Dark Wolf(63)

She was determined to be thorough, calling on the memory of her anatomy classes until she felt Dimitri's laughter.

If I had my boots on right now, I'd kick you. What am I doing wrong? You said thorough.

I should have known you'd take me literally. Your body is there waiting  for you, whole and intact. Put that image in your mind. You'll come  together, I promise. I just meant, don't forget your hair or  fingernails.

I was thinking of more important body parts like ovaries.

I know you were.

Dimitri's laughter spilled into her mind. Everything in her responded to  his merriment. She was having fun, and so was he. He didn't find it a  tedious task teaching her things he'd known for centuries. He was  enjoying the moments just as she was.

She took a deep breath with lungs that weren't there and shifted. She  found herself standing on the floor of the basement with Dimitri looking  down at her as if she were the greatest thing in the entire world. He  picked her up and spun her around, leaving her breathless.

"You are amazing, sívamet. Perfectly amazing. I'm certain you'll have no trouble hunting."





17





Hunting. Just the word alone conjured up blood and death. Skyler had  been a wildlife conservationist and advocate for most of her life. She  didn't eat meat. She didn't believe in hunting unless one actually ate  what they killed. The same with fishing. Killing for sport was abhorrent  to her. Hunting sounded so . . . predatory.                       
       
           



       

Carpathians and Lycans, for that matter, are predators, Dimitri informed her.

He hadn't given her time to explore the house, something she was very  eager to do. Instead, he had taken her quickly through the forest to the  edge of the village. They waited in the shadows, staying very still,  not moving or speaking, just absorbing the rhythm of the village at  night.

She could hear the footsteps, feel the vibration through the soles of  her boots-she had become that sensitive. She could hear murmured  conversations from various houses and bars. If she actually tuned in to  any one of them, she could hear exactly what they said.

Already hunger had taken hold of both of them. She could feel the deep  need throbbing in her veins. The scent of animals and humans filled her  lungs with every breath she drew. She knew where every single person on  the street was in relationship to her. Her body had a stillness it never  had, and her heart beat in anticipation of what was to come.

There was a kind of excitement and elation in hunting she hadn't  anticipated. She actually could hear the ebb and flow of blood in the  veins of those closest to her. Without thinking, she focused on one  particularly strong beat. A male. She knew who he was, already tuning to  him without conscious thought, as if her body knew exactly what to do.  His footsteps were steady. He hadn't been drinking. She didn't want  blood laced with alcohol.

What's happening to me? She reached out to Dimitri, both frightened and excited at the changes in her.

You are Carpathian. You are light to my darkness, but you are still a  predator. You cannot live without sustaining yourself. You will walk up  to him, smile, say hello, engage him in a short conversation as your  mind tunes to his. When you feel his exact rhythm, you calm him, cloud  his mind just long enough to take what you need from him.

Skyler frowned. Like all of you have done for me. But I consented. I had knowledge.

They cannot know. It isn't safe. Our species does not exist other than in myths and legends.

Skyler knew he was right. Carpathians, and even Lycans, who had  integrated into human society, remained secretive. There were human  societies that hunted "vampires," unable to distinguish between  Carpathians and vampires, so they indiscriminately killed everyone, just  as the Lycans did with the Sange rau and the Hän ku pesäk kaikak.

She took a deep breath. She'd agreed to this, and a huge part of her  wanted to do it on her own, but taking blood from an unsuspecting person  made her feel as if she was making the man her victim, and that didn't  sit well with her.

You know you don't have to do this.

She shot Dimitri a quelling look. It was difficult enough to force  herself to become a predator, let alone fighting the impulse to take the  "out" he offered her.

Once you are absolutely certain you have him out of sight of any other  and in a thrall, under your complete control, your body will know what  to do. Take only what you need to survive and thrive. There is no need  for more, although the impulse will be there just because your body  craves blood. Use discipline. If you can't stop yourself, reach for me.

