Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (31 page)

“Dragus,” she whispered against my shirt.
“Before we go, I want to tell you something.”

“What is it, my love?”

“I just want you to know that,” she paused.
“I’m sorry. Sorry for being so sad. It took years for me to get
over what had been done to me. I was strong enough to let go of the
emotions and the fear that I felt, but after seeing him, it all
came back. And I’m sorry.”

I stood there shocked at her words, “You have
nothing to be sorry about, Charity. This wasn’t your fault. I do
understand the feelings you are having, love. I have seen it
hundreds of times over the years. It’s okay to be experiencing the
emotions you are now. But its most definitely not you fault.”

“I know, but it’s over now. Justice will be
served and I can finally put it behind me.” I noticed she
unconsciously rubbed her wrist whenever her thoughts went back to
that night. I reached down and took her hand; placing a soft kiss
to the inside of her wrist.

“Yes, it’s over,” I whispered.

Charity backed away and stood tall; taking a
deep breath. “Now, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

We walked slowly into the living room at her
farm house. The crew I sent over did a good job of temporarily
patching up where the back door had been busted open. Her kitchen
was still in tatters and the destroyed living room furniture had
been pushed to the far wall.

Charity took a moment to look around what’s
left of her home and sighed, “It looks better than I imagined.”

“Are you ready?” I asked pulling her thoughts
back to the matter at hand.

“Yes,” she smiled and reached up giving me a
kiss on the cheek.

“You say the word and I will be right there.
If you get scared, or if something happens, you run toward the
house. I will meet you halfway.” I grabbed her and pulled her to my
chest. She wrapped her arms around my waist as tight as she could
for a second, then she released me and walked out into the
backyard.

Charity

I stood there momentarily before I channeled
my powers to call to Adam. The night was very cool; the
temperatures had to be around forty degrees. I could see very small
amounts of snow left at the edges of my yard. For a moment I wanted
to laugh. The weatherman was wrong; we didn’t get a lot of snow
this week. Can’t they ever get the forecast right?

My senses didn’t register any of the
Krieger
who were posted at different points around my land.
They were masking themselves so that Adam wouldn’t sense them there
either. Because of this, I felt utterly alone and scared. I did,
however, sense Dragus’ strong hands holding onto the tops of my
shoulders, giving me strength.

Be safe, mi amado
. His thoughts blew
through my mind like the whisper of a slow wind.

Tonight was the night before the full moon;
the day when Adam would change into a Lycanthrope for eternity. In
my pocket I carried a small vile containing a purple liquid that
would bring him back from the pain he has suffered for far too
long; pain that I had experienced firsthand and would not wish on
my worst enemy.

I closed my eyes and centered myself. Raising
my arms out to the side, I used my telepathy to reach out for
Adam.

Adam Castillo! Come to me!
There was
no answer.
Adam, please come to me! We found a cure, but you
must come to me tonight, or it will be too late.

I felt a light buzz coming from the forest.
That annoying hum usually meant there were Lycanthropes in the
area, but I wasn’t sure. Adam was so far into his conversion that I
might be getting that from him. It never occurred to me that he
could lose his powers. Could he be so far gone that he would never
be able to connect telepathically with me?

Adam, please. I’m begging you. Come out of
the forest.

It was then I heard heavy footsteps coming
through the forest. As they got closer, I noticed that there were
more than just one set. My senses told me there were as many as
fourteen hybrids coming toward me. I took two involuntary steps
back.

Adam, or what I thought was Adam, came out of
the tree line first. His eyes glowed like a full blooded werewolf
and his body was covered mostly with fur. He remained on two legs,
but walked slightly hunched over. His left arm hung low toward the
ground, not quite dragging. Adam’s features were the same, but his
color was no longer pale white; his skin was now a dirty gray under
the hair. His hands had elongated into creepy looking claws.

“Adam?” I whispered.

