replace with his immortal breath based on the information he thought he had entrusted to a sweet elderly
woman tonight she might die.
She was brain dead. Her mind would never be able to process even the simplest thought. Five years
had already gone by. Everyday Nikolas poured his healing power and energy into her to restore her brain.
He claimed she was making progress because he could not let go of the hope that she would one day open
her eyes and recognize him. Until that happened he refused to even consider giving his eternal breath to
her. He refused to face that fact that taking a risk and doing it was the only way she would ever recover.
Nikolas’ delusion had robbed Sara of any hope of being saved from daily torture and torment for five
long years. Brianna’s blood link was the only way Demetri had ever been able to find Sara. No matter
how long Nikolas waited, Brianna wasn’t going to recover while being a mortal. How could her mind
have faith in him or believe in his love for her? It couldn’t. It never would. Her only hope to receive
immortality was if her soul knew him, trusted him, believed in his love for her. If it worked, her entire
body would be made new and so much stronger. Including her brain. He wasn’t going to keep waiting for
Nikolas to get over his fear of killing Brianna. In her present state she was dead. She was nothing. Why
not risk nothing to gain it all?
Hopeful it would all work out he slowly walked up the street toward the house. He wanted to feel
joy, but at this point happiness was not an option. It wouldn’t come until he had Sara safe in his arms. He
had chosen to be ruthless and merciless the moment he decided to force Nikolas to take a chance with
Brianna, but did not feel any shame or remorse. He would have stooped to even lower and darker levels to
save Sara. Much lower. There was no limit, other than to harm or kill a child such has Haden’s daughter,
to what he would do to find Sara. He was not a friend to anyone. He did not care about family ties. Was
he a rogue demon? Had he turned against his kind? His people had every right to doubt, to think that he
might turn against them. He would always do what he thought was best for Sara.
One day he would find her. Together they would survive and help each other recover from the horror they
have endured. He would keep her so far from any possible harm. At times he dreamed about taking her
away. He had never picked an exact location. He had seen the world many times. He would ask her where
she wanted to go. Nothing would give him more joy than knowing he had taken her to paradise. He
wouldn’t even care if she changed her mind every night and wanted him to take her to another paradise.
His only requirement was for her to fall asleep in his arms every night and wake up in his arms every
morning.
~Twenty Two~
BEFORE NIKOLAS ENTERED he was aware of Carl sleeping on a chair in the furthest corner of the
room. The thought of devoting a single second or utilizing the most minuscule measure of energy to
slaughter him at that moment was ridiculous. The sadistic bastard had perpetrated totally unforgivable
acts of cruelty and violence against Brianna. He had not only managed to evoke an ancient dragon’s
darkest and most ferocious rage, he had turned it against himself. His end would not come about straight
away. He had guaranteed his own excruciating and long-drawn-out exile from the world.
Completely ignoring Carl’s presence, Nickolas rushed to Brianna’s side. “I am so sorry it took me so
long to find you.” His heart ached as he stared down at her to assess her condition. Her life was slipping
away. “Don’t be afraid, little one. You are not fighting alone anymore. I will hold onto you if you are
unable to hold onto me.”
He sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’m going to touch your face.” Just in case she could hear his
voice, he warned her to avoid startling her. The damage her brain sustained seemed to be preventing him
from linking with her to gain the information he needed to help her. He gently pushed her blood matted
hair away from her face to visually evaluate her state until he established a connection with her.
His first clear view of her face caused tears to pool in his eyes. In the past He had seen the same
bruising and swelling occur on humans that had suffered serious head injuries. Not one had ever survived.
Despite being forewarned of the severity of her brain damage, he was shocked. His entire body started to
tremble.
Fear and grief gripped his heart and squeezed, but he pushed the emotions aside when her breathing
suddenly became labored. “I am here with you, little one. Relax. You do not need to fight. Give it to me.
Let me take over. I will breathe for you.” He used a compulsion on her body rather than her mind when
he spoke. He wanted to force her body to hand its fight for survival over to him.
Within a matter of seconds he was able to take full control of her breathing. He bent over and gently
brushed a kiss on her forehead. “That’s better.” He had no way of knowing whether or not she could hear
his voice. Needing her to know that she was not alone any longer, he desperately wanted to believe that
his words were able to reach her and encouraged her.
He poured his healing energy and power into her body to heal and strengthen her as much as
possible. She seemed to be more comfortably since he took over her breathing. He was thankful to be able
to help her in any way. He did not want to look inside her mind, but he knew it was the only way for him
to proceed. He knew what he would find. Her brain was barely functioning enough to prevent her heart
from stopping and other vital organs from shutting down. His goal was to ensure that she was strong
enough to be safely moved. It would only take a few seconds to get her home. He planned to shift with
her, but just lifting her up to hold her could cause her to suffer more pain.
