I looked down at my hands and gasped as they too were fading into nothingness. My head hung lazily as if I was drugged and my eyes fell shut as the rest of me faded away.

23

My eyes opened slowly, still heavy with sleepiness. It took me a moment to focus, but when my surroundings came into view I realized I was in my bedroom.

“She’s awake!” A female voice announced. I stretched and groaned, my body felt as if it hadn’t moved in eons. My muscles strained when I stretched. I propped myself up on my elbows and noticed that Fiona was kneeling on the side of my bed with a huge smile lighting her face.

Aiden walked through my bedroom door and enveloped me in his arms. I inhaled his familiar scent of soap and spices and devoured the feel of him against me. The last time I had seen him, he was severely weakened by liquid silver, at the hands of Micah and Wyatt. Looking at him now, no one would ever know that his features were once mangled. His skin was back to its normal creamy perfection and his eyes shone as brightly as sapphires.

“How long have I been out? What happened?” I asked as I looked at Fiona over Aiden’s shoulder. Aiden released me and sat on the side of the bed, grabbing my hand. Relief was evident when he looked at me and happiness filled me when I looked at him. The entire time the man for me had been right under my nose but I was too involved with Micah to notice…until now.

“You’ve been out for three days, Gwen. It was touch and go at first, but I knew you’d come back to me,” Aiden said with a thin-lipped smile. My mind was in a whirlwind, three days I’d been out? I couldn’t remember much except being pulled away from Aiden’s side as he lay by my side…and Ian.

“Is Ian in jail? He’s the one responsible for the witches’ deaths,” I suddenly said in a shrill voice, overly anxious to get the news out. Aiden’s hand went to my back and rubbed small circles to calm my panic. I watched him expectantly, waiting for him to confirm that Ian was, in fact, in prison.

“Ian fed you his blood in hopes of healing you, he seemed rather willing to do so too,” Aiden paused as his anger momentarily overtook him. “When he finished feeding you, he disappeared.”

I gaped. “What do you mean he disappeared?” My heart slammed against my chest at the thought that Ian Despereaux was still wandering around freely. It seemed he had some sort of fascination with me and I wasn’t looking forward to running into him ever again.

“I don’t know how to explain it. One moment he was feeding you and the next minute he wasn’t there anymore. Micah brought in Louis for questioning and found out some interesting things…”

“What things?” I interjected quickly. Fiona had gotten up while Aiden told me the news and had returned with a cup of hot tea. She handed it to me and I took a slow sip. The warmth slid down my throat and settled happily in my stomach that felt completely empty. I’d worry about not eating later; right now, I had to know about Ian. Fiona sat Indian-style on my floor and waited for Aiden to continue his story. I took a moment to look at her and asked, “Are you okay, hearing about Ian and who he really is?”

She shook her head with a bitter smile and said, “Absolutely, the only attraction he held over me was his glamour. What an idiot I was.” I gave her a small smile but internally I jumped for joy that my best friend was finally free of Ian’s charms. I looked back at Aiden, anxiously awaiting the information I had interrupted.

“It seems Ian is actually Louis’ sire. Ian had made it seem like he worked for Louis, but it was all part of his plan not to draw attention to himself. Louis was hesitant to rat out his sire, but Micah and Wyatt found a way around that,” Aiden smiled and I shuddered, thinking of the methods the FPD used to get a vampire to tell on his sire.

“Liam isn’t in prison is he? It was Ian that hit me with the magic and it was on purpose,” I said.

Aiden shook his head. “No, Liam projected his thoughts so that we saw what happened. I bet Ian hadn’t expected he could do that,” he snorted.

I rubbed my forehead as a million thoughts rushed through my mind. We now knew that Ian Despereaux was responsible for the killings and selling witches’ blood, but it didn’t feel like it was close to being over. I mentally cursed myself for ever getting involved in this mess but a small part of me was happy to have the knowledge I’d gained from it.

“Fiona would you mind giving us a moment alone?” Aiden asked. Fiona looked up at me and then nodded her head. She gave me a hug before she walked out of my room, closing the door behind her.

Aiden’s hands held my face as his blue eyes watched me with an emotion I no longer feared, love. He drew closer and pressed his lips softly against mine and I closed my eyes with the heat that stirred within me. When Aiden pulled away and looked at me with remorse, the heat was quickly doused, an icy chill replacing the warmth.

“What’s wrong?” I asked softly. I learned with this case, that nothing was ever what it seemed. I knew that Aiden wasn’t telling me everything where Ian was concerned and I feared the words that dangled silently on his lips.

