Dawn's End

She moved less gracefully on two legs than four. Her feet occasionally slipped on ice and clumsily stumbled over an unseen object. Her hearing was slightly more acute and her sense of smell better than that of a human's. Not as good as when her wolf was in the driver's seat. In the scanty light of the moon, she could make out the shapes of various trees. She knew these woods well enough not to step off the edge of a deep ravine. Despite the darkness she moved deeper into the still, silent solace of nature, searching out a serene corner of the world to calm her jumbled nerves.

"Don't come any closer," a masculine voice threatened in warning. Shayla squinted into the darkness, straining to make out the dark shape huddled on the ground yards away. Danger prickled her skin. She might not be able to see in great detail why the warning had been issued. But, she knew the voice as well as she knew R.J.'s or her own. "Carter?"

Carter growled a low rumbling threat in his chest. Shayla toed closer to him and Yessette's huddled form. "Don't." He had pled with Yessette for hours to open her eyes. She'd moaned softly, stirred in his arms for a brief moment, and then went still as death time and time again. Shayla slowly inched up beside him. She might try to take Yessette away. Carter could not allow that. Carter snapped his fangs at Shayla to hold her back.

Shayla didn't need her wolf to smell death hovering over the shape nestled in Carter's protective arms. She didn't scent any blood. So Carter hadn't attacked the woman. Gauging from the clothing, the woman in Carter's arms was more of a girl than a woman. But, why hadn't Carter tried to help her? Why was he crouched in the snow holding a teenage girl on the verge of death instead of taking her in out of the cold and getting medical attention for her? "Carter? What's going on?"

Carter barred his fangs at Shayla in sheer menace. She didn't like her replacement huh? Too bad. Yessette was his. Gently, he rubbed Yessette's cheek with his fingers trying desperately to illicit the primal urge all vampires had, the instinct to bite. If he could get her to take of his vein, she'd get better. She would wake up and they'd feed like they used to in the old days. He didn't care how many corpses she left in her path of destruction. As long as she woke up that was all that mattered. What were a few human lives compared to that? "My love, please."

Shayla kept her distance. Before, she had no doubt Carter would never harm her. Now, she wasn't so confident in her previous assessment. His eyes had a crazed, distant expression in them. Focused intently and solely on the girl in his arms. She had to get the girl away from him and to safety. She sifted through glimpses of memories shared by the blood link she used to have with Carter. The girl bore an uncanny resemblance, yes. But, Yessette was dead. She'd seen Yessette's death in Carter's mind. The dead did not come back. Yet, Carter seemed to think that somehow Yessette had.

Shayla shifted on her hands and knees in the snow. Inching her fingers closer to the girl's limp wrist to check for a pulse. "Don't touch her!" Carter snapped. Growling in a menace that had Shayla quickly withdrawing her hand.

"Carter, She isn't Yessette."

"Yes she is. You always meant to drive us apart! You hated her! And now I have her back." He lovingly stroked Yessette's cheek. "I thought I lost her. By some miracle she has come back to me." Shayla's lip trembled and she stank of fear. She needed to be afraid. Nothing was going to come between him and Yessette. Nothing.

"Carter, Yessette's dead. You know that." Shayla had to figure out a way to get through to him before the girl froze to death in his arms. His body held warmth, but not enough to keep the girl alive. "Look at her. Really look at her. Yessette wasn't human. This girl is and she's going to die if we don't get her help."

"NO!" Carter turned his back to Shayla and clenched Yessette's limp body to his chest. He heard the rustle of snow and clothing as Shayla crawled up beside him. He could feel the heartbeat thrumming against his chest grow weaker and weaker. Yessette's scent confused him. Shayla's lies conflicted him.

"Look," Shayla crooned softly. Slowly, so that Carter would know she meant no harm, she loosened the blanket from the girl's face. "See. This isn't Yessette. Yessette is gone." Gently, she turned Carter's face from the girl to her. His expression spoke of pain and bitter realization. "I'm so sorry."

Carter ran a finger down the girl's winter chilled skin. Megan. Shayla's words sank in. Even in the darkness, he could see the differences in what had at first deceived him. Megan's nose was shorter, her lips not as full, and brows thicker, and her face, devoid of the centuries of living that had always tainted Yessette's youthful expression. The girl wasn't long for this world. He had prevented her from seeking help by feeding his delusions. He could help her. Stave off the death that was greedily hovering over her head. Biting down in merciless flash of fang, he pressed his bleeding wrist to her pale, bluish lips and coaxed her to swallow.

