Kiss of Midnight_ A Midnight Breed Novel - Lara Adrian [720]
“That won’t happen, sire.”
“I require a permanent solution to this,” Dragos said, knowing what he asked of the male. “Are you prepared to carry that out, Herr Roth?”
The German smiled coldly. “Consider it done, sire.”
Dragos nodded. “Good. Obviously, so long as the female is breathing, your presence is poison to this operation. Remove yourself to Boston until you can assure me that you’ve eliminated this problem. Be gone by sundown, Herr Roth.”
The vampire inclined his head in a deferential nod. “Of course, sire. As you wish.”
CHAPTER
Eleven
Afew hours after they left the Internet café in Hamburg to board a train to Denmark, Claire and Andreas were being escorted to a rural village Darkhaven, courtesy of the Order. Their contact, a beautiful blond Breedmate named Danika, had taken them into her living quarters like family of her own—all warmth and hospitality, no questions asked.
“I hope you don’t mind cozy,” she said as she walked them into a cheery kitchen located off the back door. “We’ve only got one spare bedroom and bath, but you’re welcome to it.”
The farmhouse where Danika lived with her baby boy, Connor, and one other mated couple was small by Darkhaven standards. Usually members of the Breed population lived in mansions or large brownstones, sometimes the occasional high-rise apartment building. Darkhavens generally comprised tight-knit communities of a dozen or so individuals, everyone looking out for one another like kin, even if they were unrelated by blood.
But Danika’s living arrangements weren’t the only unusual thing about her. She was mother to a very young child, a sweet baby boy with her fair coloring and the unmistakably strong genes of a father who was Breed. She hadn’t mentioned a mate, and there seemed to be an air of wistfulness about the woman, especially when she was looking at her son.
Like now, when little Connor was leaning out of Danika’s arms to point emphatically at Andreas. The boy’s big blue eyes were wide and eager, while Andreas’s gaze was shadowed by the furrow of his brow.
“I’m sorry,” Danika said to him. “It’s the dermaglyph peeking over the top of your collar. Connor has become fascinated by them in the past couple of weeks.”
Andreas grunted and gave a nod to the Breed youngster. “He recognizes his own kind already. Smart boy.”
Danika beamed. “Yes, he is.”
Claire watched in quiet surprise as Andreas pushed up his sleeve to reveal more of his Breed skin markings, to Connor’s obvious delight. The vampire toddler reached out with his pudgy little hand and patted the beautiful swirls and arcs that ran along Andreas’s muscled forearm.
“Da,” he exclaimed. “Da! Da!”
“Oh!” Danika’s milky complected cheeks went instantly bright pink. “No, sweetheart, this isn’t your father. Oh, God… I’m sorry. How embarrassing.”
Claire laughed and Andreas chuckled, too. “It’s all right,” he said. “I assure you, I’ve been called much worse.”
Danika smiled, but that trace of sorrow was back in her eyes. “Connor’s father, Conlan, was a warrior with the Order. He was killed on a mission in Boston before Connor was born.”
“I’m so sorry,” Claire murmured, realizing how fresh the loss still was, since Danika’s son was probably not even two years old.
Danika gave a mild shrug, cleared her throat. “After I lost Conlan, I went to Scotland—his homeland—to have Connor. I thought I might stay there permanently and raise our son in the highlands Conlan loved so much, but being in his country without him only made me miss him more. I came back home to Denmark last year.”
Andreas smoothed his broad palm over the top of Connor’s pale blond head. “He would be proud of you, Danika, no matter where you choose to raise his son.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
She smiled shyly, charmed, Claire was guessing by the soft look she gave him. And Andreas was charming, particularly as he took the little boy into his big arms to let him closer explore the glyphs that so intrigued