"It"ll be a couple of weeks, maybe three before she can get up or start to move around."
"Give it to her."
"We can wait until she wakes."
Bix sat in a chair across from the bed, held out his arm and said, "I said give it to her. I"m a prime male of Clan Vanett, Head Seeker for the Council and this is my mate. You will give her some of my blood, Doctor. Right now."
With a deferential nod, Lyons attached Bix to a portable transfusion unit. After delivering a pint of rich red blood to their patient, he turned to leave.
"I"ll be back to check on her this evening. I"ll see myself out."
Never once taking his eyes off Carin"s peacefully sleeping face, he called a detached, "Thanks, Doc," from the chair. Beautifully brilliant and all-out feisty, she"d come awfully close to leaving this world. Yet she trusted him? Even in her drug-induced stupor, he"d felt her...love?
Alaan ducked his head into the bedroom as the doctor was leaving. "The Council wants to see you again, Bix. I can stay with Carin, if you want."
"No, she"ll be all right. The doc just gave her some pain meds. She"ll be out for awhile."
"Good, then I"ll go with you to the Council chambers. Afterward, want to spar a bit? Work off some pent-up energy?"
"You"ve got it. I"m aching to kick somebody"s a.s.s." Bix smirked as he rose and followed Alaan out of the bedroom.
Alaan laughed heartily and smacked him in the middle of his back. "Think you"re aching now?
Wait until I"m done with your sorry a.s.s."
Chapter Twelve
After only a week back at headquarters it felt like the millionth time Bix had stood in the middle of this d.a.m.ned round room. This estate was one of many huge properties owned by the V.C.O.E. And as they all were, it was a splendid mix of old-world charm and contemporary comfort.
But today he didn"t feel like admiring it as he usually did.
He waited, Alaan at his side, at the bottom of the large platform taking up one side of the room.
At the top stood a gigantic solid wood, half-circle table with intricate carvings of vampire history across the top and sides. A depiction of the formation of V.C.O.E., how the ten clans came to be and details on vampire life as far back as could be remembered. For vampires, that was a very long time.
Each headquarters facility on every continent boasted one of these works of art.
Finally, the Council filed in through a side door. Nine of the ten clan Elders and their mates walked up the carpeted steps to the high dais and sat down at the table. It looked like they were up on a stage big enough for a Broadway production. Matriarch Alaana Serati and her mate, Ralen, were Elders representing both Clan Serati and the U.S. Mountain region and were responsible for these proceedings. After all the other Council members were seated, Alaan"s parents remained standing and motioned the two Seekers standing calmly in front of the dais forward.
Bix and Alaan climbed the stairs and stood before the Council, hands clasped behind their backs, legs braced apart, at ease.
"Bix, Carin seems to be coming along. Dr. Lyons tells us she"s doing just fine," Alaana stated as she took her seat, her mate at her side.
Bix, following protocol, nodded to Alaana Serati, but didn"t say a word. And he wouldn"t until he was asked a direct question or invited to speak freely.
"Any news on Sidheon"s whereabouts?" Ralen Serati asked.
"Sidheon took off when Alaan and I interrupted his attack on Dr. Derrickson. The Seekers in San Diego have been looking for him on my orders, but they"ve seen neither hide nor hair of him.
He and his a.s.sistant, a man named Dan who told us about his plan to kill Carin, cleaned out their lab and just up and disappeared. A number of vamps who worked on the biotech campus are missing as well."
"What about you going back to San Diego to help the Seekers there?" the Matriarch suggested.
"I won"t leave Carin under any circ.u.mstance. Especially not while she"s recovering," Bix replied firmly, but calmly.
"Is she willing to help us with the Sidheon problem?" This from a medium height vamp with dark hair and slanted eyes. The Elder of Clan Li.
"Yes, she"d already decided to help us before she was attacked," Bix replied, stoically.
"Some have expressed concern over bringing her here and exposing our world."
"With all due respect, Elder Li, Carin is our best chance of uncovering what the rogue is up to.
And even if she hadn"t been willing to help us I wasn"t going to let the son of a b.i.t.c.h kill her. It was bring her here, or let her die. Death didn"t seem like a viable option, sir," Bix said, not bothering to keep the sneer off his face or out of his voice.
The Elder"s eyebrows rose, but Bix wasn"t moved. This was his woman they were talking about. Stupid vampire politics. Somebody didn"t like the fact that he"d brought her here? Too d.a.m.ned bad. Probably Natasha. As Council Liaison for the U.S. Western region, her opinion would be taken into consideration, even if she was just being a spiteful b.i.t.c.h. Bix ground his back teeth, took a deep breath and held Elder Li"s gaze. Back down? Not f.u.c.king likely.
"Relax, Seeker. We, and I mean the whole Council, agree your decision to bring Carin here was a good one," Alaana interjected, casting a warning glance towards Elder Li.