Hearing movement from behind, he knew Carl had woken up. He felt the idiot preparing to attack
him. It might have forced his attention from Brianna, but he knew Haden was about to walk through the
door. Carl managed to hit him over the head once before Haden had his throat in death grip against the
wall.
“Do you want me to save him for you?” Haden asked
Nikolas nodded. “Do you remember how to shift beyond the safeguards to enter the deepest
caverns?”
“In the cliff, right?”
“Yes.”
“I do.”
“Lock him up in the last cell. I will deal with him later. For now, I only want to focus on Brianna.
She cannot breathe on her own. After she has recovered I will have plenty of time to properly handle his
execution.”
“I should stick around in case you need me.”
One look at his younger brother told Nikolas more than his words. He was worried because he
believed Brianna’s death was right around the corner. “I am fortunate to have you as my brother. I have
always and will forever love you. I understand and appreciate your concern, but nothing you say or do
will ever prevent me from following my mate. She is my destiny. It took me ten thousand long and lonely
years to find her. Going on for a minute without her is not an option for me. Take him to the cell. I trust
you to deal with him if I am not able to do it.”
“Of course I will, but…”
“You know it is my
fault she is still mortal. Don’t you dare deny it. It is an indisputable fact. I kept
her vulnerable to death for far too long. I was a damn fool. I was not keeping her safe when I refused to
bind her to me for eternity. I laid her life on the table and gambled it. I would not do well if I lost the
bet.”
“I will be back shortly,” Haden said. “Joseph is on his way up.”
Her mind was a dark, cold void. He searched everywhere but found no awareness of any part of her
life. There were no childhood memories. He couldn’t even retrieve one of her sister. When he finally
worked up the strength to search for something of him in her mind he encountered one. He had not
thought of it in a long time. He had done so many silly things to see her smile. He wondered what was so
special about it her that made her one lingering memory. Making sure he continued to sustain her with his
power, he went over the memory.
Hand in hand they walked across a field. “You plan to find Zack in a field in the middle of
nowhere?”
“I plan on summoning him from up on top of Devil’s Tooth.”
“It sounds creepy, but I guess a demon summoning another demon from a place called Devil’s Tooth
makes sense.”
“It is on the east shoulder of Devil’s Peak.”
“Who would come up with such a name?”
“Not me.”
“Why do you need to come all the way out here to do it?”
“No one has seen him for several weeks. Zack has not been in a cooperative mood lately. I do not
blame him. He has been through hell. There are powers at Devil’s Peak that I will be able to tap into to
force him to meet with us. Otherwise I doubt he would do it.”
“Wouldn’t he want to be near friends?”
“Yes and no. He’s struggling with changes inside him, and he has never been a man keen on the idea
of change.”
“A demon with cold feet. Shocking,” she laughed.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“I am.” She stopped to look up at him. “The struggle is never about the change. You have to be
willing to risk something to gain something. The struggle is holding on to something that makes you feel
comfortable rather than letting go of it to take hold of the change. When you don’t take hold of the change
it will take hold of you while you’re cuddling up to good old comfortable.”
“Look,” she whispered, “over there. A deer. Oh how sweet. She has a little baby.”
Nikolas conjured up a big red apple and handed it to her. “I’m not hungry.”
Indicating the doe, he nodded. “I am sure she is.”
“She will run off if we try to walk up to her.”
“She plans on coming over here to say hello.”
It wouldn’t be easy to convince the deer to bring its fawn over to them. Prey animals were naturally
suspicious. This particular doe didn’t seem interested in it at all. He could force it by using a compulsion,
but he knew Brianna would pick up on it and she wouldn’t be happy with him for doing it.
Brianna frowned. “It doesn’t look like she wants anything to do with us.”
“She’ll warm up to the idea. Give it a second.” For a few seconds Nikolas thought the damn thing
would make a liar out of him.
“Are you actually talking to her about it?”
“Yes.” It was actually more like negotiating than a having conversation to convince her to visit with
them. She was a conniving and smart animal. Understanding his power she demanded that he relocate an
extremely arrogant and aggressive buck in the area. The doe was more than happy to explain that none of
the females nearby were fond of him at all. The problem was that he refused to leave them alone.
“What is she saying?”
Nikolas didn’t want to ruin her moment by sharing the ugly details with her. Many of the females in
the area were happy to discuss their abhorrence for the buck and began to chime in with their opinions.
