by Unknown
A breed got too close and with reflexes honed with years of training, Carissa pulled herself up, threw her legs around his neck and twisted. His neck snapped, and his body slumped to the floor.
The speaker laughed. “A fighter. Good. You’re going to need it.”
Carissa pinpointed where he was, coming down metal stairs, each step echoing louder. Renzo Ferrari slowly moved into her line of vision, close enough to block the light, letting her see. Cold, forbidding eyes glared at her. He presented himself as a leader, but deep down she could still make out the cold bloody killer inside. Hell, she could see it in his eyes. Renzo enjoyed killing, enjoyed the pain of others.
In all her years, Carissa never hated one person, one man as much as she hated the one standing before her. She wanted to rip his throat out with her bare hands and simply watch him die slowly at her feet. She wanted to see his life extinguished; the light fading from his eyes.
“I see how much you want to take me down.” With a nod he circled around her. “You’re the first female of their kind I’ve seen. Who’d have thought a woman could be a protector.” He finished with a snort, standing back in front of her. “Most of the females I have had in the past cringe and beg for mercy, but you.” He wiggled his finger in front of her face. “I don’t see you begging.”
“Only to be the one to sink my knife in your heart,” she said through her teeth.
The sound of a knife cutting through the air fluttered by her ear, and the sleeve of her coat split open, followed by a stick of a needle to her arm. Within seconds the room began to spin and sleepiness threatened to overcome her.
Her eyes refused to focus, but Carissa fought to stay awake and get herself out of the mess she’d landed in. Going to sleep or passing out wouldn’t help her one bit. She felt as if she weighed a ton, and if not for the cuffs cutting into her flesh of her wrists, she might crumble to the floor. Her head fell back; she was just too damn weak to even hold it up.
“I heard you were the best.”
She willed her head to move and eyes to focus on the man sitting in a chair in front of her.
“I think I’m disappointed.”
“I’ll do better next time,” she said. Even her voice sounded drugged.
He chuckled. “Oh, I’m not sure there will be a next time.” The chair scooted away, making a loud noise, which pounded in her head. “See, I don’t think you are going to walk out of here as easily as you walked in.” He laughed. “I forgot you didn’t walk in. My breeds carried you, so I know you’re not walking out.”
She tried to look around but nothing would focus for her. “What did you give me?” She couldn’t even hold her head steady. She jumped when he whispered in her ear. Whatever they shot into her arm had dulled all of her senses.
“Something special. I had it made especially for your kind.”
Carissa shook her head, trying to clear off the haze. An arm came around from her back showing her a knife. He was behind her without her being aware of him moving. Then was when how helpless she really was dawned on her.
A hand touched her chin, moved down her throat to the zipper of her vest. He cut it off, pieces dropping to the floor, and then cut the rest of her clothes away, leaving her only in her thin panties and a sports bra.
“Do you think she can breed?” Renzo called out.
Carissa turned her head, trying to focus on the other figure looking down at them from the second floor.
“No,” came the answer, sounding from a distance and echoing off the walls. “Half-breeds don’t breed. Like mules, they’re sterile.”
“And how would you know?”
“I’ve done my research.”
“Pity.” Renzo walked back around to the front of her. “Such a fighter would make strong breeds. I guess information is all I’m going to get out of her. Let’s get started.”
Renzo walked away, and Carissa tried like hell to focus her eyes on the one standing above her. She couldn’t make out more than the dark outline of his body before her wrists were freed. Falling hard to the ground, she was picked up, dragged away, and tossed in a cage. The door slammed shut, lock snapping into place. Caged like an animal, she was helpless to even stop them when they gave the cage a push, causing it to sway and twirl on the chain it hung from.
* * * *
Rage tamped down and buried his boiling anger, and worked to put no emotions on his face when Renzo walked back up the iron steps to stand next to him. He felt Renzo’s eyes on him and masked his face in preparation. He kept the detached expression in place, staring at the girl in the cage being turned by snickering breeds. He wanted so very much to shoot the bastards between the eyes and take her out of there.
