"Melena," Derrick called out as I began to stomp off.

I considered ignoring him, but an indefinable note in his voice made me turn back.

"What?"

"It's a full moon tonight. Try to return before dark."

I gave him a long look. Despite my knowing he was a werewolf all this time, I'd forgotten what that really meant. His warning reminded me. They all had a dark side and today I'd seen more than enough to prove it. Derrick didn't even try to stop them from killing Matt. The thought of it hurt me more than I'd expected.

During our short time together, we'd developed a connection-an understanding, which made it possible for me to live with him being so close all the time. Now the connection had been broken on both sides. I acknowledged my part in it, but at least the consequences of my actions hadn't been so high for him.

Maybe it was odd that I could care about him so much after such a short period of time, but he'd become a friend. A person who mattered. It seemed stupid now, considering who he worked for, but I'd felt comfortable with him from the start.

While out searching for Nikolas, we'd fallen into a natural camaraderie together. Back at the cabin, we worked out a system where he cooked and I cleaned. That was a big step for me in so many ways. Not to mention he could make me laugh, and Emily enjoyed being around him too.

Now Derrick stood looking at me with the same kind of regret in his eyes that had to be in mine. So many unsaid words lay between us. Both sides knowing we'd broken each other's trust, and feeling hurt by where that left us. Unable to bear it any longer, I gave him a brief nod and turned on my heels, heading into the woods.

As soon as I found a place far enough to be alone, I dropped to my knees and cried. Not the wracking kind of tears that could shake the body and let out loud sobs-that would have been allowing too much weakness. More like the kind that came slow and steady, coursing down the face, without a single sound to accompany them. Only the trees witnessed my meltdown, but their solid presence gave me some comfort. They didn't judge or ask for anything I didn't want to give.

Darkness washed over the land by the time Nikolas crept up. I sat on a log and stared at nothing in particular. My hand dug into the earth, crumbling whatever it could grasp. He took a seat beside me.

"Derrick told me about your friend. I'm sorry you had to go through that. You're right to be upset about it, but it won't bring him back."

I sighed and peered at him sideways. "There's always revenge."

His lips curved up on one side. "If all goes well, you'll have it. I wish I could say the same for all of my own grievances."

"Your sister?" I asked. Any topic that distracted me right now would be good.

"We never found out who killed Gytha. Because I sired her, the connection between us alerted me when she died. I felt it," he paused to press his hand against his chest, "right here."

I shuddered. Wasn't that kind of incestuous? I didn't know the full details of how a turning went, but now wasn't the time to ask. Better to stay on topic.

"Is that why you're so angry with Lucas?"

Nikolas grabbed a twig and began peeling back the bark. I waited through several minutes of silence before he answered, still not looking at me.

"Lucas and Gytha were seeing each other secretly during the early 1500s when we lived in Italy. That's actually where I changed my name to Nikolas, though I've modified the spelling to suit my needs."

"What was it before?"

He wagged a finger at me. "That's one secret I won't tell. No matter how nice you ask."

"You know it's just going to make me want to find out more."

"The only one still alive who knows is Lucas. If you can get him to tell you, you deserve to know."

I sighed. "Fine, go on with what happened with your sister."

He cleared his throat. "I took her far from him after finding out, but she begged me for years to allow her to see him again. For vampires, we live so long that it's easy to forget the length of time that passes. I continue to treat my sister the same as the day she turned-no matter how many centuries went by. When we ran into Lucas some time later in what is now Germany, I realized the error of my ways and allowed them to be together."

At least he'd learned to let go of his cave man tactics. It still would have pissed me off if I'd been his sister. That's a long time to work on getting someone to change their mind. "So they were in love?"

He looked up to give me a rueful smile.

"Not in the way you think. At first they must have enjoyed the idea of a forbidden relationship, since they went behind my back to do it. Maybe they even fancied themselves in love, but it wasn't real. After I allowed them to be together, they fell apart. Gytha had always been too capricious for something permanent. Their break-up didn't hurt our friendship. The three of us stayed together and traveled around after that. They would have their occasional tryst, but nothing so serious you could call it love."

