate these people. He needed to win them over to his side.

Marie shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ivan, that would be impossible. Mr. Savage left specific instructions that Alexandria should not be disturbed-on doctor's orders."

Thomas nodded. "I understand that you have to do what you were told, but you see, I'm really worried about her. I just want to look in on her, see for myself that she's all right. What do you say? We don't have to tell Mr. Savage. I won't stay long, just a quick peek to a.s.sure myself that she's okay." He pulled several twenty-dollar bills from his pocket, crinkling them expectantly.

Marie's indrawn breath was indignant. "Mr. Ivan! Are you suggesting I would sell out my employer?"

He swore under his breath. "No, of course not. I just meant to give you something for the extra trouble."

"Alexandria is no trouble, Mr. Ivan." Marie deliberately misunderstood. "She is a part of our household. She's considered family, as is her brother. You do know her brother?" She knew very well he didn't, and her voice said it all.

Thomas Ivan was furious. This battle-ax was openly defying him. Deliberately taunting him. He wished he could have her deported, preferably to someplace cold and wet and uncomfortable.

Instead he smiled again, clenching his teeth as he did so. "I was not implying in any way that Alexandria might be a bother to you. Perhaps your understanding of English is not so good. Where are you from originally?" He tried to inject interest into his voice.

"Romania," Marie said, "but I have no problem with the English language. I have been here for many years. We consider San Francisco home now."

"Is Mr. Savage also from Romania?" He was very interested in the answer to that. Maybe he could have the arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d deported right along with his hired help.

"I cannot discuss my employer with someone not known to me, sir," Marie said politely, her face expressionless.

Thomas knew the old hag was secretly laughing at him. He took a deep breath. Well, she and the caretaker were making an enemy more powerful than they knew. He had friends in high places, and they were foreigners. "I just wondered, because his accent is different from yours." He wanted to say more educated, more cultured, just to insult her, but he refrained. He could bide his time and wait for his revenge. He would bring the entire house down, have the police and immigration people swarming over the place in no time."Well, I'm sorry you feel you can't cooperate with me. I'm extremely worried about Alexandria. If you refuse to allow me to see her or to speak with her on the phone, I have no other recourse than to take this matter to the police. As a possible abduction." He thought he saw alarm in the woman's face, but the man behind her didn't flicker an eyelash. Thomas began to wonder if the man carried a gun. Maybe he was the enforcer in the group. The back of his neck began to itch uncomfortably.

"You go ahead and do whatever you think you should, Mr. Ivan. I can't go against my orders," Marie said firmly.

"Then perhaps I could speak to Mr. Savage personally," he suggested tightly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ivan, but that isn't possible at this time. Mr. Savage is not at home, and there is no number where he can be reached."

"How very convenient for Mr. Savage," Thomas sniped, his fury at being thwarted beginning to surface. "We'll just see how much he likes talking to the police!" He swung around, hoping the enforcer wouldn't shoot him in the back. His eye started to twitch the way it always did when he was upset.

"Mr. Ivan?" Marie's voice was soft and sweet, almost placating.

He swung around in triumph. At last he'd said something to scare the pair of idiots. "What?" he snapped, making a show of his displeasure with her.

"Did you want to leave the flowers for Alexandria? I'll see to it that she gets them. I'm certain they'll cheer her up, knowing they came from you." Marie was trying not to laugh at the man. He looked so silly, all puffed up with his own importance, so certain he could intimidate them. She was not looking forward to a confrontation with the police, but she could use the flowers.

Ivan shoved the roses at her and stormed off, in no way appeased by her feeble attempt to get into his good graces. These foreigners were going to be sorry they crossed him. They obviously had no clue what kind of power a man like him wielded.

Marie glanced up at Stefan, and they both laughed. "I know what you're thinking, you wicked woman. You want to use those flowers to drive Aidan crazy with jealousy."

"How could you think such a thing, Stefan?" Marie demanded innocently. "I simply could not abide such beautiful flowers going to waste. I'll put them in the refrigerator until Alexandria rises. They'll brighten up her room or, better yet, the living room."

Stefan kissed her lightly on the cheek and made to depart. "Aidan is in for some interesting times."

"Where are you off to? You aren't going to leave me here alone to deal with the authorities. That man is going straight to the police station, and they'll likely listen to him."

"He's sure to make them angry with his obnoxious demands, and Aidan is well known to the local police. He always donates to their causes, and he's been careful to maintain a good relationship with them. I don't think Mr. Ivan is much of a threat, but I want to take a look around and make certain everything is in place for their upcoming official visit," Stefan rea.s.sured her.

"We can always have them talk to Joshua if we have to," Marie suggested, vaguely uneasy, as she always was when Aidan was vulnerable.

"It will not come to that," Stefan a.s.sured her.

Chapter Eight

The sun sank into the sea with a brilliant explosion of colors. Then the fog unexpectedly rolled in, a white, eerie haze that hung low over rooftops and streets, inching through the dark alleys and parks, until it filled them completely. No wind came to move the veil, and cars had to crawl from block to block.

Midnight. Aidan clawed his way to the surface. Hungry. Ravenous. Eyes red-rimmed and glowing with fierce need. His insides twisted and rolled. Cells and tissues cried out, demanding nourishment.

