Dawn's Innocence

Ruby scrambled through the narrow door, pushing it wider for Shayla to follow. She squinted in the bright light of the hallway after the dank darkness had swallowed her up in the tunnels and spit her out again. Once her shoulders cleared the door, she ran for all she was worth, bent on finding her son. "EVAN! EVAN!"

"Mommy! I'm in here with Uncle Carter." Evan trotted over to Carter and gave him a big squeeze around the neck and a quick peck on the cheek. He knew his mom would freak when she saw Carter. And he also knew he was in big, big trouble.

Ruby pushed past Patrick and rushed through the door. Grabbing her son from Carter's grip she checked him over from head to toe. He was dirty from the tunnels, but otherwise ok, almost jovial. "Thank God! You're ok."

"Sure, mommy. Uncle Carter wouldn't hurt me."

Ruby cried tears of sheer relief and hugged her son. "Don't you ever go off alone again."

Evan wiggled out of his mom's arms and gave Carter a wave as she dragged him out of the room. "The tunnels were scary weren't they mommy?"

Shayla sighed in relief as Ruby dragged Evan past her. Smiling she returned Evan's shy wave. He was so busted, and he knew it. She squeezed past Patrick and entered the cell. "I knew you wouldn't hurt him." Carter knelt on his knees and stared up at her. She closed the distance between them and ran her hands through his sweat caked hair as he rested his cheek on her belly. "Welcome back to the land of the living," she whispered as she rocked him gently.

Chapter 63

Kacie awoke in her least favorite position, shivering and naked, sprawled out on the cold, damp ground. Her body ached from the shift back to human and her head whirled in confusion. Groaning, she hefted her body off the ground and sat resting her bare butt on the backs of her calves while her brain came back on line.

The Alpha, Nash, had ordered the wolves off the hunt for little Evan. Kacie eased a sigh of relief. The kid was home, safe and sound, where he belonged. She looked up at her surroundings wondering exactly where in the hell she was and more importantly, where in the hell were her clothes? Surrounded by darkness and woods, it took her a minute to figure out where her wolf had left her.

A light curse escaped her lips as she scrambled to her feet. The vine covered wall of rock stretched out in front of her. She so didn't want to shift back into her wolf form to get home, but walking naked in the middle of the night through miles of woods wasn't an option. Her wolf must have a screw loose or a shitty sense of direction. Her wolf dumped her at the hidden entrance to the vampire's subterranean home. She shook a litter of dried and crumbling leaves and twigs from her hair, wondering if she couldn't just knock on the door and bum a pair of sweats and a ride home.

"Too bad I'm a married man." Will chuckled as he gracefully landed on his feet behind the naked she-wolf. She was a pretty little thing with curves in all the right places, a short mane of unruly black curls, and arresting green eyes. "C'mon in and I'll find you some clothes." He slid his hand along a narrow jut of outcropped rock and waited for the palm reader to release the lock, trying like hell not to stare.

He waved the woman, obviously very embarrassed by her predicament, into the compound. "Here," he said, sliding off his leather jacket to cover her temporarily. "I thought you wolves had impeccable senses of direction? How in the hell did you end up here?"

"Thanks." Kacie took the jacket and slid her arms inside the sleeves, pulling the front closed tightly with her fists. The jacket hit her mid thigh, covering all the important stuff, for the most part. "Usually, we do. I've been coming here and working with John Mark every morning. I guess my wolf got her wires crossed."

"Oh yeah. My kid has been helping John Mark train a few new recruits. Good to meet a fellow warrior. I'm Will. Chance is my son." He grinned proudly and extended his hand to the woman.

"Kacie."

Will studied the dumbfounded look on Kacie's face. She had the same question almost everyone else did upon first learning that he had a son. Inquiring minds had to know. Vampires weren't born. They were made. He'd had a life before he'd signed up. Hard to believe, but yeah, he'd had a life. "You know, I wasn't always like this. I met Chance's mother before I was turned," he explained.

"Oh." Kacie nodded in understanding. She followed Will through the dim entryway and deeper into the compound. Her feet padded against the chilly concrete floors. She looked around curiously. She'd never been in this part of the compound before. Usually, she didn't mess around and went straight to the gym. No matter how well lit, how many murals of outdoor settings were painted on the walls, or the jungle of plants coaxed into growth by special lighting, the compound, being this far underground, stifled her.