It was hard to imagine relationships spanning centuries for me, but I guessed immortals must form some close bonds with others in order to keep sane.

"You blame him for Gytha's death?"

The twig snapped in his hand.

"I trusted him to protect her while I went out to check on a woman, Josslyn, who I was intimate with at the time. So many of us were dying, and she hadn't contacted me for too long." A note of sadness came over his voice. "I never did find her."

He tossed the pieces of the twig away.

"Eventually, I had to return for my sister. I'd heard the latest deaths were close to our home, but discovered she wasn't there when I arrived. I searched the city only to find Lucas, bloody sword in hand, hovering over Henrik Nielson's headless body. The leader's guards lay dead around him with their hearts torn out."

Nik turned to look me in the eye. "There is only one way Lucas could have found him and that was by having a sensor lead him to the man. He'd planned it out and left my sister unprotected while he went after our greatest foe. The leader needed to die, but not at my sister's expense."

"You can't exactly kill Lucas as revenge, you know."

I'd fantasized the nephilim's death a number of times in my head, but I no longer felt the same need for revenge against him that I once did. My feelings about him had become a conflicting mess after recent events, but there'd been no time to sort them and figure out how much hate was left.

Nik laughed. "I tried killing him, believe me, but you must be aware of how difficult that is."

"Uh, yeah." I brushed my hair back out of my eyes. "Think you'll stay mad at him forever?"

The vampire's eyes bored into mine. "Mel...May I call you that?"

I shrugged. What could it hurt at this point? "Sure."

"Mel, when you're immortal, holding onto anger is easy. There is plenty of time compared to what humans have. But in this case I find myself in a quandary. It will be impossible for us to have our revenge on Variola and her supporters if we don't use Lucas."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not any happier with the idea than you are."

Nik arched a brow. I told him my own history of dealing with the nephilim. At the end, he gave me an inscrutable look before taking my hand and brushing it with his lips. His touch felt warm, not cold like before in the mine. "I'd protect you from him, you know."

Okay, that was going too far. Sure, I was starting to notice how attractive he was, especially with his dark eyes and hair. The complete opposite of Lucas, I noted, but he was still a vampire. Their race and mine didn't mix-even if my body thought it might be possible. I pulled away from him and folded my arms. "I'm fine. Eight years and he hasn't killed me yet."

Knowledge reflected in his gaze. Like he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Perhaps it is time we both set aside our differences with him for now for the greater good. We can always pick them back up later when this is all over."

"I'd already come to that conclusion," I said, glancing at him. "There's no way around it."

Nikolas nodded and pointed up at the sky.

"The moon is out," he noted.

I drew my gaze up to see part of it through an opening in the trees. "The wolves will be too."

"Not to worry," he squeezed my arm in reassurance, "I'll keep the monsters away from you."

For someone who'd almost killed me only a day before. He sure did have an obsession with keeping me safe now. My senses told me he meant what he said, too.

I laughed. "Are you flirting with me, Nik?"

He gave me an unabashed look. "What do you expect? It has been five long years and I have a beautiful woman sitting right beside me. What man in my position wouldn't try?"

I rolled my eyes. "You were asleep that whole time. It wasn't that bad."

He stood and lifted me up, drawing me close. "You're going to be a challenge."

I turned out of his arms, meeting no resistance, and started to walk away. As a parting shot, I said over my shoulder, "It isn't a challenge if you don't have a chance."

It was after I reached the cabin that it occurred to me my sadness about Matt's death had gone away-at least temporarily. Nikolas had helped me forget for a little while.

Chapter Twenty-two.

My sword rang out with a metallic clang as it struck against Nik's. He parried it without effort and nodded for me to continue. My shoulders ached from hours of practice over the last two days, but he insisted on training me in the basics, saying they were necessary to use the weapon. The vampire had shown a strong resolve in making sure I survived the coming confrontation with Variola. This time tomorrow night, we would be in the fight for our lives as we attempted to wrest control from her. She'd called each evening to remind me of my duty to her. I was really sick of her speeches.

"Keep your arms in, don't extend them so far." Nik corrected my form.

I scowled, but bent my elbows and drew them in closer.

