Tears of the Fallen

I have only one thing to say this week...I would check each day because you never know what you may find ;)

Enjoy!

*****

"Cassia..."

She knew it was too good to be true when she made it five steps away from the Jeep before Pietro called her name. For the fleetest of moments she thought she'd get away without having to talk to him until later, but he quickly put a dampener on that idea. Sighing, Cassia smiled at Trish and passed her bags to the girl.

"Take them over to the lab. Tell Mallen I'll be there shortly." She watched the younger woman walk away before turning to face her mate. His expression wasn't very promising.

"Pietro, I need to report in to Rafe or Aaron and then I need to get back to the lab. Some of my experiments will be completing soon. Can our talk wait until later?"

His scowl deepened and she sucked in a deep breath. How was it possible a male could looks so sexy when he was in such a foul mood? Her wolf was practically prowling in anticipation watching the glorious vampire before them. It wanted to throw him down and bite him all over. It was also hoping he would do the same to them. It was downright criminal that her intelligence went flying out the window whenever Pietro was close.

"You want to leave me festering until later? That's your call, Niña."

The words were practically a growl and they sent a shiver down her spine. "Pietro, I'm not deliberately avoiding you. I have to report to my Alpha. Pack safety has to be the utmost priority to me. Surely you can understand that? I have to protect Trish and all the other vulnerable members of my pack."

For a long moment he regarded her with an intent stare, and then there was a slight loosening of the tension in his shoulders and he gave the barest of nods. "How long do you need?"

"Two hours maximum. I'll meet you at the lake."

When he nodded once more, she took that as a sign to leave and turned to resume her way over to Rafe's house. She really did have to report what she'd seen in town and pass on Jared's message. She'd made a couple of attempts to tease some conversation out of Pietro on the way home but he wouldn't be drawn. In the end she'd given up and decided waiting until they were alone was better. Trish was already shook up by the strange Weres in town as it was.

Heading inside the large house that was home to the Alpha and his family, as well as Aaron and his, she paused at Rafe's study door. She could scent that he wasn't alone and debated whether to interrupt him or not. Her experiments were due to complete though, so she didn't have time to hang around. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the door.

"Come in, Cassia," her Alpha called out loud enough so she could hear.

Turning the doorknob she entered to find Gard and Rayne sitting on the large sofa beneath the window with Rafe standing at the fireplace.

"How was the trip into town?" Rafe asked, giving her a smile. "Aaron said you took Trish and Pietro with you. Did it go okay?" It was clear he had no objections to her discussing events in front of the other senior pack members.

"We encountered a group of five strange wolves," she answered, moving to take a seat when her Alpha waved in the direction of one of the office chairs in front of his large desk. "They were clearly fighting men from the way they carried themselves. They spotted us practically straight away so I decided to approach them to try to find out why they hadn't checked in with the local packs."

"Was that wise?" Gard asked, a small frown crossing his face.

"I was stronger than any of them and I had Pietro with me to take care of Trish. They were highly unlikely to start anything with so many humans around." The Ancient's question gave her an inkling as to why Pietro was being so surly and she filed that away for later.

Turning her gaze to Rafe she saw some concern in his eyes too but he didn't vocalise it. He wasn't one to repeat a question that one of his senior pack members had already highlighted. "Did you find out anything?" he asked, his tone authoritative as it always was when dealing with pack matters.

Cassia shook her head. "Not really. The one who did the main talking is called Fox. They're clearly European by their accents and the level of distrust they have towards vampires. He intimated that they hadn't checked in with the packs because of who are friends are."

"What are European wolves doing over here?" Rayne asked, her expression concerned. "Could this be something to do with the threat from the European vampires or are they checking us out to see if we can be of some assistance to them? From what we know, the animosity between the two groups over there is pretty extreme."

"Extreme sounds such a tame word compared to what we've heard about the way the vampires react to all Weres over there," her mate commented. "It's downright genocide."