"You hungry? I'll bet Anna and my lovely wife, Candace, can scrounge you up something from the kitchen."

Kacie studied the warrior cautiously. He was a mountain of man and muscle. Towering over her by more than a foot and out weighing her by over one hundred pounds of sheer power. His brown eyes twinkled in amusement as he studied her in return. "As long as you're not hungry, we'll get along just fine," she retorted.

"No worries there. I've already had my supper," he chuckled. Will stopped in front of a heavy oak door and turned the knob, holding it open for Kacie. "Janine loves to spend money, especially if it's not hers. You'll find a shower and fully stocked dressers and closets. Help yourself. I'll ask Candace to bring you some dinner. After you've rested for a bit. Someone will take you home." Will sniffed at Kacie as she brushed past him. He smelled wild and wolf on her skin and vampire in her blood. "Have you fed from one of us?"

"Carter. In Texas, he saved my life. Why?"

Will shook his head. "Not for me to say, but I bet that's what drew your wolf here. The link between you two is still present. I can smell it."

"What has he done now? Is he in more trouble? I hear him ranting and raving in my head." Kacie shivered. "Such darkness. Is he worse?"

"Much. But unlike before, he wants to get better. I'm worried. He hasn't fed in weeks. If he doesn't feed soon, he'll go rogue."

"What happens then?"

"If he attacks, we'll have to end him. Rogues are dangerous. Deadly."

"Is there anything I can do to help him? I owe Carter my life."

"Only you and Carter can answer that question. Perhaps after you've cleaned up and had a good meal, you should go see him."

"Is he safe?"

"For the moment, yes. One of your pack sisters is with him. Trying to coax him to feed. He's too weak to hunt on his own and too dangerous for everyone to bring a donor down here to him. If he scents a human in the compound, he could take the donor down before we could stop him. If he kills, we'll have no choice but to end his life."

Kacie bit her bottom lip. She could see the worry and the dread in Will's eyes. She had the power to save Carter flowing through her veins. Wolf blood was hard for a vampire to resist. Her scent, the power of her blood, might be enough to entice him to drink from her. "Take me to him," Kacie said, pushing her way out of the room.

"At least get dressed first. Feeding can be very...sensual and you're not exactly properly attired to ward off any... effects you or he might feel."

"Oh," Kacie mumbled. Barely conscious and bleeding all over the place as she fought for her life in Texas, sensuality had been the last thing on her mind or Carter's. She walked to a dresser and riffled through the drawers for something to throw on. "I hadn't thought of that." She had been in the middle of a sexual drought and was very frustrated, but the thought of Carter didn't exactly push her buttons. Not that he wasn't very attractive, just not her type.

Will had discreetly turned his back and pulled the door partly closed as she dressed. Vampires didn't do nudity, at all. They were embarrassed and uncomfortable about what their mamas gave them. Sometimes, Kacie was just as shy. She dressed quickly and dragged her hands through her hair. Taking a deep breath she said, "I'm ready."

Carter was feeling a bit better. The hunger roaring inside of him was difficult to ignore. At least he had been moved from the cell and the bindings taken off. The brotherhood assumed since he could be trusted around Evan, he was safe. Well, relatively safe. He was still under lock and key, but holed up in a luxury suite instead of that damn cell. They trusted him, but no further than he trusted himself. He'd asked to remain under the Sons' supervision until he was absolutely certain. He'd showered and dressed in a pair of loose fitting cotton sleep pants. Lounging on a bed, an actual bed instead of the concrete floor, he felt a bit like a king.

He was still under heavy guard and with good reason. For the moment, he was in control of his instincts, but how much longer that would last was up for debate. He had to feed. He knew it. He forbade Shayla from his side. Unsure how long he could keep hold of the raging need for her blood.

He might be able to work up an appetite for a snack, if it weren't for that damnable presence singing louder and louder in his head. He was too weak to hunt. The offerings of human blood didn't appeal to him. And the blood of his brothers wasn't nutritious enough to sustain and give him the strength he needed. Shayla's blood was the only thing that he wanted and it was the only thing he couldn't have. She didn't need to waste her strength feeding him. She needed it for the young in her womb.

