Dark Lycan (Dark 24)

Fen, you have to open your eyes. Wake for me. Tatijana called to her lifemate for the seventh straight rising.

In all honesty, he slept as one dead, and his wounds had been so horrific had not Gregori found him when he had, Fen would have died within another few minutes. It had taken everyone to save him, all Carpathians, participating in the healing chant. The people had come together providing strength and much needed blood, while Gregori, Tatijana, Branislava and Mother Earth fought for his life.

"I don't understand why he doesn't wake up." Tatijana looked to Gregori, her eyes welling with tears.

Gregori reached over and covered her hand gently in a rare gesture of compassion. "He's alive. He's rejuvenating far faster than I expected. I will tell you now, Tatijana, I did not expect him to survive at all. You must have patience. His spirit seems far away, but he hangs on."

"I can touch him sometimes, but then he slips away again," she said. "I just need him to let me in, just for a moment, and then I'll feel like I can breathe."

"That is simply a reaction of lifemates," he advised matter-of-factly. "When you're separated too long, the effects can be damaging. You know he lives. You know he will come back to you."

She knew he was giving her a warning. It was difficult to keep her mind steady and focused when she feared Fen had already slipped too far away from her. She'd made a promise to him though, and she would keep it. No matter how much sorrow weighed on her, she would find a way to hang on as he was doing.

The cave of healing was a peaceful place. The soil was dark and rich with minerals. Fen had been brought directly there by Gregori and the Carpathians had hastily gathered to try to save him. Tatijana had been horrified when she saw him. His skin had been peeled from his body in numerous places and he had chunks of flesh missing along the long raw patches. Larger chunks of flesh were missing from his shoulder and up close to his neck. The worst was his belly. Gregori had to keep his insides from falling out as he transported him back to the cave.

"Tatijana," Gregori said sharply, and then gentled his voice. "He grows stronger with each passing rising."

"Then why isn't his spirit where I can touch it?"

"I don't know. Perhaps he is traveling on his own while he heals. Look at his body. He rejuvenated far faster than I expected."

She nodded her head. "You're right. I know you're right." It was just that she wanted to hold Fen in her arms close to her body, feel his heart beating the same rhythm as hers. Just for a moment and then she knew she could breathe easier. Right now, it felt as though she couldn't draw a full breath into her lungs.

"What are you going to tell him about Dimitri?" Gregori asked, clearly to distract her.

Tatijana forced herself to respond. Distraction was exactly what she needed. Still, she put her hand on Fen's chest, right over his heart. "Even young Skyler has been unable to reach Dimitri, and their connection is unbelievably strong. I don't know how to tell him that Dimitri was taken by the Lycans, and no one, not me, not his lifemate or any of you can reach him."

She swept back her hair, although there was really no need. No stray strands had escaped, but she felt shaky and in need of covering it. "I feel as if I failed him. The moment we knew Dimitri was missing-that Vikirnoff found evidence he'd been taken by the Lycans, both Bronnie and I took to the sky, but even with dragon vision we couldn't find him. I was so worried about Fen, I felt so desperate to save him, that I just didn't take my dragon up fast enough."

"Our best and fastest hunters raced after them," Gregori pointed out. "Nothing has ever escaped so many hunters, and yet they came up empty, Tatijana. Dimitri's disappearance is not your fault."

"Zev told Mikhail that two of his elite hunters had taken him," Tatijana said, shaking her head. "Do they want to start a war? Don't they realize Fen will never stop until he gets Dimitri back? Never, Gregori, he'll be relentless in his pursuit."

Gregori nodded. "I'm well aware of that and so is the prince. Zev has given Mikhail reassurances that Dimitri will be safe for the time being. The Lycan council has sent word that they will come to a meeting with Mikhail. The Lycans don't want a war with us. Neither species will win. We all know that. They won't harm Dimitri while this summit takes place."

"Why can't we reach him? Why can't Skyler?" With her hand still over Fen's chest, for a moment, she thought she felt his heart flutter, and her heart jumped for joy, but when she looked down at him, he hadn't moved.

"She's little more than a child," Gregori said dismissively. "You say they have a particularly strong connection, but look at you and Fen. He's right here, close to you and yet he doesn't awaken at your request. Sometimes the spirit travels on its own while the body heals."

"Are you saying you suspect Dimitri is so hurt that he can't respond?" Tatijana asked. "Because if that's the case, time is of the essence and we need to go after them. Zev must know where the Lycans would take him."

"I'm certain he does. Dimitri is probably on his way to their council. He is Han ku pesak kaikak-Guardian of all to us, but Sange rau to them and they fear the Sange rau more than anything else," Gregori answered.

"Do they fear the Sange rau more than they fear war with us?" Tatijana asked.

