Her Protectors (Peacekeepers Book 2)

by Tamsin Baker

  “Oh, you wanna play again, do you?”

  Which wasn’t a bad idea. He needed her back on their land as soon as possible, and if that meant carrying her back over the threshold, then so be it.

  She squeaked and started running.

  “I’m going to get you.”

  He stepped into the stream and cold water soaked his shoes and the bottom of his pants. “You’ll pay for that, my beautiful girl.”

  He started running after her and something caught his attention. A noise, a whooshing. Something running. That smell. Death.

  “Jacky!”

  Pain thumped through the back of Ashten’s head and a high pitched cry pierced his eardrums.

  He hit the ground.

  Another scream sounded and Ashten jumped up, his magic flowing faster than it ever had before. He reached out for the male vampire in front of him, his white paw gripping the vamp’s neck and squeezing hard.

  “We…”

  Ashten threw him to the ground and slammed his foot through the vampire’s head. He didn’t care. He’d deal with the fall out later.

  Jacky.

  He began running in the direction he’d last seen her running.

  He circled around and around the trees, her sweet smell lingering, but there was nothing but air and grass.

  He roared into the sky, his heart cracking in his chest.

  He ran, true fear trickling along his skin like ice water as he got closer to his brother.

  Raylock came running out and Ashten reluctantly let his bear go, shifting back to human.

  “What the hell’s happened?”

  “Jacky’s been taken. Vampires. I killed the one who attacked me, but they grabbed Jacky when my back was turned.”

  Raylock growled, clenching his fists and pacing in front of him.

  “This is our land! That’s impossible.”

  “It’s not impossible. We were playing by the stream and we both stepped over onto the McGloughlin land. I was only a few feet on the farm, they must have been watching. None of that matters now. All that’s important is that we find her. How are we going to do that?”

  Raylock didn’t stop pacing as white fur sprouted out his face, then disappeared, returning a moment later. His anger and fear was obviously causing a problem with his shifting control.

  “Those fucking bastards! What do they want? They have to have a reason for grabbing her!”

  Ashten nodded, his mind clearing now that he had shared the problem with his brother and he needed to find a solution. “True. Let’s go find our brothers and get a hunting party together. Let’s get our mate back.”

  ****

  “You better let me go. Or there’s going to be hell to pay.”

  The three vampires in the room laughed at her, their strange faces contorting in the half light. It was sundown and her men still hadn’t found her. How was that possible? Weren’t they like, super paranormal?

  “We’re damned no matter what, remember? So what can your peacekeepers do that are worse than that?”

  “They can make sure you get there sooner.”

  One of the older males, although their actual age was almost impossible to determine, appeared in front of her, staring down at her, where they’d left her sitting in a chair. She wasn’t tied up, but she assumed that was because they knew she had no way of escaping. They were so strong, and so fast, she still couldn’t believe the way they’d literally flown in and stolen her.

  The man stared down at her, his red irises glowing with ill health. “If I were you, I wouldn’t try to upset us. We won’t kill you yet, but that doesn’t mean we won’t take you as close to death as possible, before we barter with your Peacekeepers.”

  Jacky bit her lip and tried not to shiver outright as the goosebumps flowed over her skin. She didn’t say anything else so he moved away and she could breathe again.

  Woah, they’re scary.

  She looked around the room once again for clues to where she was, but soon gave up. Even if she could work something out, how would she communicate that with Ashten and Raylock? Impossible.

  One thing was annoying her though.

  “How come you’re able to walk around in the sunlight? I thought vampires couldn’t do that.” Unless all the movies and the stories are completely wrong. She really should have asked Ashten and Raylock more questions.

  The group around her, composed of three men, looked between themselves with amused expressions and the older one spoke to her again. “You don’t know much, do you?”

  She shook her head, deciding that pleading ignorance was definitely an advantage here. “No, I only arrived a few days ago. Before then, vampires, werewolves, shifters… they were all fairytales.”

  This time the younger male with red hair chortled. “We’re far from being fairytales.”

  Jacky relaxed into her chair. Maybe she could get them to tell her why they’d taken her? Perhaps she could make them take her back to her men? If they had a chance of saving her it was together, and where they could see her.

  She tried for a smile and lifted her voice to a higher pitch.

  “I’m pretty new to this world. Won’t you tell me how you can be out in the sunlight? Please? It’s all pretty amazing to me.”

  They all shared a look and the older one arrived in front of her again.

  “Most vampires cannot be out in direct daylight for long, but here, the strength of sunlight in Alaska is low, and we have a higher tolerance, being older than three hundred years. We cannot be out for too long, but for the time it took to grab you, that was tolerable for us.”

  She feigned awe, opening her eyes and blinking at them. “You certainly were fast. Too fast for Ashten, who’s a Peacekeeper. You must be very powerful indeed. But why did you guys grab me? I mean… do you want anything in particular?”

  She looked around the room at the other men, keeping her voice light and her eyes all wide and innocent. She needed to find out what they wanted, and maybe she could organize a trade of some kind.