Carter's blood was potent, working quickly to repair the damage of his costly mistake. The girl's lashes fluttered and her pulse strengthened in response to his healing blood. Soon she stirred in his arms. Her limbs flailed in uncoordinated movements fighting off torrents of agony as his blood tore through her system. Footsteps crunched through the snow behind him and he caught Tracker's scent on the air.

Shamed by his mental deficiency. Carter leapt to his feet. Pausing to give Shayla a quick brush of with his fingertips across her cheek. "Once again, you've saved me from myself. Thank you."

Shayla cast Carter a worried look and shifted her eyes to the dark woods behind her. Tracker was damned fast. If Carter was going to get out of here without having to deal with him and the possibility of ending up in chains like his maker. He had to go. "I have a promise to keep to Eric," Carter said.

Megan had super duper hearing. The essence of pine nose was so strong that she thought for a minute she had one of those cheesy air fresheners taped to the end of her nose. She felt strong enough to tow her own car out of the snow. She'd sat upright at the mention of Eric's name. This guy, nut job that he was, was her ticket to Eric and the Great Father. "Take me with you," she said scrambling to her feet.

Shayla could feel the nearness of her mate. Tracker's bounding footfalls echoed through the woods, speeding at a furious pace. She waited to give Carter a head start, disappearing through a curtain of pine, before she gave away her position. Luckily, she heard two feet instead of the pounding of four paws against the snow. Tracker would smell Carter and the girl. There would be questions asked. She'd come up with ...something. He'd smell a lie. After her years living with the pack, she knew a trick or two. Carter taking the girl with him might be a good idea. Fewer witnesses to muck up her carefully constructed half-truth. She clamored to her feet and gave Carter and the girl a shove. "Go!" she whispered urgently.

Tracker had noticed Shayla's absence and grew curious about where his mate had wandered off. Shayla had an uncanny way of landing herself in trouble. He'd gone to find her before she could do just that. He had no trouble following her tracks in the snow. Mixed scents of human, vampire and his mate laced the air. He sped his pace to a run almost careening into her in his haste. He grabbed Shayla before she toppled over. "What are you doing out here?"

Shayla pressed her lower body into his. His penis stirred to erectness by the brush of her hip. "Taking a walk." See, not a lie...exactly. The man might be distracted, temporarily, by the innuendo of sex. The wolf was not so easily engaged. She saw the wolfish gleam in Tracker's brown eyes, studiously eying twin sets of footprints into the woods. She'd have to try...harder.

"The air smells of human and vampire," Tracker huffed. His wolf was on edge. Eager to investigate the large prints of a male and the smaller, daintier tracks beside them.

"I smelled it too," Shayla replied. She kept her arms locked around Tracker's neck. Gingerly, taking baby steps to spin him away from the sets of tracks that disappeared into a thicket of heavy brush. She knew better than to lie and say she didn't know whom the tracks belonged to. "Nobody here now," she said. Relying on the fact that Tracker didn't know exactly how long she'd been gone, she steered him toward the house. "Probably just someone lost in the woods and luckily for them, one of our cousins happened across them." Once again, not a lie...

"On a night like this?" Tracker asked suspiciously. His inner bullshit detector was on overdrive. He didn't smell a lie, but the air wasn't scented by Shayla's absolute honesty either.

"Nature lovers?" Shayla trifled with a dismissive shrug of her shoulders. She stood on her tiptoes and forced a shiver, rubbing her hips suggestively against his groin. "It's freezing out here. Shouldn't we go inside? After all, it is our party. Right?"

"Sure," Tracker answered. He spared a glance over his shoulder as Shayla practically dragged him back to the party. The tracks were rapidly filling with falling snow. His eyes narrowed in unspoken suspicion at the fading scents in the air and disappearing twin tracks. He'd be back to investigate. Later.

Chapter 81

Bianca paced impatiently in front of O'Sullivan's cell. Her heels made light tapping sounds against the uneven stone floor. The guards hid their curiosity behind a mask of indifference. She'd made all of these elaborate plans. Taken the time to maneuver her Guardians into position and... no Carter. It was show time. Where in the hell was he? Had the bastard backed out? They'd never get another opportunity like this and Carter was pissing it away.

