Claimed By The Vampire King (The Vampire King Series #1)

by T. S. Ryder

  It took a moment for Naya to recognize it as blood.

  "They took her," Angel gasped. She stepped forward and fell to her knees. "They attacked us and killed the guards. They took her. They took her."

  A hollow sort of sound rang in Naya's ears. Her hands trembled and bile rose up her throat. Her baby was kicking against her ribs, but she could hardly feel it. As if she was a ghost, she drifted forwards, her heart in her throat.

  "Ivanna," she choked out.

  Angel's shoulders shook. "I tried to stop them. I wasn't strong enough. They had silver. They only left me alive so I could tell you who they were."

  Gabriel's arms circled Naya's waist. He lifted her off her feet, cradling her. Naya impatiently smacked his arm but, even as she did so, she knew that she would fall the moment he set her back on the floor. Her eyes were dry, but only because she couldn't believe this was happening–wouldn't believe this was happening. They were just playing a trick on her. Ivanna would come bouncing in in a second.

  "Who was it?" Gabriel asked.

  "Take Back the Planet. They said that they won't let her go unless… unless Naya terminates her pregnancy."

  The words tumbled about in Naya's brain. She couldn’t think. She couldn't breathe. Her daughter… her baby…

  What was she supposed to do now?

  Chapter Nine: Desperate Measures

  Two days passed without any word from the kidnappers. Gabriel had his whole staff trying to find where they went. Alberto tracked down all the individuals who had been at the zoo that day, but so far no names were connected to any sort of anti-vampire literature or actions. The humans who had attacked Angel and killed the guards had hidden their trail in garlic. It utterly blinded vampire noses.

  Gabriel had never felt so helpless before. There were no leads to follow, no skulls to crack. The prisoner who had been found on his grounds all those months ago during the Blood Moon knew nothing. Even the normal Take Back the Planet blather on the internet had gone silent.

  If they did end the child growing within Naya, would they get Ivanna back? Gabriel refused to consider that the kidnappers may have already killed her. It was too horrible to think of, to never see that little girl's smiling face again or hear one of her off-key songs. Ivanna had become the life of the palace. Everybody loved her.

  As much as it broke him to think of ending Naya's pregnancy, if that was what it took to get Ivanna back then he would do it. He had frozen his sperm on the night of the full moon. They could artificially impregnate Naya again if she was willing. And, despite his son's strong heartbeat and the kicks he felt on his palm through his mother's skin, the fact was that he didn't know the baby. He loved his little son already, but he didn't know him.

  He knew Ivanna, and the choice was clear, as much as it hurt.

  He hadn't been able to talk to Naya about it. She hadn't left her room, lying in bed sobbing whenever he went to see her. Her pain hurt worse than anything, and he cursed his uselessness.

  At least Angel was recovering, though her distress was almost as great as Naya's. She blamed herself, though Gabriel had tried to convince her it wasn't her fault. It was his. He should have given them more guards. He should have taken the threats more seriously.

  "My king?"

  Gabriel looked up from where he had been sitting at his desk, his head in his hands, immobilized by fear. Alberto stood in the doorway, his hand firmly latched around a woman's arm. From the strong beat in her chest and the smell of blood about her, the king knew she was human.

  "What is it?" Gabriel had never heard his own voice so broken before.

  "This is a human pregnancy doctor."

  Gabriel stiffened, but he nodded. "Naya has decided it's time, then?"

  Alberto shook his head. "We are running out of time, but I thought of a way to try to end this. Sometimes humans cannot give birth, and so the doctors will cut them open. And other times the babies are born early, and yet survive."

  The king leaped to his feet, adrenaline coursing through him. "Naya is seven months pregnant. Could you cut out the baby now so that they both could survive?"

  The doctor's eyes were wide and confused. "Y-yes, my lord. But the baby will need to be in an incubator, and it will have many medical needs that—"

  "But he can survive. If we take the baby out, he can survive, but we can tell the people that took Ivanna that Naya terminated the pregnancy and get her back." He raised shining, hopeful eyes to Alberto. "Thank you."