"Is there a reason you feel so strongly about this human?" The very direct question came from Standing Rock, Elder of Clan Akicit. The golden-skinned, dark-haired, sharp-featured vamp projected the true nature of a warrior by his very presence alone-strength, loyalty to what was right, and most important, a balance between nature and spirit.
"She is mine." Bix"s stance was stiff as he snarled the words.
"Has she accepted a mating, or a bonding?" challenged Standing Rock, unmoved by Bix"s outburst.
"Not yet, sir." Bix tensed, ready to take on the entire Council if need be. "She was on her way to me when the rogue tried to gut her. Trust me, the woman is mine."
Alaan stepped forward, put a firm hand on Bix"s shoulder and gave him a telepathic push.
"Stand down, Seeker. What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you, going primal in front of the Council?"
It was a good question to which he had no answer. Bix backed off and waited for the reprimand he knew he"d earned.
"No one is challenging you for her, prime male. Every one of us, being mated, has experienced what you"re going through right now. Some of us have even bonded with our mates. It is normal to want to protect your woman. For that, we will grant you a bit of leniency. This time."
"Thank you, Elder Standing Rock, sir." Bix gave a slight nod, but otherwise he didn"t express a bit of remorse. He didn"t feel any because he"d spoken the truth when he said Carin was his. As soon as she was well enough she would accept the mating and the bond. Period.
"Now if we can get back to the business at hand," came a bored melodic voice from the far end of the table. The Elder of Clan Sewelle, a tall, dark-skinned man with light gray eyes and flawless skin, reclined in his chair. His mate, an equally striking woman with skin almost the color of semi- dark chocolate stroked long, lovely fingers up and down his arm. He looked like he"d rather be doing something else, like spending time with his woman in a horizontal position. Bix didn"t blame him.
Alaana spoke up from her seat at the center of the table. "I have a feeling whatever Sidheon is doing affects all of us. Including our less reputable cousins of Clan Hatsept. They will be invited to join us to discuss how we will proceed."
"Aw h.e.l.l, not them. They"re the sc.u.m of the vampire world," Alaan spoke plainly.
"They may be, but they are not rogues nor have they been excommunicated by our governors for any crime against us or humanity. They may be a bit unconventional, but they keep to their own, they do not expose our world and they don"t hunt humans."
"Yeah, but they keep harems, Elder Serati. Harems, for s.h.i.t"s sake." Alaan scowled at his mother.
"You will watch your tongue, young Serati," Alaana snapped. Softening her tone, she said, "And while it may be true, last I heard every woman in their harems wishes to be there."
"What"s wrong, Alaan. Jealous?" Natasha purred from below the dais. She sat cross-legged in a chair off to the side after slinking into the briefing late.
"Hold your tongue, Liaison," Alaan spat back at her, and then dismissed her as if she were less important than the carpet underneath his black combat boots. None of the Elders stood up for her.
It was within Alaan"s right as a Seeker and a prime male to dress her down for her impertinence.
"All of the clans have agreed to come and meet with us about this, and some of them will join us in the hunt. They will start arriving next week." "How many Hatsepts are coming?" Alaan asked the Matriarch.
"All of them."
Both Seekers painted on their game faces when all they really wanted to do was protest.
Loudly. Neither of them minded the representatives of the other nine clans, but all of the Hatsept Clan? d.a.m.n.
"We"ll meet to plan and strategize. At the end of the meetings, we"ll celebrate our alliance with a grand gathering. We"re long overdue for a good party anyway. Bix, Alaan, gather your Seekers. You have all the rest of this week to prepare."
Great, just great. Clan Hatsept playboys on the same estate with my woman. b.l.o.o.d.y-f.u.c.kin- fabulous, Bix snarled to himself.
"Any progress?" Sidheon was already bored with the conversation and he"d only been on the phone for a few seconds.
"Actually, yes. I"ve managed to end up on the same estate with Dr. Carinian Derrickson. Your incompetence landed her practically in my palm."
The voice was somewhat snide, but if this person could get him what he wanted, Sidheon was willing to deal with the insolence. For now. But later, they"d settle up good and proper.
"Can you arrange an abduction?" Sidheon antic.i.p.ated the answer with glee.
"Of course, but why bother? It would be easier to kill her than to get her off the property. She"s being watched closely."
"If I wanted her dead I wouldn"t have bothered to contact you."
"You mean if you wanted her dead you would have taken care of it correctly the first time?"
Sidheon rolled his eyes towards the ceiling of the quaint little villa he was renting in Marin.
This relationship was getting old fast. He let out an exasperated sigh, pushed the speakerphone b.u.t.ton and continued feeding.
"You know," Sidheon sighed, relishing the rush from the blood he ingested while nearing the limit of his patience, "I think you and I are going to have a serious disagreement sometime soon.
Keep up the sniping and I"ll simply expose your connection to me and let the V.C.O.E. have you. It would be quite convenient considering you happen to be right there at headquarters. Clear enough?" Just then, the man attached to the throat Sidheon ripped open let out a bloodcurdling scream. Perfect timing.