He would be monitoring her to ensure nothing went wrong, but he wanted  to give her the opportunity to handle every aspect for herself. Children  learned these lessons at an early age. She had been human and it could  be more difficult.

Skyler moistened her lips and ran her tongue over her already sharpening  teeth. She nodded and forced herself to take that first step out of the  shadows. Once she managed that, she began to stroll toward her prey.

She was shocked at how quietly she walked, how she was so tuned to every  heartbeat, every whisper of sound around her. Heat banded, changing her  vision, so that she could see every artery and vein, the very heart of  the man she approached.

Skyler flashed a smile. His head jerked up and he stopped in his tracks.  A low growl came from out of the night, shocking her, shocking him.  Instinctively he stepped closer, protectively to her.

"Good evening," she greeted, turning her head toward the sound.

Two red eyes stared back at her. Her heart stuttered for a moment. Dimitri, you said this was necessary for me to learn.

I didn't know how I would feel.

Stay in my mind so you know how I feel, not him. Carpathian women seem  to mesmerize men fairly easily. He wasn't interested in the least until I  smiled at him. In any case, he feels protective, not sexual.

Do not fool yourself, and don't let him touch you. I am disciplined, but  find that perhaps I will need to work on control when other men desire  you.

His unexpected reaction helped her to overcome her own nerves. She loved  that Dimitri might have a small little weakness. It was so very human.  Butterflies actually took flight in her stomach, wings fluttering  against her abdomen. Her breasts tingled and she felt the heat rising  between her legs, signaling her need of her lifemate. She was beginning  to revel in her ability to want him. Each time it happened she felt more  hopeful that she could meet his every need.

Stop! Stop thinking about sex when you're approaching another man and you're about to bite into his neck and take his blood.

The urgency in Dimitri's voice brought her up short. She touched his  mind and found-chaos-a red, almost blinding rage that had nothing to do  with enemies and everything to do with the poor innocent man she had  selected as her first target.

She stepped back from him immediately and lifted her hand. "Have a good night."

"Wait. It isn't safe for you to walk alone right now," the man cautioned.

"My husband is waiting for me." She indicated just ahead of her. "Thank  you for your concern though." She kept walking, moving quickly into the  shadows, knowing Dimitri had moved to intercept her.

She walked right up to him, merging her mind more deeply with his. Be calm, my love, this won't hurt a bit.

She slid the buttons from the clasps, one by one, deliberately slow and  sensuous. When his shirt fell open, she ran the palms of her hands up  his belly to his chest.

There's nothing to fear. You're safe with me.

She bent her head and followed the path of her hands with her tongue,  stopping for a moment to circle his belly button and trace the links of a  few of the chains, as if she had gotten a little distracted by his  body. She found the reassuring beat of his heart and the rhythm of his  blood, surging so hotly in his veins, beckoning her.

Her teeth lengthened. She let need rise-the terrible, sweet hunger-until  the feeling completely enveloped her. There was more than just the  desire to feed. Her heart matched his, and she trailed kisses over the  vein in his chest, over those heavy muscles that always intrigued her.  Her tongue swirled and danced, stroked, and then she bit deep, finding  the vein unerringly.

He gasped, threw his head back, one hand pressing her closer to him.  There was no horror at what she was doing, only a rising urgency that  had nothing to do with feeding. She wanted him with every breath that  she took-wanted his body. She wanted him inside of her, possessing her,  completing her.

His essence was addictive and so was the feeling rising just as sharp,  just as terrible and just as sweet. Feeding from Dimitri was wholly  erotic. She wanted to wrap her body around his, rub against him like an  alley cat. She wanted his hands on her breasts and his fingers pressing  into her body.

You must stop, sívamet, he cautioned.

His voice came from far off, barely heard through the roaring in her  ears. She managed to obey, but only because it was Dimitri who commanded  her. Pulling herself away from that erotic well was difficult, but she  forced herself under control, sliding her tongue instinctively over the  small wound in his chest.