Adam and Brock were outside the vehicle, standing guard while William and Harlow were off accessing the customers and employees. I pushed the door open, but Charity’s guard Brock blocked my exit. “No,” he growled. “Let us take care of them.”
“Where’s Meadow?” I demanded. “She was on break, and I didn’t see her. Please find her.”
“Do not worry, Lydia,” Adam said, placing a calming hand on my forearm. “She’s fine. Harlow is with her.”
“Thank the gods,” I sighed.
I was about to say something else when another gunshot rang out over the crowd. Vampires hissed out a warning, but whoever had the gun didn’t give up that easily.
“Stay down!” Adam ordered, pushing Charity and me to the floor of the Hummer. He hit the locks on the door and slammed it shut, locking us in the vehicle. He quickly pulled a gun out of the holster at his side and motioned to Brock, who mimicked his pose.
I looked to my left as Charity went still beside me. Her eyes were closed, and I knew then that she was using her ability to speak to her mate through their minds. She shivered and looked into my eyes with a smug grin on her face, “They’re coming.”
When I looked over my shoulder, I saw seven humans, dressed in older military style uniforms, wearing gas masks and holding several weapons. They were advancing into the crowd of vampires, but what they didn’t see was the fifteen Krieger and Krieger recruits coming behind them.
Chapter 24
Ashby
My skin crawled with the need to destroy every living thing that stood between my mate and myself. My Vatakas paced in my mind, wanting to be set free.
When we had gotten the call that Nights had been ambushed and set on fire, Dragus and I rushed to the scene, calling for all Krieger in the area to help. Recruits in the training program hurried to our side, along with their instructors.
These humans had finally taken things too far.
As we converged on the humans, no sound was made. We moved in a straight line, quietly as if we were ghosts. Our uniforms were as dark as the inky night around us. They did not know what was coming for them.
There were seven men in the group. One man stood in the middle of the group, directing them as to where to go. We had them outnumbered two-to-one. So, when the human on the left of their group raised his weapon, a modified AK-47, to shoot an injured vampire, Zin used his speed to rush up behind the human, snapping his neck in one swift twist.
The humans gasped, spinning around to see where the Krieger had come from, only to find us waiting for them to make their next move.
“Surrender now,” Dragus growled, his fangs punched out in anger. His mate was being blocked from him by these men and, like myself, he’d stop at nothing to get to the woman he loved. “And we won’t kill you.”
“Good luck with that, Krieger,” the one in charge laughed.
The leader stepped forward, and his eyes seemed to glow green from within his mask. A scent drifted across my senses, reminding me of a witch, but not quite as sweet. This man’s musky odor blended, making his smell almost unbearable. It was then that I realized that this man was the same as the man that held my Lydia in that cabin. He wasn’t quite human.
“Careful, Dragus,” I whispered, only where he could hear. “He’s Other.”
“What the hell does a demon want with Lydia?” he growled, low and menacing.
“I don’t know, but whatever it is…be very careful,” I warned. Dragus reached into his trench coat and removed two short swords, handing one over to me.
With a flick of the demon’s wrist, two humans rushed forward, raising their guns in the air. Before they could pull the trigger, Bastian and Powle disarmed them, breaking their necks and letting their dead bodies fall to the ground.
“You are outnumbered, Other,” I sneered. “What is it you want with the female?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he laughed, sending one human to stand in front of him as a shield. Did he really think we would kill a human in cold blood? We had other ways to get to this creature, but if the human tried to harm us, then he would die like his comrades.
“Did you enchant those bullets and chains?” I demanded, blood seeping into the whites of my eyes.
“No,” he laughed. “We held that stupid witch, Master Suran, and had him do it before we killed him.”
“Who sent you to cause trouble for us?” Dragus pressed. We needed answers, but I didn’t think this man would be giving them up that easily.
I cursed when the man lifted his gas mask, slowly revealing his face. “I came on my own, because I want Alydian. She holds my blood in her body, and I want it back. It’s time to grow a race of Born Bloods again. This time, they will have my demon DNA, and they will be indestructible.”
The Other was Lydia’s maker, Leonardo Chaplin. Although, he wasn’t the Leonardo I’d met all those years ago. No, this man had been brought back from the dead. He’d been changed into something more evil…deadlier.
I glanced at the Hummer, where she was held safe and sound. Brock was standing, legs spread wide and his hands clasped at his front…a short sword in his right hand. He wasn’t going to let anyone get into that vehicle.
“What happened to you?” I asked, still in shock at seeing a dead man. Lydia had told me that she’d seen him staked by priests in France. “How are you alive?”
“Oh, my old friend,” he laughed, his green eyes glowing bright. “I’m not alive. I have been given a second chance.”
“You will not touch her,” I growled, spinning the sword in my hand. I tested the weight before gripping it tightly. I would remove this man’s head. I just hoped Lydia could forgive me for killing the man that she’d loved as a brother so long ago. I also hoped she would understand that Leonardo was not her maker. This man was no longer the man she knew. He had been turned and tainted by demons. He would kill her without a remorseful thought.