Gregori sighed. "I wish I knew the answer to that, but Mikhail has called in all Carpathians for this summit. We've made it very clear to the Lycans the summit doesn't happen if they kill Dimitri. They're still coming, which they'd be insane to do if he wasn't alive."

"He's alive," Tatijana said. She was tired of explaining to both Mikhail and Gregori that she knew he was alive because Skyler knew. They insisted on viewing Dimitri's lifemate as a child and didn't really give credence to her abilities.

"Mikhail has quietly begun putting together some of our best hunters. Once you wake him and we know he's strong enough, the hunters trying to track Dimitri will slip away with Fen leading them. We know that a couple of the Lycan hunters are nearby, watching to see that we don't launch an attack on their people or try to retaliate, so we have to do this under their noses without getting caught."

Tatijana couldn't imagine Fen caring one way or the other that the Lycans knew that he was coming for his brother, Dimitri. He probably would want them to know. He would be absolutely merciless, implacable and maybe the Lycans needed to see that.

Gregori must have caught her thoughts. He leaned forward and shook his head. "You can't let him go off after his brother without thinking of the consequences. If they know we're coming for him, they very well could kill Dimitri. We don't know where he is. They've found some way to silence him."

"That's more frightening than anything else," Tatijana admitted.

Again there was that strange fluttering beneath her hand. She leaned over Fen and brushed a kiss over his mouth. Come back to me, my love. I need to know you're alive.

"I believed Zev when he said he had no part in taking Dimitri, but more importantly, Mikhail believed him. He knows when people speak the truth. Zev didn't give the order to take Dimitri prisoner, he didn't even know he was of mixed blood," Gregori said. "I suspect the two Lycans observed Dimitri in the battle and he gave himself away out of necessity."

"Does he know Fen has mixed blood?" Tatijana strained to keep her voice even, but she thought it quivered a bit.

Thankfully, Gregori pretended not to notice. "He doesn't know Fen and Dimitri are brothers. No, I think he believes Fen stays close because he's fallen in love with you. He spoke to Mikhail and said such a match would be forbidden by the Lycans. It is obvious he both admires and respects Fen and wants him to join his pack as an elite hunter."

Tatijana frowned. "It's forbidden for Fen to fall in love with me just because I'm Carpathian? Isn't that just a little archaic?"

"They know Carpathians exchange blood."

"They were happy enough to have our blood when they were wounded," Tatijana hissed. Again Fen's heart fluttered. She pressed her palm hard over his chest, nearly crying out. That had to be a heartbeat. She wasn't mistaken. She felt tears burning behind her eyes and clumping in her throat. He was alive. He was coming closer to the surface.

Beside them, Fen stirred, his body still covered in the rich healing soil of Mother Earth. Tatijana let out a cry of joy. His lashes fluttered and he looked up at her. His face was very pale and there were lines that hadn't been there before, but he smiled just for her.

"You're a beautiful sight to wake up to, my lady."

"I think you're rather beautiful yourself." She was not going to cry. She kept her palm flat over his chest, needing the reassurance of his steady heartbeat. It was music to her.

"You're back with us," Gregori observed, his silver eyes missing nothing. Fen was breathing a little shallow and was still in some pain, but he was very aware of everything around him. "How much of our conversation did you get?"

"Enough to know that"-Fen had to reach for his voice-"we need to find out why the two Lycans were at the lake in the first place. How did they know where we expected the last Sange rau's lair might be? Dimitri and I found it because we knew Abel when we were young."

"A very good question," Gregori agreed.

"If Zev didn't know where we were, and he didn't send those hunters to aid us, why weren't they with their pack, fighting the rogues?" Fen asked. "Zev is dominant over the pack alpha, he's the big boss. No self-respecting alpha would ever allow his pack to desert a fight and go off without a word."

"Zev left in a hurry. I wonder if he was asking himself the same questions," Gregori mused. "He wasn't happy."

"I'm sure he wasn't. If members of his pack took someone prisoner and didn't even report back to him-that's mutiny in the pack. That's challenging leadership. Those two would have to fight Zev for the position of leader," Fen explained. "The best hunter is always the scout and therefore the dominant alpha."

"You heard us?" Tatijana exclaimed, still stuck back on the original point. "You heard our conversation?"

"You called to me and you sounded distressed," Fen said. "I came, of course."

"Fen, I've called you to me for the last seven risings."

He frowned. "Really? I'm so sorry, Tatijana. I had no idea of time passing. When your spirit wanders there's no concept of time. I went looking for my brother."

"You knew Dimitri was missing?" Tatijana asked, her eyes wide and a little accusing. She couldn't stop herself from raining kisses on his face. "You scared me to death."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't be in two places at one time, I was too weak. My body needed to heal. I thought I was gone a short time only." He covered her hand with his. "I would never wish to cause you distress."

