Blood at Stake (Warriors of the Krieger Book 2) Read online

  “Run!” I screamed, but it came out more as a garbled moan than a demand.

  Meadow hissed, her eyes filling with blood as she rammed Jerry, knocking him off his feet. The father produced a gun, aiming it at her head. “I will kill you. These bullets are wooden, you crazy bitch.”

  She stopped a few feet from me, but couldn’t edge any closer, because the dad pulled the hammer back on the gun, showing us that he meant business.

  “You better run humans,” she growled. I saw her hands shaking with nervousness, but I wasn’t going to point out that she was the shyest person I knew and probably wouldn’t know how to protect herself in an altercation. She was doing mighty fine holding her own at the moment.

  Both Jerry and his father scrambled to gather their things, making fast time getting into their old, brown pickup truck. As I tried to right myself, my weakened body collapsed in a heap on the ground. My beautiful dress was ruined. The bastards laughed loudly as they drove out of sight.

  “Lydia,” Meadow cried. She reached for me, pulling me to the back door by my good arm.

  “Call…my…Nachtmann,” I growled. Once she dropped me, I used my good arm to reach into my pocket for my cell phone, handing it to her.

  “Calling for help,” she said, as she dialed a number.

  “Hurry, please,” I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry. I was quickly losing blood, and I needed a replacement supply….like yesterday. I curled up on my side as best as I could with all of these damn stakes protruding from my body. Blood trickled down my neck from the bullet wound that was starting to itch.

  It was soon obvious that she’d dialed 111, our emergency hotline for all things vampire. I could strangle the little bitch. I was fine. The pain would go away if I could just dig out the bullet and pull out the stakes.

  “Yes, my name is Meadow Parks. My boss has been shot and staked at her business. It Nights, a club down by the river. Yes, ma’am. I’ll stay.” She hung up the phone and said, “They’re coming, Ms. Lydia. Hold on.”

  “You know,” I paused to take a small breath of air. “I’d be much better if you could pull this stake out of my chest and shoulder. Help me dig out the damn bullet while you are at it.” Meadow looked abashed for a moment.

  “Is it safe to do that? You may bleed out,” she argued.

  “That’s why I wanted you to call my Nacthmann,” I growled, my fangs sharp against my lip. “One of them would have fed me so I could heal.”

  “You need a hospital,” she scowled. “Can I give you some of my blood? Will it help until they get here?” She was offering me her blood, and I really needed it, but that would just be awkward. She was just a child, sort of. It was weird, taking blood from an employee. I’m fairly certain there were some rules against that like harassment or something.

  “No,” I panted, then hissed as the bullet in my neck sizzled. (Yes, I heard it!) “I think I can wait.” I frowned to myself when I heard sirens coming. Whoever she called was moving at top speed to get to us. Honestly, it was just a little wound. I’d be okay.

  “Lydia,” a familiar voice called out.

  It was him…Ashby.

  He was here for me and somehow it made me realize everything was going to be okay. Right now wasn’t the best time to get all girly over the warrior, but damn, I just wanted to let him hold me. What the hell, Lydia!

  “Over here,” Meadow called out.

  When Ashby turned the corner, shock set in, and I started to shake. The bloody tears I’d been holding back finally fell over my lids, making a warm trail down my cheeks. My teeth chattered uncontrollably as I reached a hand out for him. Ashby dropped to his knees beside me and immediately started checking my wounds.

  “Oh, doll,” he growled. “Who did this to you?” He placed his hands on the side of my face, and the worry in his eyes made me cry even harder. My vision took on a reddish hue, due to the blood in my tears. I really hated that I was crying, but given the situation I was in, all I could do was cry. It didn’t help that the warrior was showing me sympathy. He was only doing his job, but a little part of me hoped that he was doing it because he cared. Ok, I’m lying. A big part of me wished that he was doing it because he liked me.

  “H…humans,” I gasped, when the bullet sizzled again. “Please pull out the stake, Ashby. It…it hurts.”

