Chapter 14 #2
“I don’t need to repeat myself. She was found in her bed barely conscious and weakened. I’m just glad one of the other donors found her when she had,” Ramona said.
“Is she okay? Don’t your humans take kenaf weed?
” The former healer in Dru came to the forefront.
It may be a life that she’d left behind, but it didn’t mean she’d forgotten all of her training.
Now she wished she’d woken Tomesha to assess her before she’d left.
It was common knowledge that humans who donated for the first time may have some side effects.
Either the euphoria was too great, which some could get addicted to, or their stores weren’t high enough beforehand and the donors could become anemic afterward—hence the importance of the kenaf weed.
Dru had thought the woman was sleeping soundly after the night of passion they’d shared. Her breathing had been even, her heartbeat had been slow and steady. Dru had been determined to leave, and maybe she’d misjudged Tomesha’s condition.
Now hearing what had happened, it was apparent she had.
“Of course they do. Don’t start questioning how my humans are prepared and ignore the fact that you drained her more than you should have. If you’d required additional—”
“I did not. Tomesha was perfect,” Dru growled. She didn’t even want to consider another human. The only one she wanted was Tomesha. Dru blinked at the thought. She lifted the goblet and took a small sip.
Why were these feelings so damn strong for Tomesha? It wasn’t like she was Dru’s mate.
Dru froze in place.
There was no way.
Dru hadn’t entered the draft yet and didn’t know if she had a match out there.
Was Tomesha her fated mate? Was she the one for Dru?
Was this why the blood in this damn goblet tasted sour?
She’d remembered how Lethia was unable to feed from another human once she’d met Alima.
Even when she was mortally injured, the commander refused to take blood from a donor.
“Tomesha is something special. That’s why she’d been reserved for an honored guest. Now that she’s been fed from, I can offer her out. There are other vampires who will pay me handsomely for the opportunity to feed from her.”
“How much do I have to pay to render her services completely to me?” Dru asked.
Ramona’s eyebrows shot up high again. Dru knew what she was asking. She didn’t want anyone else to feed from Tomesha. Even thinking of it had her wanting to reach for her dagger.
“While I’m here in town.”
“Well, that is a hefty cost. Tomesha is one of my prized humans. I’ll have some disappointed clients,” Ramona said.
“Send them to me, and I’ll fix them.” Dru couldn’t care less if someone would be disappointed that they couldn’t feed from her human.
She ignored the fact that she’d just claimed Tomesha as her human, but instead glared at the mistress.
Tomesha was for her, and she’d be damned if another vampire’s fangs pierced her soft, delicate flesh.
The memory of the vampire female who’d tried to take Tomesha away when she’d been presented to Dru came to mind.
She snarled at the thought of that woman touching Tomesha.
Apparently, she was already familiar with Tomesha and wanted first claim of feeding from her.
If she voiced her disapproval again while Dru was present, Dru wasn’t going to hesitate to take action.
Tomesha was hers.
“I don’t need to do that. I can handle my clients. What I want to ensure from you is that you will not kill my donor. We have a reputation here. I don’t know how the vampires are in Maine—”
“It won’t happen again. I thought I had controlled my urges, but apparently I was wrong.” The thought of causing Tomesha harm sent a wave of pain through Dru. “Increase her kenaf weed dosage.”
“Again, don’t tell me how to prepare my humans.” Ramona lifted her chalice and finished off her blood. She set the empty cup down on the table. A devious smirk came to her lips. “Now about these services you’re requesting. They come with a pretty price.”
“Money is not an issue,” Dru replied dryly.
Did the mistress seriously think money would be a problem for Dru? She was a general. A high-ranking member of their warden’s house. She didn’t care how much it would cost to have Tomesha—she’d pay.
“I didn’t think it was. Please, let’s go to my office. We can hash out the details and payment there.”
* * *
“General, I didn’t think you’d be returning so soon.” The warrior who stood guard at the inn’s entrance greeted her. He pounded his fist above his heart.
“I didn’t know I had to answer to anyone here.” It did irk her that she was returning to the inn, not having fed. The small sips of blood that she’d purchased had lacked in every way. What she needed was blood from a live source.
Tomesha’s blood.
She marched past him and entered the building.
It was a private mansion that she and her warriors had commissioned to stay in while in Butterbush.
There was a human working on a computer behind the desk.
She eyed a few of her men sitting around a table playing a game of cards.
She strode over to them, in a foul mood.
She’d signed a contract with the mistress to have exclusive rights over Tomesha while in their town.
Tomesha would be available for Dru at her beck and call.
The amount of money the mistress elicited from her should have been a crime, but Tomesha was worth every penny.
Finding out she’d almost brought harm to the human didn’t sit right with Dru.