“She’s going to be tough to break,” Renzo stated.
“Might be impossible.”
Renzo snorted. “Nothing is impossible. She’ll break, or she’ll die.”
Again Rage had to push back the need to beat the man to death. He took a deep breath, calming himself. “They’ll come for her,” Rage told him, watching her closely. “You know that.”
“I hope they do.” Renzo rubbed his hands together and smiled, his eyes shining. “I look forward to killing them all.”
Or they’ll kill you.
Renzo’s face and voice hardened. “You know what happened?”
“Umm.” Rage murmured. “Your son stole the baby and betrayed you.” He enjoyed the irony that both sons had betrayed him, though of course he didn’t say it.
“He’ll pay for that.”
“And how will you make him pay?”
Renzo laughed. “Oh, you’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you.”
Chapter Ten
Ambrose, it seemed to Claudia, got older in just one short week. The whole house seemed to change. The atmosphere became dark again, and no matter what Corbin or the other bloodmates tried to do, they couldn’t lighten things.
Lucan got stronger every day. Shadow worked with him, as he did with Julian. Julian, even though he had his baby, was still determined to fight with the Guardians with a new reason, to get Carissa back.
Claudia learned what Lucan meant about news for Dimitri.
She was pregnant.
Dimitri’s stitched wound healed, and yet Dimitri was still unconscious for no reason Ivy could find. Ivy had blood IVs hooked up to him, feeding him, making him strong, but for some reason he wasn’t waking up.
And at the start of the second week, Claudia had enough of sleeping alone in a bed that was far too cold for her taste. She went to Lucan, hoping he could tell her why Dimitri didn’t wake. Lucan said Dimitri didn’t wake because he thought he had failed, that Carissa was dead, and that Claudia would be better off without a Guardian for a bloodmate. Not doubting for a moment that Lucan was wrong, his words made her want to storm down there and slap Dimitri awake. As worried as she was, she might even have tried that if Lucan hadn’t told her of a way she could get Dimitri to wake—feed him her blood, providing Dimitri again with a connection to her and possibly to hearing the heartbeat of his child.
She dug into Dimitri’s drawers, found clothes for him and one of his pocket knives.
Claudia picked daytime for her mission. Everyone was sleeping, including the doctor. She went up to his bed and dropped the clothes on his lap. Grabbing a chair, she dragged it over, sat down, and flipped open the blade of the knife.
“Okay, here’s the deal,” she said to him. “I need you to wake up, and I need it right now. I’m lonely and very scared.” Pressing a fingertip on his chin, she opened his mouth, cut her wrist, and pressed on the cut, dropping blood into his mouth.
Lucan said this would work, so it better!
Closing her eyes, she pressed on her arm, forcing more blood from her veins. She wasn’t sure if it was working, until she opened her eyes and looked down at him.
Claudia smiled. Eyes closed, Dimitri’s tongue licked, and he swallowed her blood. She leaned forward, pressed her wrist to his lips, and nature took over. His
fangs sank into her, pulling, drawing more gulps of blood from her vein.
Her chin quivered at his response, and she prayed that it was going be enough to bring him back to her.
* * * *
Like a fog being lifted, Dimitri felt himself coming back from the deep sleep. He could feel her heartbeat, taste the sweetness of her blood, and sense the love she had for him. His chest hurt like hell, but the silkiness of his bloodmates flesh against his lips was well worth any pain. Something else was there as well, something faint that he could hear and feel, an echo of her heartbeat. Something he never sensed before when he drank from her.
Recognition hit him like a splash of cold water; Dimitri let go of her wrist and lunged up in bed. He looked at her and frowned, ignoring the pain.
“Hi,” she said softly, touching his cheek, moving her hand to his hair. “I’ve missed you.”
