Blood & Roses: Warriors of the Krieger (24 page)

Dragus was right next to me in the next
second and tried touching my shoulder. I jerked away from his touch
because I was mad. “
Don’t you dare touch me!
” I growled,
tears springing to my eyes. I stepped back a few feet away from
him. Dragus echoed those steps, following my every move. I turned
my back and stalked off to stand in the driveway; he followed,
again.

“
Mi amor
, you need to return to the
house,” he whispered.

“I need some fresh air,
Krieger
,” I
snapped. Dragus knew that when I called him ‘
Krieger
’, I was
really mad. He stood there not speaking, but in protector mode.
Watching for any Lycans that might plan this moment too attack.

After only a few minutes, I made my way back
into my bedroom and bolted the door closed. Fat lot of good it
would do me, Dragus could get in here at any time. He still had the
key. I paced the floor in front of my bed, getting angrier with
each pass. An immediate knock on the door had me seeing red.

“Go away!” I growled. If he walked in here, I
would hit him.

“I’m sorry,” he begged. “I was out of line.
Please let me in.” Dragus spoke softly and as bad as I wanted to
stay mad at him, I couldn’t do it for long. I unlocked the door and
walked over to the plush green high back chair in the corner and
sat down. He came in on guard and he should have, because I was
eyeing the crystal vase sitting beside me on the dresser. It took
all of my willpower not to throw it at his massive head.

My eyes narrowed as he got closer and sank
down on his knees in front of me. His smile was guarded as he
placed his hands on top of mine. “
Mi amor
, please accept my
apology. I should not have scorned you in front of the others.”

“You didn’t scorn me in front of the others.
You took me right out of there, Dragus!
Then
you scorned me
in my room!” I huffed and folded my arms across my chest.

“I’m trying to understand the ways of females
in the world today, Charity. I truly am, but I was so outraged when
I felt you connect to him that I overreacted and I’m so sorry.” He
buried his face in my lap and I swear he was about to cry. Oh, I’m
such a sucker for a man that can cry. For the warrior in my lap to
shed tears, he must really be sorry.

I pulled his head up from my lap and kissed
him softly, “I know your trying, Dragus. But you cannot force me
not to use my powers.” I didn’t know what else to say, so I kissed
him again.

“You’re right, my love. I should not limit
the use of your natural abilities. You just don’t understand the
pain and frustration I feel over the one thing I can’t protect you
from. My only wish is that I had the ability to help you release
from Adam’s hold,” Dragus shook his head at the thought of not
being able to help me.

“Well,” I snapped. “You don’t. So you need to
learn to deal with what I can do. Plus, you can’t protect me from
everything.”

He gathered my hands into his and placed a
soft kiss on the back of one hand, “I’m so sorry.”

“I accept your apology. Now I am going to get
ready for bed.” I stood up and walked over to my dresser. To punish
him, I pulled out the most beautiful blue gown I owned. Serves him
right for being mean, I just hope he wishes he could touch me
tonight. Ha! Not on his life.

Dragus

When I arose about half an hour before
sunrise, I felt like a total jackass for treating Charity the way I
did. It’s very hard to control the need to protect her from
everything. Hell, even leaving her with Brock and William caused me
major pain. There are no female
Krieger
in the United States
who would give up their position to guard her. Even for the extra
money.

She allowed me to stay during the day with
her and for that I was grateful. Although I had apologized till I
was blue in the face, she wouldn’t speak to me other than what was
necessary. Charity was right. I should not get mad at her for using
her powers. Adam is a stronger telepath and can connect with her
just as well as she can connect to him. Although, his strength
keeps her from breaking any connection he may have over her during
their mind meld.

Charity was still beside me in her daily
death. I stroked the side of her face. It was cold and clammy, just
as it should be. I had to laugh, because she was wearing the most
beautiful floor length gown she owned, just to make me mad. I heard
her thoughts this morning as she was deciding what to wear to bed.
Charity was punishing me by wearing something that would make me
ache for her. That way she could make me suffer for being mean to
her. Although she was right in her punishment, I would have never
come on to her in that mood. I valued my family jewels way too
much.

