Blood at Stake (Warriors of the Krieger Book 2) (8 page)

I really wished I could read his mind right
at the moment. Then I’d know what the hell was going on outside of
my room, my house.

My only saving grace was a monitor I had
installed when I bought this house. It only had two cameras, one
was outside the room and the other was on my porch. I made a mental
note to add more cameras to this damn thing, if I made it out of
here alive.

Pulling up the feed, there was no one
outside the safe room. All I could see from the front door camera
was the back end of the SUV Ashby was driving when he arrived at
the house earlier in the evening. An occasional shadow would pass
outside the range of the camera or a pair of headlights would
bounce off the porch, but other than that I had nothing to go
on.

It was a good thirty minutes that I watched
the camera. There was nothing other than flashing blue lights just
off the camera to tell me that I wasn’t alone and Ashby’s fellow
warriors had shown up to help.

A knock sounded on the door, and I reached
for the gun, hoping to hell I didn’t shoot anyone that didn’t need
to be shot. Switching over to the camera outside the door, I saw
Ashby standing there. He came up so fast that I didn’t even know he
was there, until he knocked on the metal door.

“Lydia,” Ashby said from the other side of
the door, his voice was so loud, I had no problem hearing it. I
opened the door and dropped the gun as if it had burned me. I
launched myself into his arms and began my assessment. He laughed
as I searched his body for any damage from his outing.

“You can do this every night that I come
home, mate,” he smiled when my finger traveled the circuit around
his waistband. I noticed his hardness growing in the front of his
pants, but didn’t comment on it, because I was quickly released and
pushed behind his body as someone approached.

“Rowland,” Ashy announced when the large
vampire reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Just here to check on…,” the statement hung
in the air, as the two men faced each other. At first, I was
confused as to what was going on, but I quickly caught up to speed
when Rowland voiced what he’s seeing for the first time. Ashby
allowed me just a small space to peek under his arm at the other
Krieger
.

“Wow,” he laughed, his scar looked odd
against his wide smile. His normally dark eyes were bright blue
when he smiled. “That was quick.”

“We haven’t said anything,” Ashby admitted,
quickly. He used both hands to shift me where I was dead center at
his back. His protective side was sweet, but that was uncalled for.
Rowland was his brother and shouldn’t be a threat.

“When did it happen?” Rowland asked. I tried
to remove myself from between Ashby’s shoulder blades, but
obviously that was where he wanted me to be, by the way he pushed
me back to the protective area behind him. If he didn’t let me face
the other
Krieger
, then I might just climb his back and talk
to Rowland over Ashby’s head. Despite Rowland’s interest in me, he
was still my friend. Ashby would just have to get over the fact
that I would probably be seeing the other men he worked with on a
nightly basis.

“This evening,” Ashby answered.

“We woke up like this,” I laughed at my
mate’s back.

“Hm,” Rowland said…or mumbled. Both sounded
close to a moan if you ask me. “You need to tell the queen.”

“I know,” Ashby nodded. Did I hear regret in
his voice? Did he not want me?

The stiffness in Ashby’s body signaled to me
that he may in fact have read my thoughts. I grounded my molars
together to keep from throwing a fit to rival all the ones
before.

“Thank you, Rowland,” Ashby said through his
own clenched teeth, dismissing his fellow warrior. The unspoken
dismissal of the other warrior caused a shiver to roll down my
spine. The rumble in his voice told me he wasn’t holding up very
well, standing between his brother and his mate.

Once Rowland left the confines of my
basement, I tried to walk away from Ashby, but was quickly turned
around in his strong arms.

“I don’t regret anything about what has
happened with you,” he growled, holding me tight against his
body.

“So you
can
read my mind,” I gasped.
Dammit!

“Not all of the time,” he admitted with a
heavy sigh. “Only when you are agitated. I can’t mind speak with
you. I can
feel
you though. I can feel your uncertainty, and
I will tell you now that I don’t like sensing those things from
you.”

