Chapter Seven

Riordyn dropped Jenna off in front of Dillon's house, quickly transformed into a hawk and flew away without saying a word to her. Not that she expected him to try and change her mind. She never intended to tell Riordyn how she felt about him, but when he called her beautiful, she actually believed he might have feelings for her. Heat flushed her face as she recalled her foolish attempt to seduce him, and how he told her she meant nothing to him. The only thing he truly cared about what finding his lifemate and she didn't want to be around when he did.

He'd only been gone a few moments, and she already ached to see him again. As she walked toward Dillon's front door, the feeling intensified. The moment she walked inside his house, her whole life would change. No longer would she be a part of Riordyn's world. She'd close herself off to him, and learn to be happy with Dillon. She'd foolishly tried to make Riordyn jealous when she first started talking to Dillon, but that had failed miserably. To Riordyn she would always be a little girl – a child he needed to protect. Not once in all the time they spent together had he treated her otherwise, and yet she still held out hope he would change his mind as she grew older.

She was halfway up the steps when Dillon opened the door and held out a bouquet of peach colored roses for her. He was dressed to take her out for her birthday in a sea green button down shirt that almost matched his eyes and dark trousers. "You said you liked peach roses best so I went to three florists before I found these." He grinned, but it faded as he looked from her to the two pillowcases stuffed with her clothing. "What wrong, baby?"

"Can I stay with you," was all she could manage to say before she burst into tears.

"Yeah, definitely." Handing her the roses, he picked up her clothes, and nudged his head for her to follow him. "What happened?" he asked as he led her upstairs to the last bedroom on the left.

"I got in a fight with my brother," she uttered, continuing with the lie she told him about how she lived with her brother Riordyn, and that they traveled around a lot for his job. "I can't live with him anymore, Dillon."

He flipped on the light switch, and set her two bags down near the door. The walls were painted pale pink with pictures of ballerinas adorning them. A corkboard filled with pictures, old movie stubs, and various mementos hung above the bed. Ballerina figurines were proudly displayed on both dressers. Against the far wall was a shelf filled with books, and two books sat on the cozy cushioned window seat as if someone was coming back to read them. If she hadn't been so upset, she would have been thrilled to have such a nice bedroom.

"This was my sister's room before she went away to college a few years ago," Dillon supplied, brushing a hand through his dark unkempt hair. "But it's yours as long as you want to stay." When she didn't respond, he pulled her into his arms, and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be okay, Jenna. You're brother will realize what a jerk he's being, and everything will work itself out."

"No, he won't. I never want to see him again, Dillon." Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her head against his chest. Over the last few months she grew to care a great deal for him, but even if she wished otherwise her heart belonged to Riordyn. "I know we planned to go out for my birthday, but would you mind if we stayed here?"

"Yeah, that's fine." He intertwined his fingers with hers, and led her back downstairs to the living room. "My parents are out for the night so we can make popcorn and watch a movie if you want." He left her on the couch and went to make popcorn. Within a few minutes he returned carrying a tray with a huge bowl of buttery popcorn, two cans of soda, and a wrapped rectangular box. "Since it's your birthday, you get to pick the movie. So I guess that means we'll be watching a chick-flick." He winked at her as he handed her the remote control.

He took a seat beside her, and wrapping an arm around her, he gently coaxed her to relax against him. Picking up the present, he handed it to her. "I was going to save this for later, but maybe it'll cheer you up."

Tears stung at her eyes as she stared at the box, and it took a few moments before she finally tore away the wrapping paper. Inside the box was a silver charm bracelet with three charms dangling from it. The first was the letter J, the second the number 17, and the last one was a heart. "The woman at the jewelry store assured me every girl loves charm bracelets, but if you don't like it we can take it back and get something else."

"No, I love it," she uttered through her tears.

"And I love you," he murmured, leaning in to capture her lips. "Don't worry, Jenna, everything's going to work out."

Dillon spent the whole evening trying to cheer her up, and by the time she went to bed, she actually did feel a bit better. In the morning she planned on talking to Gwen about registering for school. Since she didn't have transcripts from the school she went to before she was thrown into the mental asylum, she'd have to convince the Dillon's school that she had been home schooled her whole life. Hopefully Gwen would go along with the lie, and then she could start having a normal life.

As she began to drift off to sleep, a sudden cold draft blew past her. Goosebumps rose on her arms. No, not here. Please not here. Ever since she was a little girl ghosts had followed her around. Some of them were evil like the ones she encountered while she was with Riordyn. Yet, most of them were harmless, and once she listened to them, they would leave her alone. But lately she seemed to attract more vengeful spirits.

"Go away," she whispered, prying one eyelid open to look around the darkened room. "You're not welcome here."

"I am afraid I cannot do that, little one," came a disembodied voice, and as it spoke the room filled with an icy mist. "My son is in grave danger, and I can only help him through you."