  The man standing over her grabbed her chin with cold fingers and tipped up her face to meet his gaze. “We want the territories we were promised by our maker. The Peacekeepers have the final decision and power, and if we have you, then they are much more likely to agree with us.”

  “Your maker?”

  “Yes, the man who sired all four of us. He owned the territories of Alaska and across the northern states of Canada. We’ve roamed there for over three hundred years with no challenge to our claim. Now, a new coven has moved into Nebraska and we want them out.”

  That seemed like a hell of a lot of land for only four vampires, but what did she know about this world?

  “Do you need all that land? I mean, you can only live in one town at a time. Couldn’t you split the townships evenly?”

  “No! It is not the towns themselves, it is the people in it that we wish to feed from. We must maintain anonymity without raising alarm bells for our community. We must follow the rules of our kind, which means never killing too many people in the one area. We must keep moving, and we cannot start sharing with vampires that could destroy our routes.”

  Jacky swallowed hard at the vehemence in their voices. It sounded like a bit of communication wouldn’t go astray, but she wasn’t saying anything of the sort. If they killed those they fed off, she didn’t want to upset them.

  “I agree with you. Maybe I can talk to Ashten and Raylock for you? Convince them that for your safety and that of your kind, things need to stay the way they’ve always been. Surely these new vamps can go somewhere else?”

  The man twisted away, speaking in inaudible tones amongst themselves.

  Finally, the younger stepped forward, his auburn curls adorable in a strange way. “You would speak for us?”

  She nodded vigorously. “Of course I would. It doesn’t sound like this other family, or whatever you called them, has any claim on your land at all.”

  Hopefully she sounded convincing, part of her agree
d with what she said. It must be hard, after so many centuries, to deal with change. Her own father couldn’t handle sleeping in past 6 a.m. after he retired, forty years of routine got to a person.

  The three men spoke together and then picked her up once again, the older one carrying her in his arms like a baby. She rolled her eyes and let her arms awkwardly fall over her legs. She didn’t even need to hold on. They wouldn’t drop her, not by accident anyway.

  “You know I’m actually very heavy.”

  He snorted at her and started running.

  She closed her eyes and squeezed her hands into tight fists. She was never getting used to this.

  Hopefully Ashten and Raylock could get her out of this, because even though she knew she’d done the first step in getting back to her mates, she also knew there may be blood shed before the night was out. There were going to be two lots of vampires and a whole lot of pissed off Peacekeepers to deal with, and if she was lucky, they’d forgive her for bringing the fight to them.

  ****

  Raylock’s heart thudded against his ribs like it was trying to escape, slamming into his lungs over and over again.

  He could barely breathe without his mate.

  Where was she? What were they doing to her? No one had seen hide nor hair of the vampires that had taken her, and corpses didn’t speak. If his brother hadn’t been so stupid, first allowing Jacky to leave their land, and then killing the only link they had to the vampires, his mate would be asleep in their bed rather that out there alone.

  “They’ve been spotted by Brad, Raylock! By the river where she was taken!” Ashten’s excited voice had him running towards the back of the lodge. It was dark now. Vampire territory.

  “What? Didn’t we check there three times already?”

  “Yes. Let’s go.”

  Fear and anger exploded through his core and his magic wove through every cell in his body as Raylock began to shift. He wasn’t losing his mate, and if that meant killing every one of those vampires, then he would.

  A growl echoed through him as the change became complete. Ashten remained human, how, Raylock wasn’t sure. He was vibrating with rage.

  How dare they take her?

  All the anger he’d been pushing down while they searched for her came flooding to the surface.

  Let’s go. Raylock communicated telepathically with his brother.

  They started running through the woods, on the very path Ashten had taken Jacky this morning. Brad ran out of the lodge and shifted, charging after them.

  I can smell the dirty blood suckers.

  “Slow down. We’re almost there.”

  Raylock forced his legs to move slower as they walked down the embankment towards the stream, Brad behind him, backing them up.

  His eyes had adjusted to the lack of light and he could see three male vampires and his precious girl standing between them. She looked unharmed, and as he drew closer his eyes did a quick assessment. No blood, no torn clothes, she didn’t look tired or bruised.

  Thank you God.

  She gave him a gentle smile and he relaxed his stance a little.

  Ashten stepped forward, as the only human in their current group, addressing the vampires. “Hello Amire. Should I ask why you have taken our mate? Or would you like to get straight down to business?” Ashten’s voice was much calmer than Raylock’s would have been, and for once he was grateful for his brother’s calm temperament.

  “When you left our talks there was no conclusion given to our plight. You have not told the new coven to leave our territories, nor have you come up with any solution that is convenient for us.”

  Ashten stepped closer to the water’s edge and Raylock stayed back, keeping his eyes on the vampires in front of them.

  Being Peacekeepers, Ashten, Brad and he were both stronger than the vampires, faster also, but the one factor that would weaken them was the fact that their mate was in the middle.

  Raylock took a steadying breath as Jacky stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her.

  “These vampires would like a decision on the land and I said I’d speak on their behalf. I know that as Peacekeepers you need to keep everything as balanced as possible, but I believe these three have a history that cannot be ignored either.”