She was beginning to think she was going to have to take matters into her own hands. O'Sullivan was weak. Balancing on the verge of being deranged from hunger. Hell, he'd probably beg for her to end it versus the choices left to him. Insanity from starvation or execution by the Sons... not pretty options.

There was a risk in letting O'Sullivan out of his confines. But, she knew Carter wouldn't execute him while chained like a dog. He'd want to look into O'Sullivan's eyes while he delivered the final blow. Honorable bastard. If she had her way, which she didn't, Carter would simply go in there and put his blade to good use. No more O'Sullivan. No more problems.

The Guardians were stationed throughout the woods. Ready for action if Eric should get out of hand and somehow manage to slip free. O'Sullivan wasn't an idiot. If he saw an opportunity, he'd take it. Bianca did not believe that her father was as willing to meet his inevitable end as Carter seemed to think. As weak as Eric was, there was still a chance that he might manage to escape. Or worse, at the last minute Carter would fold instead of doing what needed to be done. Bianca was prepared for that possibility as well. She had ordered her Guardians to kill them both if necessary. If Eric escaped, it would mean all of their heads. Hers included.

Carter was punctual. She knew he hadn't simply lost track of time. This was too important. The scene was ready to play out to its conclusion. But, where in the hell was he?

"Hey! Wait up!" Megan huffed, wheezing in exhaustion. The blond vampire's head bobbed up and down in the darkness, way, way ahead of her. She'd been running as fast as she could, for forever it seemed, through ass deep snow to keep up with him. There was no way in hell she was letting him out of her sight and getting lost out here again. "Wait!"

"Shut up!" he snapped, suddenly in front of her. A squeak of shock escaped her lips at his abrupt appearance. "You're too loud," he hissed, eyes narrowed as he stared into the blackness over their shoulders. "Too slow." The woods were alive with unseen eyes and ears that could hear even the slightest whisper. "Do you have to shout? I'm sure half of the county didn't hear you."

"Sooorrrrry," Megan said, dragging out the word with a roll of her eyes. The cold stung her lungs, but at least she could catch her breath again. "Human here, remember?" Hugging the blanket tighter across her chin, she shivered at the ice pellets melting on her heated skin. There was nothing worse than being cold AND sweaty. Add the scowling vampire and the stinky blanket to it and she was absolutely miserable. "How much farther is it anyway?"

Carter questioned his sanity at bringing the girl with him. Hell, mistaking this sniveling brat for Yessette had him questioning how much of his mind he had left. He should have left her behind with Shayla. Better to have Shayla scrambling for answers than to be strapped with a human teenager slowing him down to a crawl. "Not far."

"What's with you anyway?" Megan thrust her chin up in defiance at the vampire's annoyed frown. Grouchy didn't begin to cover how he acted. Stomping, scowling, and grinding his teeth at her like he didn't want to breathe the same air as her. Definitely not enjoying her company. That was ok, as soon as she got done hitching a ride back to the compound. They didn't have to see one another again.

She didn't remember much about the past...however long it was that she was out. Only bits and pieces really. Enough to realize that she was close to freezing to death in his arms. Her fingers flexed in her gloves. She wiggled her toes in her boots. She was okay now. Better than okay, better than if she'd downed ten Red Bulls and a Monster drink chaser. She'd awakened to so much pain. There was only one way she could have gone from almost croaking to feeling like Super Girl on steroids. "Oh my GOD! I'm a vampire! I drank your blood and now I'm a vampire! Holy SHIT!"

Carter raised a brow and shook his head half in amusement at her reaction and half out of sheer annoyance at how far the sound of her shrill shrieks carried on the wind. He should have left the girl behind. He bent, leaning close to her ear while shushing her with his hand over her mouth. "You are not a vampire."

Megan fought back a wave of nausea and pressed her fingers to her mouth. "I drank your blood right?"

"Yes."

"Now I'm your mortal slave!" Her knees knocked in weakness as dizziness surged through her head. She was one of the leagues of the damned, a mindless servant at her master's beck and call. Not that her master was half bad, a little old for her, maybe, but nice to look at. He was hot in a kind of scary, scowling, brooding, moody as hell vampire kind of way. He had turned her into a wanton creature of the night.

