Kieran Montasse put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples wearily.

His ne ck ached, his eyes were tired, and the reports were ominous. How had Alexander m anaged all this? How could things be falling apart so quickly without him? God. Even thinking about Alexander reminded him of how empty he felt. A friend o f a thousand years was not so easily lost, and Alexander was more than just a fr iend. He was a mentor, a companion, a sounding board. Kieran smiled sadly as he thought about the three of them; Darian, Alexander and him. The world had been t heir oyster, or so the saying went. And now it was just him and Darian. He felt like he needed his creator more than ever today, but a country and an ocean away, Darian Moiree couldn't help with t he problems in America. It was just up to him. He hated the sound of that. "Kieran," said Kaira as she brought in another stack of reports. "Take a break f or a few. You're looking awful." He looked up at the lovely woman who had been Alexander's secretary for years. S he was beautiful, practical, and no-nonsense. Perhaps the real reason things wer e still straggling along was because Kaira was so competent. Good thing she was because he didn't know what the hell he was doing anymore. "Fuck!" He slammed his hands on the desk in frustration. "You know I can't! You know what's happening." Kaira didn't say anything. He hadn't expected her to. She'd seen his tirades bef ore, but now there was a different glint in her eyes. Just like the rest of them , she was afraid. The empire of Alexander LeGaulle was somehow crumbling rapidly and the people about him were getting scared. The Ancient One's employees and t he people close to them were disappearing on a daily basis. There was someone fr om within betraying them, Kieran was sure of it, but damn it! He couldn't figure out who it was. Not only that, everyone was whispering about a coup, but no one knew who was initiating it and who the leader would be. All Kieran knew for sur e was there was a storm brewing. It was going to be nasty, and like New Orleans in the face of Katrina, he could only watch it come. "What does the Council say?" Kaira asked almost shocking him from his reverie. He shook his head mockingly. "The council? Without Alexander, they don't know wh at the hell they're doing. Darian doesn't think they'll be able come to a decisi on for another month. He's highly recommending me to take over, but if I've alre ady lost the power what's the point?" Kaira touched him on the shoulder gently as she put the reports down on his desk . "You've been going to bed after noon, Kieran. You can't keep this up. You're n o good to us worn out." She looked at him hard in the eyes. "Alexander would be pissed right now if he saw you." "Alexander would understand," he returned. He buried his head in his hands again in weariness, grief, and frustration. "He knew me so well." "Well," she sighed. "I'm heading home. Please get some rest." "Yeah." He looked at the reports on the desk and sighed. What rest? Not only was he tryi ng to maintain the business side of Alexander's empire, which had been his origi nal job, but now he was in charge of the political stuff. There wasn't enough of him to go around these days.

