Fen opened the vein in his wrist and held the offering out to Mikhail. "I offer my life for our people. I pledge my loyalty to them through our blood bond."
Mikhail, Gregori cautioned.
He is one of us.
His blood isn't. I'll take his blood.
Mikhail's eyes darkened even more, and Gregori stepped back reluctantly.
Mikhail took the offered wrist, accepting the blood bond with Fen. He closed the wound carefully and gave Fen a slight bow. "As vessel of our people, I accept your sacrifice."
You could be the most stubborn man alive, Gregori hissed. There are times I'd like to lock you in a dungeon and throw away the key.
Mikhail's laughter was soft in Gregori's mind. My daughter would not be very happy that her husband has such thoughts.
You can't play the Savannah card whenever you want. Seriously, Mikhail, I'm responsible for your safety and you refuse to listen to me.
Mikhail sighed. I listen. I always take what you say under careful consideration before I make my decisions, Gregori. I don't try to make your job more difficult but I still have to go with my instincts. Fenris Dalka will be a huge asset to our people. I know he has a place in our future. The ancestors know it as well.
Fen wrapped his arm around Tatijana. He knew no one else had really noticed the instinctual move on Gregori's part to stop Mikhail from taking his blood. He couldn't blame Gregori. The more he was around Mikhail, the more respect he had for the man. The fate of an entire species rested on Mikhail's shoulders. He was thoughtful, intelligent and his own man-a bodyguard like Gregori's worst nightmare.
Fen was absolutely certain there had been an exchange between the two men, although neither Dimitri nor Tatijana seemed to notice. His awareness was extremely heightened and he'd felt a small current of energy going back and forth between the two men. He shouldn't have felt anything. They were used to communicating telepathically and had centuries of experience. Psychic communication was effortless for them.
Fen let out his breath slowly, not wanting to alert or alarm Gregori. They were deep beneath the Earth in the most sacred of caves, surrounded by the spirits of their ancestors, all warriors who would protect Mikhail, and he was aware of a telepathic conversation between the prince and his most trusted man. That was not good. If he'd been guessing, that would have been one thing, but Fen knew, and that meant he was still evolving. He would have to tell either Gregori or the prince at some point, but not here, not where he couldn't sufficiently protect Dimitri and Tatijana should the ancestors suddenly withdraw their acceptance.
What's wrong? Tatijana asked. She stroked a caress through his mind.
Instantly he felt peace stealing into him. He couldn't change what he was and she accepted him, problems and all. I've got you, my lady, there can be nothing wrong.
She laughed softly in his mind, filling him with that strange emotion he now thought of as joy. Have I told you this rising that I am madly in love with you and you're clearly the most beautiful woman in the world? Because if I haven't, it is very remiss of me.
You covered that nicely when we were feeding this evening. Remember? You picked me up and we made love? In case you've managed to forget that, I wrapped my legs around your waist and hooked my ankles so I wouldn't fall and just lowered myself right over you. Nice and slow. Is it coming back to you? Her voice smoldered, as sultry as ever.
There was no forgetting any moment of making love to her. He preferred to have that experience as often as possible. It would be impossible to forget, my lady. It's burned into my soul.
Vikirnoff waved his hand in front of Fen's face. "Are you still with us? Mikhail takes a little blood, and you're turning pale."
"He doesn't look pale to me," Dimitri drawled. "He looks a little overheated."
Fen sent his brother a fierce scowl, but Dimitri didn't look at all intimidated.
"I'd really like to get back to how to fight the Sange rau. There must be a way. Dimitri successfully managed to battle with the one you call Bardolf," Vikirnoff pointed out. "He's Carpathian. Was he able to do that because he has some of your mixed blood, or because he used some kind of special strategy?" Curiosity and a hint of eagerness edged his tone.
"I feared turning, just as most ancient Carpathian hunters do," Fen said, "so we practiced with war games each time we got together. Dimitri found the things that worked as well as the things that didn't."
"Hit and run is always the best approach," Dimitri said. "I had a few tricks I devised, but they could be used only once, at the most twice and only if I spread them out. The Sange rau learn and adapt very quickly, so the name of the game is always to change things up."
"Fortunately," Fen continued, "a vampire is a vampire is a vampire. The same with a rogue werewolf. They don't always have the patience they should. The Sange rau definitely take longer to anger, but they're actually more puffed up with ego than the vampire, so you can rile them enough that they make mistakes."
"It's definitely better for hunters to go after them in pack form," Dimitri added. "A single hunter doesn't have nearly the chance a group would have."
"But to fight pack-style takes skill. Bardolf will know every pack move, while Abel less so," Fen continued. "The thing you have to know about each Sange rau is where they came from, what they were before they mixed blood. Bardolf is comfortable as a wolf and when pressed, he goes back to what he knows best. The same holds true for Abel. Clearly in this relationship, Abel is the master and has acquired more skills because he's been Sange rau much longer."
"We'll need a crash course in fighting these bad boys," Vikirnoff stated. "Are the two of you willing to stick around and help us out?"
"That would be the idea," Dimitri said. "That and devising a strategy for destroying both Bardolf and Abel. If they do move the pack, we'll have to track them."
"Don't discount the pack. We don't have exact numbers and many were killed during the two battles. But even if we killed thirty or forty of them, if the pack is a hundred strong, as I'm afraid it may be, they still have a large army they can throw at you," Fen said. "They'll come at you during the day because Abel knows that's when they can do the most damage to you."