Ella’s mind was not on her task as she cleaned the blood from Maggie’s skin. Instead it was on Brendon. Ella wasn’t sure what she thought.

She hoped he would be a better captor than Faugrimm and Warren. Would he abuse her or had Ella finally landed in the hands of a man who would be kind to his pet?

Ella had no clean clothes to dress Maggie in and she did not want to put the blood and dirt covered sack dress back on her, so instead she wrapped her up tight in the blankets and made the decision to ask Brendon for permission to get Maggie another dress.

The wash water was growing cool but it felt good to Ella’s skin as she slid off her dress and underclothes and cleansed the blood and dirt from her body.

Brendon had told her to rest and she was tired, so Ella dressed in a white nightdress and then slid into the bed next to Maggie.

The girl was lucky that Brendon had had that anti-venom. Ella would have had to drunk the girls blood, at least a little, in order to give her her own anti-venom. That would have been too much for the tiny girl to handle.

Ella looked at her innocent face as she slept soundly. It would have been her fault had the girl died. Ella felt guilt rip at her heart.

More of those emotions, coming stronger now, stronger every moment since she had met Brendon. She was still waiting for the good ones to come to her but the bad ones were coming more and more often.

She wondered what Brendon was going to find at the orphanage. Had Warren left any of them alive?

Exhaustion claimed Ella and her eyes slipped close as she fell fast asleep.

Her dreams were plagued by death, destruction and blood. The pale, mutilated faces of children filled her mind. A strange scent filled her nostrils and it took several long minutes before Ella realized that the scent wasn’t in her dreams… It was in her bedroom.

Ella’s eyes flew open and she barely managed to kick her leg out in time to catch the female vampire in the face and send her stumbling backward and away from Maggie’s neck which she had been preparing to drink from.

Ella leapt from the bed and blocked Maggie’s still sleeping form from the other vampire’s view. She hissed a warning as the vampire glared at her, tossing her long blond hair from her face.

“That hurt.” she stated accusingly as she wiped a drop of blood from her split lip. Ella didn’t reply, instead she bared her teeth and took a deep breath.

She hadn’t ever seen this vampire before but she recognized her scent. It had been on Warren countless times.

“Where is Warren?” The blond vampire asked.

“Dead.” Ella replied simply. The blonds face contorted with rage but before she could make an attack on Ella, the bedroom door flew open and Brendon came charging in. He stopped and looked from Ella to the other vampire.

The blond went for him but Ella reached out and caught her by her long flowing hair. She yanked her back, wrapped an arm around her head and one around her neck and then twisted roughly, snapping the vampires neck before dropping her lifeless body to the floor.

Brendon blinked several times and then holstered his revolver, which he had pulled before coming in.

“Did you know her?” he finally asked and Ella shook her head.

“No. But I recognize her scent. Warren spent a lot of time with her.” Brendon nodded.

“Are you both okay?”

“Yes.”

“I will get rid of her. You rest. And don’t worry about the orphanage. Warren didn’t harm anyone and he and his friend here erased the memories of everyone there. They don’t remember Maggie or you.”

Ella nodded, unsure if this was good or bad. Widow Callahan had often spoke of being her friend but now the woman wouldn’t remember her. And how could Ella drop Maggie back off at the orphanage if no one there remembered her?

Ella nearly jumped from her skin when Brendon’s calloused hand suddenly fell gently upon her cheek. His big work hardened thumb brushed across her jaw and then he quickly pulled away.

“Rest.” he urged again. “I’m here now. I’ll be right downstairs. Nothing else is going to harm you or the girl today. You have my word on that.”

Without another words and without giving her time to reply, Brendon turned, tossed the dead vampire over his shoulder, and left the room, closing the door tight behind him.

Ella touched her cheek, which still felt strangely heated from his touch. There it was again.

Passion.

She counted passion to be among the bad emotions. Brendon was her captor. Her new master. He was already standing guard downstairs to ensure that Ella did not leave and that no one came for her.

He would probably kill to keep her with him, just like Warren.

The burlap sacks on the window fluttered into the room as a strong wind suddenly whistled outside and buffeted against them.

The sound of rain beginning to fall reached her ears and then the sky opened up in a deafening, thunder of hard cold water.

Ella had always enjoyed the sound of rain. She curled back up in the bed, keeping plenty of distance between herself and Maggie and let her tangled thoughts help her drift off to sleep.

***

Brendon crouched in front of the fire he had built downstairs. He absently poked at the cracklings logs, causing the flames to jump and dance as he gazed into them.

The rain was falling hard, pounding against the roof as the wind buffeted the walls and blew rain in through the cracks in the logs.

Ella was safe. Warren and his blond friend were currently very busy in the cage as they worked on rotting with the three dead mortal women.

That was something Brendon would have to discuss with Ella after she had had some rest. He already knew that he could not, would not, kill her. He would give the Council the fangs he had pulled from Warren and the blond and tell them that he had taken care of the problem.

