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Caitlin’s eyes widened. Arman closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. Stasio and Ruric grinned. They’d be sure to give him a hard time about being the teller of tall tales from Texas later.
“Only a very select few can be in this guild. We’re not supposed to use our telepathic gift to help mortals…others. But I heard the girls screaming, and I had to help them.”
“Why wouldn’t the guild want you to help others?”
“If people learned we were different, they’d use us as guinea pigs, experiment on us, write us up in their scientific journals. Our life would no longer be our own.”
“Sure, sure, I can see that.” She tucked a curl behind her ear. “But why have a guild then?”
“It’s kind of a watchdog organization to ensure our kind don’t give us away.”
“Oh. So you saved the girls and…”
“Got injured. The league warned us not to get involved in things like that, but I couldn’t hear the girls’ screams and do nothing. Now the league has sent someone to force us to appear before them.”
Caitlin sat up taller. “You mean, you came on the cruise because you’re on the run from the telepathic police?”
“Sort of like that. They usually cool down after a while and everything’s fine.” Though he still worried the vampire they sent after them might be an assassin.
“But they’ve sent a tracker after you. Do you know what he looks like?”
Levka shook his head. “He can sense our telepathic communication though, so we need to try and not use it.” He could with his friends, but Caitlin had no way to privately send her messages. If the tracker heard her, who would he assume she was speaking to?
“Can I be a member of the guild?” Caitlin’s face brightened. “I’m an honor student in high school. Maybe I’d be able to make some more friends like you.”
“A member of the telepathic guild,” Ruric mused.
“The vampire guild rather,” Stasio responded.
“Someday, maybe,” Levka said. “For now, we have two problems…Vlad and the tracker.”
“And Dylan.” Caitlin tugged on Levka’s hand. “Come on, mate of mine. I’m hungry. The lunch on the island didn’t fill me up.”
“Formal dining or buffet?”
“Formal. I don’t even care if Dylan’s there.”
He wouldn’t be, Levka could count on that. But he still wasn’t sure he could pull off pretending to be Caitlin’s intended mate without marking her. And that was another issue.
***
When they took their seats at dinnertime, Levka and his friends suddenly looked toward the entrance to the formal dining room. Caitlin turned to see what had garnered their attention. Vlad.
Dressed in a black tux, his narrowed eyes the same color, Vlad considered Levka in a challenging and sinister way as he strolled toward them, his walk confident.
Without invitation, Vlad took Dylan’s seat.
Caitlin cleared her throat and introduced everyone at the table. Alicia was even more put out that Dylan hadn’t joined them. Vlad seemed to take an immediate dislike to Levka and his friends. She didn’t like his attitude one bit. She could see he would never let her have any friends if she had remained his girlfriend, whereas Levka did not seem to feel threatened over her friendship with others. He was protective, but not smothering.
Levka took Caitlin’s hand and kissed it so tenderly, her heartbeat quickened. Ruric smiled. Stasio hid a grin and cut into his veal. Arman glanced at Vlad to see his reaction. Vlad’s face darkened. Lynne and Alicia talked about Dylan’s strange behavior and ignored the rest of them.
“Have you known Caitlin long?” Vlad asked. His voice was controlled, but she heard the bitterness.
Levka opened his mouth to speak, but Caitlin patted his shoulder. “He saved me from the water.”
Vlad’s black gaze shifted quickly from her to Levka.
“Someone had to do it,” Levka said, shrugging.
