Blood Pool

more drama in her own life? Maybe it wasn’t such a smart idea to marry him after all. So much of what they had was gone.

She loved Bo and there was still excitement between them, but on a different level. She felt so utterly human, and that disappointed her. Raven could no longer offer him the passion-filled nights they once shared-that much was evident her first night back from the hospital. She was mortal now, and one bite from him could kill her, or seriously maim her at best.

What could she offer him now? A boring life, one in which he would far outlive her, and she would age while he remained ageless, virile and handsome. Bethany would remain young as well. Her beauty would eat away at Raven.

Bo would notice his wife was old and grey with wrinkled skin, but his ex-lover wouldn’t look a day over thirty. Her body would remain lithe, taut and muscular from all the running they would do in the pack.

They would glimmer back into human form, sweaty and lustful from the endorphins coursing through their blood. Her voluptuous body would arouse Bo, her scent would drive him wild, and Bethany would get what she wanted.

Together they could have a decent life and a family. The commonality they shared was something with which Raven could never compete. She would never know what it was like to be a wolf. To shimmer from one form into another must be elating. The feeling of running with the pack, the freedom, the sense of camaraderie… She envied the shifters.

The feeling of having a family was something Raven would sorely miss.

Bethany had a history with Bo. His parents-at least his mother-supported the pairing of the two. Bethany would give the clan many strong children to carry on its lineage.

He would eventually wind up with her anyway. Why put off what was bound to happen? It was inevitable. Bo would be Bethany ’s mate, and Raven could expect nothing more. They would share the ability to love each other with complete abandon, without the risk to life or limb. It was the best thing for Bo, his freedom.

She decided she would set him free. All in the name of love.

And knowing Bethany as Raven did, she was certain she would take full advantage of every opportunity that came her way to seduce Bo, especially during their times with the pack.

In the end, Raven would surrender the one thing she sought to save: Bo. She would have to let him go for good. She would somehow learn to live with that. At least he would be alive and well. She couldn’t survive if something were to happen to him.

He would get over her. Bo would find a way.

Raven would move to another city and practice medicine…perhaps meet a mortal man and have mortal sex, which would produce mortal children, and then she would die a miserable, mortal death.

But Bo would be free.

Chapter Twenty

The rain had stopped long before the sun rose. Bo woke Jade up to coffee and blood, the breakfast of champions.

“The bridges are open. Let’s go,” he ordered.

She wiped the remnants of sleep from her eyes. “Did you eat anything?” she muttered.

Bo stood tall, hands on hips. “Yeah, I chewed on my fingernails half the night and then I had a burger from the joint on the corner while you slept.”

Jade looked quite proud of herself. “You needed to eat. Raven will be very upset with me if you aren’t one-hundred percent when we find her.”

“If we find her, you mean.” He felt engulfed in feelings of loss and hopelessness.

“Hey-what d’ya mean if? We’re going to find her! Let’s get in the car and get going.”

“Jade, you’re acting too perky. I can’t deal with perky.”

Bo was withdrawn and tired. His usual optimism was gone. Without their connection, it seemed impossible to find Raven. All he had to work with were his tracking skills and a newbie Lamai who was just getting her feet wet with all her recently acquired powers.

And then there was her incessant talking. How could a woman find so many things to babble about? Many times he wanted to scream at her to shut up.

“How come I can be outside in the daylight safely? I never could understand that myth,” Jade asked as they headed toward the car.

“Like you said, it’s a myth. Although I hear there is a sect of vampires that can’t tolerate much sunlight, and their young ones can’t handle any,” Bo said. He started the engine, hoping she wouldn’t keep talking.

“So what makes the Lamai so different?”

Damn. No such luck. He sighed deeply. “Time. They’ve been around the longest. Queen Rhia has been walking the earth since-it seems since the beginning of time itself.”

“And Tobias?”

“Not quite as long, but long enough. I’ve heard over three hundred years.”

