Chapter 22
The moment they arrived Devonne, Lorena was admitted into a hospital where she underwent an emergency blood transfusion. Stefan was determined to let her live for now. He had her to thank for his current insatiable hunger. He wouldn't let her get away so freely. He was certain that his current condition had something to do with her.
Stefan followed his brothers into the palace where his mother was waiting. The moment she beheld her second son, Liesl let out a scream of joy and she flung herself at him. He caught her easily and held her close.
"Oh my baby." She cried as she covered his dear face with kisses. "My dear boy. I have been so worried about you."
Stefan breathed in the delicious scent which was unique to his mother. She smelled better than fresh roses. And as children, her offspring always settled in her arms, telling her how good she smelled. That hadn't changed yet. The gentle flow of her ancient blood beckoned to him.
He badly needed that ancient blood to complete his body's healing process. Most of the flesh had partially covered up, leaving keloids and thing scars. Once he had an ancient blood, his skin would be perfect again.
Liesl caressed the scars on her face which were yet to heal.
"What did they do to you my baby?"
Nik and Rudi watched them prepared to grab Stefan if he showed signs of feeding on their mother. Stefan felt his fangs begin to lengthen and he looked at his brothers who were watching him intently. He pulled away from her motherly hold.
Rudi and Nik breathed a sigh of relief and Liesl turned to look at them, a thin eyebrow arched as she wondered why Stefan had let go so suddenly. She had felt his hunger and it had been intense. Why didn't he avail himself with her ancient blood?
Suddenly, Stefan was gone moving with preternatural speed.
"What happened to Stefan?" Liesl asked as Ilianu stepped into the room with his daughters-in-law, Zoë and Sharon. Both women went to their true mates.
Ilianu considered both women as his daughters and not his daughters-in-law. He treated them just as he treated his daughter Iulia.
"Where is Stefan?" Ilianu enquired.
"He needed to step out and clear his head." Nik replied.
"Believe me, he is better off alone for now." Rudi added.
"He only just got here." Ilianu told them. "It isn't normal for Stefan to show up and leave without seeing me. What are you two not telling me?"
The two Enforcers who had come into the palace with them sought to sneak out unseen but were stopped with the words: "Don't you dare move." The words were uttered in a tone that brooked no argument.
"What are you not telling us?" Liesl asked, worried that there was something amiss.
Stefan hadn't seen his parents in four years and it wasn't normal for him to rush out like that.
"Someone had better spit it out because Stefan has just blocked our mental passage and I want to save myself the problem of forcing myself into his mind." Ilianu told them.
Rudi and Nik exchanged a look and so did the two Enforcers. Ilianu gave them a look which said: "Someone had better speak up before I hurt you."
It was obvious that Rudi and Nik were hiding something and obviously to protect the females in the room. Seconds later, the four younger men were hopping on one foot, their expressions, pained. The sight was amusing but no one as laughing. No one dared laugh.
"Geez, papa." Rudi cried out as he struggled out of his shoes. It felt as though his feet were on fire.
"We were only trying to protect our women." Nik protested.
"If there is anything you want to say, you had better say it before us." Liesl told him. "I haven't lived for over four millennia to be easily shocked by things. And I am sure that your wife and sister are a lot tougher than they look. Now, spill it out."
The two men hesitated and then Nik blurted out: "Stefan is a bit crazy."
"What!"
Ilianu stopped the mild torture.
"Can you explain that?"
"He was tortured and practically chewed upon."
A gasp came from either Zoe or Sharon.
"When I met him, his back was partially open; the rest of it had keloids. It was obvious that the skin had been ripped open, chewed on. He didn't offer an explanation other than that he had been starved for the duration of his incarceration."
"He drained five Renegades and chewed on one of them," said Rudi who was yet to recover from the thought of his younger brother acting like a cannibal. "He drained a mortal."
There was another gasp. It was louder this time.
"He drained a mortal!" Liesl echoed. "That is so unlike Stefan, he would never hurt a mortal unless that mortal is a Familiar or a vampire hunter."
"She is a Familiar."
"That means that she still lives."
"He rescued her himself and brought her here. She is presently undergoing a blood transfusion."
"Wait a goddamned minute. Did you just say that Stefan brought a Familiar to Devonne?" Ilianu blurted out. "There is a Renegade in Devonne!"
"Oh boy!" the three women present thought.
There hadn't been a Renegade in Devonne for centuries. Their absence ensured the safety and survival of the Shadows. To let one into Devonne was a betrayal and the last thing Ilianu expected of his son.
"I did warn you that he was a bit crazy."
"Crazy is an understatement. Insane is more like it. What was he thinking?"
"I believe I know why she is here," Rudi volunteered.
"Then enlighten us."
"She is a splitting image of Marina."
"Can you run that by me again?"
"The Familiar could easily pass for Marina, only she is of a smaller build."
"He brought home a woman who reminds him of the one who betrayed him!"
"Sergei killed Marina and-"
"And Stefan wants to take up from where they left off. Now I am convinced that your brother is insane. I am glad he is back we need to have a very serious talk. And that brings me back to why he left."
"He is partially out of his mind."
"We have already established that."
"The Renegades messed with his head. He hungers continuously and he is insatiable. After feeding on five Renegades, he damn near ripped my throat open in a bid to take my ancient blood to satisfy his unnatural hunger."
"Oh my poor baby." Liesl cried.
"Poor Stefan."
"Poor dear!"
The responses came at the same time.
"He is a danger to himself right now and anyone he runs into. Oh my God, he might drain a mortal and we left him on his own."
"Damn!" Rudi swore. "I won't be able to forgive myself if he is forced to harm a human."
Without waiting for a response from their father, both vampires moved with preternatural speed, shape shifting into eagles the moment they got outside and soared into the skies in search of their brother, hoping they would find him before the damage was done.
They had been relieved when Stefan left so as not to attack their mother but they had forgotten that in the state he was in, he could attack a human, something he would never be able to live with on his conscience.
Liesl buried her face in her husband's shirt, even as he stretched out an arm to gather his sobbing daughters in his embrace.
"I'm sure they will find him," he told them. "Until they do, I'll stay in his head and keep him from doing real damage."