Everlasting Bond (32 page)

“Yes.”

“But how? They said you were dead.” Katrina stared at him, confused.

“That part of me died a long time ago,” he mocked. “I’m much more interesting now.”

“I don’t understand.”

Donovan hesitated a moment, before sitting back against the jagged wall. Any malice in his eyes was gone. In its place, his cold irises were filled with anguish and despair. Katrina wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what had turned him into this manipulative monster before her.

“My father is a very superstitious man. When he learned of the prophecy from a very powerful witch, he knew he needed to intervene and secure his family’s future. He took my brother and I with him into town where we met a local gypsy, who told us where to find the both of you. At the ball, Andreas quickly found your brother and the two became an inseparable pair.

“Finding you was a little more challenging, but exciting still the same. Staring from across the room, I knew it was you the second I laid my eyes on you. When I asked you to dance, I could feel the power emanating off of every part you. Afterwards I ran to tell my father and Nikolas. It was the last time my father ever looked at me that way. His pride was bittersweet. It’s funny, I never dreamed that there would be any complications,” he snickered, more to himself. Katrina sat listening to every word holding her breath in anticipation.

“While Nikolas and my father were away, Andreas and I stayed behind to protect the two of you. Andreas had a much easier time than I did. Your brother was much simpler to ascertain. Elias was all too eager to be with him, he practically sought Andreas out. It was much easier for Andreas to turn him into one of them. You were meant for me and a much more
difficult
task.” Donovan slowly crept towards her.

“I followed you everywhere you went for months.” He knelt down beside her, never taking his eyes off of hers. “I knew every detail about your life most would never know. I knew your favorite color, your favorite flower, or how your eyes twinkled in the moonlight when you were nervous.” His hand delicately traced her cheek. “I was very good at watching you, Caroline. Almost too good,” desperation fill
ed his voice, as his deep brown eyes gleamed back at her.

“Not long after, my father and Nikolas returned. I knew something had changed the moment I saw my fathers face.” Donovan’s voice emitted resentment and anger with every breath. “He said he had made a mistake and you belonged to Nikolas, but I still needed to protect
you for him.”

Katrina could feel his distaste for his brother growing with each word, putting her on edge. She had seen the destruction his kind was capable of and didn’t want to be anywhere
near him if he lost his temper.

“Like a good son, I did what I was told. Only problem was you had become all I could think about. I became so involved with your life that the line between my duty to my family and my affection for you blurred into one big forbidden mess. Andreas somehow picked up on it and warned me of the consequences, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was you. Every time I closed my eyes, images of you filled my head. It wasn’t fair! I loved you and you were prom
ised to that sniveling bastard!

“The two of you were inseparable, spending every waking moment together. Watching the two of you made my stomach turn. I tried to forget, but it was too painful. Do you have any idea how hard it was to watch you with him? It was a prison, one I couldn’t escape from. I was in hell, Caroline, and it was all Nikolas’ fault. I couldn’t rest. You were on my mind constantly, all I could think about. I tried to keep myself busy with others, but they weren’t you and they never could be. It only made me want you so much more. Soon, I found myself resenting my brother. I hated him. It wasn’t fair. Why should he be the one you were destined to be with?

“Andreas was your brother’s match and there I was left out in the cold, like an unwanted pet. It seemed the world I once knew held no place in it for me. The pain consumed me until I just wanted to disappear and never be found. The night you were—” he took a slow pause before forcing himself to finish. “The night you were killed I was running away to free myself of the burden I felt and never have to feel pain like that again. I thought I had made it out unnoticed, but I was wrong. My mother followed me. She was always the best tracker out of all of us. So quiet, she could sneak up on the most skilled hunters of our kind, undetected. It was a skill I greatly admired.

“She pleaded with me to come back. She said that we could figure it out together. I knew my mother well and she wanted to do anything to keep her family together. But she didn’t understand the hatred I felt for Nikolas and I didn’t want to go back. Unfortunately, I never could refuse my mother and I followed
her like a good son back home.

“We were almost there when we ran into Andreas and Elias. They told us about your house being attacked. They had tried to burn it to the ground, but they had no word on whether you survived or not. If you had made it out by some miracle, then I knew without question you would be with Nikolas, o
ut in the open and vulnerable.

“Having watched you for months I knew exactly where my brother would take you, but I couldn’t risk my mother following me. So, I went with her into the house and met up with the others. I sat and patiently waited for my opportunity to escape. Thankfully everyone was too busy trying to figure out where you were, so it was rather easy to sneak away without anyone noticing. Unfortunately, when I got there, it was too late.

“You were lying on the ground and Nikolas was hovering over your lifeless body. That spoiled bastard couldn't protect you. At that moment, I vowed I would never feel pain like that ever again. I walked for days looking for a way to end it all, when I stumbled upon them.”

“Who?” Katrina’s shaky voice asked. For a brief moment she could see remnants of the man he o
nce was reflecting back at her.

In a daze, he ignored her question and continued on his wild rant. “I had no idea I’d traveled that far. There were too many of them for me to fight off. Before I could react they pinned me to the ground. One of them turned to me and asked what my purpose was? For once I was at a loss for words. The savage’s words had a meaning I’d never thought of before. No one had ever asked me what I wanted. It was alw
ays for their precious Nikolas.

“Then I started to think more about the situation and my anger grew. I realized this was all Nikolas’ fault. If it weren’t for him
, then I would’ve been there to protect you. You would have been unharmed and everything would’ve been like it always had, before Nikolas. I explained this in less detail to him of course. He nodded towards the others with a strange elated look on his face and asked me to follow him. I was very uneasy, but eventually decided to go along and see what they wanted.