  What the fuck?

  Ashten turned towards him and nodded, his eyes strangely wide and startled. What had happened? Had the vampires somehow entranced her? They’d heard it was possible, but as their mate they had never assumed it couldn’t happen to her.

  “Ashten?” Jacky asked, taking a step closer to the river.

  Closer to their land.

  She gave them a single wink and Raylock’s heart soared. She was still herself, she was just being a clever girl. Saving herself when they’d failed her in finding her.

  Shit… we failed her.

  That realization hit him with the weight of a thousand punches, knocking the air out of his lungs and leaving him lightheaded for a moment.

  He heard Ashten say, “We understand that. Three hundred years is a long time to have full ownership of such a large piece of land. But there are new vampires being born every day, and all of them need a place to hunt.”

  Fucking blood suckers.

  Jacky took another step towards the stream and so did they, mirroring her movement and readying themselves to grab her when they could.

  His heart began to pound louder. He’d grab her alright. And those blood suckers were dead for laying a hand on her.

  “Amire’s coven wants the rights to half of Canada and all of Alaska. I’m sure they can compromise a few towns? The eastern coast of Canada perhaps?”

  There was a strange grumble from the vampires and their eyes glowed redder.

  Easy Ashten. Just let them believe they’ve won, grab our girl, then I’ll kill them.

  Jacky pivoted on the spot, inching back towards the water once again, closer to their land… closer to safety.

  “Ashten, I’m sure they can think of some agreement, as long as you guarantee they keep the majority of the land. Do you have specific areas which are best, Amire?”

  The head vampire was looking from one man to the other, his hands clenching at his sides.

  Easy Ashten, don’t blow this.

  Ashten spoke up. “Of course. Amire’s coven will have first choice and the majority of the lands. I only ask that they help our plight in making sure these new vampires have somewhere safe to hide and hunt, and perhaps Amire can give them a roster on towns to attack, so that the young ones learn how they are to behave.”

  That’s the right tact, but why are you worrying about bartering now? They’re dead anyway. Deal null and voided.

  Jacky was at the water now, several feet away from the vampires and they suddenly realized it.

  Amire frowned at her. “Hey. Where are you going?”

  “We’re almost done so I’m just getting ready.”

  Amire growled and Jacky flinched, falling back into the water with a splash.

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  Brad, charge the vampires. Now.

  Raylock roared and charged for the vampire who was scooping up his mate from the water.

  Get Jacky! He’s mine.

  He set his teeth into the neck of Amire, tearing at the man’s throat until thick, tangy metallic blood poured between his teeth.

  Ashten grabbed Jacky as she screamed.

  Run. We’ll take care of these.

  Ashten took off onto their land and Raylock faced the other two vampires, Brad stepping up next to him. The vampires began to move around them in a predatory circle, their mouths open and fangs extended.

  Raylock stood up on his back legs and roared to the sky, his magic whirling like smoke around a fireplace. Brad twisted around so they were back to back. Ready to take them down.

  They both jumped at the same time and Raylock twisted, grabbing the one coming at him around the throat with both hands, squeezing their windpipes and dragging him to the ground.


  Disgusting blood sucker. You’ll pay for that.

  He dug in his long claws and ripped out his throat, his body going limp as someone else’s blood force drained out of him.

  A struggle continued behind him for a moment and as he turned around he watched Brad pull the vampires head from his shoulders, and toss the head into the water.

  Done.

  Raylock pushed himself to his feet and let go of the bear inside him, shifting back to human form to look down at the bloody mess at his feet.

  “It didn’t have to be like this, you stupid fools.”

  He lifted his head and nodded at his brother. “Thanks.”

  Brad shifted back and clapped him on the shoulder. “No problem. Let’s get back to our women.” And without another word they turned and ran back to their lodges.

  Hopefully Ashten had taken Jacky back to their home and put her in the shower to clean her up.

  As soon as he could, he would make sure she forgot all the things that had happened to her. Hopefully she would also forgive them for failing to protect her, the one thing they’d sworn they would do.

  Chapter 5.

  Jacky couldn’t stop shaking. Her arms trembled and her teeth chattered. No matter how tight Ashten squeezed her, the shivering would not stop.

  The door burst open and then banged shut again. She didn’t look up from her fetal position in Ashten’s lap. It had to be Raylock. Back from killing the vampires probably.

  A hysterical laugh burst forth from her lips and she hiccupped.

  Killing vampires. Since when did you think you’d ever use that to describe a normal day?

  “Is she okay? What’s happened?”

  “I didn’t know what else to do with her. She’s shaking like she’s freezing.”

  Raylock grunted. “She’s in shock. Give her to me and go run a hot bath.”

  She was moved from one set of arms to another and she didn’t fight, although she felt completely numb. So strange. She’d been brave when she’d needed to be, but now she just wanted to cry.

  “I’ve got you. You’re safe now.” Raylock’s gruff voice washed over her and she let her eyes close, her shoulders slump into his arms.