  Bastian arrived and moved Meadow out of the way as he set down a medical bag. Opening it up, he removed gauze and tape. I groaned when I realized that this was going to hurt worse than when the damn thing went in.

  “We have an ambulance coming, Ms. Duncan,” Rowland began. “We are going to pull out the stake so that your accelerated healing can begin, but you’re going to need blood and stitches. Do you know who your maker is?”

  My heart lurched and a new round of tears began. “My maker is deceased.”

  “I’ll feed her,” Ashby blurted, to my surprise.

  “You don’t have to feed me, Ashby,” I scowled. I sure didn’t want him to put himself out.

  Ashby sat back on his heels and pulled me up to him. He turned me on my side, and I heard his flesh open as he used his fangs to bite into his own wrist. The smell of warrior blood hit my senses, and I growled with the need to feed. My predator instincts kicked into overdrive, and when his wrist appeared at my face, I struck with the speed of a snake. I felt him tense behind me, then his large body relaxed. For a split second, I felt his erection pressing at my back. He shifted to a more comfortable position, thinking I didn’t notice…but I did. Oh, boy did I ever notice! Wowza!

  “Pull the stake out, Rowland. She’d occupied with feeding,” he said, but I ignored my surroundings, because Charity was right, warrior blood was amazing.

  The moment Rowland pulled the stake out, the flow of blood trickled faster down my back. I sucked harder on Ashby’s luscious wrist, moaning embarrassingly at the flavor. Someone pressed gauze to my back, and the pain from it caused me to growl, like an injured animal giving a warning. A huge hand stroked my hair, and the calming effect shut off my sound.

  “Alright,” Ashby whispered. “Doll, you’re taking too much. I’m getting weak.”

  Immediately, I pulled away and looked at his beautiful face. He was a little pale, and I held up my weak wrist. He shook his head in denial. “Please,” I whimpered. I really didn’t want him to suffer for helping me.

  “I’ll be fine,” he smiled and stroked the side of my face, his calloused hands were rough against my skin. I nuzzled into his palm and closed my eyes, savoring his touch. “Where’s the ambulance?” He turned to Rowland who was on his cell phone.

  “E.T.A is six minutes,” he announced.

  “That’s too long. I’m taking her,” he stated, swooping me up into his strong arms. Oh, I liked that. I didn’t know if it was his strength, his blood, or a combination of both, but I had to squeeze my thighs together to keep from moaning at the idea of his strength protecting me.

  Now was still not the time to get all starry-eyed over the warrior. Even though, from my vantage point, he was even more handsome than I’d ever noticed. His scent swirled around me. The blood from the wound that had recently closed on his wrist mixed with his natural male scent, and it was driving me crazy with lust. His blood was seriously stronger than any human blood I had ever tasted upon my lips. Even stronger than my makers.

  When he reached the Krieger SUV, he used one hand to open the back and retrieve a blanket. He wrapped me up carefully and gently placed me in the passenger seat of the Krieger vehicle. The loss of his touch hurt more than the holes in my body. He used his speed and was in the driver’s seat an instant later.

  “What did they want? Other than to kill you?” he growled, so deep that the frame of the vehicle vibrated with his words. The spot between my thighs heated with the action of his anger.

  “One of them said something about a vial,” I told him, pulling the blanket around me tighter.

  “Did they want your blood?” Ashby turned toward me, just for a moment. It was th
en that I noticed the whites of his eyes had filled with blood, his fangs were making points into his bottom lip.

  “I assume so,” I frowned. “Why else would they need a vial?”

  The bullet at my neck started to burn, and I reached back to feel the hole. I hissed at the constant burning sensation, then absently scratched at the wound. It itched like an insect bite.

  “What’s wrong?” Ashby demanded.

  “It burns,” I cried, digging more at the hole in my neck. “It itches!” He didn’t say anything, but the increased speed of the SUV told me that this wasn’t good. Something was not right about this bullet in my neck.

  “Feed from me again,” he said, twisting his arm and shoving his wrist in my face.

  “I took too much before,” I shook my head, refusing to feed.