There was a light knock on the door. His fangs extended and his pupils dilated as he caught the scent from the other side. The aroma of wolf and wild called to his hunter. His reign on his hunger snapped and the feral beast inside of him roared to life. "GO!"

Will grabbed Kacie's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. In his lifetime he'd seen all measures of warriors. Not all brave fought with their fists or with blades of steel. Some fought with their intellect. And like Kacie, others fought with unshakable courage. If she were afraid, it didn't show. She stared at the door and squared her jaw with hard determination. She was tiny, but far from defenseless. He'd seen the wolves hunt. He'd been on the bluffs when Torr battled Nash. And the wolves were a deadly, raw, instinctive force of nature. But, the male in him would not allow her to go in there alone. Call him a sexist. Call him a brother. But, protecting her was his job. "I'll be in there with you. Carter won't take too much. I won't allow it."

"I'll be ok." Kacie took a deep breath as Will and the guards surrounding the door stepped back to let her pass. She didn't know why it didn't dawn on her sooner that the brothers were related beyond the blood that flowed in their veins and the commission of their cause. Chance truly did resemble Will. The resemblance went beyond the physical and into the realm of the mind. Chance was a strong brother and a good fighter and like his father he had a heart of pure gold.

Duty came with a price and she owed Carter for healing her. Bloodied and beaten, and the pain, she remembered so much pain, he'd reached out to her and given her the gift of his curse. Now, it was time to settle the account. "Carter helped me, now it's my turn to help him. A life for a life, so to speak." Will flanked her on one side while a vampire she didn't know flanked her on the other. Their weapons were drawn at the ready if they should need them.

Carter trembled and shuddered with the effort he expended tightening his ever weakening hold on the demon that screamed for her blood. At least, though it was a small consolation, the demon drowned out the pure voice in his head. "You shouldn't be here."

Kacie bit back her shock as her eyes fixed on Carter. His fangs glistened, long, white, and needle sharp, in the lamplight. His eyes were narrowed into slits, pupils so dilated that they appeared black instead of their normal electric blue. His hands clutched at the bedpost as his nails scored deep gauges into the wood. Dangerous was too soft of a word to describe the feral predator crouching on the bed in front of her. "Carter. I'm here because I want to help." She gingerly crept closer. He knew exactly what she was here to do. Pushing back her fear and her wolf's instinct to protect the two parts of them, she eased down on the bed. "I trust you."

"Trusting me could be fatal," Carter hissed. He pried his fingers off the bedpost and crawled on all fours across the soft, sleek, silk comforter. Scenting her blood and growling deep in his throat, his predator slipped the chain of his control. Her heartbeat pounded wildly like a drum in his ears. The sound of her blood rushing through her veins was deafening. She feared him. He could smell it on her skin, mixing with the scent of her blood and her wolf. Yet she sat, bravely, locking her eyes with his as he rose up on his knees towering over her.

Kacie held her ground. Carter's cool fingertips ran down the curve of her neck, following the bounding pulse beneath her skin. She gripped the covers beneath her. The sleek silk slipped through the unstoppable trembling of her fingers. His breath was a blast of arctic air as his mouth lowered to trace the path his fingers had traveled moments ago. "You won't hurt me." She said in a low shaky voice as his fang scraped across her flesh, opening a small cut in her skin.

Carter lapped at the trickle of life restoring blood. Shuddering from the force of its sweet, rich, flavor rolling across his tongue, his fingers tangled and fisted her hair as he pulled her head back and to the side. Parting the edge of the wound wider and speeding the flow of blood, he wrapped an arm across her back and drew her forward to the edge of the bed. Pinning her against him, her arms trapped and his body positioned between her knees, her chest pressed to his, the pose could have been considered erotic to a casual observer. That was not his intention. He had no interest in the little wolf in his arms beyond the blood flowing in her veins.

Kacie squashed the panic that rose up in her chest. The wound hurt like a son of a bitch. The open layers of skin throbbed and stung. The scent of her blood nauseated her and made her head roll with dizziness. Her fingers gripped at his arm. The muscles were coiled and hard as steel, holding her fast against him. With her pinned and her legs spread from his bulk between them, she was in a submissive position. He could easily uncoil his limbs and have her flat on her back, trapped beneath his weight. A small whimper rose up in her throat before she could stifle the cry from the pain as he lowered his mouth to the wound and drew hard against it.

