Dark Legend Read Online Free PDF

old. It was ingrained in him to protect women above all else. It was part of who he was, of what he was. And if this woman was his lifemate, it was more than his duty, it was his right. "I am afraid, Francesca, that I can do no other than watch over you properly. I have never neglected my responsibilities."
    She felt very much at a disadvantage sitting there with him towering over her. Francesca stood up and moved gracefully across the room to put distance between them. He was making her heart pound with nervousness. Francesca had forgotten what it was like to be nervous. She was no fledgling. She had done what no other Carpathian woman had ever done: managed to escape undetected from both Carpathian males and marauding vampires and live her own life by her own rules. She was not about to allow this male to walk into her life and just take it over. "I think we should get something straight, Gabriel. I am not your responsibility. I'm willing to allow you to use this chamber until you get your bearings and find your safe place, but after that, there will be no contact between us. I have my own life here. It doesn't include you at all."
    His eyebrow rose, an elegant, polite way of calling her a liar. "You are my lifemate." He felt the certainty of those words. She was his other half, the light to his darkness, the one woman created just for him.
    For the first time Francesca showed fear. She swung around, her eyes wide with fright. "You didn't say the ritual words to bind us, did you?" Her hands were trembling so, she put them behind her back. From the very moment she had recognized him, this was the moment she had feared most.
    "Why would you fear so natural a thing? You know I am your lifemate." Gabriel watched her closely, noting every expression. She was definitely frightened. And she had known before he had that she belonged with him.
    Her chin went up almost defiantly. "I was your lifemate, Gabriel, many centuries ago. But when you made the decision to hunt vampires with your brother, you sentenced me to a life alone. I accepted that sentence. That was a long time ago. You can't just come back into my life and decree something else."
    Gabriel was silent, touching her mind easily with a light merging. He discovered a vivid memory of Gabriel striding through a human village with Lucian. The two legendary vampire hunters. The people were moving out of their way in awe. Gabriel saw himself moving quickly, his strides sure and long, his hair flowing in the night air. The movement of a young girl caught his attention and he turned his head without slowing his pace. His black eyes slid over a group of women, and then Lucian said something to distract him. Gabriel turned his head in the direction they were walking, not once looking back. The young girl remained staring after him for a long time in hurt silence.
    "I did not know."
    Her eyes flashed at him. "You didn't want to know. There's a difference, Gabriel. In any case, it doesn't matter. I survived the humiliation and the pain. It was all a long time ago. I've lived a good life for many centuries. I am tired now and wish to seek the dawn."
    Gabriel regarded her steadily. "That is not acceptable, Francesca." He said it quietly, without inflection.
    "You have no right to tell me what is and what isn't acceptable in my life. As far as I'm concerned, you gave up all rights to me when you walked away without looking back. You know nothing about me. You know nothing about the life I've lived or what I want or don't want. I made a life for myself. I've been relatively happy and more than a little useful. I've lived long enough, thank you. Just because you've suddenly decided to come back from the dead doesn't change anything at all. You didn't come for me. You came for him. Lucian. He has risen, hasn't he? You are hunting him."
    Gabriel nodded his head slowly. "That is so, but you must realize, finding you has changed everything."
    "No, it hasn't," Francesca denied. She wrenched open