************ Anna snuggled against Cael's chest dreamily. Her body was pressed a gainst his greedily absorbing his warmth, delighting in the softness of his skin against hers, and she reveled in his scent each time she took a breath. He smel led like the woods after a spring rain, overlaid with an essence that was male, warm and slightly musky. There was something infinitely comforting about resting in his arms even though they were both naked, and they probably shouldn't be. Drifting closer to consciousness, she noted that she had snuggled against him en twining him in her arms and legs almost possessively. It was as though in her sl eep, the strange longing in her subconscious that she had felt and fought the da y before had been unleashed. Now her body and mind purred with happiness as thou gh it had resolved her turmoil by laying physical claim upon his body. If only her conscious mind could come to such resolutions so easily. Of course s he would have strong feelings for him. They had been through hell and back toget her, and when he could have left her for dead, he guarded her and protected her. Upon waking, she found that her protector was more than just a friend in the da rk; he was gorgeous, smart, dark, and dangerous. He was everything a little girl dreams about when she imagines her knight in shining armor. He was the kind of guy she'd dreamed would come and sweep her off her feet. Nestled in the embrace of her dream-lover, there was only one slight problem. He was a two-thousand-yea r-old vampire. Damn. She sighed and carefully removed her limbs from his doing her best not to wake h im. He was so beautiful asleep like that, and he could probably use the rest aft er driving all night. As she pulled away from him he growled softly and rolled o ver as though to catch her in his embrace again. Curiously she pulled out of his reach and was rewarded with another dreamy growl of frustration. It was a stran ge noise; a deep rumbling in his chest that was a mixture between something fier ce and a purr. Definitely not human, but she found it rather... sexy. She could imagine that sound as he lay above her kissing her gently, his lips pressing aga inst hers, the velvety texture of his skin against her, his hands caressing her. .. Rolling her eyes at herself she slid out of bed and went to the bathroom to star t a shower. Everything about Cael confused her. The thought of him made her bell y feel warm and moisture pool between her thighs and she hated herself for it. I t made her feel like some kind of whore whose lust was so insatiable that she wo uld still desire a man even after she'd been raped brutally. Was this some type of sick coping mechanism? Did she feel so defiled that she wanted to wallow in t he shame of it by screwing every man in sight? God she felt so ashamed. The acts of her rapist from that night were emblazoned into her memory. Perhaps when she and Cael had been dying in the vault, she'd been too sick and too afrai d of her fate to let such things bother her. The need to survive outweighed the need to process, grieve and cope with his brutality and degradation. Now that sh e was recovering, the memories hit her like the horrible episodes her dad used t o have. As a little girl she could remember moments when he'd suddenly pause tre mbling and sweating as something triggered a flashback to his time in Vietnam. T hey weren't as frequent now, but, he still had moments where his eyes would glos s over and she knew he was watching his buddies getting blown apart once again. She wondered if she'd have flashbacks of that night for the rest of her life, ju st like her dad still was haunted by the horrors of war. She tried to analyze it, compartmentalize it, and control the memory through con sciously identifying her feelings and processing what they meant. It wasn't the

beating. She could take that. Beating was impersonal. People got in physical alt ercations all the time. Hell. She'd been in a few brawls when she was a kid. No emotional scars. No. The scarring came from the intentional acts of defilement; the words, the animalistic grunting as he thrust into her were etched into her m ind. The horrible things he'd said to her as he humiliated her echoed in her ear s. No one had ever called her those words, and as she choked on his cock covered in her own blood, she'd given up to despair and believed him. The scent of his sex and body still lingered in her nose, and several times yesterday she felt li ke she tasted him still in her mouth. She'd chewed gum or sucked on mints all th e night before trying to get his taste out of her mouth and the smell from her n ose. Tears filled her eyes as she stepped under the hot water. Opening the bottle of body wash she'd made Cael buy her at their last stop, she poured a large amount into the washcloth and scrubbed at her skin. The strong fragrance overwhelmed he r senses, filling the shower with the perfume of clean spring rain and erasing t he scent of her rapist's body for a few moments. She hadn't mentioned at the gas station why she needed something other than the soaps the hotels provided, and Cael didn't ask. Perhaps the thoughts had been so emotionally charged, he'd been able to read her mind. She rinsed the soap off and stood under the water again breathing deeply. The stale scent still lingered, but it was weaker now. Bitterl y she wiped at the tears that were in her eyes. She might never get his rancid o dor out of her nose. She turned off the water and dried off. She couldn't be weak right now. Cael was fighting to keep his kingdom together. The last thing he needed was some weepy human who couldn't take care of herself at his side. There was a light rap on the door. "Anna?" Cael called to her. Wrapping the towel around her she opened the door a crack. "Yeah?" "What's wrong?" "Nothing," she replied quietly. "I'm okay. I'm sorry I woke you." "I don't need to read your mind to tell you're lying to me." He pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked into the steamy bathroom completely naked. Her eyes widened as she saw his nude body, those muscles bunching and flexing wi th each move. She felt her hands tremble and she unconsciously drew her towel ab out her more protectively. He ignored her rather defensive body language complet ely though. He seemed totally unaware of the fact that he was naked... and gorge ous... and... "If you talk about it, you'll feel better," he said shocking her out of her wide -eyed stare. "What?" "If you tell me why you are crying, then perhaps I could comfort you," he repeat ed. "Believe it or not, I have moments of occasional wisdom, for a two-thousandyear-old, that is." She smiled at his light joke. "Quit lying about your age," she returned only hal f-heartedly. "You're cutting half a millennium off."