  The vampire nodded. "I'll take this doctor to get everything she needs to perform the task."

  Gabriel nodded once at him and quickly left his office. He fairly flew up the stairs to Naya's room, brimming with excitement and hope. There was a chance now that they would not have to sacrifice their child to get Ivanna back. It would work. It had to work. What sort of monster would keep a little girl from her mother?

  Naya was not in her quarters. She wasn't in Ivanna's room or the bathroom. Gabriel tensed. He had reassigned her guard, since she never left her room, and they were needed to try to track down Ivanna's whereabouts. Where could she have gone? The anti-vampire humans could not have gotten in here–if they had, they would have come after him, not her.

  The cellphone in his pocket rang. Gabriel felt the bottom of his stomach drop out. Somehow he knew what Naya would tell him before he even saw that it was her calling him.

  "They called me," she whispered. "They said that they would release Ivanna if I gave myself up. They want to make sure our son is dead themselves. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

  "Naya," Gabriel choked out, his head spinning. "Naya, they'll kill you."

  "I know. But it's better me than Ivanna. They'll kill her if I don't. Gabriel, I'm sorry. I love you. I love you so much."

  The king's knees buckled and he collapsed onto the bed. This couldn't be happening. Sacrificing his child was pain enough, but Naya? It was unthinkable. He had to stop this. It couldn't happen. Tears pooled in his eyes and he clutched the phone tighter to his ear as if he could seep through the speaker and pop out on the other end.

  "Naya, where are you going?"

  "I can't tell you." A sob. "I love you. Please, please forgive me. Take care of Ivanna. Take care of yourself. Please."

  "Naya," he tried again, but there was a click and then silence. Gabriel felt his world being dismantled bit by bit until he couldn't breathe. "NAYA!"

  ***

  Alberto was able to trace Naya's cellphone. The head of security tried to convince the king to stay behind while he led three dozen vampires to find Naya and bring her back, but Gabriel was having none of it. The moment they had a lock on Naya's location, he armed himself with guns and knives. His natural strength and speed were once enough to take out an entire human army, but with the development of technology he had to be ready for anything.

  He was well aware that this whole situation could very well be a trap, but he didn't care. Naya was too important. If she died, then he would hunt down every last one of those vile creatures, or die himself in trying.

  Naya was in an old warehouse. Guns immediately started blazing as the vampires burst in, but they had come prepared; the silver bullets bounced harmlessly off Kevlar vests and bulletproof riot shields. Gabriel charged forward, his men in a tight formation behind him. He could smell Naya and Ivanna both, faintly, and ignored the human warriors lining the walls. Alberto broke away with a dozen vampires, leaping onto scaffolding and over barriers the humans had built to protect themselves.

  Screams followed Gabriel as he followed the scent of his human through a rusted door. He entered a long hallway. The scent of explosives met his nostrils, and he waved a hand at his men. The demolition experts surged forward, quickly finding and disarming the bombs that had been placed in this hallway.

  Gabriel didn't slow his pace.

  He only stopped when he came to a locked door. He could sense Naya laying on the floor inside, Ivanna beside her. Gabriel stopped breathing and he slammed himself against the door, but i
t wouldn't budge. He heard someone speaking behind him, but couldn't spare a thought to hear what they were saying. The steel was unforgiving, no matter how hard he rammed into it.

  A strong scent of gunpowder met his nose and the sound of gunfire erupted all around him. Dozens of human poured into the hallway, firing weapons at the vampires. One lobbed a grenade at them, but Gabriel easily swatted it right back at the human had thrown it; the explosion rocked the room, filling it with smoke.

  Gabriel snarled, lithely leaping into the fray. He drew the knives from his belt, slicing across the throats of the humans who were nearest to him. The scent of blood wound its way to his head, and he lost himself in the battle. His vision filled with red and he cut his way through the humans, howling his fury.

  It was only after they were all dead that his bloodlust faded. Gabriel looked at the carnage around him, regret welling in his chest–he had become king to stop this kind of destruction. And here the humans were, forcing him to battle once again. Why couldn't they see he only wanted the best for them?