"Whatever is going on, maybe you can gather some intelligence about it while you're over there?" Rafe asked, his brow drawing down into a deep scowl. "I don't like having so many strange wolves in our neck of the woods. Proper etiquette is they should check in with the local packs, regardless if they're comfortable with our allies or not. Until I hear otherwise, I'm considering them potentially hostile."

"They disappeared when Jared showed up with Brody and Willow," Cassia informed the Alpha. "Jared said he'd be in contact with you later on to share any intelligence he's uncovered."

Rafe nodded his thanks, turning his attention back to Gard and Rayne. "We can't put off your trip to Europe any longer. How soon can you leave?"

"We'll arrange a flight for later today, if possible," Gard answered, glancing at Rayne to see if she was agreeable. His mate looked a tad hesitant.

"What about Kothi? He shouldn't be left on his own for a prolonged period. Maybe we should take him with us?"

Rafe was shaking his head in the negative before Rayne had finished speaking. "Under no circumstances do I want any of the Vârcolac over in Europe until we know what's going on. I appreciate your concern, Rayne, but the pack can look after your son until you return."

She clearly didn't like it but she didn't argue with the exception of muttering under her breath, "Technically, I'm a Vârcolac..."

Gard laughed softly, gathering her against his side and dropping a light kiss on her lips. "We know you are, darling, but you're aware of what Rafe meant. Kothari will be fine. He's a grown man."

"I'll ask Dara to keep a close eye on him," Cassia volunteered. "Of everyone, he has an affinity with her and is more likely to open up to her if he needs a bit of support."

"Good, that's settled then," Rafe said, drawing the debate to an end. "Let Caleb have your travel plans," he added to Gard and Rayne. "He should be able to set you up with some locals that can help."

Cassia had given her report and knew she wasn't required any further. Wishing Gard and Rayne a safe journey, she headed out of the study and made her way over to the lab. That was one task down and one to go before she had to meet Pietro. She fervently hoped she would be able to find the antidote to the poison soon so she could set her mate's mind to rest. She longed to tell him that he would never have to worry about being subjected to the pain and suffering he'd already been through. Her incentive to find the cure had always been strong, but it was doubly so now her mate was involved.

Entering the lab, she was surprised to find Trish there on her own. The younger woman was sitting on a high stool at one of the benches, peering over a printed report. "Where is everyone?"

Trish looked up, giving a dramatic eye roll. "There was a minor skirmish on one of the pack borders. We were told there were some strange wolves in the area testing our alertness. It didn't erupt into fighting but some of the younger males were patrolling the area and got a little exuberant, from what I understand. Two of them managed to fall into our own pit traps!" For a wolf still so young herself, Trish's exasperated tone made Cassia smile.

"Aaron came over a little while ago and asked Mallen and the others to help out in the medical centre," she added.

Cassia could only imagine the injuries her pack mates would have sustained. Whoever had been supervising them needed a kick up the ass for allowing the youngsters to get out of hand. There wasn't much chance that Mallen or the others would be back soon so that meant she'd have to analyse all the test results herself. "Do they need me over there?"

"No, Mallen said to stay here and check on the experiments though he did want me to come over as soon as you arrived." Trish gave her an apologetic smile as she slipped from the stool and handed Cassia the report she was reading. "It's not looking too encouraging, Cass."

Her words made Cassia's heart sink but she tried to keep a neutral expression. "Maybe some of the others are more encouraging." She gave Trish her most confident smile. "You'd better get over to the medical centre. I'll finish up here and lock up."

As the younger woman left, Cassia's experienced eye ran over the report in her hand and her heart sank lower. Trish was right...the first report didn't tell her anything she hadn't already known. Sighing with frustration, she headed over to the next experiment that was just concluding and tapped out the instruction to print the report.

There were two more scheduled experiments to finish in the next hour after this one. Perhaps there would be something concrete in one of them if this one didn't bear any fruit either. Snatching up the sheets from the printer, Cassia sat down and began to read the test summation.