His head felt as if it might explode. This was a perfect example of why he never talked to does. They were
some of the biggest, opinionated gossip queens on the earth. “She is naturally protective of her baby, but
deep down she knows we are not a threat. She just needs a little convincing.” Ridding the area of the
poor old buck that had been the focal point of their gossip for years would most likely be the kindest thing
for him.
“Don’t pressure her. Tell her she’s right to protect her baby, and that we will be on our way.”
“That would be silly. She has decided she would like to meet you.” And it was true. Eventually,
persistence paid off. He removed the buck from the area and she agreed to meet Brianna. He pointed.
“She’s making her way to us right now. And she’s expecting the apple.”
Seeing the excitement on Brianna’s face as the doe and fawn walked toward him made the headache
of dealing with the does worth it. He hoped they never ran across another one again in the future. He
planned to be extra careful to avoid it.
“Nikolas, do you see them? There are more of them walking through the tree line.”
“Oh goody. That is just wonderful. I suppose they’d like to meet you as well.” Mostly they planned to
eat their fill of sweet apples. The first doe made sure to spread word and brag about the apple waiting for
her. Yep. Now that the buck was gone, apples were the topic of their chatter. If he didn’t make sure there
were plenty of apples to go around there would be hell to pay. With a wave of his hand he conjured up a
mound of apples a few feet in front of Brianna.
In a matter of minutes, they were standing smack dab in the center of several does and their babies.
Luckily they all allowed Brianna to pet them. A few of the babies, eager to play, ran in circles and leapt
around her. As soon as the apples were gone, the does began to wander off until they’d all disappeared in
“Wasn’t that fun?” She looked up at him with so much joy his heart melted.
“It was one of the best moments ever.” He took her hand. “We should get going. We still need to talk
to Zack.”
“How much further do we need to go?” she asked.
He stopped and turned to face her. “Are you getting tired?”
“Not at all. I was just wondering.”
Wrapping his arm around her shoulder he began to walk again. “Not much.” He pointed. “Just
beyond that hill.”
“That’s a mountain.”
“Not a very big one.”
“Nikolas, are you okay?” Hearing Haden’s voice and feeling his hand come down on his back took
him from the memory.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw Haden and Joseph side by side directly behind him. Demetri
was standing at the foot of the bed. It was a ridiculous question. He looked back down at Brianna. “I am
going to take her home now. I won’t do it here. She should be home.”
“I agree,” Joseph said. “We will go along with you to help in any way you might need us.”
Nikolas stood up. “No. I will let you know if I need you.” He scooped her up slowly, gently and
shifted away.
***
Haden didn’t move for several minutes. He knew Brianna did not have any brain activity. She wouldn’t
know him. Her mortal body was damaged beyond any hope of repair. His brother’s only option was to
attempt to give his eternal breath to her. How could she have faith in his love for
her if she didn’t know
him? She wouldn’t. She couldn’t.
“Is there a way to get around or through his safeguards?” Joseph asked.
“There is always a way. Some are quite painful. But we aren’t going his place.”
“He will not be able to help her. We can’t leave him alone.”
“He understands her condition. He doesn’t have any intention to heal her mortal body. He’s going to
attempt to give his immortality to her.”
“She isn’t going to know him. If he tries it she will die.”
“She is his mate. They will live together or they will die together.”
“Some believe it’s more important for the female’s soul to have faith in her mate’s love for her,”
Demetri said.
“Get the hell out of here.” The flames of fury that leapt in Joseph’s eyes revealed his irritation with
Demetri’s presence. “I don’t know why Nikolas decided to put up with you. I don’t want to know. It
doesn’t matter to me. As far as I am concerned you are full of shit.”
Haden understood Joseph’s animosity, but he wanted to hear what Demetri thought. “What do you
believe, Demetri?”
“It’s true. Why would any of us entertain any doubt in the bound our souls share with our mates?
Doesn’t that sound more like a human ailment? We are immortals. We are spiritual beings. We know
better. If not, why? We should fully understand and believe in the power and depths of spiritual
connections to our mates.”
Joseph took a deep breath and released it with groan. “Why would you listen to him? Your brother’s
life is hanging in the balance. We need to help him.”
“I hope Demetri is right. I want to help him, but if she dies nothing will comfort him until he follows
her. He doesn’t want our assistance or our pity. He wants us to stay the hell away from him.”
“He’s understandably upset. He shouldn’t be alone,” Joseph said.
Demetri looked right at Joseph and shook his head. “He is only as alone as you are when you are
with your mate. What would you do if you were him? Would allow anyone to interfere? Would you
consider going on without Mia?” He turned and walked out of the room without saying another word or