Growling suddenly erupted from the forest
behind her house. The sounds of werewolves closing in rumbled
through the foundation. I jumped up out of the bed and dressed
quickly. Brock and William were staying in her guest house again. I
grabbed the phone and called Brock.

“Do you hear that?” he demanded.

“Yes, it sounds like a lot of them,” I
paused. “As soon as you can, I want you at Charity’s chamber door.
You are to take her to the estate and stay there with her.”

“Yes sir, we will be there,” Brock
thundered.

I snapped the phone shut and opened the
bedroom door. The
Nachtmann
were inside the house. They were
scurrying around upstairs barking orders at each other. I went to
the top of the stairs and called out for
Nachtmann
Keith
Pullman. He immediately met me in the shaded area in the
hallway.

“Master Dragus, we have counted about twenty
of them between the forest and the house. They look like they are
going to attack the house. I’ve called the other
Krieger
and
they will be here as soon as the sun sets.” He paused to check his
watch, “Which is in about five minutes. What do you want us to do
now?”

“Arm heavily,” I demanded. “Brock and William
will be taking Lady Charity to the
Krieger
Estate as soon as
possible. You and your men guard the house. We will take the
Lycans.”

Keith nodded and headed off back to the
kitchen. I heard the sounds of clips being loaded into their
weapons. The
Nachtmann
were not strong enough to handle hand
to hand combat with the Lycanthropes, so hopefully they had enough
ammunition to stand as back up. I stood there waiting for the sun
to finally set. It seemed like an eternity before William and Brock
met me on the stairs.

“Are you ready boss?” Brock asked.

“You know what to do,” I replied. We hurried
down the stairs to get Charity out of her home and to safety. The
same moment I opened the steel door to her room, I heard the Lycans
jumping onto the deck at the back of her house. The scraping of
their fierce claws was so loud, it sounded as if they were standing
right next to me.

Charity was still in her death sleep when we
rushed into the room. I immediately wrapped her limp body in the
comforter on the bed. I knew it wouldn’t make that big of a
difference, but I still tried to wake her.

“Charity!” I yelled, shaking her. There was
no response. I turned to William, “You’re going to have to carry
her.”

Just as William reached for Charity, I heard
her take her first breath.

Charity

Evening came with a bustle of excitement and
screams. The screams were mine and the excitement was from the
three
Krieger
in my room trying to jostle me awake. Brilliam
and Dragus were hovering over my bed protectively; their eyes
showed me nothing more than panic. Dragus was shouting orders at my
two bodyguards and it took me a second to catch on.

“Take her to the estate! Don’t stop for
anyone or anything! Protect her with your life, do you understand?”
Dragus was in full warrior mode, planning an escape for me and what
I assume was a plan for an attack on the Lycans.

“What…,” I was picked up by William and
tucked tight to his chest. I was still wearing the long silk gown I
had worn to bed, but thankfully one of them wrapped me up in the
comforter before escaping from the room. I tried again to express
my concern. “William? What’s happening?”

“Lycanthropes are trying to get into your
house from the back,” he huffed as he ran full sprint up the stairs
and out toward the living room. That’s when I heard the scratching
and growling coming from the back of the house. Heavy thuds from
the werewolf’s paws pounded the woodened deck outside the backdoor.
Fear had me turning my head into William’s chest, thinking I could
just hide from the danger lurking outside. He gave me a squeeze and
yelled into my ear, “Hold on tight, we’re going to make a run for
the car, vamp style. Lady Charity, no matter what happens you stay
tight with me. Do you understand?” I nodded, because I didn’t trust
my voice.

Brock and Dragus were right behind us when we
reached the front door. Both of them pulled handguns from the
holsters on their sides. There was no time for goodbyes and I never
got a chance to even look at Dragus before we raced to the awaiting
Hummer.

