Free Dark Lycan by Christine Feehan Page A

could hear Zev calling out to her. His voice sounded stronger.
    “Give me another minute. We’re trying to save Dimitri,” Tatijana said. “The rogues have not returned. I’m aiding Fen in closing these wounds.”
    She waited for Fen to turn his head and look at her. Immediately she knelt beside him and put her hands on his shoulder, leaning in close to expose the beautiful line of her throat to him. His heart clenched. Even there, under such dire circumstances, Tatijana was calm, thought ahead, and provided for him.
    Fen didn’t hesitate. He enfolded her close to him, stroked his tongue once over that pulse calling so strongly to him and then he sank his teeth deep and drank. He had used up precious energy in his fight to save Dimitri, to bring him back from the brink of death. He needed to give Dimitri more blood and continue to heal his wounds before putting him in the welcoming earth.
    Tatijana cradled his head as he drank. Stroked his hair. Her fingers caressed his temples. She tasted like heaven. Like a miracle. He had never considered taste before. She lingered on his tongue and filled every vein with a rush. He felt her spreading through his body claiming every part of him, organs, bone, tissue. All of him. Strength burst through him at the influx of ancient Carpathian blood. She was from a strong linage and she gave to him freely. He was careful to close the small wound on her throat, to heal it so that Zev’s sharp eyes wouldn’t discover his secret.
    “You have many wounds of your own, Fen,” she said, kneeling beside Dimitri. She closed her eyes and put her hands over the lesser lacerations while Fen concentrated once again on his brother’s open belly.
    “As do you, my lady,” Fen said, looking her over with sharp eyes.
    “I healed most of them while I was in the air,” she said. “Have no worries about me. Keep Dimitri alive.”
    Fen leaned over Dimitri, one hand hovering over the open gashes while he fed his brother more blood from his other wrist. Drink freely, my brother. And then you can rest.
    Warmth burst from Tatijana’s hands. She spread it over Dimitri’s body while Fen concentrated healing light over his belly. When Dimitri had taken enough blood from him to satisfy Fen, Fen took his time packing each separate wound on his brother’s body with Lycan blood-stained soil and his own saliva.
    Keep Zev occupied while I find a resting place for my brother, he instructed Tatijana and lifted Dimitri’s body into his arms.
    Tatijana nodded. She looked a little tired and very pale. She hadn’t fed and yet she’d fought a battle, was wounded as well and she’d worked to save Zev.
    I will return swiftly to see to you, my lady. Forgive me for not putting you first.
    I would have liked you less had you done so, she replied. She raised her voice. “Zev, I’ll be right there. I’m sorry this has taken so long.”
    Mist swirled thickly around them. He felt Tatijana’s feminine hand in the renewed veil of fog.
    Fen took to the air. It had been long since he had used his Carpathian abilities. Staying in Lycan form, thinking like a Lycan, living as one had allowed him to keep the ever-present darkness at bay. Now he needed his Carpathian skills. He searched for a safe resting place where his brother could remain. He would return and give him blood when needed, but it could not be a place another might rest. No cave.
    He found a field rich with life and knew the soil was extraordinary. A dog barked near the small dilapidated house and he silenced it automatically. Fen opened the earth for his brother. He went deep, weaving safeguard upon safeguard. Dimitri would be vulnerable should any enemy find him. He floated down with his brother in his arms, placing him carefully in the rich soil. Almost at once, he felt her presence again, that young-old soul that was Dimitri’s lifemate. He waited while she moved through Dimitri’s mind, assuring herself he was still alive, although still so close to