“She is so frightened of me, she cannot even trust her own mind, her senses. She knows in her heart that we are one, that I would never harm her, but still she refuses, in her mind, to acknowledge it. She thinks perhaps she is deranged.”

“Most people could never accept what you are demanding of her, Aidan,” Marie counseled softly. “She is young and innocent, not a worldly woman. Her life has been very narrow. Joshua is her reason for living. She fears him slipping away from her. She needs to feel in control of something.”

His golden eyes slashed at her. “What are you saying?”

“You are very dominating. You command people. You make all the decisions. Alexandria is still struggling just to accept what has happened to her. You, better than any of us, know this, yet you still demand she do exactly as you wish at all times.”

He shoved a hand through his tawny mane. “I have given her more leeway than I have ever given anyone. You do not understand the demands of a lifemate. I can barely manage to think straight.

I need relief, Marie, as crass as that sounds. The beast in me grows stronger each day. I do not know how long I can successfully wrestle him down.”

“You are that beast, Aidan,” Marie said severely. “Alex is a child. A terrified child. And she has good reason to be. Give her the time she needs to adjust.”

“What of the others seeking her? And there are others. At least two more. You read the papers. A serial killer on the loose, they say. But it is the vampires. I feel their presence. They seek her. They can feel her, that she is one of us and unattached as yet.”

“That is not so. You are her lifemate. Your blood is in her as hers is in you. There is no way one of them could lure her from you. In all our years together, I have learned that much. It is your Carpathian nature blinding you, Aidan, your urge to keep your lifemate always under your wing, to claim and protect her. Despite outward appearances, that part of you is still wild and uncivilized. But Alexandria is just as essentially human. She was not born Carpathian. She has no idea what is expected of her, what is even happening to her. She doesn’t understand yet.”

Aidan sighed, rubbing his temples. “She suffers needlessly. If she would but merge her mind fully with mine...”

“She wouldn’t yet trust what she learned anyway,” Marie insisted.

Aidan sighed and turned to Stefan. “We have to retire to the chamber soon. But you know I felt the presence of something unclean watching Joshua’s school. I believe the others will strike against us soon. Please be alert to any danger to any of you.”

Stefan nodded. “I have made the necessary calls, and the security system is in place. Do not worry about us. We have been through this before.”

“Too many times,” Aidan replied sorrowfully. “Why you stayed and chose to live this life so far from our homeland, so dangerous for you and your sons, I do not know.”

“You know,” Marie said softly.

Aidan bent and brushed her cheek lightly with an affectionate kiss. “I guess I do,” he admitted. “Please see if Alexandria is ready to go to the chamber. I do not wish her to think I am ‘dominating’ her.”

Marie nodded, and Stefan followed his wife through the house, uneasy with the way things seemed to be going. Aidan was dangerous, powerful, more beast than man when push came to shove. And he would allow no one or nothing to take Alexandria Houton from him. Stefan could easily read that in Aidan’s protective, possessive posture when he was close to her. And Aidan’s thin veneer of civility was wearing thinner by the day.

Marie and Stefan’s search for Alexandria came to an abrupt stop when they saw her huddled beside the front door. She looked small and lost, a forlorn little girl tormented beyond endurance. Her knees were drawn up to her chin, her face down, hair spilling around her, hiding her expression. She was shaking, pale, the terrible daytime lethargy of the Carpathian people slowly creeping over her, taking control. Clearly it was frightening for her to feel her body turning to lead, as if all control was lost forever.

“Alexandria,” Marie said anxiously, approaching the huddled figure, “are you all right?”

Her concern seemed genuine, but Alexandria was under no illusions. Marie’s first and only loyalty was to Aidan Savage. Anything she said would be reported to him immediately. Alexandria did not lift her head. Inside her was a growing dread that she was utterly helpless, caught in a snare, a maze so tangled, she would never get out. Aidan was far too powerful to fight, and for some reason, he wanted her with him.

“Alexandria?” Marie gently touched her bowed head. “Tell me, should I get Aidan?”

Alexandria squeezed her eyes shut. Aidan. It always seemed to come back to Aidan. “No, I... I’m just finding everything... overwhelming. I... I need time to adjust.” Her voice was so tight, she felt so close to a breakdown, she was afraid to speak. She struggled to stop the inner trembling threatening to shake her apart. Was she crazy? Did she belong in a mental institution?

She had to find a way to get Joshua away from these people. She should have asked Thomas Ivan for help. But the truth was, he could never hope to win against Aidan. Aidan would never let her go. She didn’t know why, she didn’t understand how, but she had an absolute conviction that he would follow her to the ends of the earth. She bit down on a knuckle to keep from screaming. How could shehope to fight Aidan? Could she even survive without his help? If she checked herself into a hospital, admitted to hallucinations, what would happen to Joshua?

Without warning she could feel the need to touch Aidan creeping up on her, entering her mind. No matter how hard she tried to wipe the idea away, it persisted. She wanted to know he was there, somewhere close. Insanity! Her own mind had turned against her! The more she fought herself, the worse it became. She needed him. Needed his reassuring touch.

Marie gave a soft exclamation as droplets of blood dotted Alexandria’s forehead. She turned toward Stefan, afraid for the girl. They needed Aidan immediately. Clearly the struggle taking place in Alexandria’s mind was causing her agony. Tears welling up in her own eyes, Marie knelt beside Alexandria and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She felt so small, so fragile, her body trembling so hard, Marie was afraid she might shake apart, break into a million pieces.

“Please let me help you, Alexandria,” the housekeeper begged softly.

“What can you do?” Alexandria asked hopelessly. “What can anyone do? He’ll never let me go.” She looked up at the older woman plaintively. “Will he?”

Marie’s silence was her answer. She felt the girl’s shudder of fear. “Aidan is a good man and means only to protect you. Trust him.”

“Do you?”

“With my life. With the lives of my children,” Marie said solemnly, truthfully.

“But then, he doesn’t want the same thing from you that he does from me, does he?” Alexandria asked bitterly. “He would do anything to keep me here, even deceive me about what is real and what isn’t.”

Without warning she leapt to her feet, nearly knocking Marie over. Then she was struggling to open the front door. Stefan yelled a warning. Marie shouted for Aidan. And Alexandria jerked open the heavy door and ran out into the relentless, murderous sun.

At once a thousand needles pierced her eyes, and her skin blistered, smoke swirling around her as she burned. She didn’t know if she screamed because of the pain or because Aidan had told the truth. This agonizing reaction was not the result of a hypnotic suggestion.

Stefan tore off his shirt, flung it over her head, and lifted her collapsing body into his arms, rushing her back into the safety of the house. Marie was sobbing, reaching anxiously for her, but Aidan got there first, dragging her out of Stefan’s arms, cradling her against his chest. For a moment there was absolute silence as he laid his head on top of hers, his eyes closed, his heart pounding, his soul scarred.