Unbound (49 page)

She
killed another vampire and that was the most heinous of all crimes. Not only had she killed another vampire, she had killed a warrior. It was the human equivalent of murdering a cop or a soldier. The crowd was a flutter with rumors of everything from a crime of passion to Danielle’s inability to control the power she was rumored to have. Most of these people had not yet met Danielle. For that matter, most of the
Council
had not met her yet
,
either. The vampires were leery of the claims of her power.

In the front row sat all of those who cared for Danielle and several who did not. Chase sat with Debbie’s arm around him. He was haunted by Danielle’s last words to him. She loved him as much as he loved her and she would suffer for that love. Debbie knew the pain of her son revolved around Danielle but he wasn’t willing to talk to her about it. So she sat in silent support. Griffin’s family sat on the other end of the row. Samantha sat in silent joy at the possibility of the death of the bitch that plagued her happy future. Sarah couldn’t care less about the girl either way, as long she stayed away from her daughter’s fiancé. Brandi Vaughn looked at her mother and twin sister in disgust. Neither one of them cared what happened to the girl that had willingly risked her own life to keep her brother, JR, from harm. Koren and Cayden sat close together in stunned silence amid the rumors and laughter that spun around them. They knew the truth and would not stop until these fools heard every word of it. Cayden was ashamed he’d let Dani down, again. Every time he looked at his hands, all he could think of was how they had looked wrapped around her neck, choking the life out of her while he watched, screaming inside for forgiveness the whole time. Christopher Stafford, his mother Veronica and older brother Donovan sat in the second row behind Koren and Cayden.

A hush came over the crowd and everyon
e stood when the Council
entered from a door centered behind the long table they preside from and moved to take their seats. The
Council
was comprised of three members of each of the three oldest vampire houses in America. The current serving members were Lloyd, Adele and Griffin Vaughn; Seleste, Seth, and Mason Deidrick; Alexander, Ayden and Kane Stafford. In the front of each seat was an envelope containing pictures of Danielle’s injuries and pictures of the warrior Lance’s body, her statement, and the statements of the first responders to the scene, including Cayden’s, on the night of the warrior’s death.

Once everyone was seated, Danielle was led into the chamber by Gage on one side and Darren on the other. Darren was standing very close with his arm linked with Dani’s shackled arm. He was whispering words of encouragement to her. Both Chase and Cayden shot up to their feet in surprise at the sight of her arms and legs in shackles. She looked exhausted and so small in an oversized
Enclave
sweat suit and chains joining her hands and legs. Being flanked by two huge warriors only amplified the effect. They led her to
a
long
table between the
Council
and the front row. Several people murmured at the first sight of her. The streaks of white in her hair were an ancient sign of great power that was very rare indeed. Griffin was the only other va
mpire they’
d ever seen with this coloring but the red running through the white was nothing they had ever seen before.

Adele and Lloyd gave each other looks of suspicious worry when they got their first look at the girl that had been causing so many waves of late. They were both thinking the same thing. She looks just like Griffin, right down to the streaks. Griffin looked out over the crowd. Someone moving in the hall caught his eye. The person came in the main entrance and the wind blowing in from outside carried the sweet scent of vanilla to him but no one entered the chamber. He shook his head, thinking it must be Danielle. She had that lovely sweet scent of vanilla and lavender.

Kane Stafford, who was the great grandfather of Christopher, began the proceedings.

“Ms. Scott, you stand accused of murdering Lance Brown, a well-known and respected Wrath leader. The penalty for killing another vampire is death by beheading. How do you answer these charges?” There was a long pause while the crowded murmured accusations before she answered.

“I murdered no one. I was defending myself. Lance was accidentally killed during his attack on me.” She raised her chin in defiance of the charges. She was scared to death and trying not to cry in public, like the little girl she was.

“We have reviewed the photos you provided along with the other statements, but it has always been the opinion of this
Council
that a person does not need to ki
ll in order to defend
. We need to hear your explanation for this grievous crime,” Kane returned. Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

“I had no intention of killing him. In fact, I didn’t think it was possible for me to do so. He broke into my hotel room and hid in the bathroom. He assaulted me and my future mate after surprising us in bed.” The use of the word mate had Cayden beaming with pride. At the same time, Chase’s eyes glistened with unshed tears of sorrow and defeat. One way or the other Cayden was going to win Danielle’s heart by default.

“He used mind control to sneak up on me by using Cayden to choke and hold me down. After I got Cayden out of the room, Lance beat me senseless. I only tried to hold him off until Cayden was able to get reinforcements. I also sent out a distress call to two members of this council and my friend, Chase Deidrick. If I wanted to kill someone I would not have called for two prominent leaders of this society to come witness the aftermath.”

“That isn’t possible. We cannot use mind control on each other, only on humans. How could the warrior have caused Cayden to choke you?” Seleste, Mason’s mother scoffed. She didn’t seem to like the elder Stafford.

“I understand from my brief exposure to this society that some of my powers are unusual but I assure you it is possible. The warrior laughed at me for assuming I was the only one with the ability to control other vampires. He explained that a lot of vampires don’t make their powers publicly known. He said it’s easier to get away with things if no one knows what you are capable of and harder for your gifts to be exploited.”

“Could you please explain to us what you mean when you say you sent out a distress call?” Lloyd spoke up without looking up from his paper as he took notes on her comments.

“I have the ability to speak telepathically with others and pick up on their thoughts and feelings. I’ve been told this is a more common ability. I’ve found the mor
e familiar I am with the
person;
the
easier
it is
for me to reach them from a distance. Chase, for instance, had come to my rescue and had been able to help me on two separate occasions when I was drugged and having trouble coming out of the mental hold the drugs had on me. He and I have shared a lot of mental conversations, so I can call him easily. I can also hear him if he calls out to me as long as I’m not too distracted. I have demonstrated my power for Mason and Griffin in the past so I am also able to find their unique mental signatures with my mind. When Cayden and I were th
reatened, I called out for help,
” Dani explained.