"Tell me how to help you, Anna," he repeated. "Tell me what's wrong." "I can't." Damn. The tears were coming again. "You see? I'll lose it." "What's wrong with that? You've got the right you know." "All I've done since I met you is become your burden. You've always helped me. Y ou've always comforted me. You have a kingdom to save, and you're trying to tell me that I need to let my feelings out. Neither you nor I have the time for that ." He pulled her into his arms and just held her close, running his fingers through her wet hair. He smelled good. She couldn't smell...him... when Cael held her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms about him absorbing his warmth and his strength. For a moment time seemed to stand still. A sense of safety and peace w ashed over her as his presence overwhelmed her. His magic seemed to hum through her weakened body, and his strong arms enfolded her in a protective shield. He w as right. She needed it. "Anna," he whispered softly in her ear after a while. "I'm sorry. We should probably get going huh?" She sighed and moved to pull out of his embrace, but he wouldn't let her. She fr oze and looked up into his vivid green eyes seeing a strange glint in them. Were they cloudy with...desire? His mouth brushed her lips gently, the velvety softness of his lips against hers stirring something deep inside her. Whatever it was, she wanted more; not just a butterfly's kiss. She whimpered against his mouth. The need in her voice shock ed her. She didn't need sex right now. Her body was still recovering from rape. Honestly, she didn't know what the hell she wanted. Cael instinctively seemed to know, even better than she did. His smooth, moist l ips covered hers once again, but this time with more intensity. She reveled in t he soft heat of his mouth, even as her body shuddered and the tight warmth in he r belly she always felt when she was near him began to consume her. The sensatio ns on her skin seemed to electrify, and she could feel his smooth flesh and the contours of his muscles against her. The towel was suddenly too much between the m and with an irritated pull she yanked it from her body, craving to feel the va mpire's flesh against every inch of her naked skin. At the press of their naked bodies against each other, the sexy growl she heard from before rumbled through Cael's body. A shiver ran down her spine at the soun d and she moaned in return as his tongue danced with hers, his lips covered her mouth possessively, and his hands roamed her body touching her lightly with his fingertips as though she was some fragile piece of china. She nearly flew apart in his arms, the sensations overwhelming her and sending her reeling with shiver s of passion. God. She'd let him have her right there on the bathroom floor if h e asked. She wanted him to ask...didn't she? He growled again, but this time she could hear agony in the rumble and he broke their kiss. "Anna," he groaned. He feathered light kisses over her face, and then put his fo rehead against hers. "Forgive me." He held her for a long time against his body, breathing deeply, as though he was struggling for some kind of control. She could tell he wanted her. His hot erec

tion throbbed against her belly trapped between their bodies and she could feel the moisture of his arousal on her skin. On one hand she knew she should step aw ay and give him space to fight his passions, but she was weaker. She tried to co nvince herself to pull away, but as tired as she was, she didn't have the streng th or the desire to fight her body's longing. The little voice in the back of he r head rather pointedly told her that even if she was completely healthy she wou ldn't pull from his embrace. "You are so beautiful," he breathed holding her close. "You are so strong. Forgi ve me. After all these centuries, my passions sometimes get the better of me sti ll." She didn't want to say anything back. She simply wanted to remain in his embrace . "Come back to bed," he said gently. "I need to rest for a few more hours. Lie wi th me, Anna." She nodded taking his offered hand and followed him back into the bedroom. ************** Kaiden paced irritably in his study. Damn it! Alexander wasn't doing anything the way he'd expect. When he first learned that the Ancient One had escaped from the abandoned lab he 'd waited patiently for him to re-emerge, march on over with an army and try to string him out in the sun. In a way, he'd wanted it. He wanted to see the old ba stard's face when his own generals turned on him. He wanted to see that fierce r age he'd seen in the lab change to one of horror, shock, and submission. He want ed the fucker on his knees this time! But it had been nearly two weeks of...nothing. No word. Alexander LeGaulle was s till dead to his world and he'd made no attempts to contact them. What the fuck was the bastard doing?! "Maria called to say they've still heard nothing," said Elise as she entered the study without knocking. She smiled at him, kissed his lips softly and then plop ped on a leather couch. "He's not contacting any of his people." "That's the fucking problem, now isn't it?" He paced even more. "We know he's al ive, but he's not DOING anything. He must have access to money, but Gregory palm ed his wallet. Can Maria get access to his accounts?" Elise shrugged. "Don't you think his people would know he's alive, then, too? Th ey don't." "It doesn't make sense." He threw a glass tumbler at the wall shattering it in h is irritation. "Damn it!" "Maybe he decided to give up his rule," said Elise. "Betrayal by one's friends i s a difficult pill to swallow." "No. He's planning something. He'll not give his power up so easily. It's all he 's had for nearly a thousand years." "I thought you said he just recently became king of America."