Nothing? Really? She skimmed the rest of the report, a feeling of dejection washing over her. How could there be no concise results? They had an active sample of the poison! Could it be because of the time it had taken to get the sample to the lab? Demetri had gotten it to them as swiftly as he could. She didn't think it was that but they couldn't rule it out.

What the hell was the last component of Amort? Thereasa had been high level in her coven and even she didn't know what the plant extract was...or did she? Was the former vampire keeping it from them as a bargaining tool for later? Cassia didn't think so but she had to consider all possibilities. It would be negligent of her not to.

Running a weary hand over her face, the Vârcolac checked her watch and noted she'd already used up an hour of her allotted time she'd given Pietro. At this rate, she was going to be late meeting him. She hoped he would understand and wait for her. Should she hurry over and let him know? The beeping on the next experiment put paid to that thought and she walked back to the printer to grab the report printing out.

Cassia couldn't halt the small exclamation that escaped her as she read the summation. Again, there was nothing of worth in the results. She wouldn't have any positive news to tell Pietro when they met. She would have to admit to him that she'd failed and he was still at risk of being hurt again. Swallowing back tears, she stared at the damning piece of paper in her hand, helplessness overwhelming her.

She had been so sure she'd find the cure this time. She had

needed

to find it, as she'd never needed anything before in her life. Why couldn't she do it? Why couldn't she protect her mate and the countless others at risk from this abhorrent weapon? If there was just one thing she had been born to do in this life, why couldn't it be this one? Cassia lowered her head to the workbench and tried hard not to weep.

*****

Pietro paced restlessly beside the lake, making a conscious effort not to look at his watch. He didn't really need one, his innate ability to tell the time at any given moment was something he had always been able to do. He didn't need to look to know that

she

was late. Cassia had said two hours maximum and it was already closer to two and a half since they'd last spoken.

His annoyance was barely contained. While a part of him knew there had been no real danger in the meeting in the city, the part of him that was so used to being the dominant male couldn't reconcile the fact someone he cared about had deliberately put herself in danger...and he did care about Cassia...too much than was probably good for him. His heart had almost stopped when she'd walked over to the other males and calmly started telling them off without it appearing she was doing so.

He had been aware he still hadn't recovered enough to be of any real help to her if she'd needed it. All he had been good for was babysitting the younger wolf. Not that he had any real objections to protecting Trish, he would have done that anyway but that wasn't the point. Cassia

ordering

him to do it had rankled. She'd been letting him know that she considered him too weak to be of any real use and that sparked his temper like nothing else could. If he was so ineffective then why was she with him? Did she see him as some charity case...toss the poor wounded vampire a bone because he almost died?

That thought was the one that had his irritation at boiling point. He had no idea what was going on between them...but he did know he wasn't the kind of man who could ever accept being helpless and inferior to the woman in his life. If that was what Cassia Romanov thought then it would be better to end their dalliance right here and now and he would tell her that

when

she eventually arrived.

He was so busy scowling and pacing she was almost upon him before he realised she was there. Whirling around furiously, whatever he was about to say fell silent on his lips as his eyes hungrily searched her tired face. Cassia's curls had almost completely escaped the clip she'd tied them back with, and there were signs of fatigue in her pale blue eyes. There was apprehension in her gaze as she watched him warily and that just seemed wrong. He didn't like seeing that expression on her beautiful face. Was he really the cause of it?

Fighting down some of his irritation, Pietro held out a hand, pulling Cassia into a tight embrace when she accepted it with no hesitation. For a long moment he just held her, delighting in how she came to him so easily as if he were the one person in the world she wanted to be with. "You're late," he finally said, his tone rough but not too irritated.

"The experiments took longer than anticipated and then I had to analyse the results. I'm sorry I made you wait."

"Any luck?" He asked the question, hoping for some positive response. If they could find the antidote then the danger would be moot and no one else would have to endure what he had. He didn't wish that on his worst enemy...or maybe he would on his very worst enemy. He wasn't that good a man; the beast did live within him as it did all of his kind. Sometimes its need for justice would result in the cruellest of punishments. It was something he had lived with all his life and couldn't be changed.