“She. Is. Mine,” he growled, throwing his hand out to the side. Shouts rang out when the SUV started rocking from side to side. Brock was thrown away from the vehicle by an unknown force. The back door was ripped from the hinges, and I snarled when Lydia’s body was pulled from the vehicle.
She screamed as she held on to her throat as if something, or someone, was pulling her by her neck. I couldn’t let him get to her. The vehicle was about thirty yards from Leonardo, and I used all of my power to run in their direction.
As I ran, I let the Vatakas free. It’d been prowling behind my skin wanting loose. Unlike last time, I knew exactly what happened when I rushed forward and drove my sword through Leonardo’s back so fast that he didn’t even see me coming, but that did not kill him.
My beast wanted to play.
When the sword pulled free from his flesh, he stumbled, causing Lydia to scream when her body fell to the pavement. Harlow rushed forward and scooped her up off the ground, cradling her close to his chest.
Leonardo spun around, glaring at me with his glowing eyes. Black blood poured from the wound on his back and stomach, where the sword hand gone through his body. “She is mine!” I spat on the ground, my beast taking over as he walked up to the demon.
I felt my body grow, the bones in my face reforming and changing into my beast. Claws erupted from my fingertips and strength boiled behind my skin, causing my muscles to triple in size. My transformed voice roared in warning as my Vatakas set its sight on the demon.
“You are very protective of her,” he said, limping to the left as I circled him. My claws tingled with the need to rip him to shreds. I wanted to tear those lips from his mouth. He didn’t deserve to speak her name. “I wanted the two of you together. My pathetic human side thought you’d make perfect mates. Now, she will be the queen of my army. Her blood…my blood will create a superior race.”
“You will never have her,” I replied.
“My blood flows through her veins. Every time you drink from her, you will taste my essence on your tongue, Krieger.” He lunged for me, but I wa
s faster. “I may just keep you around so you can watch her suffer.”
With a deafening growl, I spun on my heel bringing the sword across the top of his shoulder. The metal resisted slightly as it met flesh and bone. I didn’t even look away when his head landed with a sickening thud on the asphalt, black blood mixing in with the hard ground. I fell to my knees, driving the sword into his heart, just to make sure he was dead.
I sat there, breathing heavily as I tried to calm my beast. He relaxed in my mind and slinked away. My claws shrunk back into my fingers, my face reformed to its normal state and I felt the blood drain from my vision.
“Ashby,” Lydia screamed, seeing me on my knees next to his body. I stood up and turned in the direction of her voice. She’d broken away from Harlow and was running toward me. I grabbed her as soon as she jumped into my arms.
“I’ve got you,” I said, burying my face in her auburn locks. She smelled like home and everything I loved. “You’re safe.”
“Why?” she cried. “Why did he do this?”
“It wasn’t him, Lydia,” I said, walking away from her maker laying in pieces on the ground. I took her over to my vehicle and sat her in the front seat so that I could check her over from when she’d fallen to the ground. Her hands and knees were scraped, but healing quickly. “A demon did this to him after he died. Who killed him in France?”
“Human priests,” she said, frowning at my question. “They staked him…I saw them.”
“Are you sure they staked him in the heart?” I asked, pushing a stray lock of hair away from her face.
“I…I don’t know,” she frowned. “He told me run, and I ran, but I looked back and saw a man drive a stake into his chest. He slumped forward, and I kept running.”
“They didn’t kill him,” Kale, our new instructor said. “They were posing as priests and were finding vampires to change against their will. I’d heard of this, but I thought all of the Others were found at that time and destroyed.”
“I can’t believe he did this to me,” she cried. “He was my best friend.”
“Oh, doll,” I said, pulling her face against my chest. I rubbed my hand over her hair until she relaxed next to me. “They have no feelings once the demons turn them into Others. They have memories, but they do not feel love, remorse, or shame. That man was a shell of your maker, but not the man who loved you. Please do not let Leonardo’s memory be tainted by what you just experienced. His soul was gone when they turned him into what you saw today, Lydia.”
“Can we just go home?” she whispered, crying softly into my shirt.
“Yes, doll,” I said, kissing the top of her head. “I’ll take you home.”
Chapter 25
Lydia
It’d been a month since the explosion at Nights and I’d finally stopped thinking of that demon as my maker. It took many nights of talking with the instructor, Kale, before I finally understood that these demons killed the soul of the person, only using their body for their destructive plans.
The fact that they wanted to breed a new race scared me. If they succeeded with their plans, then we’d have to tell the humans and all hell would’ve broken loose. The human officers that arrived on scene with the fire trucks were told that the whole incident was caused by a human hate group and after many days of questioning, we were finally cleared, and the files were handed over to the Krieger to deal with since it was a crime against vampires.
Walter survived the blast and sent flowers to the Krieger estate the week after, congratulating me on my mating. In the card, he apologized for the nasty things he’d said to me that night at the club. Ashby had almost blown a vessel in his possessive brain when he’d read the card, since I’d forgotten to mention seeing Walter right before the attack. I assured him that I was not in love with Walter. I had to show Ashby that he was the only male to own my heart in some very special ways.
A knock on the door had me moving quickly to answer it. I laughed when my best friend, Charity held up several wedding books and said, “Are you ready to be mated properly?”