It wouldn’t take the Council long however to send he or someone else back out after Ella if she continued killing mortals. She had to be made to understand that she couldn’t do such things.

Brendon would have to make sure she was completely safe before he left her and went back to the Council. That would probably mean taking her to a new town, somewhere a good distance from here. He couldn’t leave her here, not when Warren could have other friends just waiting for her to be left unguarded.

Brendon allowed himself to wonder, for just a moment, what a life with Ella would be like. He knew close to nothing about her, only that she awoken a passionate lust inside of him that had been dead for close to a century and she made him want to protect and care for her.

He shook his head to clear his mind before he could entertain that particular thought any further. He was a Hunter. He was not allowed to settle down. Didn’t know how to love.

He would get her somewhere safe and bid her goodbye. That was just the way things had to be. Wishing for something else or allowing himself to dream would only lead to disappointment.

An image of Farris old wrinkled face appeared in his mind. He was frowning at Brendon and looking at him with utter disgust as Brendon tried to reason with the man about Ella. Tried to make him understand that as her life mate, Brendon needed to be there for her.

Farris snorted, his favorite thing to do with his oversized nose, and waved at him, dismissing him from the room.

Brendon gave a hard jab of the poker in his hand, causing ashes and embers to go flying, burning his face and blackening the rug.

As if on cue, thunder rumbled and a bolt of lighting cracked. The perfect atmosphere for the dark mood Brendon found himself in.

***

Hours passed, the storm ended and a new one blew in. At the first crack of thunder a terrible wail was sent up from upstairs. Brendon figured the girl must have awaken and was scared of the storm. He stood slowly and walked to the sofa against the back wall, trusting that Ella would handle the girl.

It was now dark outside and night was falling. Brendon needed a few hours of rest before setting out with Ella and the girl in the morning.

As he laid down on the sofa he realized that the wailing and sobs were growing louder instead of quieter.

What was going on up there?

He rose to his feet, with an irritated growl, and headed up the stairs. He knocked on the closed bedroom door and it was opened quickly by a rather flustered Ella.

Her hair was a mess, her light green eyes wide and her knuckles whte as she clenched her fists. Brendon couldn’t help but look her up and down in that sleeping gown she was wearing.

A candle was glowing on the dresser behind her and the outline of her body was silhouetted beneath the thin fabric. Finally the sound of Maggie sobbing broke through his lust clouded mind and he looked over Ella’s head to see the girl curled up in the bed with her knees in her chest, her brown eyes shining with a mixture of tears and fear.

“What’s going on?” he questioned and Ella shrugged one small shoulder.

“She won’t stop. She says she is frightened of thunder. I told her I cannot make the thunder go away and still she cries.”

“Did you try to comfort her?” Brendon demanded as yet another rumble of thunder sounded, this one seeming to shake the log walls around them, and Maggie erupted in fresh batch of wails.

Brendon had never heard anything more ear-splitting or head pounding in his entire life, and he had lived a long time.

“Did you try to comfort her?” he asked again through clenched teeth. The blank look on Ella’s face told Brendon all he need to know. He moved around Ella and further into the room.

“Should I just make her be unafraid and fall back asleep?” Ella questioned and Brendon shook his head.

“You want to do more mind tricks on a little girl just because she’s afraid of a thunder storm?” Ella shrugged.

“It would make her stop.” Brendon just shook his head. He had finally found someone who knew less about taking care of a child than he did.

“Maggie?” he asked quietly. The little girl looked up from her knees and her eyes lit up at the sight of Brendon. She jumped from that bed faster than a bullet being shot from a gun and flew into his arms.

“Mr. Brendon, I’m scared of the thunder.” she whimpered as she buried her face in his shirt.

“Why would you be afraid of the thunder, Maggie?” Brendon asked gently as he sat on the side of the bed with the girl wrapped tight around him. “It’s only a sound.”

“A sound?” she sniffed and Brendon nodded.

“That’s right. Just a sound. You see it’s the lightning you gotta worry about. That’s the stuff that will kill you.”

“Kill me?” Maggie squeaked and then her wails grew to their highest pitch when a bolt of lightning lit the room.

“I don’t think that’s what you should have said.” Ella stated in the background. Brendon didn’t know what to do to comfort the girl. Hell this wasn’t part of his job description anyhow.

He stroked her dark hair with one hand and then slid his other to her neck. Just the right amount of pressure in just the right spot for an exact amount of time had Maggie slumping against him and snoring softly.

“Would have been simpler for me to put her back to sleep.” Ella said quietly and Brendon found himself chuckling as he tucked a slumbering Maggie back in to bed.

“Then why didn’t you?”

“Because you told me not to.” Brendon raised his brow as he turned and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Do you always do as you’re told?”

“Are you saying I would actually have a choice?” Ella asked with a frown. Brendon wondered what was going through her mind. He decided that it was time they talked. There wasn’t anyone else coming for her, if there were then they would have already come and it was clear they had a few things to discuss.