What could I say to that? He could
feel
me, just like I felt him the other day. Like when he
was close the heaviness lifted from my chest. Like when he was
away, I felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest.

“Every mating is different,” he said,
stroking my cheek to calm my anxiety. “We just have to learn our
unique abilities as we progress.”

“Okay,” I sighed, leaning in to his chest.
“Are you going to tell me what happened out there?”

“We caught one of the humans,” he began.
“They were coming from the wooded area behind your house. When they
saw me, they all fled. The idiots left one of their own behind.
They sped away in a vehicle that didn’t have any plates on it. I
would’ve chased them, but I didn’t want to leave you here, alone
and unprotected.”

“Where is the human now?” I asked, on a
growl. I wanted to ask him what the hell he wanted from me.

“You are going nowhere
near
that
man,” Ashby protested after reading my thoughts.

“I want to see if it is one of those men
that attacked me,” I demanded, folding my arms over my chest, in
defiance. One way or another, I was going to see this human Ashby
had captured. This was my existence the humans were tangling with,
and I wouldn’t sit back and let the
Krieger
handle this
one.

“You will need to identify him,” he scowled.
“But you are not going to be in the same room as he is. You can
pick him out of a lineup.”

“Can we do that now?” I asked, leaving the
room and Ashby as I made my way for the stairs. “Because, I’m going
to the station with or without you. I want to see this human.”

Chapter 10

Ashby

Frustration wasn’t even the beginning of
what I was feeling toward my mate. She sauntered out of the room
like a model on a runway, swaying her hips as she went. My
traitorous manhood stiffened as I watched her walk away. I had to
adjust myself to keep from being in pain.

Lydia was mad, hurt, at the things she
assumed I thought. I could hear her thoughts, but only when she was
under high stress. So, if she was anxious, in pain, or scared, I
would know what was going on in her head. Also, when she was angry.
Those I didn’t like, at all. All of the other thoughts she had were
her own, not for me to know.

Rowland raised a brow as Lydia stomped past
him and jumped into the front seat of my SUV. He laughed
boisterously when she slammed the door so hard, I thought it may
crack.

“Red’s got a temper,” he chuckled.

“
Don’t
,” I growled, punching my
finger into the center of his chest. “Do
not
say a damn word
against my mate!” Blood seeped into my eyes and my fangs punched
through my gums painfully.

“Hey,” Rowland held his hands up where I
could see them. “Just making a statement.”

“We are going to the station,” I said,
clenching my hands at my side. The last thing I needed to do was to
get into an altercation with Rowland about my mate’s temper. She
was fired up enough already. If I did anything to him, she’d have
my balls in a sling before I could make the next move. They were
friends, and I needed to remember that, but I didn’t like knowing
that they were close in any way. She was my mate, and I didn’t want
her anywhere near another male…for eternity.

The ride over to the station was quiet.
Lydia didn’t speak to me, and her thoughts were silent, which I
hoped that meant she was not angry. I’d forced the issue about her
being in the same room as the human, because I panicked. The
thought of those men touching her,
hurting
her again, caused
an anger inside me that I didn’t like myself.

I was quickly becoming obsessed with her…my
mate. I never thought this day would come for me. It’d been so long
since I was privileged enough to have a woman, a female, to care
for…to call my own, that I was having a hard time not worrying
about her protection. She needed to be taken care of more now,
because she was mated to a
Krieger
. She could be targeted
because of her newfound status.

“Alydian,” I spoke her true name as we
parked. I reached out and gently touched her hand.

“Ashby,” she smiled, but quickly frowned.
The look on my face must have worried her. “What’s wrong?”

“I want you to stay at my home,” I said.
“It’s not safe for you to be alone.”

“I have my
Nacthmann
,” she paused.
“Is it really that bad that I have to go to the estate? Was Charity
right when Dragus told her that?”

“He was correct, doll,” I shivered. “One of
the
Krieger’s
mates was taken in England. She didn’t think
she needed to be protected as much as her
Krieger
had told
her. The hunters took her from a shopping mall. They delivered her
body back to the estate. The things they’d done to her were
unthinkable.”