The line was silent for a moment, but he heard the deep, even breathing of the vampire on the other end as options were weighed and considered. Of course there were no true options, but he wouldn"t say anything. He"d wait until he had his hands on the disrespectful imp.
Finally, the voice replied, a lot less flippant, "I understand. I apologize for any disrespect. Since you want Dr. Derrickson alive, I"ll arrange something after her healing cycle is completed. And for your information, she seems to have gotten under the skin of one of the Seekers. Actually, the Seeker. Name"s Jon Bixler and he"s a mean b.a.s.t.a.r.d, not to mention their commander. Just want you to know what you"re up against."
"I"m not concerned in the least. Just make sure you take the proper precautions before putting anything in motion. I don"t want to have a Seeker on my tail while I"m trying to get a piece of Dr.
Carin"s."
"All this intrigue to f.u.c.k one human female?" The voice was incredulous. Sidheon couldn"t have cared less.
"And I need to explain this to you because?" Sidheon drawled. Every word purposely dripped with condescension. Yes, he wanted more from Carin than her s.e.xy body, but why explain his motivations to the hired help? "Never mind. I"ll see to things on my end and let you know as far in advance as I can."
"Now that"s a good little disgruntled vampire," Sidheon crooned. He knew it annoyed the one who was supposed to be helping him. Good.
"f.u.c.k you, Aleth. You"d just better make this worth my while."
"But of course." The line went dead, but not before another piercing scream reached the ear of his accomplice-the "little disgruntled vampire". Sidheon made sure of it.
The sun had just begun its rise over the eastern mountains when Bix tiptoed into their bedroom, bundled Carin up and carried her outside.
The entire place was a winter wonderland sitting on endless acres of gently sloped, snow- covered hills with a nice mix of trees and open s.p.a.ce overlooking Smith Lake. In the distance, white peaks of the Rocky Mountains could be seen. Carin felt like a kid at Christmas. Having grown up in San Francisco, gone to college and started her career in the same city, she"d never seen snow. And San Diego certainly wasn"t a place known for the fluffy cold stuff. As they walked, Bix pointed out the estate"s private golf course down the hill and off in the distance, promising to teach her to play if they were still in residence here come spring. She kind of hoped not, preferring to learn to ride horses on his estate rather than trudging across the greens playing golf. She just couldn"t get over it-vampires played golf and rode horses. Real country-clubbers.
The only sound was the soft crunch of Bix"s boots in the snow as he moved at a leisurely pace in consideration of her sore bones and achy, but healing, body. The main house was at a good distance but visible when he stopped at an open-topped gazebo surrounded by towering evergreens. Bix set her on her feet, and Carin stepped inside and surveyed their haven in awe.
Instead of wood flooring, the inside of the shelter was all snow-covered gra.s.s covered by a tarp and piles of thick, soft blankets. Her mouth watered at the delicious aroma wafting up from a large breakfast basket perched on one of the st.u.r.dy benches built into the wall of the gazebo. Her man had been plenty busy this morning.
The clear, jewel-blue sky was visible through the top of the structure. She"d have to come out here at night with a telescope and view the stars, well once Bix let her out of his sight. In a word, the spot was perfect, beautifully secluded, and an ideal place to enjoy a bit of privacy.
She removed her shoes and Bix shooed her into the middle of the very comfortable, extremely thick pallet. After tossing her an even thicker blanket to cover herself, he set the breakfast basket within arm"s reach and lit a blazing fire in an oversized sunken pit smack in the middle of the shelter. She smiled behind his back. The man had thought of everything. Food, warmth and a ton of soft down pillows made it nice to be outside in spite of the bone-chilling cold. Her insides went all fuzzy when he tossed a huge chunk of cured wood into the pit and looked over his shoulder with a mix of care and naughtiness in his one-sided grin.
"You comfy, sweetheart?" Bix inquired as he toed off his boots and joined her under the covers.
She nodded but kept her eyes on the flicker of building flames blasting waves of welcome heat to where she reclined buried under the blankets. Her thoughts were surprisingly quiet. This was the first time she"d been out of bed in more than a week, and given her sc.r.a.pe with death she couldn"t believe how calm she felt. Death scared her more than anything, yet here she was, st.i.tched wounds and all, just as happy and content as you please. Bix kept the companionable silence. Retrieving a large thermos from the basket, he poured her a mug of steaming hot chocolate.
Scooting back to lean against one of the little benches, she sipped the steaming brew with a contented sigh. Bix pa.s.sed her a flaky raspberry pastry made especially for her as a get-well-soon gift from the resident chefs. A fresh banana and another cup of hot chocolate finished her off.
Mmm, she couldn"t remember the last time something this simple tasted so yummy.
"Aren"t you going to eat?" she asked, concerned when he didn"t have anything but whatever he was drinking.
"I"m a vampire, sweetheart, I am having breakfast," he said in salute, holding up a mug of something. He answered her question before she could form the words. "It"s warm cranberry juice laced with cinnamon and blood. Probably sounds disgusting to you?"