She needed to see Tomesha for herself to confirm she was truly okay as the mistress had assured.
“Is this what we do while on a direct mission from the queen? Play games?” Dru paused by the table and eyed each of the men.
They flew from the table and stood at attention.
“General. It was only a friendly game to occupy our time,” one of the warriors said.
She eyed him and came to stand in front of him. She couldn’t remember his name. He’d been chosen by Talbot to accompany them, so he must be a trusted vampire. She’d asked him to pick his best men.
“Where is Talbot?” she asked.
“He’s out in the back. Just returned. He told us to rest for a few hours,” another one said.
Dru sniffed. She didn’t know why she was being hard on them. She nodded, motioning back to the table.
“Carry on, but be prepared for orders,” Dru said.
“Yes, General.”
The four of them pounded their fists above their hearts. She spun on her heel and stalked off down the hallway that led to the back entrance of the inn. Talbot had better have an update for her.
Since their informant had given them the possible location of the traitor, she’d wanted a group of warriors to scout out the area mentioned. If the informant had crossed her, he’d regret it dearly. She quickened her pace, wanting to speak with Talbot for his report.
She pushed through the door and found Talbot, Niles, and Orenda standing near a truck with a map spread across the hood of it.
The small parking lot provided by the inn only held the vehicles of her party.
While here on business, they had commissioned the entire inn.
The owners were paid well to accommodate the royal warriors.
Dru strode down the stairs and headed toward the group.
It was still early in the night. Dru had hoped by now she and Tomesha would have been entangled together in the sheets of her bed.
She ran her tongue over her fangs which had yet to return into her gums. The taste of Tomesha’s sweet yet nourishing blood still lingered on her tongue, as did the taste of her creamy nectar as it flowed from her slick cunt.
Dru bit back a growl. She’d have to wait another day before Tomesha was checked out by the club’s healer again.
Dru wasn’t known too much for her patience when it came to some things, but for Tomesha, she’d wait. She wanted her human to be healthy when she fed from her again. Ramona’s words came to mind.
She was found in her bed barely conscious and weakened.
Dru winced. She’d apologize to Tomesha. She never wanted to cause harm to her. Thankfully, someone had found her before it was too late. To think if she’d caused her to—
Dru cut that thought from her mind. Tomesha was fine. She’d received care and rest. She had half a mind to call her sister. Dru was sure the madam employed the best healers, but there was no one better than Zada.
“General.”
The three of them stood to attention as she arrived near them. She gave them all a nod.
“At ease. Report. What have you found?” she asked, immediately getting to business.
They relaxed. Talbot motioned to the maps they had strewn on top of the vehicle. She stood next to him and folded her arms.
If she wasn’t able to be with Tomesha on this night, she’d do the next best thing on the agenda.
Hunt a traitor.
“We’ve gained access to the most recent map and even older ones to compare. We’ve located a cottage deep in the woods where Roderick suggested.” Talbot tapped on an area of a map.
It was far from the town. Roderick had been right. If this was Sol—Solomon—he’d removed himself from the townspeople.
But why would he continue to stay in an area where a military post was? She’d have thought that if one was hiding from the king and queen, they’d remain far from military. Dru narrowed her eyes on the map.
There was a reason he was staying close by.
Dru’s suspicion was growing for the vampire. If Roderick was right and the vampire was working with the lycans, it would make perfect sense for him to take the risk to remain near the military post.
“We drove out there, but the best way for us to get close to the house would be by foot,” Niles said. The warrior glanced over at Dru. “From what I hear, not many of the locals go out to that part of the woods anymore.”
“Why?” Dru asked.
“Apparently it’s filled with traps. The owner of that cottage doesn’t want anyone to get close to his property,” Niles replied.
“And the last time the lycans attacked, guess what direction they came from?” Orenda asked. A devious glint appeared in her gaze.
“Let me guess,” Dru murmured sarcastically.
She moved forward and studied the map. It didn’t look impenetrable, but if the old vampire warrior had outfitted it with traps, it was going to be damn dangerous.
He was a vampire who’d fought by the king’s side at one time.
That made this challenge harder and more dangerous. “The lycans came from this area.”
“Bingo.” Orenda scowled.
It was no wonder Roderick was insistent that they provided protection for his boy if it was discovered that he’d ratted out the old hand of the king.
The former hand had been accused of ordering the murders of the lycan king’s children.
Just babes. Thirteen, eight, and three years old.
Only a monster would kill innocent children.
A male like that wouldn’t hesitate to harm a vampire kid.
Especially as a payback for the sins of the father.
Well, the kid would remain safe, and Dru was going to keep a promise to the queen. Either she took Solomon alive to face them, or she’d deliver his head to the royal couple.
“Well, it looks like we need to drop in for a visit, now don’t we?”