Cassia made a strange sound in the back of her throat, which had him leaning back so he could look down into her face. The misery he saw there was like a kick in his gut. Her eyes were moist and he could see she was close to crying.

"I'm so sorry, Pietro. I really thought having some of the poison in liquid form would make detecting the missing ingredient so much easier but every test we've run has come up negative. Until we know what the plant extract is, we can't synthesise an antidote."

A tear escaped, rolling down one perfect cheek and he growled deeply, crushing her against him so tightly he was afraid he might hurt her. She was crying because she couldn't find a cure? When she looked so tired it was a wonder she could stand on her own two feet? It was criminal to hear the recriminations in her voice, as if she'd somehow let everyone down with her inability to make an antidote.

"Don't you dare," he hissed through clenched teeth, feeling her shake against him. His hand stroked down her back in long slow movements, soothing her as best he could. "Don't you ever apologise for working yourself to the point of exhaustion trying to help everyone, Cassia Romanov. No one could work any harder, try any harder than you are. You have nothing to apologise for."

"I want you to feel safe," she whispered in a shaky voice. "Oh Pietro, I

need

you to feel safe! Every part of me is pushing relentlessly to find this antidote so you'll never be hurt like that again. I forget to eat or sleep I'm trying so hard and nothing I do works. I keep failing!"

Despite the note of anguish in her voice, there was something about her words that tugged at his heart. He didn't want her to feel a failure on his behalf, but hearing that he was the reason she tried so hard, made his heart kick up a beat and his stomach tighten in a hard knot. She was doing this for him, because she cared about him. It was an exhilarating thought but also a concerning one. Only moments before he'd been wondering just what it was they had between them. The strength of her determination told him she felt as strongly about him as he was discovering he was feeling about her.

"You are not a failure, Niña," he sighed against her neck, giving in to the temptation to brush his lips against her delicate skin. Having her so close made him hungry for her. Having her mould herself against him and hold onto to him for comfort brought out his protective instincts. "You are the strongest, most beautiful woman I know. You

will

succeed in all you do, Cass. It will just take a little longer than you would like."

His words appeared to ground her or perhaps it was the way his lips were flowing against her skin or the way they were sliding sensually down to her collarbone nipping roughly at her fragile flesh. The urge to sink his fangs into her to taste her sweet essence was overpowering, but she was so tired he restrained himself. Pietro tried to remember what it was he'd felt the need to speak to her about earlier but whatever it was had flown right out of his head.

"That feels so good," Cassia sighed, rubbing against his taut muscles. "It feels so good to have someone I can come to, to tell my fears to. I know you're cross with me for earlier. I didn't mean to make you feel concern over my safety. I didn't mean to make you feel powerless, I swear I didn't."

He went to cut her off, realising he didn't want to have this conversation any more but she took a step back, sliding out of his arms to stare at him intently.

"What you perceived as a slight was in fact me placing my trust in you, Pietro. I knew the wolves weren't going to fight. You were aware of that deep in your own heart too. However, even though I knew it, I still erred on the side of caution. I don't think you truly understand what a pack is, what my pack means to me. That's through no fault of yours, this is your first time being closely associated with one. By giving Trish into your protection, that was me placing my trust in you to keep her safe. That was me acknowledging you as a protector of my pack."

When she phrased it like that, it all made perfect sense to him. No, he didn't fully understand the pack structure he was living in. He'd been so angry for so long that his friends, people he valued so highly, could harbour the woman who'd been one of the architects of his torture within the same pack. As he gazed into Cassia's eyes, he could see the appeal there for him to understand just how important each and every pack member was to this beautiful woman; to all of the pack.

Reasa was Liam's mate and therefore his very existence depended on the pack accepting her, protecting her. To do otherwise had the potential to devastate the pack as a whole. Now he could start to understand, maybe he would be able to resolve some of the fury that lived within his soul every time he thought of the former vampire. It wouldn't be easy, but he could try, for Cassia.