“That’s interesting. Were you able to do this all at once? Could you demonstrate this ability for us? I understand you have a great many talents that we might like to witness in order to substantiate your claims,” Lloyd asked.

“What would you like me to do? I can also send my memories to you. I could probably show you blow for blow what happened that night if you like,” she offered. Lloyd called Darren to the front and gave him a paper from his note pad and two pens. He instructed him to give paper and a pen to Chase and keep one for himself.

“If she is able to use mind control on us,” Kane gave a disbelieving look, “I don’t feel that can be trusted. She could put anything she wants in our heads and we would believe it. And if such a thing is possible, why didn’t she use this ability to stop Lance without killing him?” Kane spoke up again. Danielle was surprised to get such opposition from the house of a boy whom she had saved.

“Lance explained to me and Cayden, while I was being choked to death,” the hostility and agitation in Danielle’s voice was plain, “that you cannot use this power on another vampire with the same power. He couldn’t influence me and I couldn’t him because we have a natural shield against each other. He was very forthcoming with information because he believed that he would be turning me in
to his “Master” and I would be dead by the end of the day,” Danielle explained with venom in her voice. “Also, he explained that it is a first come first serve ability just like when we enthrall a human. He took over Cayden and was shielding him against my influence. Basically, once he had a hold of his mind, I wasn’t able to use my ability to stop the attack.”

The crowd erupted into an angry denial of the claim that Lance had been reporting to an outside entity.

“She lies!” one warrior shouted.

“Lance was a good man. She shouldn’t be allowed to defile his memory!” another warrior agreed.

Griffin stood
demanding silence and respect for the chamber and
Council
. As he stood scanning the room, again he saw someone in the hall, watching from a shadow. When he looked closer, the person moved quickly.

“I believe this is good time for a recess.  Anyone who cannot hold their tongue should not return to the chamber,” he bellowed.

He tapped Mason on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow quickly. Griffin needed to know who was lurking in the shadows. It could be a traitor there to report the outcome of the hearing back to the rogue vampire at the root of all this mess. If so, they were going to beat some information out of the bastard. The two men shot out into the hall as a side entrance door shut behind someone that was making a quick retreat.

“Did you see that?” Griffin shouted over his shoulder to Mason.

“I think we have some unwanted company. Let’s go introduce ourselves, shall we?” Mason pushed the door open in time to see a figure darting across the lawn toward a parking lot. They put their supernatural speed to use and were on the stranger in seconds.

Griffin reached the intruder first and tackled him to the ground. Face down and covered by an oversized coat and a ball cap, the person was totally obscured. Griffin was surprised at the slight size of his quarry until he flipped him ove
r. Rolling off the person he
pressed to the ground he began repeating to himself, “It’s not possible. It’s not possible.”

The person was crawling away. Griffin got quickly to his feet and snatched the person up, knocking off the ball cap with a swat of his hand. Dark blond hair spilled from under the hat and eyes of angry ice looked up at him.  It was Tessa.

TWENTY-FOUR~

Griffin stood holding his dead mate, the love of his life. She’d been snatched
by the cruelest of fates. He’
d been robbed of her love and the life they were building together along with the beautiful baby girl she had given birth to just days before. How could he possibly be looking into the ice-blue eyes that had haunted his dreams for the last nineteen years? The weight of touching her, smelling her sweet vanilla scent and seeing the fire in her eyes was more than he could handle. He went to his knees and dragged her down with him. Wrapping her tightly in his arms, he began to sob and tremble with the power of his emotions.

“I really hate to break this up
Griffin
, but we need to move before we’re seen.” Mason patted him on the back.

“It’s my Tessa. She lives, Mason. They lied to me. My Tessa... is here, in my arms,” he said in a tearful rasp, rocking her in his arms. Mason and Tessa exchanged a look of dismay over Griffin’s shoulder. She pushed away from him and snatched her ball cap off the ground to tuck her hair back under it.

“Your Tessa? I am not your anything, Griffin Vaughn!” she snapped. “You have a replacement family, remember?” she started to walk away but stopped to come back and look down on him. He reached for her hand and she allowed him to take it and kiss her palm, looking up at her from his submissive position. She was the only person that had ever ruled over him. He had gladly submitted to her whims in the past. He would do anything to please her.

“I can’t believe you could look at that girl and not know she was your baby, Griffin. I have looked at you in her face for nineteen years. How could you see your own face with my eyes and not know? Why can’t you feel that she is yours?”

“Danielle? She is my Soleil? She has been here with me all these months? Does she know who I am?” he sputtered, pulling her hand to his lips. He breathed in the unforgettable scent of her skin.

“
Griffin
, we really need to move, man,” Mason interjected. Griffin was in the grass on his knees in plain view of anyone who passed the exit door to the parking lot. They did not want to explain this to anyone. Griffin turned his face toward Mason and wondered why his friend didn’t seem the least bit shocked by Tessa’s reappearance.

“Yes, she knows exactly who you are.” Tessa took a deep breath and the tears began to flow. “And how could you not know I was still waiting for you?” she whispered. “How could you agree to bond to another less than a day after you heard of my ‘death’?  How could you not hear me calling to you night after night for all these years? You better make this right, Griffin Vaughn. You promised to love and protect me and our child forever and you have failed miserably. I expect you to make up for it now by proving her innocence. Get your ass in there and make this right!” Tessa pulled her hand from his and walked away.