"Who's your son?" she asked although she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

"Riordyn." She felt the bed dip as if someone had taken a seat beside her, and then a muscular man with the same long dark hair and features as Riordyn appeared. "Tonight he fought our enemies recklessly unmindful of the task at hand. He is badly injured and I fear he will not survive if you do not allow me to help him."

"There was more than one vampire?" she said, pushing aside her covers.

Riordyn's father nodded. "One master vampire and two fledglings. He managed to kill one of the fledglings, but as I said, his mind was not in the fight."

"Because of me." He was kind enough not to blame her, but Jenna knew how single-minded Riordyn normally was when he went out to hunt vampires. If she hadn't tried to force herself on him, he would have been completely focused on the task. Instead he'd been focused on her desire to change their relationship. "What do you want me to do?" she asked as she got out of bed to get dressed while his back was to her.

"I would ask to possess your body in order to save my son." Like the other spirits she had come across, he could have possessed her without her consent, and she would have been helpless to stop him. Instead he chose to ask her permission. Still she dreaded the idea of losing control of her mind and body. "I would not ask if there was any other way to save him. The energy within you expands upon the power any spirit possesses, little one. Through you I can destroy the vampires and heal my son."

"What if they're stronger than you?" His expression turned grave, and she lifted a hand to stop him as he opened his mouth to respond. "Never mind, don't answer that. Just do it before I change my mind."

No matter how hard Riordyn tried to put Jenna out of his mind to focus on the vampire he was tracking, she kept creeping back into his thoughts. Several times he reached out to her, hoping he could somehow persuade her into forgiving him. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach her. She had closed herself off to him completely.

I never should have taken on the responsibility of protecting her. If he hadn't brought her into his world, he would have been free to spend all his time searching for his lifemate. Unbidden memories of his lifemate dying over and over again came to mind as he tracked the foul stench of the vampire. A myriad of faces flashed before his eyes, each one haunted with madness. My heart is chained to a mad woman. How can she possibly bring light to my darkness? He could search every mental institution throughout the whole world and never find her. That possibility never left his mind. I should have greeted the dawn and ended her curse – but then I never would have met Jenna.

If he hadn't found her and saved her from the mental institution, Cobbs would have continued to rape her and prostitute her body to other men while the officials at the institution remained unaware. The thought of another man touching her filled him with rage, and for all he knew she might be making love to Dillon at this very moment. He'd kept Rafe's lifemate Genevieve from being with another man; he could do no other than make certain Jenna did the same until he found her lifemate.

Sudden pain struck from seemingly out of nowhere. Pulled from his thoughts of Jenna, he glanced down at his chest. Blood soaked through his tattered shirt, leaking from deep jagged gashes running down the length of his chest. A scream burst from his lips as searing pain ripped through his back. Knees buckling, he dropped to the ground a split second before the vampire's claws raked through him again. He'd only sensed the master vampire, not the other two who took turns tearing into his flesh. Now he could only detect the two vampires, and their master was cloaked from him.

Dissolving into a fine mist, he slipped away from them, leaving a trail of bloody droplets behind. They swiftly caught up to him, giving him no time to heal his wounds. Hastily shifting into a wolf, he pounced on the taller vampire, knocking him to the ground. His teeth tore through the vampire throat, vile black blood spilling into his mouth. The smaller, bulkier vampire lunged at him, yanking him free from the bloody vampire. The taller vampire rose to his feet, and charged Riordyn. Its head bobbled grotesquely as blackened blood flowed freely from the massive gash in his throat.

Vines coiled around Riordyn's feet, twisting tight as they snaked their way up his body. Gathering his strength, he called down a bolt of lightning to incinerate the vines. Bats dove down from the sky and clawed at his skin as the bulkier vampire sunk his fangs into the side of Riordyn's throat. In a blur of speed, Riordyn whipped around as the taller skeletal vampire attacked again. His sharp clawing nails ripped into the smaller vampire, tearing him away from Riordyn.

Strength dwindling and rapidly losing blood, he shot forward and plunged his hand into the taller vampire's chest. Ripping its withered heart from its body, he threw it as far as he could and called down a lightning bolt to burn it to ash. The vampire dropped to the ground, and writhed and squirmed, struggling to get to its heart. Lightning forked across the sky and slammed into the vampire, setting him ablaze.

Instead of continuing with the attack the bulky vampire stood back, and another vampire approached. Tall and elegantly dressed, the vampire retained the look of a Carpathian instead of a skeletal creature with blackened teeth. His long black hair was neatly tied back away from his face. Undeniable power rippled through him, drawing all the insects within the forest to him. Snakes slithered up from out of the ground beneath him and coiled around his legs.

"You are weak, brother," the vampire spoke, and as he did a deep fissure erupted, splitting the earth where Riordyn stood. He leapt forward, landing on the ground a few feet away which gave way, leaving him to make another leap for safety. "Do you remember me, Riordyn?" he asked conversationally. "We fought side by side for many long years."

