Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zakiel stood, dwarfing her, "Wait! Do not leave..." He took a claming breath in an attempt to gain control, "I mean, please, allow me to better explain. I need my lifemate, in several ways. We must share minds, bodies, souls very often. I cannot share your body at this age...I cannot even think of doing so without the repercussions rising into my mind. To share your body now would be the ultimate way to lose my soul and become the undead. I cannot do that, not with the knowledge that my lifemate waits for me, that she exists."

"I do not intend to harm you, Crimson Dawn. Nor do I intend to claim what my every fiber calls mine. There are a few things you should know about my people and me. Women and children are held in the highest regard, both are rare to my people and treated as treasures. Lifemates are treasured above even those. It is my job to see to your safety, health, and happiness, in that order. Honor and dignity are the strings that hold a Carpathian male together, and I would sooner die than to lose my honor. I am a dangerous creature, but you are the safest in the world, because I will never let a thing happen to you. I would die before I saw you hurt."

"I did not pick you, no. But I could not think of anyone better to spend my days with. To answer your question about why, my people have great powers and great responsibility. I hunt the undead, and with each kill I make, the call to kill more grows stronger. I need the light to force the darkness back. You are the light. I am overjoyed about finding you because it means that I will not lose my soul and become the undead. And though you may be able to take care of yourself, but you are my livelihood. Would you let the one who kept you from falling into the darkness risk getting hurt and passing into the next world?"

"I do not ask you to be anything other than who you are. It is who you are that saves me. I regret talking to you of such matters at this time. I should have waited...and I will pay for this mistake for as long as I rise at night."

"What would you have me dwell on? My thoughts are plagued with things that I cannot do, though sweet they are to think of."

Zakiel frowned, darkness crossing over his face. "I am sorry that I displease you. But I have never felt these stirrings for another. And it is natural that I want to be with you. My people require joining as much as they do the earth."

"We are of the earth. We must drink blood to live, sleep in the earth to heal, and we command the elements as well as have many psychic powers. There is little to nothing we cannot do."