Which brought a thought to Bo’s mind. Where is Tobias?

Tobias had to leave, but his woman was not making it easy. “I’ll be back. Don’t worry, Em.”

Tears rolled down Emmie’s face as she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. Most fae women did not handle pregnancy well. Emerald loved the fact that she was finally with child-with Tobias’s child-but the emotional rollercoaster ride was horrid.

“I-I don’t want you to go…” she sobbed.

He tried to be patient. “Em, I have to find Raven.”

She pouted. “You’re always leaving me. Now that we’re going to be married and start a family, you still want to go?”

He hugged her reassuringly. “I don’t want to go, I have to go.”

Another onslaught of tears barraged him. How could he tell her he was having second thoughts about marriage? He couldn’t.

“You don’t have to go! Bo is looking for her. He’ll find her. Come on, can’t you stay at least another day? You’re gone for weeks, months at a time, and I don’t say a word to you. Now that things have changed, I need you here.”

Fae women also apparently got very frisky when pregnant.

Emerald took his hand and placed it on her belly.

“Our child is growing within me. Please don’t go,” she pleaded as she kissed him. “Not tonight…”

In spite of his anxiety, Tobias found his body responding to Emerald’s brazen touch and fiery kisses.

After making love to his soon-to-be wife for half the night, Tobias became one with the mist and followed the trail that would hopefully lead him to his daughter.

“You’ve become quiet. Deep in thought?” Laroque asked.

“I suppose, and wondering about the future-my future,” Raven said as she stared out the car window. “And the past.”

“Really? I thought your main focus would be to escape from me and return to Mirabelle Cove and your life with Bo.” Laroque reached in his jacket pocket and took a handful of pills.

That statement cut like a knife. “Things change. You know that.”

She had piqued his curiosity once more. “You’re not planning on going back to Mirabelle? That is, once you escape from me.” He took a water bottle from the console and swallowed the pills.

“Actually, I’m thinking of relocating. Once I escape from you, that is,” she said stoically. “What are you taking?”

Laroque laughed. “Oh, Raven, you really had me going there for a moment. And those, my dear, are vitamins.”

Her expression didn’t change. “I’m serious. I can get work at just about any hospital. Maybe I will get involved with research. Who knows?” She shifted in the seat uncomfortably, wanting desperately to be anywhere but in this car with this man.

“Yes, you definitely could land work anywhere you want in a New York minute. I said it before-research would benefit from your expertise in the field. You’re a caring person and a genius.”

“Other than the genius part, I would agree with you. Besides, Bo is safe and his life is secured. I, on the other hand, well…I have an expiration date.” She sulked.

He stared at her hard and long before he spoke. “Clever girl, do you think I would consider letting you go simply because you’re mortal now?”

Raven didn’t bother to hide the tears that escaped her eyes. After all, he was the reason her life had taken such a drastic turn. Her emotions bubbled over.

She jerked her head around and caught his glare with one of her own. “I have no life in Mirabelle. I’ve changed, and there’s nothing there for me now. Bo is better off without me.” She wiped away the tears. “I don’t really care if you believe me or not, Laroque-or if you even let me live. My life as I knew it is over. Nothing matters anymore.”

This woman is serious, Laroque thought. He probed with his psychic senses and all signs pointed to her telling the truth. She intended to leave Mirabelle Cove.

He shrugged, dismissing her show of emotions, somehow disappointed by them. Laroque had to remind himself that she was human: utterly, completely, shamefully human.

He absently picked lint from his black slacks. “Do you expect me to talk you out of your plan? To go on about how I didn’t have the opportunity to be with the one I love? You don’t need me to tell you all that. You know it already. If you want to throw everything away, then maybe you deserve to die after all.”

Her sarcasm returned. “How touching, really. I’m moved beyond belief. Your capacity for understanding the human condition is astounding. Did you have to work at being an asshole, or is it just one of your countless natural talents?”