"I remember you, Artemis." Riordyn cautiously glanced back and forth between the master and the fledgling. "You were like a brother to me – now seeing what you've become I wish I had never saved your life."

"The strong always find a way to survive." With a flick of his wrist, a thick vine dropped down from the tree Riordyn was standing beneath, and wrapped around his throat. The thorny vine cut deep into his throat as it wove tighter and tighter, cutting off his oxygen. Dissolving into mist, he escaped only to reappear behind Artemis.

His arm shot forward to plunge into Artemis' back, but in a blur of speed, the other vampire caught hold of his wrist and yanked it backward, knocking Riordyn off balance. Stumbling to the ground, he rolled, but wasn't fast enough to get to his feet before the smaller vampire attacked again. Its claws ripped into Riordyn's upper arm, and tore across his chest. Blood splattered across the ground, and the insects converged on it.

"Pledge yourself to me, and you will not have to die this night, Riordyn," Artemis murmured in a low melodic tone meant to entrance.

"I am not afraid to die," Riordyn uttered, spitting out the blood filling his mouth. But even as he said the words, he knew he was lying. He didn't fear death, but he did fear leaving his lifemate behind to die alone again. And more than anything he wanted the chance to see Jenna again.

And then there she was, appearing from within the mist. Her eyes gleamed as black as obsidian in the pale moonlight. At first he believed her to be a figment of his imagination, but then Artemis tilted his head to the side to look at her. Riordyn's heart lodged in his throat as she strode forward without fear.

"Jenna, run!" he ordered, dragging himself to his feet only to be slammed to the ground by the fledgling.

"This little girl means something to you," Artemis chuckled. "I will spare her if you join me," he coaxed, practically gliding across the ground to close the distance to her.

"You think you are as powerful as me?" Jenna laughed, and as she did a halo of heavenly light surrounded her. She splayed out a hand, and lightning shot from her fingertips, incinerating the fledging in a burst of flames. "I call down the power of all the ancients upon you, Artemis!"

Thunder rumbled shaking the earth as lightning forked across the sky, and slammed into the ground all around Artemis. Jenna took a step toward Artemis, and for as unbelievable as it seemed to Riordyn, the vampire retreated.

"You would think to hurt and dishonor my son?" Jenna said, and with lightning fast reflexes, she closed the distance between them. Artemis screamed and writhed in pain as warmth of the halo surrounding her seared the flesh from his bones. "It is you who will die this night." With that said, she plunged her hand into his chest. Light filled his body, illuminating his rotted insides before he burst into flames. His screams echoed through the trees then faded away to nothingness.

When Artemis was gone, Jenna walked to Riordyn, and knelt beside him. Lifting her arm, she sliced through her wrist, and held it up to his mouth. "Take what I offer freely, my son, in order that you may live to find your lifemate."

You are not Jenna, he said through the common mental pathway of his people as he drank in the ancient powerful blood.

"I am your father."

"How is it possible?" was all he could think to say as his vision blurred and mind began to fog over.

"When I told Jenna you were in danger, she allowed me to possess her body to aid you. She will make a great lifemate for some man."

"I know," he uttered, eyelids fluttering closed. "I swear on my honor I will find her lifemate."

Jenna lifted him into her arms as if he were no more than a baby, and took to flight. She flew swiftly through the air toward the cavern. The warm glow of healing light surrounding Jenna seeped into his skin to heal his wounds. When the cavern entrance was in sight, she dove downward and sped through the tunnel. Once inside the cavern, she opened the earth and laid him down.

"Jenna grows weary, my son," his father said, kneeling beside him. "I must take her back to her friend's home."

"I want her to stay with me," he mumbled, fighting the strong mental push to sleep coming from his father.

"Through her I have called out to our people," he went on to say as he reinforced his command for Riordyn to sleep. "Falcon answered my call and will take Jenna to our homeland to find her lifemate. She has agreed to this, and wished for me to tell you goodbye. By the time you wake, they will be gone."

"You cannot take her from me." Riordyn struggled against the darkness dragging him under. He refused to believe Jenna would willingly leave him to find her own lifemate. He tried to sit up but his body refused to budge. "I am her protector, father. My honor demands that I be the one to find her a lifemate."

"You will dishonor yourself if she stays. Sleep the healing sleep of our people and then go and find your lifemate, Riordyn."

Jenna, do not leave me, he called out to her, weaving his way through her mind until he found her hidden buried deep within its recesses. Stay with me, little one. Once I am healed, I will take you to find your lifemate.

I can't, Riordyn. I won't let you get hurt again because of me. You said I'm not your lifemate, and I would know the difference when I find him – I need to find him without you.

When she was done speaking, she forcefully pushed him out of her mind, and his father sent him another sharp command to sleep. He lost the will to fight the beckoning sleep of his people, and allowed the darkness take him away from the pain filling his heart.