"Silly girl," snapped Kaiden. "He's one of the oldest and most powerful of our k ind alive. The only vampires that I know of who have been in existence longer ar e an ancient Pharaoh and his queen from Egypt. Vampires only adopted kings the l ast 500 years, and from what I hear it took a lot of convincing to get Alexander to accept Western Europe. When America started to grow and a need to govern our people here became important, he accepted the challenge and relinquished his co mmand in Europe to his best friend, Darian Moiree." "Do you have people watching Moiree?" Elise asked. "He would not have fled," said Kaiden. "He will not surrender his rule so easily ." She rolled her eyes and stood. "For an ambitious man, you're rather dense someti mes, love." He growled at that. "He might be getting assistance from Moiree. We should watch him and see if he s tarts acting strangely. It might be an indicator as to what Alexander is doing." Kaiden thought about it and then nodded. At once he opened his phone. "Double yo ur people watching Moiree," he said. "Actually, double the watch all the other A ncients. I want to know at once if LeGaulle calls them." "Now," said Elise standing before him. "Are you going to quit pacing and do some thing productive?" "Like what?" She dropped to her knees before him and licked her lips enticingly. "I bet you m ight think of something." He looked at the beautiful woman on her knees. Her fiery hair was gorgeous. Her green eyes were dark with hunger for him and her flawless skin had the slight fl ush of arousal. She wanted him. But he was in the mood for something a little mo re involved. He was frustrated and Elise's sumptuous body could give him release in more ways than one. Smiling cruelly, he reached out and slapped her hard acr oss the mouth splitting her lip. "You bastard!" she snapped baring her fangs in anger. "I thought of something to do, Elise," he said in a dark and deadly voice. "Get the fuck off your knees, because if I end up catching you before I'm ready, I'm going to fuck you till you bleed." She rose uncertainly. Kaiden smiled as the passion in her eyes transformed to fe ar. He liked them better that way. A woman's eyes were most lovely when they wer e wide with terror or filled with tears. "I'll give you to the count of ten, dear," he said in a cruel voice. "One..." "Kaiden..." "If you don't run little girl, I'm going to shove my cock up your dry ass right now. Two..." Elise's pale face went white. Licking the blood off her lips she looked at Kaide n uncertainly.