Dimitri didn’t bother speaking. He grabbed hold of her, dragging her into his arms, holding and hugging her tightly. He pressed his face into her hair and drew in her scent. The soreness in his chest couldn’t and wouldn’t dull his need to simply hold her, feel her breath upon his flesh, and take her scent deep into his lungs.
“I’m sorry, Claudia,” he rasped out so low he didn’t even know if she could hear him. “So damn sorry.”
“Well, look who has decided to wake up.” Ivy came over with a smile on her face. “I was starting to wonder if there was more going on that was keeping you out. I’m glad I woke up in time for this.”
Dimitri straightened, but he didn’t let go of Claudia. “How long have I been out?” he asked. His throat was raw, but it wasn’t going to stop him from asking questions.
“Too long, but then it was a gunshot wound. Those tend to knock you guys on your ass, especially shotgun slugs. I’ll call up and see if Corbin has anything he can send down for you to eat. And congratulations.” She turned and left.
Claudia’s face turned red again. “I heard it,” he said. He placed his hand on her belly. “A baby?” Her face brightened, and she nodded. “You’re going to have a baby?”
“We are going to have a baby,” she corrected.
“Oh, man.” He rubbed his face. “How far along?”
She giggled and told him, “Enough for it to have been the first night, my viral stallion.” She sighed and sobered, wrapping her arms around his neck. “God, you had me so scared.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
She sniffed and pulled back. “Well, I’m not going to waste my time telling you to not let it happen again. What I am going to say is don’t scare me like you did by sleeping like that. I don’t like thinking you’re never going to wake up.”
Dimitri couldn’t help himself and smiled big. Claudia was the first to ever speak to him like that, outside the order that is, and he didn’t mind it a bit. He loved it.
“Yes, Mama.” Before she could get too far away, he grabbed her wrist and jerked her onto his lap. He kissed her deep, moaning against her lips at the pleasure of having her in his arms again. “I really am glad I’ve bonded with you, Claudia Waylon. You make me very happy, and I look forward to the birth of our child.”
Her eyes lit up, and she stroked from his forehead back through his hair. “Are you trying to say you love me then?”
He smiled, kissing her again, “Oh, I love you very much. Heart and soul and I’m going to make damn sure you know that each and every night or day we are together.”
Her face turned an even darker shade of red. “Then I best get you out of this bed so you can.”
* * * *
After spending some time with Claudia, Dimitri’s first objective was to find out what had happened while he slept. Hell, he didn’t even remember clearly what happened after he got shot. He went to Shadow in the computer lab for answers.
“Renzo has her,” Shadow said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
“But what has he done with her?”
“Julian believes she’s alive. He says they have a connection, and he’d know if she’s dead. Lucan says she’s alive too.”
Nodding, Dimitri understood how Lucan knew and didn’t question how Julian did. “I feel the same. If he still has her, how long can she hold out.”
They all worried about that as well as whether she was alive or dead. Carissa knew a lot, and Dimitri would bet Renzo was going to try everything he could to get information on all of them, including the safe house location.
“Denver’s been trying to get a hold of that guy, Rage. Nada. The guy hasn’t answered any of the calls.”
“Whose side is he on?” Dimitri wondered out loud.
Both turned to a new voice. “That’s a question I’d like an answer to.” Julian stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.
“He got your daughter out safe,” Dimitri reminded.
“Rage was there the night Serina died. He led the breeds that took her back to Renzo. He’d have killed me if not for Carissa. She stabbed him during the fight, so I can’t really imagine him helping her. Can you?”
Shadow hooked his thumb towards Julian. “He has a point.”
“So he does,” Dimitri agreed, but some memory he couldn’t grab a hold of about that night nagged at him. “Any ideas then?” he asked Julian.
“Why don’t we take him,” Julian shrugged. “Sort of offer a trade. Him for her?”
“Might work.” Shadow sighed. “But I prefer to take them both.” He smiled when Dimitri glared at him. “He’s bound to have info we can use. So why not?”
