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."André again gave a small bow toward the women and slipped toward the back of the chamber where heobviously was more comfortable and less exposed.Mikhail, many of our males are desperate.They could abuse this situation, turning into stalkersof these women if we are not careful.This could become a huge problem, Gregori cautioned.I am well aware of that.But it is a sound idea and one, once voiced, that cannot be taken back.These men are indeed desperate and they will go to whatever lengths it takes to acquire this list ofpotential lifemates.If we control the list, we can protect the women.So be it."Once this information is acquired, however we do it, we have to make certain the guardian will standagainst any and all who would force them to give it up." Mikhail took a careful look around the chamberto ensure everyone understood him."These women are targeted for murder.We do not want to exposethem to any more risk than they already are under.""It's all part of the master plan to destroy our species," Nicolas said."If our enemies can successfullyeliminate our women and children, and all potential lifemates, all hope is lost and a good portion of ourmales will join their ranks.""Do we pull back and protect ourselves by calling everyone back to the Carpathian Mountains?"Gregori asked."We have a better chance of protecting our own by gathering together.Our enemies'numbers have increased and they are now running in packs." He indicated Nicolas."We've haddisturbing news all of you should hear, including reports of the vampires trying to open the shadow worldso their dead can join their ranks against us."Nicolas revealed the plot his brother Manolito had uncovered when he had awakened still partially in theshadow world after the attack on Shea."The Malinov brothers have made an alliance with Xavier.Wedo not know if Razvan is part of their conspiracy or if he is a prisoner at this point.With the parasitesXavier developed, the vampires appear to recognize one another and yet can hide their presence fromus.We can no longer trust that we can so easily detect an enemy." Gregori nodded."The enemy has corrupted many of the jaguar-males.We'll be asking Zacarias and hisbrothers to act as emissaries and try to get those not already lost to join with us."The silence in the room was broken only by the humming crystals.The news wasn't good.Mikhaileventually stood."Many of you may have heard that Manolito has found his lifemate.She is lycanthrope.That species has always gone their own way, but they wield a lot of power and would make atremendous ally.We need to locate them and send someone to convince them to join with us."There was a brief murmur of conversation as the men discussed the possibility of finding the long-absentlycanthrope species."And humans?" Jaxon asked.There was a long silence.Mikhail sighed."This has been a long-running debate.Most think it is still notthe time for acceptance.""Perhaps expand our trusted circle.Cullen, Gary and Jubal certainly have proven to be more thanreliable," Jacques said, naming three of their human friends."Without Gary we wouldn't be nearly as faralong in our research as we are.He works hard and keeps our hours.He also watches over the childrenwho cannot go to ground.Mikhail has several friends in the village who have proven trustworthy time andagain.""And have we considered aligning ourselves with the community of mages? Not all of them followedXavier, and most were abused and tortured under his rule," Nicolas added.Immediately, at the suggestion, heated discussions broke out.Mikhail said nothing, simply let the mendiscuss the possibility of asking aid of other communities ones they had protected but had been carefulnot to reveal themselves to.Mikhail sat quietly, his senses flaring out to bridge with the power emanating from the forest of crystals.Each geode hummed a slightly different note and as he listened, turning his mind to the notes, he heard thequiet voices of the ancient warriors who had gone before.Each told of the old days when all the speciesexisted in harmony.The reclusive lycanthrope, as powerful as the Carpathians in their own way, butrunning on a short fuse, the males every bit as protective of their females as the Carpathians, which madefor a volatile situation when so many Carpathian males were unable to find lifemates among their ownkind.Would an emissary be welcome if they were found? Or would he be killed to protect thelycanthrope society as a whole? Whoever he sent would be at risk.Leadership wasn't about knowing the right thing to do, it was about making decisions and being willingto accept the responsibility that came with inevitable mistakes.If he allowed his men to reach out to thevarious species, he could put his people at terrible risk.Over the years the vampire myths had grown andbecome legends.Few would distinguish between a Carpathian and vampire.Jaguars had turned on theirwomen.Mikhail rubbed his eyes wearily.Their world seemed too long at war.He had so many problems tryingto keep his dying species alive, yet at that moment, surrounded by his fellow warriors, his mindcontinually tried to reach for his lifemate and check on his child.When the discussion looked as if it might go from heated to outright mayhem, he broke in."Mage andJaguar have mixed with humans and I would guess lycanthrope have done so as well over the last fewcenturies.Many of the shifters have diluted their blood.They carry the gene, but they no longer can shift. Shea had a human mother and a Carpathian father.We do not know whether Razvan deliberatelyimpregnated human women or whether he was forced to do so, but we know the children carryCarpathian blood.Our species is not so far removed from any other.We have to have allies and weneed to actively find them."Mikhail's voice was quiet, but carried the weight of his absolute authority."We cannot abandon otherspecies to fight the vampire alone.We need to change with the times and become more open tofriendship and alliances.""The more we let into our circle, the more difficult it will be to protect our women and children," Gregoripointed out."We are surrounded by enemies and we do not know friend from foe at this point.""Then all of us need to be trained in destroying vampires," Jaxon proposed."It should be mandatory, sono matter where we are, we have a chance to get out alive
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