The loud sound of hearts beating close by, calling, beckoning, nearly drove him mad. His face was pale, almost gray, his skin dry and lined, his mouth parched. Fangs dripped with antic.i.p.ation, and long, razor-sharp nails tipped his fingers.

For a moment his eyes rested on the lifeless body lying so still beside him in the open earth.

Alexandria. His lifemate. His very salvation. The one thing standing between him and the fate his kind dreaded. Because of her he would not turn, would not become vampire, the undead. She had freely given her life for his. She had sealed their fates as nothing else could have, irrevocably bound herself to him for all eternity. She had chosen life for him; therefore, she had chosen it for herself. It didn't matter to him that she wasn't aware, exactly, of what she was doing. It had been done.

She needed blood. Her situation was even more desperate than his. He could not wake her until he could feed her. Her body was depleted, and without nourishment to revive her, she could not remain alive more than a few scant moments.

He smelled blood. Warm and fresh. Beating, surging, ebbing and flowing like the timeless call of the ocean itself. The demon inside roared and raged, desperate for control, yet desperate to save his lifemate. Desperate to feed the gnawing, clawing hunger. A man. A woman. A child. Aidan pulled back from the brink of disaster just in time, controlling himself enough to make the necessary preparations.

Minutes later he sped through the narrow underground tunnel, a blur of speed so fast that even a mouse would not detect his presence. He exhibited no traces of blood or dirt. His clothes were elegant, his hair clean and secured in a thick ponytail at the nape of his neck. He traversed the stone pa.s.sageway into the bas.e.m.e.nt without mishap. As he placed his hand on the door leading to the kitchen, he detected the presence of the woman entering the room from another door. For a moment his heart accelerated in excitement, and saliva antic.i.p.ated his repast, but he fought down the responses. With his forehead resting against the door, he concentrated on reaching the woman mentally, on removing her from harm's way.

Marie would find herself inexplicably in the front room, but it would save her from the haunting hunger growing with every step Aidan took. The moment she was at a safe distance from him, he glided through the kitchen and out into the garden.

Instantly the smells saturating the night air a.s.saulted his senses, flooded him, told stories. Only feet away a rabbit crouched, frozen with fear, aware of the deadly predator hunting blood. Its heart thudded wildly. In the houses up the street he knew where each warm body was and what it was doing-sleeping, snacking, making love, fighting. A veil of fog surrounded him, cloaked him, became a part of him.

Three days and two nights he had lain in the ground healing. With a new infusion of blood, he would be stronger than ever. Hunger fought for control, and he snarled and launched himself into the sky, more dangerous than anything Thomas Ivan had ever conceived. He was hunting living, breathing, human prey, and those moving below him were at risk this night that for once he might not stop his feeding in time to spare their lives.

He was a dark shadow winging overhead, invisible to those below. Aidan intended Golden Gate Park, with its rolling landscape and groves of trees, to be his hunting ground. The fog lay heaviest there, waiting for him, covering his advance. He landed lightly, silent feet touching the ground even as the wings were folding.

Only a few yards away lurked a group of men, barely out of their teens, displaying their gang colors, waiting for their rivals, pumping themselves up for a fight. All were armed, a good two-thirds of them were jacked up on drugs, and they were pa.s.sing around a bottle of cheap wine.

Aidan smelled their sweat, their pores steaming with the adrenaline and fear their loud, belligerent bl.u.s.ter was meant to hide. It was the sound and smell of the blood flowing in their veins and arteries that interested him. He concentrated on them one by one, finding the blood least affected by substance abuse. Come to me. Come here quickly. You need to be here now. He sent the call easily, his hunger so strong he beckoned several of them. The rest of the group he merely instructed not to notice the absence of the others.

He seized the first man and sank his teeth deep, unable to control the compulsion to feed long enough to be gentle. He gulped the hot liquid, his starving cells soaking it up greedily. It rushed through his body like a fireball, pouring strength into his muscles. He was barely able to prevent himself from taking the last drop of blood and gaining the ultimate power. It was the thought of Alexandria that pulled him back from the brink of such sure ruin. She had freely given her life for his. He could not allow himself, his hunger and his predatory nature, to throw that precious gift away by killing and condemning his soul.

Aidan concentrated on his knowledge of her, the curve of her cheek, the length of her eyelashes.

She had a smile as rich as honey. Her mouth was lush and hot, like silk warmed by the sun. He dropped his victim and dragged the next one to him.

The liquid of life poured into him, and he closed his eyes and thought of her. She had eyes like blue gems, stars in their centers. She was brave and compa.s.sionate. She would never drop her prey at her feet as he was doing. He caught the third man close, his hunger beginning to ease. He took more care this time.

A sound penetrated his feeding frenzy, and he knew the other gang was approaching, trying to make their way through the thick fog, their cars still too distant to alert those waiting in the park.

He pushed away the third victim and reached for the fourth.

It really wasn't fair to allow this gang to fight with several of their men out of commission, he considered. Then a slow smile curved his mouth. Already Alexandria was getting to him. To him, people like these men were without honor, without a code, willing to hurt or brutally mow down even those uninvolved in their conflicts, even women and children. Those without honor had no place in Aidan's world. Yet under Alexandria's influence, he was considering intervening to allow this group of killers an equal chance in their ridiculous battle for power. Not that any of them knew what true power really was.