Blood at Stake (Warriors of the Krieger Book 2) (6 page)

“Are you alright?” he asked, concern etched
in his beautifully strong face.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I want you to know.”

Closing my eyes again, I projected the
memory. My father was racing home, the horses were pushing with
everything they had to get back to town. My mother held me close to
her as we rounded a corner. The buggy lost control and flipped.

I remembered being tossed and screaming for
my father and mother. I’d become very dizzy as I felt blood seeping
out of my head. I knew that I was going to die when I looked down
and saw a piece of wood sticking through my chest, the pretty dress
was ruined. Just as I was about to lose conciseness, a figure
appeared, and I thought he was an angel.

When I awoke several nights later, I
felt…different. In a sense, I was stronger and felt more powerful
than ever. It wasn’t until the raging thirst burned my throat did I
realize something was wrong. I didn’t crave water or food. I
knew
what I had to have to sate the thirst.

I needed blood.

A man, not much older than myself, appeared
at my bedside. He was handsome and had the most amazing green eyes
I’d ever seen. His hair was dark as night, his clothes made out of
the most expensive material I’d ever seen.

“My name is Leo,” he spoke softly. “Things
are going to be confusing, my dear, but I need you to trust me. I
couldn’t leave you there to die.”

He explained to me that I was a vampire, but
I didn’t believe him at first. When he broke open his own vein, I
fed from him without question.

As the years passed, we traveled together,
sometimes even pretending to be a married couple, although we never
had sex. He was my best friend.

We only had about a hundred years together
before he was killed in front of me by a clan of stake wielding
priests in France. He gave his life to protect me, pushing me out
of harm’s way, yelling for me to run as fast as I could and never
look back. My only regret was that I did look back, right as they
drove a stake through his heart.

Chapter 6

Ashby

Bloody tears roll softly down her face as
she showed me the end of her human life. It was a strange act. I
could still see the room around me, but my mind replayed her
visions as if the memories were my own.

Unfortunately, some of those memories were
my own as well.

“
Alydian
,” I whispered, in shock.

“What did you say?” she gasped, coming back
from her visions.

“Alydian,” I said, louder this time.

“How do you know my real name?” she
demanded, standing up to put distance between us. I reached for
her, but she backed away again. “
Tell me!
”

“Leonardo Chaplain was a friend of mine.
Well, he was more of an acquaintance,” I admitted. “When we met, he
told me about you. He said that his child was his best friend and
that he’d hoped that one day he could introduce us.”

“How…when?” she struggled to speak, the
bloody tears rolled down her cheeks faster now, and all I wanted to
do was to wipe them away.

“You were on your own, about twenty years
before he was killed,” I spoke from memory. “We were in Greece at
the time when we met after a rogue vampire had entered into a
tavern he was working at one night. After the rogue was taken away,
we talked for a few hours over a bottle of wine. He spoke highly of
you, not as a lover would, but as a near and dear friend.”

“Oh, Leo…,” she collapsed back onto the
couch and hung her head in her palms.

My arms folded around her tiny body
instantly. I was just as shocked as she was at the visions and the
information she shared with me. Leonardo was a good man, never took
a life as a vampire and was always a friend to the
Krieger
.

“I was in France,” she cried. “That’s where
we reconnected and lived until his death. I’m sorry, Ashby, but I’m
just in shock. I really shouldn’t be. Leo knew a lot of people.”
She laughed at a memory.

I kissed her. Her gasp of surprise melted
into a heated embrace that reminded me that dawn was coming, and I
needed to get home. I let our lips speak for several moments, just
taking her softness and sweet scent with me until I could see her
again.

“I have to go,” I whispered, pressing my
forehead to hers. “I want to finish this conversation.”

“Me, too,” she smiled and it was genuine.
Her pouty lips curved up at the corners, causing me to place a soft
kiss to the right side, where just a hint of a dimple showed. I
couldn’t help myself.

“I’m off tomorrow,” I said, pulling my keys
from my pocket. “Can we spend some time together?”