He tried to sit up, and Gregori put a hand on his chest. "Not yet. I'd like to make certain everything is healing properly."

Fen looked around him. "You brought me to the cave of healing. I must have been pretty torn up this time."

"You've been out for seven risings," Tatijana reiterated.

"I was looking for Dimitri," Fen explained again, his voice growing stronger. "When I was there in the lodge with Abel, I felt Dimitri's pain, just for a moment, and I knew it was his pain. I've felt the agonizing burn of silver many times and this was all encompassing. I knew immediately they wrapped him in it, which could only mean one thing-they had taken him prisoner."

"You could have let me know," Tatijana said. "I'm your lifemate, Fen."

"It wasn't easy on her," Gregori added. "Your spirit was far away and appeared at times to fade completely."

"I'm sorry." Ignoring Gregori's warning, Fen pulled himself gingerly into a sitting position. His belly protested, but he managed. He took Tatijana's hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss her fingers. "I didn't mean for you to worry. I thought once my body had healed, my spirit would have found him and we could go get him."

Tatijana managed a smile. Now that he was alive and talking to her, all the tense nights and heavy sorrow pressing down on her lifted. "You're alive, Fen. That's all that really matters to me. That and getting Dimitri back."

"I have to go after him, Tatijana," Fen said.

"How will you track him if you couldn't find his spirit?" Gregori asked. "We sent Tomas, Andre, Mataias and Lojos after them. We couldn't find a trace of them. Do you have any idea where they would take him?"

Fen sighed and shook his head. "No, and the council is very secretive. If they are taking him before the council, finding them would be extremely difficult."

"The council is coming here," Gregori assured. "We don't think they would allow anything to happen to Dimitri before or during the summit, so we have time. Zev is carrying the message to them for us. And it's a rather stern one. Mikhail didn't pull any punches."

The healer stood up and stretched. It was one of the few times Tatijana had ever seen him look tired. "I'll leave you two alone, but Tatijana, don't let him stay up long. I've given him blood, but he needs to let his body do its work. You heal remarkably fast," he added.

"Thank you," Tatijana said, standing as well, giving Gregori a hug even though his body felt rather like she might be hugging an oak tree. "You saved him."

"It was a group effort," Gregori said, "but it was probably one of the most difficult battles I've ever fought."

He gave her an awkward pat on her shoulder. Clearly he was used to being around his lifemate and daughters but few other women. Still, she was grateful. He had come to the cave of healing every day and sat with her waiting. Bronnie spent time with her as well, and when she wasn't physically present, she soothed and comforted Tatijana telepathically.

When they were alone, Tatijana put her hand on Fen's shoulder, urging him to lie back. As soon as he was comfortable she eased down beside him, taking care that she didn't put pressure on any of the places he'd been so horribly wounded. She put her hand over his heart, needing to feel that steady beat.

"Next time, if there is one, although I'm not letting you out of my sight for some time, promise me before you go wandering around in the dark, you'll let me know you'll be coming back to me," Tatijana said, closing her eyes.

She wanted to savor the feel of him beside her, alive and awake. He felt solid to her. She allowed her heart to find the rhythm of his and follow that steady beat, just to reassure herself.

"I really am sorry, sivamet," he reiterated sincerely. He turned his head to stare into her eyes. "I would never knowingly cause you any grief. There was no sense of time for me. I could have been gone months or a few minutes. I did come when I heard you call."

She felt the jolt of those glacier-blue eyes, his love intense, real, so raw, right there for her to see. He never tried to hide his emotions from her. His love was something she had grown to count on without even realizing it.

"I didn't know I'd feel this way, Fen," she admitted. "When I first saw you and felt the pull toward you, I didn't want to take any chances. When we met and I said I didn't want to be claimed, it never in a million years ever occurred to me I would feel this way about you."

He leaned close to brush a kiss along her temple. "Wolf men can be very persuasive."

"We'll get Dimitri back, you know." She made it a declaration.

He nodded his head. "I know we will. You're Dragonseeker. I'm a Guardian. We'll find him together."

She threaded her fingers through his and held on tightly. She believed him. She believed in him. Dimitri would be found because Fen would never give up, and no matter where the hunt took them, she intended to be right by his side.

"Go back to sleep, Fen," she said, her voice soft with love for him. "The faster you heal, the faster we can get started. I'll be right here watching over you."

Fen gave her a faint smile, but he didn't protest. She watched his lashes come down and within moments, his heart seemed to have stopped beating and his breath no longer ebbed and flowed from his lungs.

Tatijana was content to just lie beside him. She knew he was alive and that was all that mattered. Fenris Dalka. Her lifemate.