Chapter 12 Maeve #2
“True.” She extended the word like she didn’t want to actually say it. “Jason claimed me and he also brought out my wolf.”
“So you’re happy? Have everything you ever wanted?” I couldn’t see the negatives in what she was telling me. “And you’re immortal as well?”
“I think we need to talk about a few things,” Ciara said, and when I turned toward her, she was watching me carefully.
“Oh?” This really sounded like the kind of talk I didn’t want to have.
She nodded. “Yeah. I know the kind of things in your head right now, I think. I mean, on the one hand…A vampire, right? Only the most powerful being around, and there’s something about them.
That hint of danger combined with something possessive and territorial.
It's an intoxicating combination. But on the other hand...a vampire. They bite and feed and they kill.” She watched me a beat longer before speaking again.
“Francois is a killer, Maeve. He killed any woman he thought might be his mate—in his search for his mate. He’s been a desperate man in the past.”
My face turned cold as though the blood had all drained away. “Yes, but he said…” He said I was his mate.
She nodded like she could read my thoughts.
“I’m sure he told every other woman buried in his pretty garden of secrets that she was his mate, too.
What makes you think you might be different?
” Her tone was gentle but the question hurt, shaking my newfound confidence that I was both wanted and might escape from here.
“Francois is a madman looking for a cure. He’s been that for decades, always hoping the next virgin he finds will be his true mate and her blood will cure his family madness.
It never has before.” Her voice was so empty of hope that I focused anywhere but her face.
How the hell did I expect myself to be any different than the women who had gone before? But I kind of did. Wasn’t that the downfall of women everywhere? We’d always be different, always be the one to change him, always be the one he loved best or more or be the one he wanted to be better for.
Ciara rested her hand on my forearm. “Be careful, Maeve. Seduction isn’t just an artform for vampires, it’s a way of being.”
I nodded and changed my position, curling into a ball as I rested my cheek against the grimy mattress. The room didn’t matter and the cleanliness didn’t matter when it felt like the last drop of hope had just been sucked directly from me.
I slept. On and off, in and out, and time passed but I didn’t know what time I woke up or how long I’d been asleep for.
My stomach grumbled as I moved, and Ciara gave me a small smile.
“What time is it?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Time we got out of here, but it’s been that time for a while.”
As she finished speaking, she looked toward the door, and my hunger disappeared as my stomach clenched, anxiety tightening inside my body. Someone was out there again.
The door opened and a guard stepped inside. “Both of you,” he said, and Ciara glanced at me.
We were slow to respond to his command, and the guard moved fast, suddenly hovering in front of me before I could react and hauling me into a standing position.
Ciara was also on her feet before I saw her move. “Let go of her.” Her face contorted and the redness in her gaze brightened but the guard only laughed.
“Oh, yeah, fledgling? On whose say-so?”
“It’s okay, Ciara.” It was far from okay, but at least she’ be with me today, and if either of the two vampires in the room with me today spilled each other’s blood, I couldn’t guarantee what would happen. I’d truly be on my own, though and that would be bad.
I needed Ciara with me.
She shook her head, the movement frustrated, but she remained quiet, following behind us as the guard led me from the room.
We walked quickly through the house, and my chest lightened as the route became familiar.
We were near the library again. I hardly dared hope that they might take me back to Francois.
I couldn’t look at Ciara. If I did, I’d give away too much of myself. She already disapproved of how much I thought of Francois.
Hell, I kind of disapproved of it. I barely knew the man, although something in me trusted him, which was ridiculous—especially after all Ciara had said. There was no reason to trust him and every reason not to.
But I couldn’t help the small bright light of hope that he lit inside me.
As we entered the library, Francois stepped forward, his arms out like he might hug me. “Maeve.” But he recovered himself and stepped back as his gaze passed over the guard and Ciara.
Ciara hissed quietly and stepped back, knocking against the nearest bookcase.
“Ciara.” Francois nodded, courtesy in every line of his body.
As the guard left the room, I looked at Ciara.
“You need to remember what I said.” Her eyes were earnest as she looked at me.
“What’s been said?” Francois glanced between the two of us. Then he rubbed a hand over his face. “I suspect I can guess.”
Ciara nodded. “And it’s all true. The craziness, the killing.”
Francois nodded, too. “But it’s all changed now. I’ve found my mate.” His eyes glowed with reverence as he switched his focus solely to me. “My mate can cure me.”
My throat dried. Ciara had told me the cure was my blood but I needed to hear it from him. “How can your mate do that?”
“You, Maeve. You can cure me. Your blood can cure me.”
“You need my blood?” All of it? Was he going to kill me, too? I backed away as he held his hands out like he could draw me back.
He nodded, his discomfort clear to see in his gaze. “After we mate and I feed on you, I will be cured. You’ll heal me.”
Whatever had seemed romantic yesterday was suddenly a lot less so. The idea of this man feeding on me to cure himself felt colder than the romance I’d projected on being wanted. I’d been a fool.
Of course he only wanted me for how I could benefit him.
“You can’t know that, Francois. Look at your previous failures. You thought each of those women could cure you, too.” Ciara stood beside me, her support obvious.
But Francois shook his head. “It’s different this time.
I feel it here.” He touched his chest briefly.
“I’ve found my true mate. The future is inevitable.
” His focus remained on me. “There’s no way we could reject each other.
It’s never been done.” He laughed shortly.
“Mais oui, bien s?r, every vampire who’s been through the process seems to fear that their mate will reject them, but it’s never happened that I’ve seen or can recall.
Mates who find each other always end up together.
” He moved a little closer, and I stayed perfectly still.
It was as if he’d bewitched me. I was enchanted by him, despite what he was saying.
“I’ll wait until you’re ready, Maeve.” His voice was soft. “I’ll wait as long as I possibly can, but if you ever see me change, you must run. I’m not in control when the madness takes over.”