Dimitri remained silent. His expression never changed. Fen touched his mind. His brother was crazy in love with Skyler, but he hadn't claimed her, respecting their decision to wait until she felt ready. He would not give her up, not even to the prince and his enquiries in the sacred cavern.
Dimitri had been his own man for centuries. He might be Fen's younger brother, but he had hunted the vampire on his own for centuries. He was respected and held in some circles as a legend. His relationship with Skyler was private. He rarely spoke of her. Fen had gotten more information about her from their brief healing encounter together than in all the years Dimitri had given him safe havens to rest and heal in.
Mikhail seemed to be more amused than upset that none of them were forthcoming about Dimitri's young unclaimed lifemate. He simply nodded his head. "I'm certain that young woman somehow managed to seal both Fen and Dimitri to Mother Earth, a privilege to say the least."
"Did the ancients accept Fenris as he is?" Dimitri cut to the heart of the matter.
For the first time Mikhail hesitated. He let out a soft sigh. "I can't give you the exact answer you're looking for, or that I was looking for, Dimitri. The ancients acknowledge Fen as a great warrior who has lived with honor, but his blood is no longer the blood of a Carpathian."
Dimitri didn't flinch, but Fen was close to him and felt the inner blow like a punch to his gut. Mikhail had raised questions both men needed to think about. Tatijana was already tied to Fen and she would accept their fate together as his lifemate. It was different with Skyler. She was young, a human at that. Did Dimitri have the right to sentence her to a life so unknown, surrounded by enemies at every door?
"How long does it take before a hunter has the speed you have?" Gregori asked.
Fen shook his head. "It took me nearly a year to begin to merge with my wolf. I think you'd get a better answer from Manolito De La Cruz. You said he was recently changed. You have to remember when this happened to me we didn't even realize the cause was the blood. I'd been bitten numerous times in battles with rogue packs and the Sange rau we were chasing. In those days, no one knew about genetics. I recall the wolf and then gradually merging with it."
Fen shrugged. "Over the years, when Dimitri sometimes joined with me in battle, we gave each other blood when one of us was wounded as Carpathians do. Again, that never raised a single red flag."
Vikirnoff, who had remained silent throughout the ritual of the ancients, stepped forward to offer a greeting. "I gave you blood after your battle with Abel and even after what I saw, I didn't think anything of it. Giving blood is part of our everyday lives. No one would have considered not saving a fellow Carpathian."
"Or Lycan," Fen agreed.
"The Lycans stayed away from us because they didn't understand how the process of becoming a Sange rau worked all those centuries ago," Mikhail ventured. "If this started centuries ago then what you say about ingrained prejudice has to be very true."
Fen nodded. "Each new council renewed their decree to avoid Carpathians when possible. To fight alongside them when needed and there should be no animosity toward them."
"Why did you choose to live as a Lycan and stay close to their packs rather than come home?" Vikirnoff asked.
"In the beginning I wanted as much information as possible," Fen said. "But then I realized when I allowed the Lycan to be more dominant, it wasn't as difficult to fight the temptation of darkness swallowing me."
Gregori sent him one look from slashing silver eyes. "You said it was much more difficult to resist the call of the vampire."
"Much later," Fen said. "Not in the beginning. In the beginning the wolf at first protected me from the temptation, and later while I lived in the packs as a Lycan I realized the darkness wasn't as oppressive. Over the centuries it really aided me as I hunted. I was very . . . active as a hunter."
Dimitri nodded. "He was extremely proficient hunting rogues. When he was severely wounded, or during the full moon, he stayed in the ground and some of that time I guarded his resting place until he was fit again."
"Why is it you can be detected during the full moon and not any other time?" Mikhail asked curiously. "There has to be something there we can use against the Sange rau."
"It's all about energy with Lycans. When a pack hunts, they can't have much success if prey knows they're coming for them, so they've evolved to mask their energy," Fen explained. "Unfortunately, during the week cycle of the full moon, it's impossible. The pull is too strong on Lycans. I'm Lycan enough that the effect is the same for me. My energy feels different to the Lycans and if I'm in close proximity, they know immediately what I am."
"That's why you wanted Tatijana to warn MaryAnn and Manolito," Gregori said. "You knew they wouldn't know any of this and if they came across Lycans during a full moon, they'd immediately be targeted for death."
"I have evolved as the Sange rau . . ."
"The Han ku pesak kaikak," Tatijana and Mikhail corrected simultaneously. "Guardian of all." They looked at one another and smiled.
"I have evolved as the Han ku pesak kaikak, Guardian of all," Fen corrected, "over centuries. For warriors to choose to become a Guardian, thinking they will be able to fight the existing Sange rau, is ludicrous. It takes centuries to build the speed and understand the gifts. Not to mention, if they have no lifemate, the danger to their soul increases every passing year."
Mikhail nodded. "I think I have enough information to come to some decisions that will guide our people as well as help me persuade the Lycan council to agree to stop the hunt for those who are Han ku pesak kaikak-Guardians of all, rather than Sange rau. Once I determine our course of action, I'll call a meeting here in these sacred chambers with as many of our warriors as possible to let them know what we are up against."
Gregori nodded, but he didn't look happy about it.
"Word will be sent to MaryAnn and Manolito. Once I contact Zev and ask for a meeting with the Lycan council, if they agree, I'll call in our warriors to be here for that summit." Mikhail gave a slight bow, a gesture of respect toward Fen. "Thank you for coming today and allowing me the opportunity to learn."
"My lifemate, Tatijana, has sworn her allegiance to her prince. My brother, Dimitri, has as well," Fen said. "Although my blood is no longer Carpathian, my heart and my soul are. I would swear allegiance to my prince, if he would choose to accept me as I am."
"You are and always will be Carpathian first," Mikhail said. "I would be honored to have you among my warriors."
The hum in the crystals began again, swelling in volume, each tuned to a perfect note. Colors swirled, the deeper hues of dark reds and purples, as if the ancestors still were a little confused as to what Fenris really was, but were in agreement with his decision to swear allegiance to the prince; after all, they did recognize he had served their people with honor for centuries.