“Okay then why? And how?” Kate pressed, her heartbeat escalating further, her breath coming faster. She was pushing him, she knew it. But she loved her niece and was concerned.
For that reason, Lucien sought patience.
“This I don’t know,” Lucien admitted through his teeth.
“Then Etienne being involved at this juncture, with so many unknowns, so many dangers –”
“I will keep her safe,” Lucien repeated impatiently.
“She’s falling in love with you,” Kate blurted and Lucien’s entire body went tense. Kate saw it and leaned back then took a small step away from him. Still, even as she moved away, her eyes studied him closely. Then, quietly and with some surprise, she whispered, “That eventuality had not occurred to you.”
She was wrong. Stephanie had warned him of this possibility. Cosmo had concerns of it. His children.
But it could not happen.
“She is concubine, I’m vampire. She’s mortal, I’m immortal. She’s dreaming of The Sentence and after I explained it to her, she knows what it means. It would be beyond foolhardy for her to fall in love with me. Even before she knew of The Sentence, she knew vampires did not mate with mortals. She knew this,” Lucien replied, feeling something in his gut. Something new. Something he hadn’t felt in centuries. Something he only felt once in his very long life.
Something he felt with Maggie.
I love you.
Christ, he’d heard it through her dreams. He’d even heard it in his.
Christ! Could these dreams be premonitory?
No. It simply could not happen.
“You’ve spent much time watching Leah, hearing of her and now, being with her. But you still have much to learn about her,” Kate said softly, taking his attention back to her.
Lucien held Kate’s eyes before he sighed.
It was time to do something about this, for their families, those who cared about them and, especially, for Leah.
Therefore he announced, “I’ll speak to her.”
Kate’s brows shot up. “You mean, to tell her not to fall in love with you?” she asked incredulously.
“No, to remind her of things she should keep in the forefront of her mind through our time together. Once I remind her of these things, she’ll stop herself from being controlled by these types of emotions.”
Kate shook her head. “Lucien, this is Leah we’re talking about.”
“Yes, and she is far from stupid. I can see as our relationship has progressed, the intensity of feelings we’ve shared, matters could cloud better judgment. I’ll simply call her attention to what she should bear in mind.”
“You can do that, of course, and Leah is clever. But Lucien, I warn you if you haven’t already noted this, my niece follows her heart. She’s ruled by emotion. She can understand something logically in her head but her feelings guide her, especially if they’re intense. Her head has absolutely no sway over her emotions.”
“Then I’ll explain things fully,” Lucien returned and Kate fell silent. When this lasted several moments, Lucien enquired, “Are we finished?”
“One more thing,” she answered quietly.
“One more, Kate,” Lucien allowed, “but make it fast.”
“If you intend to have this talk with Leah, please, I implore you, do it quickly.”
“Unfortunately, at this time there are a variety of other matters –” Lucien started and was surprised when Kate cut him off.
And she did this to whisper, “Make this a priority, please, for my niece.”
“Kate –”
“She’s falling in love with you.”
“And I will speak with her.”
“Yes, but you must do it soon…” she hesitated and concern washed through her features as she finished, “before she lands.”
Lucien drew in breath.
Then he acquiesced, “I’ll make it a priority.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Lucien was done. He communicated this by tipping up his chin and moving toward the backdoor of the house.
As he moved he noted Avery sense his approach and Lucien watched through the windows as Avery rose and moved to the door.
His eyes went to Leah to see she’d noticed Avery’s departure. Her gaze then came to the window, caught his and she smiled and waved.
Hello, my pet, he called to her.
Hello, darling, she replied.
She meant it, calling him darling.
He smiled back.
Avery came through the door.
“A moment, Lucien.”
Lucien stopped, his eyes going to Avery, his control on his patience slipping.
“I’ll just head outside,” Kate murmured, slid past Avery and Lucien and out the door, closing it behind her.
Lucien leveled his gaze on Avery, warning, “I have very little time and less patience.”
“Only a moment,” Avery replied quickly.
“Then take your moment,” Lucien allowed.
“Gregor requests a meeting.”
Lucien held his eyes but didn’t expose his reaction.
Gregor was a member of The Council. Lucien had known him for years but, even so, he didn’t know him at all. He could be ally, he could be enemy.
Centuries ago, Gregor had shocked all vampires by denouncing his mortal mate during The Hunt. He was the only vampire to do this. Many didn’t understand Gregor’s actions, however Lucien did. If Maggie had lived, for her, he would have considered it. It was fortunately unfortunate that this decision never needed to be made.
Lucien, having had a mortal mate himself, could believe Gregor denounced his mate to give her a longer mortal life, even if they had to live the sudden brevity without each other.
This could mean that all these years, Gregor was holding resentment about the loss of his mate. This meaning he desired vampires to have their freedoms restored, to have what he lost, if only the taming. It could also mean that, having lost his, that resentment could have turned bitter and he wished no other vampire to mate with mortals, not even for a taming.
The only thing Lucien had to go on with Gregor was that he’d taken a young mortal into his care after her parents were assassinated. Lucien had never met the girl who now was a woman. However he had heard talk that Gregor was devoted to her in his way. The vampire was cold but Lucien sensed he wasn’t unfeeling. Further, Gregor’s son, Yuri was attached to his father’s ward, perhaps unhealthily. Or at least The Dominion would feel that way.
This could work in his favor if Gregor wished his son to be free to claim the mortal child he raised not only to keep her in the family but also to keep her alive for eternity.