  “Do it now,” he ordered on a growl, causing my heart to clench with the need to obey his command.

  I didn’t argue, as I sank my fangs into his vein. The warmth spread across my tongue, and I greedily drank his offering. My stomach was full, and I didn’t want him to yell again. He obviously was concerned, so I did as I was told.

  I noticed the hospital was only a few blocks away when I suddenly felt the pull of death upon me. It wasn’t even close to dawn, but for some reason, I was…sleepy?

  Someone shouted my name, but it was too far away. All I really wanted to do was close my eyes.

  And so I did.

  Chapter 2

  Ashby

  Her heart stopped as if she’d fallen into her death sleep. My own heart sped to an unhealthy pace, the old organ beat at my ribs so hard it was painful.

  “Lydia,” I growled, reaching for the pulse point on her wrist. Her skin was cold, but soft. I waited several minutes, silently wishing a pulse to beat in her wrist.

  She was dead.

  “Lydia! Lydia!” I yelled into the vehicle, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me. Stopping outside the emergency entrance to Sacred Heart Hospital, I threw the SUV into park. Leaving the engine running and the blue lights and siren wailing, I pulled her into my arms from across the center console. I used my speed to get her inside and thankfully Dr. Mason met me at the nurse’s station.

  Being a vampire himself, I didn’t need to tell him that she was bleeding…or dead.

  “What the hell happened?” he demanded and rushed me toward a room.

  “Human’s staked her and shot her in the back of the neck,” I cursed. “She started complaining about the wound burning and then she just died!”

  “How long ago was she shot?” he asked, spitting off numerous questions.

  “Approximately 25 minutes,” I answered.

  “And how long ago did she die?” He reached for her pulse point and frowned when he found none.

  “About 3 minutes ago,” I answered.

  “Any wounds other than the bullet and two stake sites?”

  “None that I know of,” I cursed. “What happened to her? Why did she die? Is she going to be okay?”

  “I need you to leave,” he said, pushing me away and calling for nurses. “Do you know if her maker is available?” He quickly snapped on some latex gloves and opened a cabinet, pulling out several items he needs.

  “Her maker is dead,” I admitted. “I gave her my blood.”

  Dr. Mason paused for a moment and looked at me in surprise. Once the nurses arrived, he began to cut away her beautiful dress. When her upper thigh was exposed, I immediately gave the room my back, out of respect.

  “I’ll be out in the waiting room,” I said, as I walked away.

  Other Krieger had arrived and met me at the waiting room. Little Meadow, Lydia’s employee, was there with Rowland, his huge body standing close to her side, but they didn’t touch. She held a tissue to her eyes as she cried softly.

  The smell of Meadow’s bloody tears caused my weakened body to respond, and I bit down hard so that my fangs wouldn’t ache from the need to feed. Lydia had taken enough blood from me to take down an average vampire. The only reason why I was still standing was only because of my warrior bloodline.

  I placed my hand on the wall and held my breath. Along with the scent of bleach and other cleaners in the hospital, the smell of blood always hung in the emergency room. Dizziness and hunger gripped my body. My gut clenched, and I had to blink rapidly to keep myself upright. I was drained.

  “There is a donor area down the hall,” Bastian said, coming up beside me and taking my arm in a tight grip. “Come on.”

  “Thanks,” I mumbled and let him drag me to the Red Cross office down the way.

  Humans were paid to allow us to feed from them. Most vampires either visited the Red Cross donor center every night at dusk or kept pre-donated blood on hand in case of an emergency. We fed daily and if we were injured, we would fed until our health was restored. The blood of our maker would be like taking a magical, medical cure. Most of the older vampires do not have the luxury of having their maker around, since so many of our kind had been killed off over the decades.

  The woman behind the counter looked up as we walked in, and from her quick intake of breath, I didn’t think she received many visits from the Krieger very often.

  “Krieger,” she said, as Bastian pulled me to the counter.

  “He needs donors, now,” he demanded. The older woman immediately stood and pointed to a secluded room.