  Tossing aside his knives, Gabriel rushed back to the door that separated him from Naya. Alberto had caught up with them by this time, and together they crumpled the steel.

  Gabriel rushed inside, dropping to his knees. "Naya," he breathed.

  Her heart was still beating, her breath deep and even. Ivanna's as well. Relief broke over Gabriel like a flood. He ripped off his Kevlar vest and put it on Naya, just in case.

  "My lord—" Alberto started.

  "Carry Ivanna to the vehicles. Quickly," Gabriel ordered, gathering his love into his arms. The heartbeat of their son was strong, and tears filled the king's eyes. He brushed them away quickly–until they were safely back at the palace, there was no place for emotions.

  Naya stirred as he stood, and he pressed a quick kiss to her temple. His men gathered around him as they headed back outside.

  As soon as the sunlight touched his face, he heard the distant crack of a gun. Something burned into his chest, piercing his body. Pain lanced through him and he stumbled. When he looked down, he saw a hole in his chest, inches above Naya's body.

  His knees buckled and everything went black.

  Chapter Ten: When the World Stands Still

  Her head felt like it had been packed with sandbags. Naya's eyes slowly blinked open. Sounds blurred all around her, but the sky was clear and blue above her. She was being moved. She was lying on something that was being pushed. She strained, trying to remember where she had been. She remembered a gray room. And Ivanna…

  Ivanna! Naya jerked, opening her mouth. She groaned out her daughter's name, and a face leaned over her. It was not Gabriel. She recognized the face, but all she could think was that it wasn't her vampire.

  "She's safe," the face said. "She's right here. Asleep."

  Naya's head lolled to one side as she searched for Ivanna. Her vision swayed, but it soon settled. Ivanna was close to her, laying on a stretcher parallel to her. Her eyes were closed, but blankets were tucked in around her chin and her thumb was in her mouth. Naya smiled. She was okay.

  "The king was shot."

  The relief at seeing her daughter vanished. Her clouded head cleared long enough for her to push herself up onto her elbows. There was another stretcher nearby. Gabriel lay on it, his body utterly unmoving, eyes wide and glassy. His skin had an unnatural pallor, chalky almost. Naya screamed, lurching towards her vampire.

  Something caught her around her waist and hands pressed her back onto the stretcher.

  "He can still hear you," a voice said in her ear. "The silver has paralyzed him but there's still time to save him. And he can hear you. Don't scream, don't scream."

  Naya held her breath, her heart pounding. She tried to escape the hands that kept her in place, but they were too strong.

  "We need blood!" a vampire shouted from somewhere. "Get blood out here now!"

  Naya and Ivanna's stretchers were both brought to a halt so that Gabriel's could pass. Naya slapped a hand over her mouth as he was brought by. He was dead. Whatever she had been told, he was dead.

  "Let me kiss him," she blurted. Maybe if she could get to him, her love would call him back. Maybe she could save him! She struggled. "Let me kiss him!"

  "There's no time. He needs the bullet removed and to be fed blood."

  "Give him my blood."

  "We have medical stores for this sort of event."

  Naya stopped struggling as she watched Gabriel's stretcher be carried up the stairs. Her blood rushed in her ears, drowning out the nervous chatter around her.

  "I love you!" she shouted. "Gabriel, I love you!"

  ***

  She was examined by both a human and vampire doctor and given a clean bill of health. Take Back the Planet hadn't harmed her or Ivanna in any way.

  But then, they hadn't been the target. Gabriel had been.

  Ivanna seemed no worse for wear. She was a little quieter than normal, but Angel had put her in a bathroom when she realized they were about to be attacked, and the little girl hadn't witnessed any of the violence that had happened in the zoo. Naya didn't want to press too much about her time in captivity, but Ivanna told her that she was kept in an ugly room and she had watched cartoons the whole time she had been kidnapped.

  It was a small relief, but even that tiny blessing was something that Naya could cling to.

  It was a full two weeks after the incident before she was allowed to see Gabriel. By that time Angel was fully mobile and, though she winced once in a while, she bore no outward scars of the attack.

