Page 55 of Fighting for Her Heart
“How long have you two been a couple?” I ask. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“Oh.” Anna shakes her head. “We aren’t a couple. Not in the way you mean.”
Timur’s already dark cheeks deepen as blood rushes into his skin, making me wonder if he has a completely different interpretation of their status.
“But we have been blood partners for a very long time.” She turns to him. “Haven’t we, Timur.”
Nodding, he raises her hand and presses his lips softly against her knuckles. In spite of her words, the pair seems to be very much in love, or at leastheseems to be…
Given I’ve only ever loved two women and both loved me back, if I’m right, I cannot begin to imagine Timur’s pain if his affections aren’t reciprocated.
“What can I do for you?” I ask. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you make Octavia pay for her crimes.”
She smiles. “This isn’t an official meeting, and you have no obligation to answer, but I’m very curious about you. I’d very much like to hear how a grizzly bear became a vampire. I had no idea that such a thing was even possible.”
“Sure.” I lean back in the chair. “What would you like to know?”
Her head tips to the side. “Well, for one, since shifters already have great powers and long lives, why did you risk the transition?”
“I wasn’t given a fucking choice.”
Her back stiffens and Timur rises from the settee, glaring at me.
I raise my palms toward them. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to raise my voice. Or to curse.” I’m not sure which part offended Timur. Probably both.
Taking Timur’s hand, Anna shifts forward, and then he sits again.
“No apology necessary,” she says. “I had no idea that your transition wasn’t voluntary.” She sighs wistfully. “I supposed mine wasn’t either, although mine was more welcome than yours, apparently. Who turned you?”
“That bitch you arrested.” I shake my head. “Please again, excuse my language.” Too much time around Ryker has fouled my mouth.
Her eyes widen. “Octavia is your Maker?”
I frown. “Maker. I don’t like that word.” I shake my head. “It links me to her in a way that I hate.”
“That is understandable, if your transition was unwelcome.” Her eyes close for a few seconds and then reopen, full of compassion. “I am interested in knowing more, but please, especially since we are in such a…casualsetting, please only tell me the parts of your story you are comfortable sharing.”
I fill my lungs with a long breath. “My story’s no secret. Not anymore.”
Bracing myself for exposure to my past, I form an invisible cave around my emotions, and then tell her the story of my transition, of the way Octavia and her witch friends tortured and then murdered my clan, my children, my wife, before turning me, and then how I tried to kill Octavia once I realized what she’d done to me, only to find myself trapped in a dungeon and held there for decades.
When I finish, Anna’s kneeling at my feet with my hands in hers. “On behalf of the vampire world, I am profoundly sorry for all that you suffered.” The pain in her eyes is devastating.
“Why areyousorry?” I ask her. “I’m a stranger to you and you had nothing to do with what happened.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “You arenota stranger to me. You are a vampire now, and as such you are one of the King’s subjects. Since I am King Dunkan’s proxy here, that makes you part of me.” She raises one fist to her chest. “You are part of a worldwide family of vampires, and I vow that Octavia will be brought to justice for what she has done to you.”
I’m not sure I believe her, but I certainly believe her conviction, and I smile in gratitude. She starts to stand, but at her first slight motion, Timur is at her side to offer his hand to guide her up. She beams at him, but my take on them doesn’t change. Seems to me that she considers him more of a friend than a lover. But if they swap blood with each other, they must be both.
“Speaking of crimes…” I say. “What I tried to do to Octavia…What got me locked up in that dungeon…” I glance away. “Based on what little I’ve learned about vampire law—andknowabout grizzly shifter law—I know I should face justice for attempted murder.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Anna smiles. “Threatening to commit vampircide is notalwaysan offense punishable by law, and given your circumstances, it was highly understandable.”
“Hearing your story,” Timur adds, his voice low and deep, “I admire your restraint. If I were you, I’d have killed her in that bar today.”
Looking up into Timur’s eyes, Anna nods and then turns back to me. “Thank you very much for sharing your story, Axel. I wish you health, a long life and every happiness, and if there is ever anything I can do for you—” she turns toward Timur, who hands me a small card “—this is my private line. I am at your disposal.”
“That’s very kind.” I slide the card into my pocket. That’s a first. I have the card of a princess.