“Oh,” she gasped. “What about the
Krieger?
What happened to him?”

“He’s better,” I sighed, heavily. “The
heartbreak was horrible for the first decade. He was sedated and
kept comfortable for a very long time. It’s been about thirty
years, but he is functioning, keeping it together enough to do his
job. But he’s not the same…never will be.”

“Oh,” she sniffled. Bloody tears glistened
in the corner of her eyes.

“The loss of a mate is said to be worse than
a stake to the heart. At least a stake to the heart will take away
the pain.” I touched her cheek and pulled her tiny body across the
console, so that I could hold her in my arms. The memory of that
night still hit too close to home.

“I understand,” she whispered. “I can
stay.”

“If you’re not ready,” I began, but she cut
me off with a tiny finger to my lips. The last thing I wanted to do
was push her. I could have trainees keep an eye on her when I was
unable to be there.

“I saw the way Dragus was with my Charity.
If it will give you peace of mind, I will stay. We just need to get
some of my things from the house,” she sighed. “Can we go there
before dawn?”

“After this, we can spend the rest of the
night moving some of your things,” I smiled. The tightened muscle
around my heart eased knowing she would be with me at my home.
Safe. Secure. And mine.

“Can we see this human now?” she asked,
changing the subject.

“Come on,” I sighed.

Lydia followed me into the station. Taryn,
our dispatcher, stood up as we entered the room. Her eyes widened
when she took in my new eye color, but didn’t mention anything. I
was grateful when she composed herself enough to address Lydia
properly.

“My lady,” she said, averting her eyes.

“Hello,” Lydia smiled.

“
Krieger
Ashby, a message came for
you from
Krieger
Dragus.” She pulled a piece of folded paper
from a file, handing it to me quickly so that she could answer the
ringing telephone.

I took the paper and unfolded it.

Krieger Ashby,

My mate and I will be returning in two
nights. I have been notified of the attack against my mate’s maker,
Lydia Duncan. Lady Charity is deeply concerned.

Please have a report for me, and on my desk,
before I arrive Tuesday.

Krieger Dragus

“Looks like Dragus and Charity are coming
home Tuesday,” I said, handing her the sheet of paper.

“She doesn’t need to worry,” Lydia sighed
and shook her head. “That child is as protective of me as I am of
her.” Lydia let out a shaky laugh and returned the note. I folded
it, sliding it into my pocket.

We took the elevator into the basement,
stopping at the first room on the right. The corridor in the
basement was quiet. Cells that housed the inmates were further down
passed the security bars that were enchanted to drain the
prisoner’s powers. Humans that were involved in vampire related
crimes were kept in a different section on the first floor, but the
only interrogation room was in the basement.

I flicked on the overhead light, and used
the knob to dim the lights, so that she could see through one-way
privacy glass.

“Stay here while I have them bring the
suspect into the room. I promise to be back very soon,” I
whispered, stoking her arm before I walked out the door. My chest
ached when I closed the door. Leaving her for any reason, any
amount of time, tore at my heart. I didn’t want to bring the human
into the room, where her beautiful eyes would fall upon his form.
She was too perfect for that man to taint Lydia’s beauty.

I found Powle in his office, working over a
file, “I need you to bring the human into the interrogation room as
soon as possible.”

“Is Ms. Lydia…,” he paused, once he looked
up from his work. His mouth fell open, and I laughed when he shook
his head a few times before continuing. “Did you know that your
eyes are yellow?”

“Yes,” I scowled.

“How the hell? Who?” I laughed as Powle
sputtered a bunch of broken sentences.

“I don’t understand how it happened, but
Lydia and I mated during the day.” Powle stood up and held out his
beefy hand.

“Congratulations, my brother,” he smiled.
“How is she handling it?”

“Much better than I thought,” I let out a
heavy breath and leaned against his desk. “Fate has a weird way of
throwing a wrench into life, doesn’t it?”