  "Stay here and be good for Angel," Naya told Ivanna, just outside Gabriel's bedroom.

  "But I wanna see, too," Ivanna protested.

  Angel pulled her into her lap. "Mommy wants to talk to Gabriel alone for a little while first. You'll get to see him soon."

  The baby was kicking, and Naya laid a hand on her belly as she entered Gabriel's bedroom. He sat up on the bed, his skin having regained its normal healthy, dusky glow, dark eyes bright and clear. A dozen or so empty blood bags were scattered on the floor to one side, and a cooler sat next to his bed, presumably full of fresh ones.

  A smile broke over his face at the sight of her and he held out his arms. Naya gratefully ran to him, wrapping herself in his strong embrace. She breathed in his deep, manly scent as his hand stroked her hair.

  "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

  "Don't be. Your daughter was in danger. You did what you needed to do." Gabriel put his hand on her shoulders and gently backed her away. "They told me you were fine, but I am glad to finally be able to see it with my own eyes. Naya… Naya, I love you so much."

  Naya pressed a hand gently to his chest. Beneath the silk pajama top, she felt bandages. "Does it still hurt?"

  "Yes. Quite a bit. But it missed my heart, and they were able to get the silver out in time. I'm going to be fine. I just need a lot of blood." He made a face as he gestured to the bags. "They're making me drink this medicated stuff. Tastes awful."

  Naya held her wrist out to him, but Gabriel shook his head. He kissed her wrist, then moved it to his lap and smiled gently.

  "I'm still not strong enough for that yet, love. There's a reason I didn't want you to see me before now. The thirst… it can get overwhelming. I dare not drink from you again until I'm fully healed.

  "Of course," Naya whispered.

  Gabriel cupped her face in his hands. "What happened? When I arrived at the building, you were already unconscious. Did they say anything to you?"

  Naya shivered. The question of why Take Back the Planet hadn't killed her outright had haunted her for the past two weeks, but she still had no answers.

  "They took me to see Ivanna. I remember going into a room, seeing her laying on the floor and then feeling like I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to be killed and I was so… angry that I hadn't been able to save Ivanna. The next thing I remembered was waking up here again. And seeing you on that stretcher."

  Gabriel'
s hands tightened slightly. "Take Back the Planet was probably hoping to use my child as a way to control the vampires somehow, and that's why they didn't... But let's not dwell on them right now. Alberto is hunting the organization and soon they will no longer be a threat. You're okay, Ivanna is okay and that's all that matters."

  "You're okay. Or, you will be." Naya pressed her lips to his. "That matters, too."

  Gabriel smiled. "Yes, that does matter. I can smell Ivanna out there. Does she want to come in and see me?"

  Naya nodded and hurried back out to the living room to retrieve her daughter. Angel stayed on the sofa. Ivanna wrapped her arms around Naya's neck and then, when she was put on the bed beside Gabriel, the little girl twisted her hands into the blankets.

  "Hi, princess," Gabriel said, smiling. "How are you doing?"

  "I'm not a princess."

  Naya's brows rose at Ivanna's angry tone. "What do you mean?"

  Ivanna glared up at her mother. "Gabriel's not my daddy. That means I'm not a princess."

  "Oh, honey." Naya reached for her daughter, but Gabriel was quicker, pulling her into a hug.

  "Ivanna, there are different types of daddies. I might not have put you in your mommy's tummy like this baby." Gabriel touched Naya's stomach. "But that doesn't mean that I can't be your daddy. I love you, princess."

  Ivanna sniffled, her big, dark eyes full of tears. "Do you love me as much as the new baby?"

  "Yes," Gabriel said firmly. "I do. And I'll always love you. I promise."

  "Okay," Ivanna smiled, laying down beside Gabriel. Her tiny head rested against his shoulder, and she looked over her shoulder at Naya. "Come snuggle, Mommy."

  Naya laughed softly and joined them. Gabriel's fingers combed through her hair, and more love than Naya thought was possible welled in her heart. The baby began kicking and she took both Gabriel and Ivanna's hands and pressed them to her stomach, helping them to feel it as well. Ivanna laughed, squirming between them.