Carter gripped Megan's fingers. The gesture of her stroking her face with a distant glint in her eye reminded him too much of Yessette. "I can assure you that if you were my human servant or somehow subject to my will. I'd will your mouth shut." He turned to leave her to toddle along behind him.

"Hey! Master! Don't leave me out here!"

Carter spun on a heel and gripped Megan's chin. "I am no one's master," he ground out in a strained hiss.

Megan jerked free of his fingers. "If you hate me so much why did you do it? Give me your blood, I mean."

"You remind me of someone I knew long ago."

"Yessette. Eric said the same thing. That I looked like her." Megan lowered the blanket to her shoulders and pulled the hood of her coat from her face. The haunted look in his eyes ran a shiver up her spine. How long ago was long ago in vampire terms? A decade? A century? She didn't relish being compared to a dead girl. But, she was curious about the girl who could stir that kind of distant longing in a vampire's heart. "Did you love her?"

"You spoke with Eric?" Carter asked, changing the subject before Megan could continue her line of questioning. Her resemblance to Yessette had almost caused her death. Twice. Her uncanny likeness probably had as much to do with why Eric chose her that particular morning as anything else. She was left alive as a message to Carter.

Megan nodded. "That's why I was tagging along. You know about him right...?" She glanced into the quiet empty woods around her as if the trees could over hear and repeat what she said. "They're going to execute him." She swallowed the hard lump in her throat at the thought of his death. "I know it doesn't make any sense and it's probably the stupidest thing ever. I know it's crazy. But, nobody should have to die like that. Surrounded by people who want him dead. He should have somebody...in his corner."

"And that's you."

"Uh huh. I know better than anybody what kind of man he is. He attacked me. It was wrong. But, I can't help the way I feel and what I think. I want to be there, for him."

"O'Sullivan left you to die in that alley." The girl was brave. Very young and impressionable, but he knew better than to doubt the deceptive innocence of the mask of youth. Why she would choose to befriend a man so obviously beyond redemption was a question he couldn't fathom the answer to. But, she'd risked her neck to travel to the compound to seek out an audience with the Great Father to plea her case. He had no intention of denying her. Albeit premature, she wanted to stand by Eric's side as he met his end, and she would.

"I told you it didn't make sense," Megan said softly.

Carter slid his gaze from her face to the dark woods around them. Time was of the essence. Eric's time was short. Carter could feel it slipping away. Each second brought Eric's end closer and closer. "Come."

Megan scrambled onto Carter's back. In the essence of saving time, he argued. Carter did move much faster with her as a passenger instead of waiting impatiently for her to stumble in the darkness behind him. The woods were a black blur whipping past at breakneck speed. She might have cried out in terror as he dodged a tree, but the ride was exhilarating. The cold wind bit her cheeks and made her eyes tear up at the corners. Funny that an immortal would be so worried about something he had so much of. Eric was the only one with a limited supply of time. Except for her.

"Wow," Megan mouthed in wonder as Carter slid her off his back at the foot of a large hill that suddenly seemed to pop out of nowhere. "Is this it?" Her booted feet made crunching sounds in the snow as she spread them wide to regain her balance from the dizzying ride. Ice encrusted vines of ivy draped over the surface of the rocky snow covered hill. The hidden entrance to the compound blended in so well with everything else. The hill simply belonged here surrounded by trees, thick pines and brush, and darkness. She could have wandered in the woods for days and never happened to stumble across it. She could have walked right over the top of the hill and never known what it was beneath her feet.

Carter dragged his fingers over an outcropping of vines on the hill's surface. Brushing away a coating of ice and snow from a palm reader very carefully hidden in the craggy surface. There was a green glow that briefly illuminated the snow as the electronic eye read the lines of his right palm. The flash of light vanished and he waited for the computer system to disengage the magnetic locks. "What's that?" Megan asked, tugging on the sleeve of his leather jacket.

Megan bit her lip at Carter's scowl, flashing to where her fingers gripped his jacket. She dropped her hand as quickly as if it had been burned by his disdainful glare. "Sorry." Her feet shifted awkwardly in the snow. A thick steel door slowly ground open with a shower of snow and ice, opening to let them pass. Maggie had taken her to an underground parking area at the end of a long, winding lane when they came. She had no idea there was a hidden entry point. "Cool..." she giggled in awe, following Carter through the door.