"Three..." She didn't wait to hear any more. She turned and ran, her heart pounding in fear . ********************* Anna smacked Cael's hand playfully as he snatched another French fry from her la p. "You're stealing from a starving woman," she said. He smiled and ate it anyway as they drove along. "If you keep eating junk like t his, you'll get sick," he commented as he stole yet another. It amused her to know that an ancient vampire like Cael had a weakness for Frenc h fries. "Look who's talking. Since when do vampires eat food? I thought you were on a st rict diet. I figured you were O-negative all the way." His lips curled up in a slight smile of amusement. He knew she was teasing him, but he seemed to like it. She wondered if people dared to tease such an importan t person like him and the thought made her rather sad. Cael's life was probably very lonely. The last few hours of their drive she'd watched him react to her co nversation noting his body language and responses. She'd say outrageous things j ust to see those sensuous lips twist in a smile. There were so many things she w anted to see those lips do, but the smile was the only one she felt completely c omfortable with. "Obviously vampires can consume human food," he said. "My favorite is actually p otato chips. We're a lot more human than you care to believe." "You've been a disappointment in so many ways," she agreed. "First, you don't ha ve a cool Transylvanian accent, then wouldn't you know it, you don't turn into a corpse when you sleep, and now I find you have a thing for stealing French frie s. I'm also seriously disappointed that you can't fly." He chuckled at her. "You know you could have just bought yourself some. I mean any man who has the m oney to buy a luxury SUV with a GPS and nice seat warmers...which I LOVE... shou ld be able to afford his own fries." "Stealing them is half the fun of eating them," he reasoned. She sniffed. "I knew there was a catch." For all her banter, Cael didn't seem all that talkative. Anna wondered if the wo rry over his kingdom and his people was starting to get to him. She could see th ose jade eyes staring off thoughtfully and she knew he must be plotting. "Cael," she asked after a while. "Why haven't you just returned to your people? You seem to have enough power to destroy Kaiden already. Why are we running to M innesota?" He was silent for a long time. She almost thought to ask again, but she held her tongue. For all her rash stubb ornness she could sometimes think before she talked. Perhaps this was one of tho

se times that she wasn't going to get an answer. It was probably better that way . She was weak compared to his people and they could pick his plans from her min d easily. It made her feel hurt that he'd exclude her, but figured in the end, C ael was wise not to confide in her. She stared back out into the blackness of th e highway and snuggled into her seat sipping her soda. She turned up the seat wa rmer to counter-balance the icy coldness of the drink so that she was just comfo rtable. He reached over and stole another fry absently, but she didn't fight him. She wa s lost in her own thoughts. "I am not returning home because I know he has spies planted there," he answered at last. "Right now, I'm driving Kaiden insane. I'm doing the opposite of what he'd expect me to do. I'm leaving him just enough of a trail to let him know I'm alive, but not enough to tell him where I'm going." She wanted to smile to herself. He trusted her! "What of the people you do trust ? Won't you need their help?" "Yes. But I must go about getting it carefully. The whole point of remaining in hiding is to keep Kaiden in the dark. I cannot trust my people. There are only a few now that I will confide in, but I must be careful how I even contact them. One misplaced word and we can have an outright war, and the wisest rulers try to take care of things without getting engaged in a mass battle. That's what Kaide n is waiting for. He's waiting for me to call in the cavalry to start a war. As long as I don't, I've got the power." "I don't see how that's gong to work, Cael," she said thoughtfully. "He's got yo u outnumbered, subverted your people, and he's got humans working with him, too. " "Ah, he may have numbers, but I have true strength on my side. I have ancient va mpires as my allies that I know he cannot control. Kaiden has no idea what the O ld Ones among our kind can do. I am going to give him a sampling of Ancient Powe r that the world will never forget. I have learned from my foolishness, Anna. I shall rise from this more powerful than I have ever been." The glow in his eyes was breathtaking and chilling. Anna couldn't determine whet her she should exult with him or fear him. "In the mean time, what am I supposed to do?" "Right now, just like you did in that wretched hole, you can give me company and comfort. I'll never forgive myself if you get hurt in this battle." Damn. It was just like a chivalrous man to lock a woman up and keep her safe fro m danger. She should have known Cael would be old-fashioned; he was only three t housand years old, after all. She couldn't really blame him. She did look pretty awful right now- all bony and still showing discoloration from the deep bruisin g. Perhaps he thought such words would make her feel special, but his rather ove r-bearing protectiveness had an inverse effect on her; she felt indignant. "I want to help," she protested. "I know I'm just a human, but, this is my life, too. If you don't beat Kaiden, I'll never be able to go home." He reached over and grabbed her wrist gently holding it up. "Do you see this?" She nodded. The bruising was disappearing, but it still looked pretty nasty. Mos t of her other wounds were healed, but the marks on her wrists and ankles had br uised so deeply that they had turned from purple to green and now to a rather si ckly yellowish-red.