“Gwen,” he began, releasing a heavy sigh. “Ian fed you that night.” A storm was brewing in Aiden’s eyes and all I could do was wait for the torrential downpour of the words he hesitated to speak. I nodded my head as my stomach rolled with my anxiety.

“Remember when we were out by the tree that night? How I could tell that you wanted me?” Aiden asked. Through the chaos I had forgotten that Aiden and I had a quick tryst before everything blew up. A blush rushed to my cheeks and I smiled in remembrance. How wonderful if all I had to worry about in my life was getting caught for indecent exposure with Aiden as we experienced each other’s bodies all over Flora.

“Yes,” I said cautiously, unsure what he was trying to tell me.

“I can sense your emotions because I’ve drunk from you.” Aiden paused and I widened my eyes, wanting him to just spit out the bad news already. I hated the suspense he was causing me.

“So?”

“Ian has drunk from you as well, which means he can also sense you…”

“Oh! My! God!” I quickly said as the gravity of what Aiden was telling me sunk in. The one man who had a deep fascination with me, who was responsible for killing my kind, could find me as easily as if I had a tracking chip implanted.

“I haven’t gotten to the bad news yet,” Aiden said. My insides froze, not knowing how it could possibly get worse.

“You drank from him as well. When a vampire shares his blood with a person he has also drunk from, it forms a bond. Bonds are very serious, Gwen, and as vampires, we do not take them lightly. I tried to stop Micah and Wyatt from letting Ian feed you but I was too weak. I’m so sorry, Gwen.”

I stared at Aiden but my eyes didn’t see the dark haired, blue-eyed man I’d come to love. I stared blankly past his beauty as I absorbed what he told me. Words failed on my stunned lips and air seemed to escape my panicked lungs. I shook my head back and forth, unable to believe that Ian and I were bonded.

“You won’t be bonded for long. Ian will die by my hand the first chance I get, this I promise you, my Gwen.” Aiden’s words did little to comfort me. I knew that Aiden was strong and over six hundred years old, but Ian was over eight hundred years old and had magic on his side.

“What does the bond mean?” I mumbled as I looked up at Aiden.

“He’ll be able to feel your emotions as much as you’ll be able to feel his. You’ll also be telepathically linked.” Aiden explained.

I hung my head in my hands and tried to breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Like breathing exercises would calm me down after learning that I was bonded to Ian.

“I don’t understand why he wanted to bond with me,” I said, but it came out in a mumble since my hands were covering my lips.

“You’re one of the last spirit walkers, Gwen; Ian’s interest is in your rarity. Try not to worry, he can only run so far before he’s caught,” Aiden said, trying to keep the anger from his voice. I knew he wanted me to look on the bright side of things, but when it came to Ian, there wasn’t a bright side.

Two soft knocks sounded at my door and Aiden was up in a flash, opening the door. Fiona jumped slightly when the door whipped open, but quickly regained her composure. She peeked around Aiden so that she could see me and said, “Micah is here to talk to you; do you want to see him?” Aiden’s hand tightened on the door handle, a grinding sound moaning under the pressure of his grip.

“You’re going to ruin my door handle,” I told him. He let go and crossed his hands across his chest instead.

“I would love to see him, I have a few choice words I’d like him to hear,” I told Fiona. She nodded her head and disappeared down the hall. Aiden walked over to the bed and knelt in front of me, pushing his body between my legs. His hands cupped my face and he pressed a kiss to my lips. His tongue darted out and licked my upper lip before slipping into my mouth. I massaged his tongue with mine and ran my hands over his shoulders and up into his dark hair. My whole body yearned to be close to Aiden, to taste him, to feel him. When our kiss ended, I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head on his shoulder. I enjoyed the comfort he provided me.

“I need to tell you something,” I whispered. He looked up at me and the sides of his mouth curled up as he grinned at me.

“What is it, my Gwen?”

“I…” I began but was interrupted when Micah stepped into my bedroom. I looked back at him and sighed. “Can we pick up where we left off after Micah and I talk?” I asked Aiden. He kissed my forehead and got to his feet.

“Of course. I’ll be in the living room.” I nodded my head and turn on my bed so that I was sitting crossed-legged. Aiden glared at Micah and pushed past him. Micah closed the bedroom door and walked around the bed and leaned against the far wall.

“I’m happy you finally woke up; you had us worried,” Micah said cautiously.