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have no interest in her. She would never accept his claim on her. He had forced her to exile herself from her own people, her own homeland. She'd had no choice in the matter. A solitary female living among men so desperate for lifemates would have made their lives an endless misery. And she knew she could not tolerate the loss of freedom. The Prince of their people would have guarded her carefully in the constant hope one of the men would be her true lifemate. They needed children desperately. She knew she was compatible with only one Carpathian male and he had rejected her to devote himself to the protection of their people. She had lived as she wanted these centuries, secure in the knowledge that she was strong and powerful and no human could match her and no vampire could detect her. It was easy enough to hide from her people because such behavior was so unexpected.
    They had lost so many of their woman and children over the centuries that every woman was guarded closely; the women were needed to bring children, especially female children, into the world. Most of the children born were males, and most did not survive beyond the first year of life. Their species bordered on extinction. Francesca had come to terms with her solitary existence. She wasn't about to change her entire life because Gabriel had suddenly decided to show up out of nowhere.
    She felt moisture on her face and glanced up at the sky. It was perfectly clear above her head; the stars were out in full force. Surprised, she reached up and touched the tears on her face. That made her all the more determined that Gabriel would have no say in her life. Already he had made her cry. He had ruined everything. He had taken the sun from her recklessly, without thought. That was Gabriel. He made decisions and expected the rest of the world to fall in line with him. He was a law unto himself and he would expect Francesca to do whatever he dictated.
    Francesca turned the corner, took a deep breath and walked into the hospital parking lot. She didn't want anything to appear to be abnormal. Brice met her soon after she entered the building, leading her to believe he had left strict orders that he be alerted immediately upon her arrival. He led her through the halls to a private room. There were teddy bears and balloons and flowers everywhere. The little girl in the bed was very pale with dark circles under her eyes. As always, Brice never told her exactly what was wrong with the patient; instead, he allowed her to perform her own "strange" examination.
    "Do her parents know you asked me to look at her?" Francesca asked softly.
    Though her voice had been low, the child stirred and opened her eyes. She smiled at her visitor. "You're the lady Dr. Brice says is such a help to people. My mom said you would come and see me."
    Francesca glanced at Brice with a quick frown of impatience. She had told him a thousand times not to mention her to anyone. She could not afford publicity. They had argued more than once over the issue. She touched the child's thin little hand with a fingertip. "You're in pain, aren't you?"
    The little girl shrugged. "It's all right. I'm used to it now."
    Cold air stirred the curtains unexpectedly and Brice glanced at the window, checking to assure himself it was closed. The last thing they needed was a draft in the room. Francesca was concentrating wholly on the child. Nothing else touched her mind at these times. It was as if only the child and Francesca existed. "My name is Francesca. What is yours?"
    "Chelsea."
    "Well, Chelsea, would you mind if I held your hand for a few minutes? It would help me understand what's going on inside of you."
    A slow smile lit up the little girl's face. "You aren't going to poke and prod and stick me with needles?"
    Francesca returned the smile. "I think we can safely leave that job to Brice." She took the small hand in hers. The skin was very thin, almost translucent. This child was wasting away. "I'm just going to sit