“I know that I love him and he loved me.”
“Yes,” Trixie agreed. “But I doubt if either of you were in love. Not a soul-destroying kind of love. If you had been, you would have been like you and Aleksei, all over each other. You love each other because you both are intelligent, have a lot in common, make each other laugh, all those things. But, child. Where was the passion?”
Gabrielle closed her eyes. Trixie was making sense, and that only seemed to make her feel worse.
“Gabrielle. Think about it. This man, Aleksei, frightens you. He doesn’t give you one single thing you thought you wanted or needed. But you’re reluctant to say anything that might put him in a bad light. You refuse to say one bad thing about him, and looking at you, seeing your misery, I think there are a few lessons that man needs to learn about women and he needs to learn them fast.”
“You don’t understand the enormity of what I did,” Gabrielle said. “You can’t possibly understand yet. You’re still human. You don’t even really know about Carpathians. The betrayal went so deep.” She frowned and waved her hand. The moment she did, she was fully clothed, although, like Trixie, she’d left her shoes off.
“How do you do that?” Trixie demanded.
Gabrielle blinked as if coming out of a deep fog. “It’s because he’s my lifemate.”
“That’s another thing. Maybe you should explain Carpathians and lifemates to me, because I don’t quite get that, either.”
Gabrielle turned her head, sweeping her long hair over her shoulder to stare at Trixie in shock. Clearly shocked. “You told me you’re Fane’s lifemate.” Her heart began to pound. Hard. What if she’d made a mistake? She couldn’t trust her own judgment anymore. If she was talking to this woman, taking her at face value, and she was there hunting them, she had just helped convince the hunter to kill them.
“That’s what he told me,” Trixie said. “But I don’t understand exactly what that means.”
Gabrielle bit her lip hard. Hard enough that her teeth drew a small drop of blood. Trixie winced for her, but Gabrielle didn’t really do more than register that small movement. She didn’t know what to do.
There was one moment when she felt something stirring in her mind. And then he was there. Pouring into her. Warm. Intimate. It didn’t feel at all like an invasion. She felt complete. Safe.
Kessake. What is it? What has you upset?
Didn’t he mean more upset? If he knew she was worried about something he had to have known she was crying her eyes out. How? If he hadn’t been in her mind . . . Had he lied to her?
I cannot lie to you. I will not lie to you. Your soul is tied to my soul. I feel your emotions, just as you can feel mine should you try. I entered your mind because you are very troubled. I am your lifemate and if you have need of me, I will come to you. Tell me. Now.
12
Gabrielle knew Aleksei had just given her an order. If she didn’t tell him what he wanted to know, he would take the information from her mind. She took a deep breath. Submitting. Not because she was afraid of him, but because she was afraid for him. She was afraid for all the residents of the monastery.
There is a woman with me. Her name is Trixie Joanes. She said she’s Teagan’s grandmother and lifemate to Fane. I’ve . . . God. God. Why was she so gullible and stupid? Why didn’t she think before she acted? Now she had this hanging over her head as well. I’ve told her things that revealed a lot about what you are. She could be an enemy. I didn’t think, but I could have put everyone here at risk.
What we are.
She swallowed hard at the tone he used. Velvet over steel. A rasp she felt inside her body like a caressing stroke, but something else that set her heart pounding. I don’t understand.
We are. You. Me. We. We are both Carpathians. If you put me at risk, then you have put yourself at risk as well. And. I. Am. Not. There.
Uh. Oh. She got that. She got that right away. He was not happy with her at all.
What should I do?
Fane says the woman is his lifemate. What is she doing with you?
This was getting worse by the moment. Still, there was something in his tone that compelled her to answer. I need to sort myself out. She’s someone I can talk to. Maybe she can help me.
Fury. Hot. Wild. Intense. It poured into her. Filled her mind. O jelä peje terád, emni. Sun scorch you, woman. Get rid of her. You talk to me. We sort you out together. Not an outsider. You. Me. Together.
She held herself very still. She knew she’d gone pale, she could feel the blood leaving her face. You swore at me. In Carpathian. That’s considered swearing, isn’t it? And you keep saying the word peje to me.