“You can’t possibly want more.” He had made love to her often and thoroughly throughout the last few hours. She wasn’t altogether certain she could move.

He ran a teasing finger down her flat stomach. “I always want more. Insatiableis the word.” He sighed and reluctantly stood and stretched. “I want you to stay here while I go feed. You will be safe.”

One eyebrow lifted. “How do you know that? Don’t all Carpathians know of this place? I should go with you.” She wanted to keep him safe from any harm. If Rand was the vampire, he hated Jacques above all others.

Jacques made certain no expression showed on his face. Shea had the illusion she was still taking care of him. Her protective streak sent unexpected warmth flowing through him. He loved that in her. He wasn’t stupid enough to give away his knowledge that she wouldn’t harm a fly. “If you made the effort to learn how to scan, you would know if any Carpathians were in the vicinity. Because we are here, no others would invade our privacy,” he said gruffly.

“The vampire can cloak himself, or have you forgotten?” she asked suspiciously. “I think it is more likely that you are going out hunting.”

Jacques ruffled her hair gently. “I am going to feed, little red hair. It is not my job to hunt the vampire. Gregori has been chosen for that. I do not envy him the job. As for the vampire bothering you, I can find no trace of him when I scan, and you display no uneasiness. Stay here and wait for me. I already know where I can find food. It will take only minutes.”

Shea glared up at him. “You had better not be deceiving me.”

“It is impossible for lifemates to lie to one another.” He stretched again and bent to kiss her upturned face. “Do not wander off, Shea. And stay in touch with me. I do not want any nasty surprises when I return. In any case, if you stay in touch with me, you will see that I am telling the truth. I go only to feed.”

She stretched out beside the hot springs and dangled her fingers idly in the water. Her body was pleasantly sore. The truth was, she didn’t want to move. “All right, wild man, but it isn’t me who’s constantly finding trouble. And if you run into Rand, just leave.” She turned over, completely oblivious of offering up her body to him. “He may be my biological father, and like any child I may have had my fairy-tale fantasies about the perfect daddy, but I don’t want you to take any chances. I’ve been thinking a lot about this.”

“About what?” he encouraged, wanting her to sort it out for herself.

“The reason I can feel the vampire even though he can cloak himself. The reason I felt the humans when Raven couldn’t.”

“We should have been able to detect them,” Jacques said, inviting her to tell him more. He hunkered down beside her. Shea had an exceptional brain, and, given sufficient time, he knew she would be able to put her emotions aside and contribute much to the solution to their problems.

“Blood. Isn’t that how everything works? All the bonds and mental telepathy? Don’t you track each other through blood exchanges? Isn’t that why the men rarely exchange blood? Rand hasn’t exchanged with any of you, has he?”

Jacques shook his head. “No, he was very careful never to do such a thing. But then, he had a lifemate. He did not need to share; and there was no chance of his turning.”

“But Noelle wasn’t really his lifemate, was she? He always knew it, even if no one else did. Later, perhaps, you all realized he couldn’t be her true lifemate, but he had already established a habit of never exchanging blood. He knew there was always the chance he might turn, so he protected himself.” Shea felt she was redeeming her mother. “Maggie was his lifemate. Mikhail told us Rand had risen only a couple of years ago and kept to himself. That was after the vampire murders had taken place.”

“If that is so, then Rand could not possibly be the guilty one.”

“If it is so. Suppose he had risen before that time and found my mother dead. You said a widowed lifemate normally chooses death. What happens if they don’t? What happens if they keep existing?”

There was silence as Jacques digested what she was saying. “Mikhail thought Rand would be all right because Noelle was not his true lifemate. But if Maggie had been, and she was already dead when he rose, then he would turn. Yet he had his son. He may have stayed to protect him.” He inhaled sharply. “But to be able to weave a cloaking spell... There are only a few with that kind of power.”

“Like?” Shea prompted.

“Mikhail is the oldest living Carpathian. Gregori is only a quarter of a century younger. Aidan and his twin brother, Julian, are perhaps half a century younger. Byron and I are the next oldest. A couple of others are close in age, but they have lifemates and are not suspect. There is Dimitri, but he is far from this land. Only an ancient is powerful enough to cloak his presence.” Jacques didn’t realize how much he was remembering, but Shea did, and it made the sorrow of Rand’s betrayals easier to bear.

“But Rand could have found a way to do it,” Shea insisted. “It makes sense, Jacques. I don’t have to like it—in fact, I hate it—but I share his blood, and there isn’t another explanation. I sensed his presence in the forest because we share the same strain of blood. It has to be that.”

“You were so opposed to the idea before, Shea.” Jacques’ hand spanned her flat stomach. He couldn’t help himself, he had to touch her, reveled in his right to do so.

“I didn’t want to face it, Jacques. But I’ve had some time to think about this. It’s the only rational explanation. He wants me to be, and he’s hoping to keep me for himself, but he knows I’m not really Maggie. And he has to kill you. He wanted you dead and he wanted Raven dead and most likely Mikhail also.” Shea took a deep breath. “And Rand said something that bothered me, but I couldn’t remember what. I just put it together. He mentioned Byron. He shouldn’t have known that Byron was the one the humans had tortured. No one had told him, and Byron couldn’t communicate with him. So how did he know?”

Jacques’ black eyes glinted like obsidian. “I did not catch that. You are right. He did know of Byron. He named him.”

Shea shoved a suddenly shaking hand through her hair. Her eyes held endless sorrow as she looked up at him. “God, Jacques, do you know what that means? He must have been responsible for bringing my brother to Don Wallace and Jeff Smith. He was responsible for their torturing and killing his own son. Is that possible? Could someone really be that insane, that cold-blooded?”

“I am sorry, Shea. A vampire is not capable of any real feeling. The undead has chosen to give up his soul. He is wholly evil.” Jacques could feel an unfamiliar lump blocking his throat. He could feel the heaviness in her heart. He admired the courage it took for her to voice her conclusions to him. “The reason the humans have such legends from the old times is because a few have experienced what a real vampire is capable of. I wish it was different. I would give anything to spare you this heartache.”

“I wish things were different, too, but I don’t think they are. And I think you’re in real danger. Even if Rand isn’t the vampire, he’s definitely a sick, bitter man, and he hates you. Please be careful. I don’t want him to hurt you.” Her large green eyes were alive with anxiety. She sat up, her arms circling his neck. “I want to put you on a shelf somewhere where no one can ever hurt you again.”

Jacques hastily broke the connection of their minds. Shea persisted in thinking him at risk. It simply did not occur to her, even after what she had experienced with him, what she had witnessed, that he could be the aggressor in the upcoming battle. That he might welcome the battle with his betrayer. That he would enjoy it. For all her knowledge of him, she still could not take in that he was a predator by nature. If that was what it took for her to accept their relationship, he was willing for the knowledge to come to her in slow stages.