Dark Wolf(3)

"Your family is one of the most powerful families of our people." He  frowned. "Which reminds me, why don't you ever refer to Gregori as your  uncle? He's a brother to Lucian and Gabriel, so technically, he is your  uncle."

"I guess I never thought about it. I don't know him. We're in London,  and he's here in the Carpathian Mountains and he's never shown a  tremendous amount of interest in me."

"He's a Daratrazanoff, believe me, Sky, he's interested in you. If you  disappear, your family is going to come looking and they'll be on the  warpath. All of your family, especially Gabriel."

"Are you afraid of my father?" Skyler asked.

"I've got news for you, honey, everyone is afraid of your father, and if  they aren't they should be, especially when it comes to you. Haven't  you noticed how protective he is of you? Your uncle Lucian is just as  bad if not worse, and if anyone messes with one of those men or anyone  they love, they answer to both of them."

Skyler bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Josef, for putting you in this position.  I can't turn back. I have to find Dimitri. I know I can do this. This  plan is flawless. And we both knew-and counted on Gabriel and Lucian  coming after me. I can go from here by myself, I really can."

Josef burst out laughing. "Now you really have lost your mind. If I let  you do this alone, they'd really kill me. No, we're here and we have to  see it through. I think you're the only one who could pull this off.  But, Skyler, if you get into trouble, this really will start a war.  Lucian and Gabriel are not going to back off if someone hurts you, or if  you're captured. They won't care what the prince says. They'll go after  you and no one will stand in their way. You'd better go into this  knowing that. You have to know the consequences and be willing to face  them."

Skyler pressed her lips together. She'd thought about little else since  she and Josef had come up with the plan. "Dimitri is a good man. He  could have claimed me, taken me away from my home and the only stability  I'd ever known. I wouldn't have been able to resist him, the pull of  lifemates is just too strong. But he didn't, Josef, no matter the  terrible cost to him. He didn't insist on claiming me or binding us  together. He wasn't afraid of Gabriel. He was never afraid of Gabriel."

Josef waved his hand at the coffin and the lid creaked closed. "I know," he admitted softly.

"He knew I wasn't ready, that I needed time to find myself and overcome .  . . everything in my past." Skyler ducked her head, so that her wealth  of silky hair covered her expression.

"Don't, Sky," Josef said. "We're best friends. What happened to you wasn't your fault, and you should never feel ashamed."

"I'm not ashamed, well, not like you think. I believe Dimitri is a great  man and he deserves a lifemate who can match him in everything. I'm not  that woman yet. I want to be with him, I feel that need nearly as  strongly as he does. It grows in me every single day."

"Do you think he would hold your past against you?" Josef asked.

Skyler shook her head. "No, he often is close enough to talk to me at  night when I can't sleep. We talk a lot at night. I love his voice. He's  very gentle with me, never demanding. I know it's difficult for him. I  can feel his struggle, although he hid it from me at first. You can't be  in someone else's head without eventually seeing everything. Darkness  threatened to swallow him all the time, yet he never said anything to  me, he never tried to hurry me. He certainly didn't condemn me because I  was too young-and afraid. Dimitri doesn't judge me."

"No one does, hon," Josef pointed out. "You're the one so hard on  yourself. I especially loved the stage when you dyed your hair  constantly. It took a little while to find yourself and be comfortable  with who you really are."

Skyler's eyebrow shot up. She stared pointedly at Josef's black, spiked hair tipped with blue.

His grin was contagious, revealing twin dents near his mouth. "This is  who I am. I found that out a long time ago. I like my hair with blue  tips."

"Because no one will ever guess just how smart you are. They're too busy  looking at your hair and the piercings you occasionally put in just to  bug them all," she accused, laughing softly. "I love you, Josef, you  know that, don't you?"

"Yep. That's why I'm here, Sky. I don't have all that many people who  care about me. If you say you need me, I'll come." He looked away from  her.