“I’d really like that,” she smiled and stood
up from the couch to walk me out. My barely beating heart clenched
from the beauty before me. Lydia’s body sagged, and I tighten my
hold on her. She looked completely drained.

“What’s wrong?” I demanded, my voice almost
a growl.

“Visions drain me a little,” she admitted,
shyly.

“Here,” I said, pulling her toward my
throat. “Take what you need.”

“I’ll be fine until morning, really.” She
tried to pull back, but the rumble in my chest told her that I
meant business. She needed strength now.

Her tiny fangs pierced the vein in my neck.
Lydia relaxed as she sipped at my vein. The raging erection I had
wasn’t just from the sexuality of the bite, but of the woman
attached to my vein. Lifting her up, I wrapped her legs around my
waist so that she didn’t have to stand on the tips of her toes to
reach me.

“Drink, baby,” I whispered and stroked her
hair. Her tiny rumble was like a whip lassoing my heart. She was
perfect for me, and I’d be damned if I let anyone hurt her again,
like those humans had done when they tried to take her blood.

“Thank you,” she whispered, pulling back
from my neck. I captured her lips again and when our tongues
collided, I tasted my blood on her lips.

Tires on her driveway caused me to growl in
warning, protectively. Whoever was coming would face a wrath if
they were here to do her harm.

“It’s okay,” she assured me, by placing her
tiny hand on my cheek. “It’s just Raul and Harper, my
Nacthmann
.”

“I’ll be here as soon as the sun sets,” I
promised. She didn’t argue and I took that as a good sign.

After a quick talk with her protectors, I
hurried home, arriving only minutes before sunrise. The pull of
death took me under and right before I died, I
felt
her. It
was a strange feeling.

Like we were one.

Chapter 7

Lydia

As I opened my eyes, I laid in bed thinking
about the events of the night before. Ashby knew Leo, and he’d
spoken of me. How we’d come to actually meeting a hundred years
later was either crazy coincidence or pure fate. The memories were
hard to relive, but I wanted Ashby to know me…all of me. For some
reason, I felt that I
needed
to show him everything.

I rubbed at the tightness in my chest and
frowned. It just didn’t feel right. If I thought of Ashby, the
pressure lifted and replaced with it was a sense of calm. I
pictured myself caressing his hair and holding his hand. The
feeling I conjured inside felt so real, as if I was really touching
him. I could’ve sworn I felt him purr in response. The rumble was
soft, but I felt it all the way to my core.

Laughing at myself and my stupid girly
imagination, I climbed out of bed and decided to shower. I needed
to get moving, because he’d be here soon. I secretly hoped that I
wouldn’t be going to the Red Cross tonight for my feeding. After
having his blood touch my tongue, anything else would taste like
dirt.

As I undressed, my fangs ached with the need
for his blood the more I remembered the flavor. When I turned the
corner, I looked up toward the mirror and frowned at my reflection.
My mind’s observation did a quick assessment as to why I looked
different. My body was the same, but
something
was off. As I
walked closer to the mirror, I checked my reflection and didn’t see
anything out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until I raised my gaze did
I realize what was different.

My eyes are no longer the beautiful shade of
emeralds that I was born with. They were now golden. Staring back
at me, out of the mirror, was the yellow eyes of a mated
female!

“What the hell?” I gasped, talking to
myself. My hands automatically shot to my face. I leaned closer to
the mirror and opened my eyes wider as if it would make a
difference in the color.

My phone rang somewhere behind me, shrill
and demanding, but I was too stunned to move. The sound cut off,
only to begin again a few seconds later. My mind finally snapped
out of its haze, and I snatched up the phone.

“A…Ashby,” I answered.

“Did…Are...Did your eyes change?” he asked,
awe in his voice. His normally deep baritone voice was now nothing
more than a whisper.

“Are yours?” I replied, returning to the
mirror to look at myself.

“Yes, doll,” he sighed. “I’m on my way to
you. Unlock your door, I’ll be there in less than five
minutes.”

“Okay,” I swallowed hard, then hung up the
phone without even saying goodbye. I used my superhuman speed to
shower and dress in a pair of jeans and a yellow, long-sleeved
cotton shirt.