“That’s where I first met Farkas and was explained in detail the rest of the prophecy. The parts my father purposely withheld from me and my important place in it. I was relieved to learn I hadn’t completely lost. That I could have a second chance and I took it. They welcomed me with open arms. Given the fact that I was of pure blood, they needed me. Mixing my blood with theirs would make me stronger than any creature we’d ever seen before. I’d be unique and have no equal to challenge me. The world would be ours for the taking. I embraced my new path and in turn became their savior, ruthless and vicious as any of them, and they treated me like a God for it. I had waited years for my father to give me just an ounce of respect that this pack of dogs had given me after only minutes.” His deviant voice amplified with laughter at the memories of his past.

“What happened? To your mother? Your fath—Alaric said she was killed.”

“She was. Unfortunately for her, my newfound comrades neglected to tell me the repercussions of being new to their ways. Being this,” he motioned towards himself. “It’s much harder to control the hunger than it is for a newborn vampire and she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Your own mother!” Katrina gasped in horror as the revelation set in.

“It was Nikolas’ fault, really. If he hadn’t encouraged her to come with him to look for me, then none of it would’ve happened,” he coldly reasoned. Katrina could see the cruel Donovan she had come to know making its way back to the surface, as his voice grew cold and meaningless. “Like I said, I was incredibly hungry and they were there. Regrettably my brother was able to slip away and tell the others what I had become. This ruined any plans of a surpri
se attack on my former family.”

Shocked, Katrina sat in awe listening to Donovan. She couldn’t believe that he had once been the person imprinted on Dr. Aldrich’s family portrait. Confusion spilled through her as she focused on the last bit of his words. “What do you mean, a second chance?” Katrina asked, not sure if she wanted the answer.

“I enjoyed watching my brother suffer at your loss, as he should. One night he had gone to see the gypsy woman and I closely followed behind him. Once inside, she must have put a protection spell around the place, because I couldn’t hear a word they spoke. Naturally, this pissed me off. I called for the others and we waited for my brother to leave. When he did, we interrogated the woman. At first she refused to say anything. She called me some names in her strange tongue, which only pissed me off more. So, we tried some persuasion. She was much more willing to share after everyone in her village was dead. She prophesized your return to this world.

“Caroline, imagine my surprise to learn I could see you or be able to touch you once more. I felt like the Gods had finally smiled down upon me in approval. She couldn’t give us an exact location, but she knew the dress was the key to your return. So, we decided to wait, and wait we have for many years.”

“Years?”

“I’ve tried to find you a couple of times, but each time it ended badly. Nikolas always intervened first and so I had to kill you.”

“It was you following me on the docks!” Katrina spat out, putting the pieces together.

Donovan was too lost in his thoughts to listen to her. “You smell much more mouth-watering this lifetime,” he intimately whispered in her ear, as
he sniffed strands of her hair.

Frightened, Katrina slowly crept her body backwards avoiding his glowering stare until she felt the sharp edges of the rocks stopping her, as they cut into the small of her back. Like a hunter, Donovan moved towards her, closing any space between them. His hand gently tousled strands of her strawberry-blonde hair around, while his other hand p
laced itself on her other side.

“I’ve wanted to t
ouch you like this for so long, but I couldn’t do anything while you were wearing that damn amulet!” he moaned as his free hand caressed the contours of her body. His warm lips lightly grazing her cheeks.

This time his touch didn’t hold the warmth for her that it once had. Instead she found herself nauseous at the mere sight of him. “Dono—”

He put a finger lightly against her delicate pink lips. “Shh.”

As Katrina felt a sudden draft, her body began to shake from the chilly air. Donovan misinterpreted her body’s reaction and gave her an enamored smile. Lost in the moment, he brushed his fingers through her hair holding her face to his.

“I could give you so much more than your precious blood sucker. Think about it, Caroline.”

“Please,” she begged. “Let me go.”

Shutting his eyes, Donovan sighed heavily and let out an irritated, “No.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Haven’t you figured that out yet? Or has my deranged parasite of a brother left that part out?”

Confused, Katrina tried to speak, but the words were lost. Part of her knew what the werewolves were after, but she couldn’t believe that he could be willing to condemn his family for his own personal gain.

“Sure you do.” Donovan gave her a curious look.

“But, he’s your brother.”

“All I ever did for that wretched little bastard and this is the thanks I get. I don’t think so. I want the world and I need your blood to get it.”

“Why my blood?” Katrina attempted to stall him.

“I think you know. Either you or your brother would do. It’s a fair trade if you think about it,” he chuckled. “My cousin took your brother and in return I get you. Honestly, I think I got the better end of the deal.”

“Adronis,” interrupted a husky female voice. Katrina turned to see Ms. Stevenson’s oddly familiar yellow eyes cowering in their direction.

“What is it, Farkas?”

“Farkas?” Katrina’s surprised voice blurted out.

“Oh, that’s right you two haven’t properly met, yet. Caroline, let me introduce you to my other mother.”

“Hello, Caroline,” Ms. Stevenson’s coy voice echoed through the room. “We’ve been waiting for you a long time.” She smiled, as she crept into the small space. Feeling the heat of her body next to her, Katrina cringed in terror. She was much more frightening now that Ka
trina knew what she really was.

“You see, I couldn’t be seen, not while my family was so close by. They would know exactly why I was here and I couldn’t risk that. I spent years trying to get it right and I wasn’t about to screw it up now. I had to send Farkas in first to make sure it was indeed you they came for.”