Stefan sat at the edge of the high roof top staring at nothing in particular. He could hear the sound of hearts beating and blood being pumped all over the bodies. He had fed. He could go for long without feeding but since he married Marina, he fed frequently just in case she had a need to feed. He was a pure vampire. Born to two vampires and not converted. There were only a few pure bloods left. He also had werewolf genes courtesy of his late grandmother who had died over two millennia ago and before her granddaughter Iulia was born.
Dumitru had risen almost after a millennium and had been briefed on what was happening. He didn't seem surprised at the revolution. He had feared a division courtesy of his elder son but he had hoped that it could be avoided. He had slept for too long. He was the only one who could end the feud but he didn't, for to do so would mean taking sides and that meant destroying part of his family.
Dumitru wouldn't lift a finger to hurt Andrei although he deserved it for he had broken every code. He had betrayed his family and destroyed his kind. He had declared war and his brother was equal to the task. But Andrei knew that his father would not lift a hand against him unless he killed any of his Shadow relatives. Andrei was no fool and yet he knew that if by some luck he was able to get his brothers three sons in one room he would take them out without batting an eyelid.
No one knew either Andrei's lair, or his son's. Andrei kept both places hidden. Marina didn't want to believe that Sergei Kadavicz and Sergei Romanescu were one and the same person. That Sergei was an ancient vampire, even older than Stefan. It was his duty to protect her. He heard Sharon's footsteps long before she came up the roof. He masked his presence. He loved teasing her. She was one of the few persons who made him experience happiness.
"Stefan," she called out as she got to the roof top. "Are you up here?"
He materialized behind her. She felt something warm brush against her cheek and took a quick backward step bumping into Stefan's muscular body. She yelped before she could stop herself. She elbowed him knowing that he was the one before turning into his arms for a bear hug. He hugged her affectionately, dropping a light kiss on her forehead.
"Congratulations, sister dearest," he told her.
She was an African American beauty who had only known rejection before she had met Nicolae. A bit plump side and very shapely. She'd had a difficult childhood her biological father had been a serial rapist and a murderer who had raped her mother, a call girl, in an alley. He had been caught before he could strangle her like his other victims. He had been given the death sentence but had hung himself in his cell.
Sharon had been dumped as a baby on his grave and had grown up in foster homes. Her last home, with the Ryders, had been a nightmare. She had been treated like trash and tossed out in the rain and in the early hours of the morning of her eighteenth birthday in nothing but a nightshirt. She had been bare footed. She had been almost raped but Nicolae had saved her. She had been headed for his motel room for he was the only friend she had.
Stefan had met her an hour later when Nik had called him to attend to her. He had met a frightened young girl who desperately needed love. She was hurt but afraid to open up for fear of rejection. But Sharon had come a long way from that frightened child. Nik had seen to that. They had got married two months later. Between Nik's love and those of his family, Sharon had blossomed into a secure young woman.
Her presence in Devonne had roused Dumitru who spent more time underground than above for he was still finding it difficult to deal with the death of his true mate. Liesl Romanescu, Nicolae's mum loved Sharon and ensured that she never felt the absence of a mother. Sharon was a Romanescu through and through.
"Thank you, brother dearest. Now what are you doing up here on your own, when you owe me several dances?"
He smiled. "You shouldn't have come up here?"
"I am really worried about you Stef".
"You shouldn't be. I am all right."
"Are you really? You were thinking of Marina, weren't you?
"Yes, she is always on my mind. We have grown further apart. Sometimes I have the doubts about her being my true mate. There are times when I ask myself if I had not unwittingly taken someone's true mate. If that is the case, then I have done her great injustice."
"You told me you saw her in your dream long before you met."
"Yes. And it took me three millennia to find her. But I recognized her."
"The heart doesn't lie. She is still finding it difficult to adjust to her new life.
"It's been four years since her conversion."
"Yes, but it's difficult for her. She wants to be mortal again and it is frustrating to know that she cannot be one. Remember the last time we had this conversation?"
"You told me to give her sometime and stop trying to force her into submission," he replied.
"I spoke with her tonight and I believe that you two need some time away from each other."
"We hardly even talk to each other."
"But you live under the same roof. I am afraid of the length she would go to in order to get away from you. There was something about her eyes. The hate in her eyes-"
"It's always been there."
"Yes. But this is worse. There was something in her eyes that got me worried. She wants so much to be with Sergei that I am afraid she might try to get rid of you."
"You think she might make an attempt on my life since she can't take hers? That is ridiculous, Sharon. Marina is not capable of such evil. If she were, she would have made an attempt on my life three years ago."
"I don't know, Stefan. I am just not comfortable with what I saw in her eyes tonight. Hate has been known to push people to the extreme and I worry about you and Marina."
He caught her hands in his large ones.
"I appreciate your concern, sis, but can assure you that nothing is going to happen to me. We will sort our problems."
"I know you will, but I want you to promise me that you will be careful. You are my family and the person dearest to me after my Nik. I don't want to lose you."
"You won't," he promised her. "And I don't want you being gloomy on your day. And if I recall, you owe me several dances before my brother steals you for himself."