Free Scent of a White Rose by Tish Thawer

and
I wondered if Evie had. Unless you'd gone through the ritual of
being triggered and becoming a new Sire, no one else really knew a
lot about the process or what went along with it. I was starting to
wonder if her scanning ability had been weakened by the fact that
she could no longer inflict the change. If Evie didn't wake
up soon, I'd have no idea what we were going to do next.
    Dax didn't seem to have a clue as to what was
happening either. And from the looks of it, he was getting pissed.
Suddenly, he pushed himself up off the floor in a burst of speed
and had Terrance by the throat a second later. "I may not have the
poison of true death, but I can still make you suffer."
    I grabbed Dax's arms and tried to ease his grip
on Terrance. "Hey, hey, hey...I think we should all just clear our
minds and calm down. Wait...maybe that's it!
    "Dax, you said that you can scan Evie's thoughts
and see what's she's thinking, right?"
    "Yeah? So?"
    "Well, what I'm thinking, is that we need to try
to use your scanning abilities to communicate with Evie. Since
you're her consort, the bond you two share should not only allow
you to scan her thoughts, but it should also let her scan
yours."
    Dax looked at me for a moment and I couldn't
tell if he thought I was crazy or if he could see the brilliance of
my plan. "Okay, so you're saying I should just think about how I
want her to clear her mind and that should work?"
    "Yes. Terrance said that when he thinks of this woman , his thoughts get all fuzzy. What if that's what's
happening to Evie? Because she's so focused on her, maybe that's
why she can't wake up."
    Everyone stared at me like I suddenly had three
heads. I couldn't explain it, but I just knew that this was the
right thing to do and there wasn't a moment to waste. "Come on. We
at least have to try."
    As everyone headed towards Evie and Dax's room,
I heard Terrance whisper again, "What did she do to me?" It was
becoming glaringly obvious that we needed to wake Evie up fast and
find out who this mystery woman was.

* * * * *
    CHAPTER SIXTEEN
    Ancient History
    (Christian)
     
    Dax sat down on the bed next to Evie while we
all gathered around the door. He took her hand, closed his eyes,
and lowered his head. I had told him to focus on giving Evie a
clear picture of letting go of her thoughts and clearing the image
of Terrance and this woman out of her head.
    After a few minutes, Dax opened his eyes. "I
think it's working. When I scan her now I can see that she is
trying to focus on calming her thoughts and blanking out her mind.
I think we should know any minute whether it's worked or not."
    We all stood there holding our breath,
anticipation so thick it coated the air. Nothing like this had ever
happened to any of us before and honestly, I think we were all a
little scared that Evie might never wake up. This situation was
quickly becoming fucked, but right then Evie's eyelids fluttered.
She was fighting to wake up. Thank God.
    "Evie?" Dax pleaded. "Come on honey, I know you
can do this. Come back to me. Come back to us all." Dax was a big
guy. He was muscular, had a buzz cut, and was a usually
intimidating, but right now he sounded like a little kid who had
lost his puppy. In my eyes it didn't make him any less of a man; it
actually filled me with respect for him and the love that he
carried for Evie. I felt the same way about Rose, and I knew that
if anything like this ever happened to her, I would be acting the
same way or worse.
    Evie finally opened her eyes and took in Dax's
face. She reached up and stroked his cheek. "Thank you my love,"
she whispered. "How did you know that clearing my mind would
work?"
    "I didn't. It was Christian's idea." Dax scooped
her up into his arms and started kissing the top of her head.
    Evie stared at me with a look on her face that I
couldn't quite describe. There was a hint of gratefulness, a hint
of curiosity, and a hint of respect. I wanted to rush in and start
asking questions, but just then