Riley’s Downfall(21)

“Eagle.”

Riley turned to see Max standing ten feet away. His tone had been commanding, making Eagle look up as well.

“Give him to Riley, Eagle.”

Riley glanced back at the grey wolf. Eagle had his eyes locked onto his mate, but his grip had tightened, his knuckles so white that they were tinged with pink. There was a wildness in Eagle’s eyes, a savageness that belied his calm exterior.

Max walked briskly over to Eagle, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Let him go, Eagle,” Max said a little more gently. “Give him to Riley.”

Riley wasn’t sure if he was the better choice. The vampire had come here seeking to drink someone’s blood. And from the red rimming his black irises, Riley instantly knew this vampire was a rogue. The vilest of creatures. A vampire who would have drained his victim until there wasn’t a drop of blood left in the victim’s body.

What if he had captured Sterling? What if this vampire had tried to drain Riley’s mate? No, Riley was not sure he was the better choice to take charge of the vampire. When it came to those Riley cared about, he had no mercy to the enemy.

Iam came running across the village, something clutched in his hand. “Put these on him and then tie him to the tree.”

Riley saw shackles dangling in Iam’s hands. “They are laced with silver. He won’t be able to dissipate. It will give you enough time to call his prince and have his leader come fetch him if you aren’t going to kill him.”

Riley had never heard of shackles that could render a vampire unable to disappear into thin air. He knew D, the vampire who had stayed with the Lakelands for months, couldn’t disperse his molecules, but that was only because the man could never get it right.

“Where did you get those?” Riley asked as Max grabbed the shackles and clamped them around the vampire’s wrists. The vampire snarled and fought, but Eagle tightened his hold.

“It is something we fashioned for vampires eons ago. Our blood is very sweet smelling to them. It calls them from miles around. We had to find a way to protect ourselves.”

Riley remembered being told that Melonee, Maverick and Cecil’s daughter, had attracted a whole score of vampires when she was younger. Riley wondered why the entire vampire rogue population wasn’t attacking this village.

“Do they come here often?” he asked Iam.

Iam nodded. “We use different herbs to ward them off. The herbs disguise our blood scent. But a few always manage to get through.”

“What else has been going on around here?” Riley asked. “Where is your healer and how did he come up missing?”

Iam turned, heading back across the village. “Interrogate me at dawn. I’m going back to bed, shifter.”

Interrogate?

Oh, Riley was getting really tired of Iam and his smart little jibes. A thought suddenly occurred to Riley as he stood there watching Iam until the man disappeared into his hut. Maybe Ahm didn’t have to search for a new leader. Maybe, just maybe, Riley could whip Iam into shape. The man had potential. He was fiercely loyal to his tribe and looked out for their well-being. The man was a pain in the ass, but Riley could see the hard-nosed determination in the fey to keep his people safe.

“What happened to the sentinels that are supposed to guard this place?” Riley asked Eagle and Max as they tied the vampire off to a tree.

“I haven’t seen any around,” Max answered as he began to dial his cell phone.

“We need to fix that,” Riley said as he waited for Max to finish his call to Prince Christian. The rogues were Christian’s problem, and Riley knew that the prince would come get this piece of shit.

“What are you saying?” Eagle asked.

“I’m saying that we need to find brave men here that have the capability inside of them and train them to guard their village. You’re a soldier. You could teach them.”

Max glanced over at Eagle and then turned his sights on Riley. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“It’s a great idea, Max,” Eagle said. “It will allow me to give these men something I have learned over the years, and it will also give me a purpose.”

Max cupped Eagle’s jaw, his eyes shining with love as he smiled at Eagle. “If that’s what you want.”

Riley looked away. All his brothers, except Bryce, had mated. What he saw between them and their mates, and what he saw between Max and Eagle, Riley yearned for deep down inside. He had just been too blind to see it until now. He wanted that closeness. He wanted that private intimacy between mates.

Riley wanted Sterling.

“Do you have this covered?” he asked the two men.