  “Take him in there, and I will gather up donors,” she scurried away, shouting orders to the other employees, before spinning around with wide eyes. “Um, how many does he need?”

  “At least four,” Bastian growled. “And they need to be here in the next two minutes or things may get messy.”

  “Yes, Krieger,” she bowed, hurrying down the hallway.

  Being a warrior, one donor would not help me in this state and somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this. My hazy brain kept trying to deny the thought of human donors, because I didn’t like the idea of human blood. I wanted a petite, auburn haired vixen to feed me. The only thing keeping me from tossing everyone aside, was that she would need me when she awoke from her death.

  “Sit here,” Bastian demanded, shoving me into a chair. “How much did she take from you?”

  “A lot,” I admitted, swaying a little in the process. “But she needed it.”

  “I see,” he huffed. “Do you think it’s a good idea to be giving citizens your warrior blood to the point that you can’t defend yourself if need be?”

  “Leave me,” I growled, refusing to answer his question. I didn’t need to justify my reasoning to him or anyone else. Lydia needed me.

  The door opened and four humans walked in, each one rushing to stand next to the nurse. I didn’t even look at their features. All I noticed was that two were men and two were women. The male sat in front of me and turned his head to the side, offering me his vein. I felt his fear, even tasted it on my parched tongue. Bastian stood close and nodded to the human who relaxed slightly.

  “Thank you, son,” I said, as a sign of respect before I struck at his vein. The blood was bland, but fulfilling. It was only a matter of seconds before Bastian wrapped his huge hand around the back of my neck. The pressure from his hold caused me to reluctantly release the human. I growled and bucked uncontrollably, trying to protect my prey. Before I could strike out against my fellow warrior, the other human male was in front of me.

  I quickly mumbled my gratitude, as I did with the first one, before taking his vein as well. The foggy haze that was over my mind finally started to lift. My reasoning of why I was here seemed a little clearer as the blood worked slowly into my system. By the time the woman reached her seat in front of me, I was calmer and more understanding.

  “Thank you, sweet child,” I said, as I took her wrist, instead of her neck. I only wanted my lips and teeth to touch one female neck, and she was currently sick, or possibly dead-dead. I had no clue.

  After the fourth feeding, I was feeling myself once again. Bastian made me sit for a few minutes after ev
eryone left the room, to give the blood time to circulate through my system. The worker talked to him quietly outside of the room, and I didn’t hear what they are saying. My mind was elsewhere.

  In fact, with my blood inside Lydia, I felt the connection Dragus had told me about. I felt her. When I closed my eyes, I could touch her soft skin with my mind, as if she was there with me. It was very strange, experiencing two different sensations. I knew my immediate surroundings.

  The other part of me was inside the room with Lydia, my presence so close that I was touching her cold skin. Her pain, or at least the pain she had felt, was mine. The burning sensations in my neck told me that they hadn’t taken out the bullet yet.

  I could feel her. Like…like she was awake…alive!

  My legs stood up on their own, and I ran for the door, almost removing it from its hinges. Bastian called my name as I passed him in a blur. The moment I stepped up to the room Lydia was being treated in, she took her first intake of breath.

  “Lydia,” I gasped.

  “Get out!” Dr. Mason demanded, but I ignored him and moved forward. The nurses were scurrying around while the doctor was preparing another sedative. The scent of her blood overwhelmed the room. The nurses and doctor wore gloves that were stained red with it as they worked over her. Even though I’d just fed, my fangs elongated to deadly points as I tasted her sweet blood in the air.

  Her beautiful emerald eyes searched the room, looking for something, or someone familiar. When her eyes found mine, the pink tears she’d had earlier returned, spilling over her lashes.

  “I still hurt,” she choked out, her eyes pleading with me to make things better.

  “Get that damn bullet out of her neck, now,” I demanded. A nurse injected morphine into Lydia’s vein, and Dr. Mason grabbed his scalpel.

  “It’ll be out shortly, Lydia,” I promised softly, her eyes never leaving my own. “Just let the medicine spread, baby, then you will be okay.”