The Half-Blood Mate

Chapter Thirty-Two

I crouched down as low as I could. We couldn't be spotted yet. I needed to get a closer look inside. Finding the girl would be a little difficult without learning some of the inside landscape. Not to mention the fact of Amelia's surprise visit.

I didn't think this would be the time Clara would go through the ignition. What was Asphodel thinking when she decided to bring in new recruits? How was I going to get to that girl and keep my mate from doing something stupid without raising a lot of noise? The quick movements of someone rushing past me drew my attention. Looking in the spot Amalia was I found her gone. 

"You're going to take me to Clara Duncan right now?" 

Dammit, Amelia! Abandoning my hiding spot, I spotted her glaring into the face of some male vampire.

"Oh? You're demanding I take you to someone?" The blonde headed vampire looked bored by this whole exchange.

"Take me to her. I won't let you have her." A low growl left Amalia, which had me a little surprised.

Since when did Amelia confronted anyone? She didn't seem the type, but I guess training with her father had a lot to do with it. Not to mention the awakening of her wolf. 

The vampire tilted it's head. "You're ready to fight me for nothing huh? You do realize we aren't keeping your friend hostage."

"Clara would never want to be turned. You can't expect me to believe that." 

The nails on her fingers shifted into claws. She had advanced to partial shifts in the little time she trained with Romulus. Is that because of the blood of the Trevino bloodline or pure natural talent?

"I tell the truth." He gets into an attack position. "But if it's a fight you want, I'll be happy to help you out." 

"If that is true, what about the abduction of Colette Stone?" Stepping forward, I walked toward them. No sense in hiding I guess.

"Oh, there's two of you huh." He looked back at Amelia, clearly taking her as the main threat. "I don't know that name. This is the Rite of Entry ceremony for our newest members. You both know the humans involved join us on their own free will, so why are you barging in?"

"That's a lie!" Amelia took a step toward him, only I stopped her.  

"Jamie, show the alpha and his partner in?" The feminine voice of another came from the front door entrance. 

Jamie straightened up and turned, bending at the waist. "Yes, My Queen." 

That wasn't Asphodel's voice, so why did he call her queen?  

Jamie looked back at us from over his shoulder, and then he moved forward. I took my hand from Amelia's shoulder and began following him. So much for getting things done quietly. At least now, I could try to get some information out of these vampires. Maybe even retrieve Clara. Feeling my mate following, I grabbed a hold of her hand. I needed her to calm down. This wasn't the time to bare our fangs and claws. 

Once we were inside the mansion, a beautiful woman stood in front of us in a silver evening gown. She must really be one of the higher ups. They tend to dress as if they were royalty from the old ages. I needed to step carefully here. If my hunch is correct, she was a very strong vampire. 

"I'm called Eztli Von Stein. To what do I owe the pleasure, Alpha." She crossed her arms over her stomach. 

"You ha-" 

"Take us to Clara." Amelia's interruption brought my gaze to her. 

"How interesting. Your partner doesn't have any manners it seems." Eztli looked Amelia over. "She must be new. To not even realize the drastic situation she's in can easily get her killed."

"She has the protection of a Knight." I shot back. There was no way I was going to allow this vampire to hint at killing my mate. 

"Ah. A Knight is in my grace." She looked back at Amelia. "And it looks like this is his mate. Your presence here is shocking. I shall show you the one you ask for, but I require something in return."

"Such as?" I narrowed my eyes on the woman. She is aware of the fact that I can force my way through, but that would only lead to a lot of fighting. She must not want to try keeping us restricted. The question is why. What did she have to gain by showing us Clara, who willingly made the decision to join them? 

She zeroed her gaze upon me. "You, Knight, aren't allowed to intervene into the Rite of Entry." 

That's it? That's all she wants? "I wasn't going to do that anyway." 

"Very good. Come this way." She turned around, moving down the hallway. 

We followed her into a room. The room only held a single sofa. In front of the sofa was a viewing area similar to the highest platform of an opera house. In fact, I could hear the voices of others and the scent of blood was strong in the air. 

"There is a Clara among the new recruits." Eztli pointed to the wooden beam that marked the cut off point like a balcony. "She will be down in the ballroom."

Amelia ran forward, grabbing a hold of the balcony rim. Her body stiffened the moment she looked down. Glancing at Eztli, I found her watching through expressionless eyes. Joining Amelia, I looked down to see nothing extremely shocking. 

The vampires were in the middle of their draining process. A couple of human girls were kneeling in front of several vampires. They would most likely be drained to the point where their blood would be replaced with the venom of a vampire assigned to them. I spotted the head cheerleader, Beatrix, and Marcelle Alexander, the home ed teacher. 

I didn't have a bad interaction with either, but I didn’t particularly trust them either. After all, Marcelle Alexander did give me a fair warning about her underlyings. I had to reassure her that I held no prejudiced feelings toward the young vampires as they were still students of mine. 

"Clara," Amelia's voice brought me from my thoughts. 

Looking at her, I followed her line of sight. There she was, laying on a platform. Her eyes were closed. Beside her stood Asphodel. So this is where that woman was. Shifting besides me drew my attention.  However, I was too late because Amelia had already leaped from the balcony.

"Clara!" She fell from the air.

"Amelia!" I tried reaching for her only to miss her by inches. "I have to-" 

I had started to climb onto the balcony. Eztli's hand on my shoulder prevented me from moving forward. "You aren't allowed to intervene in the Rite, Knight."

"You can't expect me to let Amelia go down there." I snarled back. 

"While the requirement was for you not to interfere, I didn't say directly that she wasn't allowed too. I didn't know her name after all." Eztli looked down, her hold on me still there. "She's your mate, so I assumed you two were bonded through the mark. She wouldn't have been able to intervene had you marked her."

"You used your magic to bind me to your word." I growled out. "So that's why he called you a queen."

She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes. "I'm as old as time. I only bind you to your word because you Knights have a reputation of sticking your noses where they don't belong. Had I known you didn't mark her, I wouldn't have made the requirement nor showed you here."

This isn't good. I can't help Amelia. She was diving into a full scale fight and I couldn't do anything. "She's still new to this world. You have to stop this."

"She jumped in herself. Besides, the Rite is in process. Had you better taught her, this wouldn't have happened."

"As cold-hearted as ice. I never thought I'd cross paths with an ancient vampire. You realize that if she dies, I will split your throat." I lowered my feet back to the floor. 

She removed her hand. "My strength isn't what it used to be to fight an alpha, so I don't really care. I've lived for so long. But one more chance to anger a descendant of a pure werewolf bloodline is one I simply couldn't pass up." 

Looking forward, I balled my hands into fists. "You won't just have my blood after you. Amelia is a Trevino's descendant."

There was silence for a long moment. It was broken with her next words. "I see. The Trevino bloodline still lives. This just got even more interesting."