He didn’t speak, but he did issue a primal
growl that had me shivering. Instead of talking to him out loud, I
tried using our shared ability.

Adam, I have the potion right here. It has
worked for the others.
I pulled out the vial from my pocket and
held it up for him to see. Adam looked at me puzzled; turning his
head left and right, like a confused animal.

Charity?
He sounded confused as he
questioned who I was.

Yes, Adam. It’s me, Charity.
I stepped
forward slowly approaching him. He also took one step forward,
closer to me. We stood there quietly for a moment. He seemed to be
testing his own memories. I saw them in his head. My face as it was
the night I kicked him out of the club. My whole profile as I
walked down from the porch of my house, the first night we met in
my yard.

After another minute, he took another step
toward me. I echoed that step with one of my own. Our game of trust
seemed to take forever before we were only a few feet apart. I
tried to hold my gasp when Adam reached out and touched the side of
my cheek with his rough claw-like hands. For a split second I felt
Dragus’ panic, before it was quickly extinguished.

I remember you.
Adam’s face lit up
once he finally recognized me. I reached up and touched the side of
his face as a gesture of trust.

I remember you too, Adam. Are you ready to
be healed?

Yes!
I saw the excitement in his eyes
as he realized what I was here for.

Holding the vial tight, I popped the top. He
slowly opened his lips and allowed me to pour the potion into his
mouth. Once the last drop fell on his tongue, I used my free hand
to close his mouth. It took a minute before he swallowed.

We stood there waiting for something to
happen. It seemed like hours had passed before he began showing the
first side effects of the witch’s brew. The hair on his arms stood
up on end and he began to shiver. His eyes clenched tight and the
next thing I knew, he flung his head back and howled so loud I
thought it would pierce my ear drums.

Adam sunk to his knees and grabbed the sides
of his head in pain. I looked out behind him and found more hybrids
coming out of the woods. After a quick count, I knew we did not
have enough of the potion for all of them. There were thirteen
hybrids standing in my yard all converging on me.

I directed all of my thoughts toward Dragus.
We don’t have enough.

I know! You need to get back in the
house!
His voice thundered in my head and I knew he was scared,
but I needed to do this.

No! Not yet! I have to help them.
I
walked forward to greet the hybrids. There were nine males and four
females standing there looking confused. One of the women stepped
forward and looked at the empty vial in my hand, then frowned. The
others bellowed out a growl that had me stepping back, preparing to
run.

About the time they started stalking toward
me, I felt Dragus come up next to me. His strong arms wrapped
around my waist and before I could gasp, we had solidified back
inside my living room. I’d never seen a vampire move that fast.

Then I heard the sounds of the guns.

“What are they doing?” I demanded. I tried to
make my way toward the kitchen so I could see what was going on in
my yard, but Dragus pulled me back. I struggled in his arms, “Let
me go!”

He refused to loosen his grip around my
waist. “They’re giving half of them the potion and the other have
the Morphine. We’re going to transport them to the hospital and let
Dr. Mason work on them. Your job here is done.”

“Then I’m going to the hospital,” I huffed.
“My job is not done, Dragus!”

Before he could protest, I was out the door
and into the Hummer with the keys I’d swiped out of his back
pocket. (Yes, I was once a pick pocket. It was a long time
ago.)

Of course, Dragus was right behind me. He
jumped in beside me and nodded for me to go.

We arrived a little later. I think he left
the indention of his fingers on the dashboard. Note to self: He
doesn’t like my driving.

Dragus was immediately on his cell phone
while I walked into the I.C.U. There was a hustle of nurses and
doctors scrambling to work on the patients who had been brought
in.

I spotted Kai and grabbed her as she went by,
“Where’s Adam?”

“Room three,” she spouted before she turned
to go into another room with a vial of potion in her hand. I
hurried over to the room and looked in through the glass windows.
Adam was lying in the hospital bed, tied down with restraints. He
had already been sedated. Two nurses worked over him diligently
tending to the few cuts that were on his arms.

