"Are you saying a serial killer is on the loose?" Paul asked.
"We don't acknowledge such things. We've chased a criminal into these woods, and he knows his way around. I am officially telling you and your party to leave. I'll be back tomorrow to ensure you've obeyed."
Paul scowled and tried to protest. Skyler ducked her head, twisting her fingers together, looking guilty, as if she knew Paul would take his anger out on her. After all, she'd set this all in motion by getting lost.
"She has a sprained ankle and needs care," Zev added. "And in case you think to chastise her, I was already aware of your camp and was coming to tell you to leave when I ran across her."
That made sense, too. He was Lycan. He belonged in the forest. It would talk to him the way Mother Earth spoke to her. She had no doubt that he had known-that he'd heard foreign footsteps or smelled their scents on the wind.
Zev dropped a hand on her shoulder. "I hope you feel better very quickly. I'm sorry we met under such circumstances. Please persuade whoever is in charge to take me seriously. You can always come back once we've found the killer."
It was a perfect cover-a police manhunt. Skyler nodded. "Thank you for your kindness."
Zev left them, striding away, disappearing into the trees. Skyler wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. She hadn't been aware that she'd been scared, but now she felt a little sick, but definitely triumphant. She'd done it. She'd slipped that tiny little bug into Zev's pocket, and he hadn't even known.
Paul hurried over to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Are you all right?"
She nodded. "He's a very scary man, but he was really nice to me. I was terrified the papers wouldn't hold up."
"I was more worried he'd take out one of his weapons and annihilate us both," Paul said. "My little tranq gun didn't seem so great when I could see weapons in his belt, hanging from a million loops on the inside of that coat, and even inside his boots. But, he looked and felt human."
"He was Lycan," Skyler assured. "I could tell the difference. He smelled wild. Part of the forest. It was in the way he moved as well. He's a wolf." She slowly unzipped her boot and straightened her leg, holding out her injured foot toward Paul. "Can you get this thing off of me? Josef did a great job on my cover, that's all I'm going to say on the matter."
"You mean until he gets here. You've got that look on your face." Paul did his best to remove the boot without hurting her further. He whistled when he saw her swollen, bruised ankle. "Well, one thing about Josef-he's thorough."
"I think I'll lie down and rest until the sun goes down," Skyler said.
She needed to touch Dimitri's mind. He might be in the Carpathian paralysis, but he hadn't been able to sleep the sleep needed for rejuvenation and his mind was still active. She found that the more she merged her mind with his, the more she needed to do so.
She'd fallen in love with Dimitri, his gentle, tender ways and his absolute, unfaltering love for her. Now she knew the pull between lifemates. That link had grown stronger between them. She could feel the need to touch him, to just know he was alive somewhere, rising in her more and more as every hour slipped by. Perhaps it was because she was older now, or because she'd made that final commitment to him.
Paul helped her hobble to her hammock and she lay down, stretching out, trying to relax. She knew the worst would be this night. Their plan would either work or they would all be in trouble. Most of it depended on her.
She opened her mind and stretched herself along that now familiar path. Dimitri. It is done and I am safe. She knew he would need to hear her voice just as much as she needed to hear his.
Dimitri, caught in the Carpathian midday paralysis, would have closed his eyes had he been capable of moving. Relief was so raw it was tinged with madness. He hadn't been able to move, but he could think-imagine-every bad scenario that could possibly happen with Skyler alone in the forest. He poured himself into her mind, needing to touch her, to feel that closeness with her.
Skyler could feel Dimitri's relief flowing into her mind along with his warmth, the heat that always drove the cold of her nightmares away.
I was worried. It was nothing less than an understatement.
She found herself smiling. He felt different. He knew, like she did, that tonight was their night. Her plan had to work, there was no other choice. She took a deep breath and let it out. She had committed to him. She knew she loved him. There was no other. They could both die this night.
Dimitri, I love you with all my heart. I know you feel that. I have never hesitated to come to you as your lifemate from lack of love.
I am aware you love me, Skyler, he said, his voice a little perplexed. Did you think I would doubt you? I feel your love surround me every time we touch.
I have always told you the truth, that I fear I will not be able to satisfy you on a physical level. They had talked so much that she was no longer embarrassed to bring the subject up, although she still felt inadequate when they did discuss sex.
Sívamet. Dimitri spoke the Carpathian endearment tenderly. His heart always seemed to grow bigger and fuller when she was near. Sex is not making love. There is a difference. I will show you the difference and you will no longer fear us coming together in a physical way. There is no need to worry. When you're ready . . .
I am ready. That's the point. I want you to claim me. Right now. Please claim me right now. Her heart pounded in her chest. She wanted him in that moment. Not just in her head. Or her heart. She wanted their souls to be woven back together as they were meant to be.
Dimitri's entire body reacted. For one moment all pain was gone and there was only Skyler-his lifemate-reaching for him. Offering herself to him in his weakest moment. How could he possibly resist her? She was everything to him. Yet here he was, hanging from the branch of a tree, pierced with silver, wrapped in silver chains, helpless to even aid his lifemate should she run into trouble. What did he have to offer her? Even if they managed to get him free, they would be hunted for all time by the Lycans.
He had no idea what his mixed blood would do to her during a conversion. He didn't know if children were possible, or if so, what they would become. He loved her with everything he was or would ever be, but what right did he have to tie her so closely, an unbreakable bond . . .
Dimitri's silence frightened Skyler. Surely he felt the same way. She knew the drive to claim one's lifemate was primal, strong, nearly impossible to ignore-and Dimitri had managed to ignore it for years. Was he as worried about her inability to commit to a physical relationship as she was? That stood to reason.
He was rejecting her. Pain sliced through her like a knife. She pulled her knees into her chest, drawn into the fetal position. She'd waited too long. She had made him wait forever, thinking he would always be there for her.
Dimitri felt her instant fear, the pain of rejection, and cursed himself for such clumsy handling of her tremendous gift. And it was a gift, a treasure beyond anything else she could ever offer him. His mind felt slow and sluggish. He could barely breathe, his lungs laboring, and the agonizing burn of the silver hadn't allowed his brain to function in the way he needed.
Sívamet, you are my heart. You are, Hän ku vigyáz sívamet és sielamet-keeper of my heart and soul. Above all else, I want to bind our souls together. It is my greatest wish. But, Skyler, you cannot tempt me this way. I'm weak and you're vulnerable. We've both been through so much. You cannot tempt me, he reiterated again, hoping she understood what she meant to him, but that it was his duty to protect her.
She heard the urgent need in his voice, every bit as strong as it was in her, maybe stronger. Her heart settled. Fluttered. Filled with joy. She took in the fresh air. I know it's the right time. Our time. We need to be strong together. Bind me to you, my love. This is what I want.
How could he possibly explain to her the peril his life choices would put her in? He wanted her to be permanently his, bound so that no other could ever take her from his side, but they weren't in a safe place where he could surround her with his love and hold her close to him, reassure her if she became fearful. He didn't know if he would even live out the night. He couldn't even give her that reassurance.
I can't hold you in my arms and do it properly. Once this is done, it can't be undone.
Skyler found herself smiling. More than anything else she was certain of what she wanted, and she wanted to be Dimitri's lifemate in every sense of the word. She was merged with him and him with her. The connection between them was so strong. It had been growing since their first encounter. How could she not fall in love with him? How could she possibly want anyone else in her life?