Skyler put her hand on his arm. "There are many people who care about  you, Josef, you just don't let them get close. If you gave Dimitri a  chance, he would be a good friend to you. I know he would. I've talked  to him many times about you."

"I thought you hadn't seen him since you'd been to the Carpathian Mountains."

"He thought it best if we stayed away from one another. I knew it would  be too difficult for him with me being physically close to him, but he  came to London on and off when he needed to hear my voice."

"Did Gabriel know?" Josef asked.

"Probably. He didn't ask me, but I noticed when Dimitri was close,  Gabriel stayed closer and when he wasn't with me, Francesca was close  by. There were times when Uncle Lucian and Auntie Jaxon hung around.  They're busy, so I knew it was because they were afraid Dimitri would  come and claim me."

"But he didn't."

"Of course not. He's a man of honor. I'm not old enough in the  Carpathian culture, which is funny, because in the human culture I could  marry easily. No one would think twice about it."

"Did you want him to claim you?" Josef asked curiously.

Skyler shrugged. "Sometimes. I dream about him. I don't ever think about  other men, or even look at them. It's always Dimitri. He calls to me  and isn't even aware of it. When we're talking, mind to mind, I see  things. How alone he is. How dark his world is. How hard it is to  struggle against the constant pull of the darkness. He endures so much  for me. So much for all of us. When he hunts, it has become harder for  him. Every time he has to kill. I see all that, and the terrible  sacrifices he makes for me."

"He wouldn't want you to see those things, Sky," Josef said gently. "You  know that, don't you? Carpathian males, especially the hunters, they're  like stone, total warriors, and if he thought he wasn't protecting you  from that creeping shadow, he'd be very upset."                       
       
           



       

Skyler smiled at Josef. "I can't help what I see, Josef. I'm not exactly  like everyone else. What kind of a concoction am I? Psychic. Mage.  Partly Carpathian. Daughter of the earth. Dragonseeker. I see things I'm  not meant to see. I feel things I shouldn't. I know he was nearly taken  from me. I felt him. I called to him. Sang the healing chants I've  heard Francesca sing. I lit candles, and I cried for days when he was so  far away I couldn't reach him."

She looked into his eyes, letting him see her grief. Josef was  definitely underestimated by most people, but she saw his genius, and  she valued their close friendship. She could talk to him, tell him  anything, and he never betrayed her confidence.

"I need him," she admitted simply. "And I have to find him."

Josef slung his arm around her shoulders. "Well, little sister, that's  exactly what we're going to do. Paul should be here any minute. He  texted me and said he had everything ready."

"Did he cover his tracks? Didn't he tell you once that Nicolas took his blood? If he did, he can track Paul."

"Baby, any of them can track us, and they'll be hot on our trail the moment they realize you're missing."

"I know that. I'm just saying it can't happen until we're ready." Skyler glanced again at her watch. "He's late."

"His cover is perfect," Josef assured. "He flew over with the De La Cruz  families, and he told them we were going to go exploring the mountains  on the Ukraine side. We're camping for a couple of weeks. Of course they  were happy to get rid of us, and no one is going to question that we'd  want to do something together. We talked about it endlessly for the last  couple of years. This would be the perfect opportunity for us to get  together so they bought our story easily."

Skyler gave a little sniff. "Of course they don't mind if you two go off  camping in the wilds together. Remember when I wanted to go on one of  your camping trips? The world almost came to an end."

Josef laughed and leaned one hip lazily against the coffin. "Gabriel  turned into the big bad wolf and nearly ate Paul and me for dinner just  at the suggestion. I was surprised he allowed you to go off to college.  You were so far ahead of your age group in school."

Skyler shrugged. "I went home at night the first year. I needed to. That  had nothing to do with Gabriel and Francesca. I don't know what I would  have done without them. I needed them so much in the early days. And  they really came through for me." Tears shimmered in her eyes. "I hate  to repay their love and kindness with lies, but they left me no choice."