"Carter, stop it! You're hurting her!" Will's blade quivered in his grip. He'd use it on Carter if he had to. Strike a brother down to protect the woman in his arms.

Keene sucked in a deep breath. Teased by the sweet perfume of the woman's blood. Brave, foolish woman to place her trust in something as close to a rogue as Carter was. He fed, like a rogue, taking his time, milking the victim for all he could. Extracting pain to enhance the experience, at least, for him. Keene bordered between disgust and temptation. Infuriated by watching Carter toy with the woman and cause her pain and roused by the stirring of his hunger at the sight and scent of her.

How many times had he watched his former master take from a woman exactly the same way? How many had suffered, indirectly because of him and his inability to stand against the bastard he called master. Roark. No more. He was a committed Son, not a rogue. Roark was dead, and if he had his way, so were the old ways. He'd pick off the bastards one by one till every rogue that plagued the planet was dead. Bile rose in his throat along with a surge of rage, not at Carter but at himself for becoming so roused by her torture.

He found her mental signature and locked onto it. Her mind was a knot of terror and pain, fear and doubt, yet she didn't scream or beg. She gripped her nails into Carter's back, but didn't struggle. "Sleep, little one," he whispered. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she went limp in Carter's arms. "Get this over with," Keene growled as he stormed out of the room. Shuddering to control the demon he had grappled with for over a century.

Will stood watch in Keene's absence. He wouldn't hesitate to put the tip of his blade between Carter's ribs and drive it straight through his heart. Carter fed like an animal, grunting and rutting against Kacie. His throat worked and his lips drew tightly against her tender skin. Kacie's body was rigid beneath Carter. Her eyes fixed on a distant point to remove herself and harness her fear. The magic flowing off of her as she struggled to control her wolf tingled against Will's skin in a heated rush. "Kacie, don't fight it. Sleep and know I'll protect you," he said. He didn't have Keene's bulk or Patrick's power of suggestion. The only magic he possessed was in the blade clutched in his fist. But, Kacie's eyelids fluttered closed and her body went limp. And damn was he glad he didn't have to fight not only a starving vampire but a very pissed off wolf as well.

Kacie felt a surge of pain sear along her body as Carter drove his fangs home, through flesh and muscle into her vein. She bucked in his arms and swallowed the scream of agony rising in her throat as he pulled deeply at the vein. Her head was swimmy, but a wash of calm settled over her. She floated in a peaceful place. A land of nothing but darkness rose to meet her and swallowed her up.

Carter drank like a man at an oasis after days of traveling over boiling hot sands. Kacie's blood filled him, strengthening him as the red flow ran from her neck and into his body. She was limp in his arms, deep in thrall from the power of his bite. Her heart bounded against his chest, pumping blood over his tongue. Her blood was sweet and potent. Healing the weeks of neglect and damage he'd inflicted on his body. He didn't want to stop. More. He had to have more.

He was distracted by the bite of steel resting across his neck. Who dared to disrupt him during his meal? Instinctively, he growled, clutching his dinner to his chest. He broke the seal on Kacie's neck and bared his fangs at the hand that wielded the dagger.

"Carter stop. You're taking too much." Will would not hesitate to kill Carter if he didn't release Kacie. She'd placed her trust in him and he would protect her, no matter what the cost. "You're killing her." Kacie was limp and pale in Carter's grip. Weakened from the sacrifice of her blood.

Carter's mind reeled in horror. The predator in him that had been denied for weeks wanted-needed more. The presence howled in his head. Bringing him back to the man that he was expected to be. He wasn't a killer, not any more. This woman had trusted him with her life and he was stealing it away from her drop by drop. He retracted his fangs and lapped the wound closed. Releasing his grip on her limp body as Will eased her out of his arms, picked her up, and settled her on the couch.

Energy surged through every cell of his body, reanimating him and drawing him back into complete awareness. The presence had dulled to a dim whisper in his mind and then faded out completely. The connection with Kacie had broken the link with Shayla's unborn child. He licked the remnants of drying blood from his lips and took a deep breath. His mind was linked to Kacie. The memory of the presence was still there filling his mind with blind hope and joy. Awareness of Kacie trickled along the synapses in his brain. Carter felt remorse for hurting her. How easily the old ways were rekindled. "I could have killed her."