"Feet shoulder width apart. One of the most important elements of sword fighting is to keep your balance. If you can't remain on your feet, you'll lose the fight for sure."

I sighed and let the sword fall to the ground. At this point, I trusted he had no intentions of killing me and didn't care about relaxing my guard in front of him.

"Explain to me again why we are doing this. I have a gun-a nice one that makes big holes in people. My odds are greater of hurting someone with that than with a blade like this." I gave my sword a disgusted look. Yeah, Wanda had said the thing about guns and vampires, but I still didn't have to like it.

Fighting sups with old-fashioned weapons didn't make sense. I'd suggested rocket launchers and grenades only to be shot down because they would create too loud of a disturbance. Far too many humans to compel if they drew attention. Lazy bastards.

Nikolas was sticking by his plan to use the old methods. I wasn't so sure about taking the advice of someone who was born before William the Conqueror invaded England. Battle tactics had changed quite a lot in that time. I believed my experience and training were more modern and useful.

He shook his head. "Mel, guns are too unpredictable in a fight with supernaturals, especially a large group. For one, we all move too fast. You could end up shooting the wrong person. For two, there is a good chance the witches will have spells in place to block your bullets from hitting them or their cohorts. A blade will be far more effective."

I put my hands on my hips. "But I'm immune to their magic, so that shouldn't be a problem. Plus you'd be surprised how well I shoot."

Nik gave a rueful smile and shook his head. "How many fights have you been in that are similar to the one we will engage in tomorrow?"

"None...like this."

He gave me a pointed look. "Exactly. In comparison, I have been in hundreds, perhaps thousands. So who do you think knows more about which type of weapon will be effective?"

A mournful sigh escaped me. "My gun would still be better. We aren't going to make an expert swordsman out of me by tomorrow."

He took a step forward and put a hand on my shoulder. "Have faith in us. Lucas and I, along with the others, will handle all the more powerful opponents. We just need you to take care of Variola's witches, who won't be any stronger than you. I doubt they will be any better with a sword either, but there's always a chance. You need to be prepared."

I nodded my head and took a step back, pulling my sword into a fighting stance. At least it only weighed a few pounds, so it didn't feel too unwieldy. Nik had told me heavy swords, at any point in history, were a myth and the best ones often weighed no more than my current one.

"Let's get on with this," I told him, locking my eyes with his.

He raised his own sword again and went on the attack. I parried each thrust, but knew if he moved at his full speed and strength it would be impossible. Even when I failed to block in time, his reflexes were fast enough that he could pull back at the last second to keep from hurting me. I felt like a bumbling fool compared to his grace and agility.

"Keep your body turned to the side so as to provide a smaller target," he corrected when my tired limbs lost interest in our training.

I forced them back to work and strengthened my resolve. For once it would be nice to put him on his guard. His eyebrows rose when I went on the attack. He matched me thrust for thrust as we moved around the darkened yard, side-stepping the occasional tree. Dirt kicked up under my feet as I did my best to keep him on his toes. The man wouldn't give me an opening, but I kept trying anyway.

"Hey Nik," Emily called out from the sidelines. "You dropped your pocket."

He searched the ground in confusion. "What?"

"You dropped your pocket." She giggled.

I took advantage of the distraction and laid my sword flat on his neck. "Gotcha."

He looked between Emily and me.

"She helped you," he accused.

I shrugged. "You're the fool who's looking for your pocket on the ground. One would think after almost twelve centuries you'd have heard them all."

Nik pointed at Emily. "You'll pay for that."

She flounced up to him and stuck a finger on his chest. "Shouldn't have let a girl like me distract you. Seems you needed the lesson."

He gently removed her hand. "Don't you have homework you should be doing?"

Emily scowled at him. "Nothing that can't wait until morning."

"That's a lie, young lady." I put a guiding hand on her shoulder. "Go to the bedroom to finish it."

"Fine," she groused.

We watched her shuffle a path to the door at an impressively slow rate, muttering the whole way before disappearing inside. Mine and Nik's eyes met. We smiled.

"Back to practice," Nik announced.

My smile dropped.