“You are my lifemate. I could never harm you. For you I could control myself, and you I could replenish. I have told you this on more than one occasion, but you insist on ignoring the information.”
“I don’t understand any of this!” she blurted out. “I just know I want away from you. You’re confusing me to the point that I don’t know if you’re putting thoughts into my head or if they’re my own.”
“You are not a prisoner, Alexandria, but the truth is, you need to remain close to me. There is no way you can protect yourself and Joshua without me.”
“I’ll leave the city. Evidently it’s overrun with vampires anyway. Who would want to stay?” she asked, somewhere between bitterness and hysterical laughter.
“Where would you go? How would you live? Who would take care of Joshua in the daytime while you are forced to sleep?”
Alexandria clamped her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out his words. “Shut up, Aidan. I don’t want to listen to you again.” She lifted her chin, her sapphire eyes meeting his. Very slowly, unsteadily she pushed her way back up the wall.
He rose slowly, his movements mirroring hers. He looked so powerful, so invincible, she couldn’t believe she was defying him. Hunger crawled inside her. The small amount of blood he had given her had merely whetted her appetite. Her starving body cried out, was insistent, impossible to ignore. Alexandria pressed a hand to her mouth. She was evil; he was evil. Neither of them should be alive.
That is not true, Alexandria, not true at all. He glided slowly toward her, silent, unpredictable, his voice so velvet soft, so very persuasive. She rubbed her forehead. “God, you’re in my head. Do you really think I’m going to believe it’s normal to talk to one another in our minds? That you always know what I’m thinking?”
“It is normal for Carpathians. You are not a vampire, cara. You are a Carpathian. And you are my lifemate.”
“Stop it! Don’t say it anymore!” Alexandria admonished.
“I will keep saying it until you understand the difference.”
“I understand you made me like this. And that I’m not supposed to be alive. And no one is supposed to live for centuries. And no one is supposed to kill others to survive.”
“Animals do it all the time, piccola. And humans kill animals to eat. But in any case, we do not kill when we feed, as vampires often do. It is forbidden, and the act itself taints the blood, destroys the soul,” he said patiently. “There is no need to fear your new life.”
“I don’t have a life.” Watching his every move, she inched toward the door. “You took my life away from me.”
He was several feet from the heavy stone entrance, she only inches. But even as she jerked it open, his hand was already stopping her. His body, so much larger, so much stronger, was blocking her way to freedom.
Alexandria went still. “I thought I wasn’t a prisoner.”
“Why do you resist my aid? If you leave this chamber with your hunger as it is, your distress will increase.”
Aidan wasn’t touching her, but she could feel his heat. Her body seemed to reach for his. Even her mind sought his touch. Horrified, she pushed at him. “Get away from me. I’m going to sit with Joshua for a while. I need to think, and I don’t want you around. If I’m not your prisoner, then get away from me.”
“You cannot go near the boy looking as you do. You are covered in dirt and smeared with my blood.”
“Where’s your shower?”
He hesitated, then decided against mentioning she wouldn’t need one if she didn’t want one. Let her be as human as she needed to be. It cost him nothing. “You may as well use your private bathroom on the second floor. Your clothes are in your room, and everyone is asleep. You will not be disturbed there.” He stepped back and gestured toward the passageway.
Alexandria ran through the tunnel and burst into the basement. She had to leave this place. What was she going to do with Joshua? Aidan was dragging her further and further into his world. A world of madness, of insanity. She had to leave.