Dimitri shook his head and stood. “You come up with a sound plan, and I’ll listen.”
“Where are you going, mate?” Shadow asked.
“Hey, I’m bonded now.” He smiled big at Shadow. “And she’s expecting. So I’m going to tend to my bloodmate. See you two at dinner.”
Julian stopped him from walking out with a hand on his shoulder. “I never got to say thank you for getting my daughter back.”
Dimitri met Julian’s gaze, eye to eye. “You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do. It almost cost you your life.”
He smirked. “Then thank me by coming out of the Crossover alive. Hate to have to tell Carissa we killed you when she comes home.”
Julian’s face softened, but he didn’t smile. “I can do that.”
Dimitri walked away, heading for his room where he was going to get things ready for his bloodmate.
My bloodmate. Man, I love the sound of that.
He’d asked Corbin to fix up a special, high protein and calorie filled snack for Claudia. With pregnancy, she was going to eat even more than before and need less feeding from him.
Opening the door, he smiled. He just couldn’t stop smiling now that he was bonded.
Food was on a large tray on top of the covers on the bed. Claudia’s cravings started fast and were very strange. For one, she wanted steak and lamb all the time, and she wanted it very rare. The strange part of it all was she hungered for a chocolate dipping sauce for all the meat. Corbin made it for her. Every morning he fixed up a huge pot of it, so she had it ready all throughout the day. She also craved pancakes with lots of butter. When he opened the lid of the tray, he wasn’t at all surprised to find both the pancakes and meat. Just looking at it, he wondered what she was going to hunger for the farther along she got.
“Okay, Ivy said you wanted me to—” Claudia talked as she opened the door, only to stop when she saw Dimitri standing next to the tray of food. “Oh, God, is that lamb?” she gasped.
Her mouth opened and the tip of her tongue touched her lips, her eyes fixed on the food. He picked up a piece of the meat, dipped it in the sauce, and held it out for her. Claudia came to him quickly, taking the bite he offered and moaning with closed eyes.
“Oh, I love you,” she mumbled with a mouth full.
Dimitri chuckled, turned her around, and sat her down on the bed. “You know, I remember a time you were on your knees before.” He took her shoes off, followed by her socks as s
he ate. “It was a very sexy sight.”
She stopped stuffing her face, frowned down at him, and her shoulders slumped. Quickly she chewed and swallowed. “I’m anything but sexy. I’m eating like a pig.” She tried to get up, but he stopped her.
“You are eating like a bloodmate who is expecting,” he told her, picking up her foot, rubbing it. “And I find that very sexy. Care to know why?” She cocked her head to the side, arms crossed over her chest. Dimitri leaned up, took a piece of steak, dunked it, and put it in her mouth. “Because it’s my child, and you’re my bloodmate, and for the moment, I get to spoil you just the way I want to.” He got another piece of meat, repeating the process. “And I love you.”
She smiled as she chewed.
He took a deep breath and finished massaging one foot before going to the second. “You’re going to eat your snack, and then I have a nice hot bath planned to help relax you.”
“Are you going to join me?” she asked, licking her fingers.
Dimitri growled.
“I want you to. Please.”
“If that is what you want, then that is what you shall have.” He put her foot down and stood with the intention of heading to the bathroom.
“No, I want to watch you undress first,” she said, stopping him. “I like watching you.”
Her face brightened up when he handed her the belt from around his waist. “You’re not going to make this easy on me, are you?”
“Sure, I am.” She licked her lips. “I’m going to be very easy for you to take full advantage of.”
Dimitri busted out laughing. He couldn’t help it. “Okay, Claudia. Let me get the bath started then I’ll come back out here and undress just for you.”
He started the water, making sure it wasn’t too hot and went back out to the bedroom. He stopped in the doorway, smiling as he watched Claudia eat the meat. Boy, he couldn’t wait until she began to show.
“Is it really that good?” he asked.