Brock was in the driver’s seat when William
threw our bodies across the back. The Hummer thundered to life and
then raced down my driveway. I heard the rocks from the driveway
ricocheting against the back end of the vehicle. William shifted
uncomfortably off the top of me and sat upright on the rear
passenger side. I tried to sit upright, but realized I had been
wrapped up like a burrito. It took a little wiggling to break free
of my restraint. I made sure the comforter stayed wrapped around
me, since I had nothing to cover my gown.

It was then that I looked out the window and
noticed the side of the road was littered with Lycanthropes. They
were prowling for a chance to attack someone or something. Just as
Brock rounded the corner to turn south on Highway 302, a werewolf
jumped onto the hood of the cruiser. Before I could properly
scream, William wrapped the seatbelt around me, holding me in
place. He reached for his gun, but immediately thought twice and
re-holstered the weapon. Brock turned the steering wheel
dangerously to the left and then to the right, desperately trying
to shake it loose from the hood. The werewolf’s lips pulled back
over his teeth. His deep growl roared over the sound of the engine.
I saw his glowing eyes stare deeply into mine and I shivered. His
long muzzle was covered with foam, like he may just be rabid. I
felt the bile rise in my throat and I had to swallow hard, to keep
from getting sick.

With one paw dug into the hood of the Hummer,
it reached out and slammed the other paw into the windshield. I
gasped as the glass cracked under the weight, but did not
shatter.

Brock continued to turn the steering wheel to
the left and right. After a half a dozen tries, the Lycan rolled
off the hood and I heard a faint squishing thud as it bounced off
the pavement.

Brock sighed heavily from the front seat,
“Lady Charity? Are you well?”

“Yes. Where’s Dragus?” I had to know if he
was following us back to the
Krieger
Estate. The thought of
him out fighting the wars, sent a flash of panic through my body. I
already knew he was far away because the pull on my chest was
tightening with each passing mile. But I hoped he wasn’t far
behind.

“He’s staying there. Don’t you worry, my
lady, he will be fine.” William said. His voice was strained and
extremely shaky.

I closed my eyes and sent him a silent
thought.
Be careful, mi amor. I love you.
The smell of his
musky scent enveloped me and I felt the faint brush of his velvet
lips against mine. The sensation of his soft lips helped me relax,
a little.

It only took Brock a few minutes to make it
too the
Krieger
Estate. There was a security gate just a few
yards up the driveway. The walls that surrounded it must have been
twelve feet tall and lined with barbwire. From the outside, it
looked like a compound, just like it sounded. Brock punched in a
code on the keypad and the gates opened inward allowing us to
proceed.

With my night vision, it was easy to see why
Dragus spoke so highly of his home. The grounds were covered in
rich green grass, even though we were still in the winter months.
Straight ahead there was the main house. Well, house would be an
understatement. It was a mansion. To the left, there were five
individual homes, each decorated differently. Almost like a woman’s
touch was added to the outside. Obviously the twins, Bastian and
Powle lived there with their mates, because they too were bonded.
On the right of the mansion was a two story apartment house that
held probably ten rooms. It reminded me of the dorm rooms on a
university.

Brock pulled around through the circle drive
at the front of the house. It took me a second to realize who was
standing there to greet us. It was a valet. A young vampire about
the age of eighteen, when he was turned, was dressed in a casual
dress coat and jeans. His white shirt was unbuttoned slightly at
the top. The valet’s buzz cut hair reminded me of a soldier, right
out of basic training.

We came to a stop next to the young vampire.
He opened the door and immediately placed his hand over his heart
and bowed, “My lady. Welcome home. My name is Kris.”

I managed a curtsy, given the comforter
wrapped around my body. “It’s very nice to meet you, Kris. My name
is Lady Charity.” As much as I was uncomfortable with my new role,
I knew I must make those around me adhere to custom.

William escorted me to the front door of the
mansion. The double doors opened into a foyer that probably put the
one at the White House to shame. A Turkish rug lay out down the
length of the hallway that had to be thirty feet long and the entry
table was obviously made of teak, it too being very long, but not
as long as the room. Pottery, which looked like it was from
someplace far away, lined the entry table. I looked up and no
surprise, there was a butler standing at attention. When our eyes
met, he bowed as in tradition. I curtsied.