"I will NEVER allow this to happen to you again." His eyes seemed to glow eerily with anger and for a moment she thought he'd lose it, but he took a deep breath to control himself. He stroked her skin softly fo r a moment then put his hand back on the wheel and focused on the road again. For a moment she was aghast. She didn't know what to say. The power and passion of his words were overwhelming... for all of about two minutes, and then her lit tle voice got combative once again. Like hell she'd just stand aside! "I'm not made out of porcelain, Cael. So I'm a human. So I was hurt. That gives me just as much right as you to fight these people. Kaiden and his people hurt m e, and they're threatening my family. I'm NOT going to back down." She could hea r her voice rising in anger and she forced herself to take a deep breath. "I hav e two choices; to be afraid or to fight. I'm not the type to live in fear." "You don't have the strength to fight vampires, Anna." "That doesn't mean that I have to just stand aside either, though." She reached out and took his hand holding it tightly. "I want to help you Cael. I NEED to he lp you." She paused. "Please." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, but he didn't let it go. Anna shook her head at herself. It felt so right to be next to him, holding his hand, arguing, sharing French fries...how could this feel right? Once again her inner voice told her that she was supposed to be with this strange, ancient vamp ire. The thought of beating Kaiden and returning home all by herself made her so ul scream. She wanted him. She wanted to be with Cael. Fuck. "Anna?" She jumped, startled from her reverie. "Yeah?" "I've got an idea how you can help, if you truly wish it." ************************* Kieran jumped at the sound of his cell phone swearing as he banged his knee on A lexander's desk. He'd fallen asleep in the chair yet again. He groaned and rubbe d his knee that was still sending little stabs of pain through his entire leg. H e looked at the clock. What the fuck! Who would call him at 10:00 a.m.? Who DARED call during the day! He snatched his cell and opened it. "This better be good," he snapped irritably. "Hi," said a sweet feminine voice on the other end. "Are you Kieran?" "If you don't know, you shouldn't be calling me. Good morning!" He snapped it closed and slammed it on the desk irritably. He needed to shower a nd get to bed. The ache in his neck was killing him. Grabbing the offensive litt

le piece of technology that had disturbed him irritably, he made his way to his chambers. The mansion was empty. Everyone was asleep. He should be asleep, too. He growled in irritation when his phone rang again. He ignored it. Then it rang again. He began to swear in every language he knew as he grabbed the cell phone and opened it again. "Listen girl," he snapped. "No," she snapped right back startling him. "YOU listen!" For a moment Kieran was speechless. No one dared talk to him like that! He was a n Ancient One. Who did this little thing think she was? "Are you somewhere private?" the woman demanded. "Excuse me?" Kieran replied fearing this was some fucking practical joke from on e of his friends. It would be just like them to get some phone sex girl to call him so he could 'let off some steam.' "Are you somewhere people won't hear your conversation?" the girl asked again. "Listen, young lady, I'm a busy man. Whatever my buddies are paying you, send me the bill and I'll take care of it. Good morning!" He made it all the way to his room before the cell phone rang again. "Stop calling me!" he roared into the phone. "Stop screaming at me," she returned quite calmly. "Now answer my question. Can anyone hear this conversation?" Kieran was just too tired to fight this morning. Obviously the woman wasn't goin g to give up, and he had to leave his cell on for emergencies. He was stuck. "I'm in my rooms, now," he replied. There was a pause on the line. "Okay," the woman said. "I'll have to be cryptic. You know that your own people are betraying you." "Yes," he replied slowly. "Do you know who they are?" "No," she admitted. "Please just listen. I'm supposed to tell you these words an d you're supposed to know what to do." Kieran was silent then. "Blood, Brandy, Brothers, where should you be in 2047?" He almost dropped his phone. "Who is this?" he asked quietly. "Do you understand this?" she asked. His heart was pounding. He had to keep her talking he had to KNOW! "Please..." h e almost begged. "No," she said. "Don't say anything. Do you understand this?"

"Yes." "Do you know what to do?" "Yes." The woman hung up at once. Kieran couldn't move. His hands trembled. Was it possible?