Call Her Mine by Lydia Michaels Page B

again, Adriel.” He was
the man from the window, the immortal male she had seen so many years ago.

 
    “Adriel? Adriel are you
listening to me?”
    Adriel turned and faced
Eleazar, her mind returning from that terrifying place so long ago. “I
apologize, Eleazar. I slipped away for a moment.”
    Her heart pinched at the
familiar face of her friend, her savior.
    He eyed her critically
and she knew he detected where her thoughts had drifted. “You need to stop
wasting so much time dwelling on the past, Adriel. It is over. Leave it in the
past.”
    Three years ago she
would have whole heartedly agreed with him. It had been three hundred years
since she had seen Cer. But so much had changed recently.
    “It would be easier if
he was not free, in a place we know nothing of,” she confessed.
    The arrival of young
Dane and Cybil to their farm was proof that her mate had escaped his
imprisonment. Once again littering the immortal population with his tainted
seed.
    Eleazar was the only one
who knew of the evil her mate had put her through. He had nursed her back to
health, diligently worked to mend her mind, and taught her many disciplines
that made her strong, especially for a female immortal. He promised her a new
life, in a new world. He was her best friend.
    Eleazar sighed. “Adriel,
I know you are frightened. But it has been centuries. He has been free for at
least two decades that we know of and has yet to find you.”
    She thought of how close
the Foster children, Dane and Cybil, lived to the farm, prior to moving there,
and shivered. Her mate had been so close.
    “What if he knows I am
here and he is simply biding his time?”
    “I do not believe that
is the case.”
    “Because he would have
collected me?”
    Hesitating a moment, as
if choosing his words carefully, Eleazar said, “He would know your blood.
Cerberus is strong. Stronger than any male I’ve ever met. He was outmatched
because there were so many of us. It took twelve males to bury him alive three
centuries ago. There are over seventy of us now. He is wise enough to know he
is outnumbered.”
    This was true, but she
lived alone in her little house. She’d been taken in the middle of the night
before—and that was in the presence of her entire family. Now there would be no
one to stop him if he came for her.
    They were Amish. She was
automatically at a disadvantage if he was familiar with the technologies of the
modern world. While her Amish life had served as protection over the last few
centuries, she now viewed it as a hindrance, leaving her with little security.
    “Eleazar, I want a
firearm.”
    He tensed. “No.”
    “Why—”
    “The answer is no,
Adriel, and that is final.”
    “I am completely
helpless here. I—”
    “Think of what you are
asking. It goes against everything we believe in.”
    “Yet, when the English
mates ask for concessions, you grant them.”
    He scoffed. “Those are
harmless concessions. Battery operated musical devices for Annalise and books
for Destiny. You are asking for something totally different. It is out of the
question.”
    “I would not use it
unless I needed to.”
    “Weapons wound, Adriel.
No.”
    “And what do you believe
Sir will do if he ever finds me?”
    “Do not call him that in
my presence. Giving him that title pays him an honor he does not deserve. He
will do nothing, because your family will protect you.”
    “What family? The son
who asked me to leave his home?”
    “I will protect you, the
elders, The Order. You are safe here.”
    “I do not feel safe. I
am but a lamb waiting for the slaughter. He will come. I can sense it.” She
trembled and wrung her hands.
    “You are not that young
girl anymore. You are an incredibly powerful female. He will not have such an
easy way of things if he chooses to cross your path again. You must have
confidence in yourself. This fearful manner you’re allowing to take hold is not
becoming.”
    Rather than letting her
emotions win, she turned her fear