“Ella, come downstairs with me. I wan to talk to you.” he said as he walked to the door.

“What about her?” Ella questioned, motioning toward the bed with a nod.

Brendon shook his head and walked out into the hall.

“She’ll be out ‘til morning. Come on.”

Ella grabbed her robe off of the hook by the door and then slid it over her shoulders as she followed Brendon down the narrow stairs.

What did he want? Was he going to force her to lay with him? Ella would let him, she decided. She would let him force her. Not only did something inside of her trust him despite her past and good sense that no man was trustworthy, but she found that passion she felt whenever he looked into her eyes or touched her growing stronger.

She was faintly surprised to find a fire burning in the fireplace despite the fact that it was not cold outside.

“Are you cold?” she asked him.

“I stay a bit on the cold side.” Brendon admitted as motioned for her to sit on the sofa. Ella did as he asked and he grinned a little as he sat beside her. “I miss my coat. I need to replace it soon.”

Ella nodded and stared at his big hands folded on his lap. She remembered just how soft that rough hand had felt against her cheek. How tenderly he had stroked her jaw.

Would those hands always feel so tender? Ella wasn’t foolish enough to think so. Faugrimm’s hands had once felt tender and so had Warren’s. Ella had learned the lesson the hard way that tender touches could quickly turn to harshness and pain.

“In the morning, we’ll be leaving. I’m going to take you and the girl somewhere safe, another town away from here and away from any other friends Warren may have had.”

“I cannot care for Maggie…” Ella said as her heart rate increased and she shook her head roughly.

“I understand.” Brendon assured her. “I’ll find somewhere for her to go.”

Ella picked at a few frayed threads on her robe as she stared down at the uneven wooden planks of the floor and waited for Brendon to continue with whatever it was he was wanting to say.

“Ella, I was sent to kill you by the Council, I told you that.” Ella nodded slightly, though she didn’t look at him. She was too on edge to look in to those deep green eyes that seemed to trap her, captivate her.

“I’m not going to kill you, Ella. I don’t think you deserve that.” he hesitated a moment and then added, “But you have to stop killing men. If you don’t then the council will just order you dead again and next time they may not send me. They may send someone else who would have no problem ending your life.”

Ella finally looked at him. The growling in his voice surprising her. She realized that his face was as hard as stone, his eyes flashing in the firelight and his hands clenched.

“Will you stop?” he questioned.

“Yes.” Ella replied. She did not know if she was being truthful or not but it seemed to be that was what Brendon needed to hear. For some reason, unlike with her other captors, Ella found that she wanted to please Brendon.

“Good.” Brendon replied, his posture relaxing a little as he stretched out his long, lean legs. “How did you come to be with Warren, Ella?”

“He bought me.” Ella replied, her voice becoming emotionless as she stared into the dancing flames of the crackling fire.

“From who?” Brendon urged. Ella wanted to be annoyed at his questions but she wasn’t. For the first time ever, one of her captors actually seemed to care. There was no taunting in his tone, only sincerity and she wanted to trust that.

“Faugrimm.” Ella couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down her spine and caused chill bumps to pucker her skin. She heard Brendon’s slight gasp.

“Tall skinny elf with white hair and a constant need to hear himself speak?” he questioned and Ella frowned as she turned her gaze back to him.

“You know him?”

“I killed him.” This time it was Ella’s turn to gasp in surprise. Brendon shrugged. “Well I put the arrow through his head and then Grange and Nickolai ripped his throat out…. Along with various other parts of his body.”

“They are both dead then?” Ella whispered and Brendon nodded. He took her hand in his, the heat like a lightning bolt coursing straight through her body. She looked into his eyes and saw them darken as he looked back into hers.

“Yes, Ella…” Brendon cleared his throat and then continued, his voice much less hoarse than before. “They are dead. I’ll take you to a new town and you’ll be free to start your life back. Do you have family anywhere? Do you want me to take you to them?”

Ella shook her head, haunting visions from her past dancing through her mind and causing her to forget the passion and comfort that Brendon’s touch provided.

“No, I have no family.”

“You can get your life back, Ella.” Brendon assured her and Ella just nodded as she stared off into nothing. What life? Ella had never had one outside of being a prisoner to whatever whims her captives had.

Suddenly Brendon pulled away from her and stood up.

“I have some things to do…” he started but Ella stood and interrupted him.

“Is that all you wanted from me?” Ella asked. That good natured smile split Brendon’s face and he nodded as he headed toward the door.

“Yep.” he replied simply. “Now I have to get some things around if we’re to leave in the morning. I won’t be long.”

Ella watched him leave and close the door behind him. She wanted to trust Brendon but life had taught her to never trust. She was sure that once they got to wherever he was taking her he would show how he truly was. How all men truly were.

Ella didn’t understand why but that thought made her incredibly sad.