“I guess,” I shrugged, showing little interest. She wasn’t fooled though and pushed passed me to enter the living room.
“Come on,” she laughed. “The queen is coming in three weeks to do your Joining ceremony. I know you two want a private ceremony, but you can’t get married in your jeans.”
“Why not?” I asked. I loved to dress up, but I wanted to officially be Ashby’s mate as soon as possible. I’d waited too long to find the man I’d love for eternity.
I didn’t care for the type of wedding she had with Dragus. In my eyes, the Joining was for the mated pair and should be held as a private ceremony. We could always have a huge human wedding later.
“Because I said so,” she growled. “I can’t believe you two are not going all out on this wedding.”
“We just want to make it official and get started on our life together,” I replied, taking a seat next to her.
“Well, you’re still wearing a dress,” she said, flipping to a page in the first book. “Something simple…like this?”
I peeked over her shoulder at the white, floor length dress made of satin. The back was slit all the way down to the waist and little tiny bows tied it together to keep it from gaping open in the back.
“Okay,” I smiled. “I do like that one.”
“See,” she giggled. “We are going to make it simple and beautiful.”
“Okay,” I smiled, scooping up another magazine off the coffee table.
“Are you okay? Really?” she asked, placing a comforting hand on my forearm.
“I’m okay,” I sighed. “I talked with Kale, and he explained a lot of things to me. It was hard to come to terms with the fact that Leo’s body was there, but his spirit…his soul was not. Plus, Ashby has been nothing but perfect since.”
“Good,” she said, a slight blush dusted her pale cheeks. “He loves you.”
“I know,” I smiled.
The door opened and the man who held my heart stood on the doorstep, his yellow eyes landing on the two of us with the wedding books on our laps. “What are you two up to?”
“Just looking at wedding dresses,” Charity shrugged.
“Uh huh,” he said, cautiously. “Promise?” We’d been known to get into trouble when we were together, but here lately our shenanigans had been few and far between. Now that my life wasn’t on the line, I’m sure we’d be up to our eyeballs in mischief before too long.
“Promise,” we replied in unison, making a crossing sign over our hearts.
Dragus entered shortly after my mate, and Charity immediately went to his side. He kissed the top of her head and whispered something in her ear. I saw her relax into his hold.
“We…um, yeah. We have some things to take care of at the mansion,” she said, glancing quickly at her mate.
“And what is that?” I teased.
“You know…stuff,” she replied, glaring at me for a moment.
“Okay, you go do…stuff,” I laughed, dismissing them with a wave of my hand. “I’ll look at these magazines and call you later.”
“You can call her tomorrow,” Ashby said, pulling me up from my spot on the couch. He kissed the spot below my ear, and I shivered from his touch.
“Okay, tomorrow,” I sighed, turning around to see that Dragus and Charity were already gone.
“Did you find a dress?” he asked.
“No,” I replied, wrapping my arms around his neck. “We were interrupted by warriors and didn’t get a chance to look through all of the books she brought.”
“I think you can do that later,” he growled, leaning in to kiss the side of my throat where he usually fed.
“I think later would be a great idea,” I said, breathlessly.
Ashby took my lips in a heated kiss that made my toes curl into the thick carpet at my feet. I tugged on the black Krieger shirt that he wore, pulling it over his head. My lips landed right above his heart, loving the feel of his muscl
es as I traced the ridges with my tongue. I flicked his nipple, grazing it with my fang.
“You drive me crazy,” he moaned, picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. “Are you very fond of this dress?”
“What?” I asked, looking down at the pale green sundress I wore. “No. Why?”
A second later, the material ripped under his large hand. He growled low in his throat when he found that I was bare underneath. My nails dug into his shoulders as he leaned me back to take one of my nipples into his mouth, flicking it with his fang, just as I’d done his only seconds ago.
He slid my body down from his stomach, rubbing his hardness against my sex. His belt felt cold against my mound. “Ashby, please.”
“You will never have to beg, my mate,” he promised, holding me with his beefy arm and using the other hand to undo his belt. The rasp of his zipper caused wetness to pool between my legs. He inhaled loudly and smiled naughtily. “Your scent drives me crazy.”
“Then make love to me, mate,” I whispered. “Take me to bed and love me until the sun takes our breath away.”
“Yes, my beautiful mate,” he said, turning for the bedroom.
We did exactly that. It was hours later that the pull of death took us under for the day. We were still tangled together when we took our last breath.
Epilogue
Lydia
Only Charity, Dragus, and our queen, Elizabeth, were present as we said our vows. The night was warm as we stood in the beautiful gardens behind the mansion. Although we were having a private ceremony, the Krieger were in full force watching the grounds for anything out of the ordinary that would cause us trouble. Charity had ordered the dress with the tiny bows without my approval, because I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to wear for our big day.
“Do you Krieger Ashby, take Lady Lydia Duncan as your mate? To love her, protect her and to lay your life before hers for the remainder of your days? If you should live longer than the ground you stand upon this day, do you promise her your heart?”
Blood at Stake (Warriors of the Krieger Book 2) Page 13