It was too soon. I shouldn’t have just woken
up, out of the blue, and been mated to a man I hardly knew. What
sick joke was this that was happening to me? How was Ashby going to
handle this? Would he even want me? Did I even want him? Yes…yes I
did. My body craved his touch and wanted him here with me at all
times. Or was that just the newness of whatever we had going
on?

Being a mate to a
Krieger
was a huge
deal. I’m talking, like royalty! Major…freaking…shit! How the hell
would I run the club? Charity had cut back at the club when she
mated Dragus. She promised that when they returned from their
honeymoon, she’d be working at least part time. We’d talked about
giving Meadow a promotion to manager, so that she could help me
out. Maybe we’d needed to have more than one manager now?

The weight on my chest lifted only seconds
before I sensed Ashby was nearby. He was coming in fast, and I
braced myself for an impact that never came. Instead, I looked up
and there he was, standing in my doorway, looking sexy as hell in
jeans that hugged his thick thighs and a blue t-shirt that rested
tight across his muscular chest and arms.

He dropped to one knee, placed his fist over
his heart and smiled. We were stunned in silence for a moment, just
taking in that we were now mated, that our eyes matched in
color.

“Come here,” he commanded with a sultry
voice. My body floated toward him. The moment we touched, a
thousand bolts of electricity seared my veins, and I melted into
his arms. The weight I’d been feeling on my chest was completely
gone, not even a hint of discomfort.

His mouth closed in on mine and as if on
autopilot, I gave myself over to him. Ashby was my mate, and I
wanted to please him…take care of him. My hands fisted in his
shirt, and I pulled it over his head, my lips seeking out his
muscular chest. His skin felt like velvet under my tongue. When I
used the flat of my tongue to slowly taste his nipple, a purr rose
out of his chest. When I looked up at him, his fangs had already
descended, the points super-sharp and dripping with need for my
blood. When I pulled my hair over to one side, in offering, Ashby
shook his head and reached for me.

“Ladies of the
Krieger
always take
first, we, as mates, take second. Always,” he purred, picking me up
in his arms. Ashby’s yellow eyes took in every inch of my face, the
softness in his gaze tonight was nothing compared to his usual
harshness.

My legs wrapped around his waist, and I felt
his erection pressing hot and hard into my sex. He smelled amazing
and I just wanted to crawl under his skin and never look back.
Ashby rubbed his face along my cheek, kissing my jaw as he marked
me with his scent.

“Feed, baby,” he demanded. My fangs ached,
as I spotted the vein in his throat. The need for his blood was
just too strong, too insistent. My body molded around his,
burrowing deeper into his embrace.

My mouth opened as I lined up with the vein
in his neck. I heard the blood flowing through his veins, a steady
hum that called to me. Ashby pressed his hand to my back and pulled
me closer to his body, as if I wasn’t molded to him enough
already.

As my fangs scratched against his skin, I
felt him sit on the bed, but I didn’t acknowledge anything that he
was doing. I trusted him to protect me when I fed.

When a vampire fed, it’s one of the most
vulnerable times for us. The animalistic side to our kind made
feeding a necessary evil that we had no control over.

When thirst strikes, it had been said that
the need was worse than a drug craving
any
human has ever
been through. Our only thoughts are on the act of feeding, to drink
as much blood as we need to survive. It was a survival instinct
that we protect what we eat. Only if I was pulled away from Ashby,
at this moment, would I fight for my prey. Interrupting a feeding
vampire would be like pulling two rabid dogs apart during a fight
to the death.

He moaned as my fangs broke through his
skin, the vein opened and blood flooded across my tongue. The warm,
rich taste coated the back of my throat as I swallowed my first
taste. More blood entered my mouth, and I felt Ashby shift on the
bed, his erection pressed into my sex. I growled in warning,
telling him to sit still. I felt his body shake with a soft
laugh.

Once I was full, I released my hold on his
vein, using my tongue to wipe away the mess I had made there. When
our newly changed eyes met, his were full of hunger. Not only for
my blood, but for my body, and I couldn’t deny him either.