Midnight Awakening (Midnight Breed 3)

I can't believe how time flies, the other Breedmate exclaimed, then took Elise's hand in both of hers. We heard what happened to Quentin, of course. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Elise attempted a smile. Thank you. It was...a difficult time. But I'm adjusting to life without him as best I can.

Anna clucked her tongue. And poor Camden. I can only imagine how hard it's been for him too, losing his father when he could have barely been into his teens. How is he holding up? Did he come with you to Berlin? I know Tom?s would be thrilled to see him.

All the blood seemed to drain out of her head at the well-meaning questions. The pain in her heart was still raw from this more recent loss. So raw, she could hardly find her voice to speak. Camden is...well, he's not here, actually. There was an incident a few months ago in Boston. He, um...he ran into some trouble, and he... She had to take a breath and push the words out of her mouth. Camden was killed.

Anna went white with shock. Oh, Elise! Forgive me, I had no idea--

I know you didn't. It's all right. Cam's death was sudden, and not many people know.

Oh, my dear friend. You've been through so much tragedy, haven't you? You must be the strongest woman I know. To lose so much in so short a time...it would have destroyed me, I'm sure. I think I would have curled up and simply faded away.>Little wonder that Elise, as the Breedmate of one of their highest ranking officials, would think of Tegan as nothing more than a means to an end.

That he'd let her drink from him burned Tegan like a lick of midday sunlight on his skin. The fact that he craved the woman--even a little bit--made him want to leap out of the moving car and run until he hit the dawn.

Yeah, it was a damn good thing he was seeing her clearly now. Before he allowed himself to do anything even more stupid with the female.

Chapter Sixteen

Elise skimmed her hands over the yards of glistening indigo silk that covered her. The sleeveless designer gown was breathtaking, one of more than a dozen couture pieces that Andreas Reichen had arranged to be brought in earlier that day from the city for her selection. She chose the simplest dress in the least dramatic color, wishing she didn't have to attend the evening's reception at all.

She'd been treated like a queen all day, and even after a restful bit of sleep, she wasn't much in the frame of mind for the hours of socializing that awaited her in the lakeside estate's grand ballroom downstairs. But years of practice on Quentin's arm had taught her what was expected of a member of the Chase family: duty first. That had been his personal credo, and one Elise had learned to embrace as well. So, after a quick shower in her guest suite, she had put on the form-fitting dark purple gown and a pair of gem-encrusted sandals, then arranged her short hair into some semblance of a style and headed out of her room ready to act her part.

Or at least, she thought she had been ready.

As soon as she descended the curving stairwell from the expansive wing of living quarters above, the din of voices and elegant music made her pause.

This would be the first public reception she'd attended since Quentin's death. Until she'd left the Darkhaven four months ago, she had kept herself in mourning, wearing the long white tunic and scarlet sash that declared a Breedmate a widow. As such, she'd been able to sequester herself in her home, seeing only those people she wished to, and neatly avoiding the sympathetic stares and whispers that would only remind her of Quentin's absence all the more.

There would be no more avoiding it, she realized, seeing Andreas Reichen striding toward her across the marble foyer from the direction of the crowded ballroom. He was stunning in a black tuxedo and crisp white shirt. His dark hair was pulled back off his face into a loose queue at his nape, showcasing those razor-sharp cheekbones and his strong square jaw. The handsome German's warm smile put her somewhat at ease immediately as he approached.

A perfect choice. You look exquisite, he said, his dark eyes taking her in from head to toe as he took her hand and lifted her fingers to his mouth. His brief kiss of greeting was whisper soft and warm as velvet. He released her with a slight bow of his head, and when his gaze reached her face, he frowned. Something is wrong? Is anything not to your liking?

Everything is fine, she assured him. It's just...I haven't done this in a very long time. Been out in public, that is. For the past five years, I've been in mourning--

Reichen's frown deepened in understanding. In mourning, all this time?

Yes.

Ah, God. You must pardon me, but I didn't know. I am sorry. You need only say the word and I will send everyone away. They don't need to know why.

No. Elise shook her head. No, I would never ask you to do that, Andreas. You've gone to so much trouble, and it's just a pleasant gathering, after all. I can get through this. I will get through it. She couldn't help looking around Reichen's broad shoulders, searching for the one face she knew. Even though Tegan could hardly be considered friendly, he was familiar, and gruff or not, his strength would be a comfort to her. By the low current in her veins, she could feel him somewhere in the mansion, nearby, yet out of her line of sight.

Have you seen Tegan? she asked, trying to sound only passingly interested in the answer.

Not since we arrived this morning. Reichen chuckled as he led her away from the sweeping staircase, toward the ballroom. We won't see him anywhere near the reception, I'm sure. He never was one for social gatherings.

No, she didn't suppose he was. Do you know him well?

Oh, not particularly. But then I doubt few can claim to know that warrior well. Personally, I know all I need to know to consider him a friend.

Elise was curious. How so?

Tegan came to my aid some time ago, when the area was having a sudden, but persistent problem with a group of Rogues. This was ages ago, in the early 1800s...1809, the height of summer.

Two hundred years would seem a very long time to human ears, but Elise herself had been living among the Breed for more than a century, after being rescued from Boston's slums by the Chase family when she was a young child. The Breed's Darkhaven communities had been in existence in various parts of Europe and the United States for much longer than that. Things must have been very different for you then.

Reichen grunted as if remembering those times. Things were different, yes. The Darkhavens weren't nearly as secure as they are now. No electronic fences, no motion sensors, no cameras to warn of breaches. Normally, our problems with Rogues were isolated incidents--one or two weak- willed vampires succumbing to Bloodlust and wreaking a bit of havoc on the human population before they were captured and contained. But this was different. These Rogues had begun attacking humans and Breed alike. They had banded together in their hunting, doing it for sport, it seemed. They managed to infiltrate one of our Darkhavens. Before the first night had ended, they'd violated and killed a number of women and slaughtered several Breed males as well.