Dayan kissed her forehead, her eyelids; then his mouth drifted down to hers. He took possession with elemental hunger, with raw aching need, rocking the earth for both of them. “I claim you as my lifemate,” he whispered softly to her, against her lips, amid the ancient healing chant. His mouth skimmed over her neck, feather-light, sensual, a whisper of satin and silk. “I belong to you. I offer my life for you. I give you my protection, my allegiance, my heart, my soul and my body.”
White-hot pain lanced through her body, gave way instantly to a pure pleasure arcing through her, through both of them. Corinne felt drowsy, unexpectedly sensual. Her body clenched and burned with heat and need. She tried to stay awake, not drift, wanting to experience the beauty of what was happening, wanting to lend her feeble strength to that of all the others fighting for her life, but she found herself relaxing beneath the connection. She felt the sweep of his tongue as he closed the tiny pinpricks.
His mouth moved gently along her throat, up to the corner of her lips. “I take into my keeping the same that is yours. Your life, happiness and welfare will be cherished and placed above my own for all time.” With her new awareness, Corinne sensed when Dayan further distanced her from what was happening. As though in a dream, she observed one fingernail lengthening into a single long talon, dagger-sharp. He slit his chest, opening the heavy muscle, pressing her mouth to him so that his blood ran into her.
She was astonished to find herself drinking almost ravenously, astonished to find she wasn’t in the least repulsed. Strength seemed to pour into her body, a richness unlike anything she had ever experienced. This time she felt his power, felt the greedy way her cells and tissues absorbed the gift of life he was sharing with her.
Dayan was holding her with exquisite tenderness, looking down at her as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world, a treasure, a priceless gift he was guarding. Corinne felt tears burning in her throat, in her eyes. He was so handsome, so tortured, his face etched with lines of worry and sorrow she had put there.
“You are my lifemate, bound to me for all eternity and always in my care.” He whispered the last of the ritual words, binding them together in the Carpathian ceremony as old as time. The words were imprinted upon him and all other males even before they were born. Each male had the extraordinary ability to bind his lifemate to him for eternity.
Corinne felt it immediately, her soul, her heart, even her mind, reaching for his. It was as if thousands of threads were weaving them together, forming an unbreakable bond. She became even more aware of what was happening inside her body. Gregori was working hard to repair the damage to her disintegrating heart, while Darius was monitoring the baby for potential problems caused by the rich blood pouring into her body. Inside Corinne, organs and tissues were actually reshaping, and the same thing was happening to her daughter.
Corinne knew the moment the richness and power became too much for the baby. She heard her own protest, made the effort of movement away from Dayan even as Darius gave him the command to stop. It was Julian who closed the wound on Dayan’s chest with his own healing saliva. For a moment Corinne lay there, afraid to think or breathe, wrapped in the soothing quilt and the shelter of Dayan’s strong arms. Her baby was struggling to survive. The blood was changing her tiny body too fast – it was uncomfortable and frightening for the infant. Corinne heard Darius whispering to the child, conveying images more than words. Beautiful, tranquil, soothing images.
The child was aware of her environment deteriorating, of the changes taking place rapidly in her body. Corinne added her own voice to comfort her daughter. Dayan joined with her, merging them together, offering his love and comfort and commitment to the baby. And then Gregori joined them. Corinne was astonished at the power and strength emanating from Gregori, the skill he used to keep the baby from leaving the uncomfortable home she was dwelling in. The baby’s body was hot, her insides on fire. Gregori soothed her and provided a cooling balm for the twisting pain.