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to kill the man next time they met. It gave him reason
to hunt him down.
 Will I be able to run like you? Nika whispered into his
chest.
The moon peeked out from behind another cloud, not
quite full, waning now. It would be another month before
it was full again. Would Nika change then? He shut his
mind to his own questions and sought an answer to
hers. He had fought a few werewolves in his time and
had worked with some from the compound. Hopefully,
his experience and his studies would enable him to
answer any question she might have.
 Not quite as fast, he said and pulled the reins to his
right, guiding the horse around a tree. He extended his
senses outwards, scanning the forest ahead and
mapping it.
 What are you looking for?
Winter frowned at her question. She had felt his change
in focus. She was maturing far quicker than he had
expected and her abilities were strong. How old was
Willem? How had Nika gained such power? Perhaps
werewolves inherited their abilities from their sire but at
a slightly lower level, unlike vampires. Vampires
inherited strong blood from their sire but not abilities or
even strength. Those developed over time. If Nika s
abilities were already this strong, Willem had to be
powerful and old.
 I need to see the way ahead so I can guide the horse.
There was a tiny change in her signature. A smile
touched his lips. She was trying to focus too.
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 Is that a vampire ability?
 More or less. A werewolf can sense things in a similar
way to us, but they are more limited. My senses have
been honed by years of experience. I could easily detect
things that you may not be able to for another two
thousand years.
She gasped.  Two thousand years? A werewolf can live
that long?
He nodded.  I have never known of any living past one
thousand though.
 How old are you?
Silence.
Did he really want to answer that? She hadn t reacted
too dramatically to the knowledge that he was a
vampire, but that was probably because it had confirmed
her worst fear that creatures like him existed and she
was becoming a werewolf. In that moment, she had
been mostly concerned with what she was changing into
rather than what he was.
 Well? She turned on the saddle, looking up at him.
He stared straight ahead, between the horse s ears
towards the distance. The sky was beginning to lighten.
Soon the dawn would force him to find shelter. He
glanced back over his shoulder. He couldn t sense
anyone following them. They had kept off the ground
most of the way. If Willem were looking for Nika, her
scent would be difficult to track since she had only made
contact with the ground in a few places along their
journey.
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If?
Of course Willem was looking for her. Winter smiled
ruefully. If he had turned her and someone had taken
her from him, he would have been searching for her too.
 Well? She prompted again, this time sounding
impatient.
 Over one thousand, he said flatly, watching the distant
sky paling and no longer concerned whether his age
would frighten her.
 That s old.
 Relatively, he said and geed on the horse when he saw
an open field. He didn t want the sun to catch him out in
that when it rose.
 Relatively? Are there vampires older than you? She
seemed to have a never-ending list of questions and the
fact they were mostly about him was a little surprising.
He had expected her to be more curious about
werewolves.
 My lord is over three times my age and many of the
Watchmen are the same age as myself.
 Watchmen?
 The guards of my lord. I am a commander in the
guard.
 That sounds important, she said and curled up against
his chest again.  Winter?
 Yes? He snapped the reins and the horse trotted across
the open field of snow.
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 Will my senses be as sharp as yours when I m older?
 Perhaps. He held her closer, fearing she would fall
from the saddle as they broke into a canter.  When you
are very old.
 Tease. She prodded his chest armour and then heaved
a sigh. For a brief moment, he had thought she was
feeling better again. He could understand the emotional
rollercoaster that she was going through. A lot had
happened in such a short space of time that she was
bound to be having difficulties adjusting. He wasn t
helping.  Will the people we re going to see really be
able to help me?
Winter thought long and hard about that. His instinct
said to keep riding with her and never go to the
werewolf stronghold. Something about handing her over
to her own kin pained him, no matter how many times
he told himself that it was for the best. It was going to
hurt like hell when it came time to leave her. He held her
closer but not tight enough that she would notice the
change in him. He didn t want to prompt her into trying
to read him with her new senses. There was a chance
that she would detect his confused feelings and conflict,
and, right now, he needed her to see him as her pillar of
strength, as the one she could rely on to protect her
from Willem and the world. He needed to protect her. He
owed her that.
 If my lord says so, they will. There is no one in the
world who would dare go against him. I have heard of
this place but only through the idle chatter of a werewolf
and the history of other bloodlines.
 Other bloodlines? She looked up at him again.  More
vampires?
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Winter s Kiss  F E Heaton
He nodded.  There are several different bloodlines in
Europe, two of which are in this area. He noticed her
shiver and frowned.  Are you cold?
 A little, she said and tugged his cloak around her,
sealing off the gap in it with her hands. He grasped her
waist to steady her now that she wasn t holding him for
support. She looked up towards the moon as they
entered another spur of forest.  Will I change soon?
 I do not have the answer to that question. I know that
older werewolves can change at will and are no longer [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]