A charming blush touched her pale cheeks and Styx smiled as her hands fluttered in confusion.

She would never entirely lose that sweet innocence he found so fascinating.

Drawing in a deep breath, she carefully considered her words. "You don't seem . . ."

"I don't seem what?" he prompted.

"Nearly as upset as you should be."

"I agree."

She hesitated at his ready response. "You do?"

"Of course. A vampire mates but once in his existence. It is a moment that binds his life with another for all eternity, and it is considered one of our most sacred ceremonies." His smile held an unconscious hint of longing. "Now I am mated to a woman who might very well walk away from me. At the very least I should be troubled."

"But you're not?"

"I can't deny that there's a part of me that desperately wishes to bind you to me, but beyond that there is a measure of. . ." Styx sought the name for the sensations that filled him. "Of peace."

"Styx..."

He pressed a finger to her lips. He could sense the panic that still simmered deep within her.

Not precisely flattering, but hardly unexpected.

"We will discuss this later," he said firmly, his finger absently outlining her full lips. "First, I wish to know what Salvatore said to you."

"How do you know..." she began only to cut off her words with a deep sigh. "Never mind."

"Will you tell me?"

She reached up to grab his hand, as if his light caress was distracting her. He hid a sudden smile. He liked the thought of distracting this woman. In fact, he intended to distract her a great deal more before this night was over.

"He said that the woman in the picture is my mother."

Styx studied her closely. "And you believed him?"

She stepped back, her expression defensive. "Styx, you've seen the picture. Even you have to admit we look too much alike for it to be a coincidence."

He swallowed the urge to argue. On occasion he did actually learn from his mistakes.

Miracles of miracles.

"I'm sure he must have told you more than the fact that the woman is your mother," he said instead.

Her eyes darkened. "He did."

"And?"

"He claims that my mother is a pureblood."

"No," he said more sharply than he intended. "He must be lying. You are no Were."

Her lips thinned at his tone. "Well, I'm certainly something besides human. You said yourself 1 must have demon blood."

"Demon blood, yes," he grudgingly conceded. "Not Were."

"Are you certain?"

Was he? Styx abruptly turned to pace across the tiled floor. In truth, he was baffled by the fact that he was unable to determine precisely what she was. But what he did know was that he couldn't allow himself to consider the possibility that she could be even part Were.

It had nothing to do with prejudice. Vampires could be arrogant with the best of them, but they often chose lovers of different species.

No, his reluctance came directly from his fear of losing this woman.

It was bad enough having to battle a long-lost mother returning to Dairy's life.

What chance would he have against the call of an entire pack?

Slowly he turned to meet her troubled gaze. "I cannot say exactly what you are, but I do know you are of an age at which you would have already begun to shift."

Her gaze dropped as she reached for the sweatshirt she had left on the counter. "Supposedly there is a reason that I have never .. . changed."

"Ridiculous." His hands clenched. By the gods, he should have killed Salvatore the moment he entered Chicago. "This has to be some sort of game."

"Maybe." Darcy pulled the sweatshirt on and gave it a sharp tug over her hips. "Whatever it is, I intend to discover the truth."

"Darcy ..." His futile words of warning were broken off as he turned toward the door.

She was swiftly at his side. "What is it?"

"Viper is approaching."

"Perhaps you should go and see what he wants."

He turned to brush a finger over her cheek. "We need to finish this conversation."

She smiled wryly before giving him a gentle push. "Go. I'll be here when you're done."

"You promise?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Just go."

Chapter Eighteen

With gliding steps, Styx left the bathroom and moved through the shadowed bedroom to open the door just as the silver-haired vampire arrived.

He stepped into the hallway but left the door open. No matter how foolish it might be, he didn't want any barriers between him and Darcy.

"Viper, unless the house is in flames I don't want to be interrupted," he said, with a warning frown.

"I must speak with you."

"Not now."

"You know I would not be here if it was not a matter of importance."

"I do not care if the world is coming to an end, I..."

He broke off with a hiss as Viper abruptly pushed past him to stand near the door, the dark eyes narrowing as he took a deep sniff of the air.

"Bloody hell. You mated her?" Viper growled. With a blur of speed, he slammed the door shut and moved to stand directly in front of Styx. "Have you lost your mind?"

Styx's smile held little humor. "I suppose it's possible."

"More than possible," Viper gritted. "You don't even know what the hell she is."

He grimaced, well aware his words were not about to reassure his companion.

"Actually, Salvatore has claimed that she is the daughter of a pureblood."

"She's a Were?" Expecting frank disbelief, Styx was caught off guard when Viper instead gave a slow nod of his head. "Shay did say that she smelled of wolf, although not even she was certain."

Styx frowned. Shay had suspected that Darcy was a Were?

Damn, damn, damn.

He resisted the urge to growl as he offered Viper a stern glare. "It no longer matters what she is."

"Devil's balls," his friend muttered. "It bloody well does matter."

"This is none of your concern. Viper."

"You are our Anasso. It is all of our concern."

With a deliberate ease, Styx allowed his power to fill the hallway. Viper was his friend, but he was in no mood to be lectured as if he were a fledgling demon.

"Do you wish to challenge me? Do you believe you belong in my place?"

The dark eyes narrowed. If push came to shove, both knew that Styx possessed the greater power, but the younger vampire was far from intimidated.

Viper was like any vampire.

He was too damn arrogant to be intimidated.

Not even when he should be.

"Don't be an ass, Styx," he snapped. "I wouldn't take your position if it was handed to me on a silver platter. But I can't stand aside and watch you endanger yourself with a female who is clearly tied to the Weres. What if she is a trap?"

"A trap?"

"There is nothing to say that Salvatore didn't deliberately lure you into believing they were hunting Darcy so you would capture her yourself."

Styx hissed softly, his expression hard with warning. "Why would they wish me to kidnap Darcy?"

"Perhaps she is simply a spy." Viper bravely—some might claim stupidly—refused to heed the danger that was swirling through the air. "Or more likely, she was sent to seduce you into lowering your guard and distracting you from the fact that the Weres are breaking their treaty. A trick that has been all too successful."

Styx gritted his teeth as he forced himself to step back. It had been centuries since he had struck out with mindless rage, but in this moment he couldn't be certain that it wasn't a possibility.

"You make no sense, Viper," he said with deliberate control. It was that or snapping and snarling. "One moment you are suggesting that I am not treating Darcy with the proper respect, and the next you are accusing her of being some devious siren designed to bring about the downfall of vampires."

"That is the point, Styx. We don't know enough about her to decide if she is friend or foe." Viper gave a frustrated shake of his head. "We certainly don't know enough for you to have made her your mate."

Enough was enough.

He had never wanted to take on the burdens of being the Anasso, but he was without question the leader of all vampires.

He did not have to explain or apologize for any decision he might make.

Especially when it came to his mate.

"We will speak no more of this. It is done and cannot be altered." There was no mistaking the command in his tone. "Now, why did you insist on interrupting me?"

For a moment Viper struggled with his own dominate nature. He was a clan chief and was accustomed to giving orders, not taking them.

At last he managed to overcome his instinct to continue the futile battle and gave a stiff nod of his head.

He would comply, but he didn't intend to be happy about it.