I stepped in front of the sensor and the door
slid open. The nurses turned and immediately curtsied, “My
lady.”

“Leave us,” I demanded, shocked at the
authority in my voice.

They scurried out without another word and
left me alone in the room with the sedated hybrid. I took my steps
toward his bed slowly, cautiously. There was no way I was going to
rush up to him and possibly scare him. I didn’t know how long he
had been sedated.

Suddenly Meadow’s words came back to me.
Whatever you are planning, it will work.
I smiled at her
vision; it was correct. I will have to remember to tell her.
Hopefully it will help her understand that she is on the right path
to understanding her ability better.

Dragus was near; I knew this because I felt
him close behind me. I didn’t look back to see if he was standing
outside the room. Something told me he was watching my every
move.

Adam looked peaceful. At last his pain was
gone. A stray tear escaped from the corner of my eye as I
remembered the pain he had been under for the past several weeks. I
reached over and brushed a stray hair from his face and he purred
in response. Adam may or may not make it through the day, but at
least I know I did what I could to help him.

I heard the door open behind me and I knew it
was Dragus. His huge arms wrapped around me, holding on tight. He
rested his chin on my shoulder and waited for me to speak.

“Thank you for helping him,” I whispered. It
took a lot of work but I managed not to break down. All of the
events over the past few weeks had me totally exhausted.

“Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes, there’s not much more we can do here
tonight.”

With that, we made our way back to the
estate. The servants had already been in our room and had turned
the bed down for the morning. There were a couple of hours before
sunrise. Enough for us to have some time alone; something we never
seem to have enough of.

Dragus watched as I changed out of my jeans
and sweatshirt and into a pale pink gown. As I walked over to join
him on the couch, he flicked his hand out toward the fireplace. I
jumped when the logs blazed all by themselves. It was going to take
a while to get use to his powers.

He pulled me down into his lap and we watched
the fire burn for a while. Dragus seemed content with our silence.
He never pressured me to talk or even move from where we were.

Dragus

The moment my eyes flashed open this evening,
I panicked because Charity was not beside me in the bed. It took a
moment for my eyes to adjust. “Charity,” I called out.

“Over here,” she laughed.

I materialized next to her and pulled her up
into my arms, “You scared me.”

“I just got up,” she kissed my shoulder and I
relaxed. Her full lips felt warm against my bare skin. For some
reason, I was worried she had been taken. Don’t ask me why, but
that was my first thought when I came back to life this evening. If
I could die of anxiety, Charity’s safety was going to put me in an
early grave.

She was still in her gown from this morning.
Her golden curls bounced playfully around her delicate face. Many
times a day I think about getting lost in those curls that smell so
much like a fresh bouquet of roses. She is the most beautiful woman
I have ever seen throughout my long existence. I felt myself harden
as I looked her over. She chuckled when she looked down at the knot
forming in my pants.

“We have to go over to the hospital, Dragus,”
she laughed and made her way into the bathroom to shower. I
followed her, watching her move. She was so beautiful that it made
my body hard for her.

Before I thought better of it, I got inside
the shower, behind her. She gasped and spun around on me, piercing
me with a warning glare. Her expression brought me up short. I let
my own needs come before her comfort and for that I felt ashamed at
myself. “I’m sorry.”

She looked at me puzzled now, “Why are you
sorry?”

“I’m…You’re not ready. I’ll just wait until
you are done,” I whispered as I tried to step out of the shower.
She grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me back in.

“Dragus,” she whispered. “I’m fine,
really.”

“Really?” I asked a little skeptical.

She nodded and then trailed her hand down my
chest to caress my already too hard length. I flinched at her
boldness. My first thought was to push her away, but the way she
was touching me, my mind went blank. I rolled my head back as she
sunk to her knees and took me with her mouth. Her beautiful golden
eyes stared up at me as she used her tongue to test and tease me.
My hands sunk into her golden hair and she moaned in response.