The person crawled away.
Griffin got quickly to his feet and snatched the person up, knocking off the ball cap with a swat of his hand. Dark blond hair spilled from under the hat, and eyes of angry ice looked up at him.
It was Tessa.
Griffin stood, holding his dead mate, the love of his life. She'd been snatched by the cruelest of fates. He'd been robbed of her love and the life they were building together, along with the beautiful baby girl she had given birth to just days before. How could he possibly have been looking into the ice-blue eyes that had haunted his dreams for the past twenty-one years? The weight of touching her, smelling her sweet vanilla scent, and seeing the fire in her eyes was more than he could handle. He went to his knees and dragged her down with him. Wrapping her tightly in his arms, he began to sob and tremble with the power of his emotions.
"I really hate to break this up, Griffin, but we need to move, before we're seen." Mason patted him on the back.
"It's my Tessa. She lives, Mason. They lied to me. My Tessa … is here, in my arms," he said in a tearful rasp, rocking her in his arms.
Tessa pushed away from him and snatched her ball cap off the ground to tuck her hair back under it.
"Your Tessa? I am not your anything, Griffin Vaughn!" she snapped. "You have a replacement family, remember?" She started to walk away but stopped to come back and look down on him. He reached for her hand, and she allowed him to take it and kiss her palm, looking up at her from his submissive position. She was the only person who had ever ruled over him. He had gladly submitted to her whims in the past. He would do anything to please her.
"I can't believe you could look at that girl and not know she was your baby, Griffin. I have looked at you in her face for twenty-one years. How could you see your own face with my eyes and not know? Why can't you feel that she is yours?"
"Danielle? She is my Soleil? She has been here with me all these months? Does she know who I am?" he sputtered, pulling her hand to his lips. He breathed in the unforgettable scent of her skin. Tessa was alive. Their baby girl had survived. Griffin's mind struggled to accept what was right in front of him. His chest was tight with joy and relief, but it was tainted with the knowledge that she had left him behind. How could she do that to him, to them?
"Griffin, we really need to move, man," Mason interjected. Griffin was in the grass on his knees in plain view of anyone who passed the exit door to the parking lot. Griffin turned his face toward Mason and wondered why his friend didn't seem the least bit shocked by Tessa's reappearance.
"Yes, she knows exactly who you are." Tessa took a deep breath, and the tears began to flow. "And how could you not know I was still waiting for you?" she whispered. "How could you agree to bond to another less than a day after you heard of my ‘death'? How could you not hear me calling to you night after night for all these years? You better make this right, Griffin Vaughn. You promised to love and protect me and our child forever, and you have failed miserably. I expect you to make up for it now by proving her innocence. Get your ass in there and make this right!" Tessa pulled her hand from his and walked away.
"How will I find you again?" he asked anxiously. He couldn't imagine watching her walk away. If it was a dream, he didn't want to wake up, ever.
"Our child knows how to find me. After she's freed, she will call me. I'm taking her away from these people you would allow to kill her in cold blood, the same way your family would have when she was no more than a day old. If you allow them to harm her, I swear, there will not be a place in your world or mine that you will be able to hide." Tessa got into her car, slammed the door, and pulled out of the parking lot.
Mason went to help Griffin up off his knees and brush him off. Tears still streaming down his face, Griffin watched Tessa's car disappear down the road.
"Did I just dream that, Mason? This can't be real. I must be asleep, or crazy."
"You're not dreaming, my friend. Now, you need to pull yourself together so we can go take care of your daughter. She needs her dad right now." Mason pushed him back toward the council chamber.
"You knew they were alive!" Griffin grabbed Mason by his lapels. It was clear that Tessa's appearance had not been a surprise for him. Mason grabbed Griffin's huge wrists to stay his attack long enough for a short explanation.
"I did." Mason calmly tried to explain. "I'm sorry, Griffin, but I didn't know what else to do. I can explain it all later. Right now we have to get back inside."
Almost everyone had returned to his or her seat, and Danielle was being led back into the chamber by Gage. Lloyd wouldn't allow Darren to go with Danielle. He said he didn't want his experiment ruined by her cheating. She suspected Lloyd wanted to see the extent of her powers while he had an excuse to force her cooperation.
A guy she'd never seen before was at the large front table looking over the photos she had submitted. She watched him with interest, wondering who he was and why he was so interested. He was a stunning man who looked to be a little older than Kayden. Of course, that meant nothing. He could be very old, and she would have no way of knowing. He was statuesque, lean, and not overly muscular. He wore a tailored suit that reminded her of Griffin's polished style. He had wavy hair the color of raven wings, and eyes so dark she couldn't tell the pupils from the irises. His skin tone was that of a well-tanned Italian god. Damn. If she didn't already have enough trouble, this guy could surely inspire some more.
Chase caught her staring and followed her gaze. He walked swiftly past her to snatch the pictures from the guy's grasp. Danielle wore nothing but a bra and panties in the pictures. "Get your jollies off one of your pets, Van. Danielle is way out of your league," Chase snapped at the guy. The guy smiled widely at Chase and reached for another pile of pictures on the table. Completely indifferent, he continued to look over the photos. Chase tried to take those, too. Without even looking up, the guy put his fist in Chase's chest, and Chase stumbled back. Danielle could only imagine the guy was from one of the ruling houses, because everyone else had a healthy fear of Chase. Chase's family was powerful, and he would one day serve on the council. Tall, dark, and mysterious just swatted him away like an annoying bug. Chase's eyes went dark in a way she had never seen before. He was truly pissed and went all black-eyed freak in the space of two seconds. Dani jumped up and went to put herself between the men. Shackled and cuffed, she put her hands on Chase's chest.
"Please don't do this now. I can't handle any more drama. It's not worth it." She tried to soothe him with circular stokes of her fingers on his tight abs. He looked down at her, and the black bled from his eyes. Telepathically she said to him, Please, baby. His features softened at her endearment.
"I'm sorry, Lovely. I just don't like him looking at your body in those pictures." Chase pulled her into an embrace and buried his face in her hair. Of course, that was when Kayden entered from the rear of the chamber with Griffin and Mason. Extracting herself from Chase's arms in order to avoid a war, she turned to look at the stranger. He watched her intently with one eyebrow cocked and a half smile on his full lips. She stepped forward and Chase stepped with her, putting his chest against her back and a hand on her waist in a possessive movement. Dani could see Kayden on the move toward them and Mason rushing to catch him. She pushed Chase back away from her, but his hand remained on her waist.
"I apologize if I have offended you, Ms. Scott. My name is Donovan Stafford." He reached out, took her cuffed hand, and bent to place a kiss on her knuckle. "Christopher Stafford is my little brother, and I am forever in your debt for saving his life. I will assist in any way possible. I'm a lawyer. I was only trying to find an angle of defense. Please, forgive me." He lowered his head in respect.
The council began to filter in, and Kayden watched in frustration from the front row, where Gage and Mason had pinned him.
"If you come up with anything, let me know," Dani said wryly. "They didn't exactly offer a public defender, and I couldn't tell which ones were the vampire lawyers in the phone book."
Donovan laughed at her sense of humor at such a critical time. She was led away by Chase while he glared at Donovan, who went back to looking at the pictures. Chase pushed in her chair for her when she sat at the defendant's table and went back to his seat. Griffin stopped by her table and looked at her meaningfully, before moving on to the council table. Danielle thought he looked sick, and his eyes were red. Was he angry with her? Great. She couldn't afford to lose an ally on the council.