Kat Barrett [Vampire Food 07] Eternally Yours [Siren Menage & More] (pdf)

Vampire Food 7

Eternally Yours

The war with the high vampire governors is over. But Queen
Emerald "Em" Slade has been betrayed by her maker, Joel Cast.

She has been warned that he has lost his soul, and Em knows that
as long as he lives, they are all in danger.

Emerald and her mates, vampires Rory Laroche, Sylvester "Salt"

Angelicas Lancaster Trantono, and shifter Russell Cane return to
their fortress, only to discover the extent of Joel’s evil. He wants

Emerald back and is willing to do anything to get her.

Gaelic Cast is now free of his brother's controlling nature, but he is

at a loss as to what to do with that freedom. He is hopeful that he
can now become a part of Em’s life again. Together they face Joel

and his followers, but will Em’s desire for revenge cost them
everything?

Genre: Futuristic, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-
shifter, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 35,389 words

ETERNALLY YOURS

Vampire Food 7

Kat Barrett

MENAGE AND MORE

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www.SirenPublishing.com

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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage and More

ETERNALLY YOURS
Copyright © 2014 by Kat Barrett
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-292-6

First E-book Publication: March 2014

Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without
express written permission.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance
to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com

Letter to Readers

Dear Readers,

If you have purchased this copy of Eternally Yours by Kat Barrett
from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also,
thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

Regarding E-book Piracy

This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or
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The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying
readers high-quality reading entertainment.

This is Kat Barrett’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect
Ms. Barrett’s right to earn a living from her work.

Amanda Hilton, Publisher

www.SirenPublishing.com

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DEDICATION

Thanks go out to my husband, who finds other things to do as I sit

at the computer and write for hours on end. I love to write and see
what happens as the story progresses. No, I never know in advance
and even when I think I do, the story often takes a turn in a different
direction.

I would also like to thank my good friends who support and

encourage me to continue writing.

To you, my fans, I enjoy your feedback, and without you, I would

be writing for only my own amusement. Thank you.

Happy reading. I hope you enjoy it.

ETERNALLY YOURS

Vampire Food 7

KAT BARRETT

Chapter 1

Em collapsed back into Rory’s arms. He lifted her, curling her to

his chest. “Talk to me.” Now that her body was healed, Rory was very
concerned about her emotional state. Other than the events he knew
about, he had no idea what Vidar had done to her during the three
weeks she was held captive.

“I don’t want him dead. I do want him dead. Fuck, Rory. It was

bad enough to know that Joel and Gaelic would only be friends from
now on. To know that Joel betrayed me and caused me three nights of
agony is worse. He betrayed us all by giving me the names of
vampires that were traitors. Fuck, that hurt.”

He leaned his head into hers. Was she discussing emotional pain

caused by Joel or the physical pain caused by Vidar? Hopefully it was
the physical pain. The reality that she might die hadn’t been too
pleasant for him either. “I can only imagine. It was no easy task for
me to scrub your skin off either. Are you okay otherwise?”

“I’m emotionally drained and haven’t slept in three nights. My

body feels okay otherwise.” He wanted to question her further, but
this was not the proper time or place.

Gaelic gently touched her hair. “Em, I am so sorry. I never even

imagined that Joel would do something like this. He was talking like a

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madman. He said that he was going to become the new king of the
world. I have been so busy making arrangements for the attack on the
governor’s caves that I didn’t notice my own brother losing his
mind.”

She turned her head to look at Gaelic and he stroked her cheek.

“What did Vidar do to you?”

“Nothing much. He just stuck fifty or so metal sheets that had

been soaked in oil that burns under my skin and left me that way,” she
replied as if it had been a stroll in the woods.

Hopefully that was all that happened.
Em looked around the hall. “Where is Joel?”
“He took off into the tunnels. He is long gone by now.”
“Maybe, or he is waiting in the shadows to see how this is going

to play out.”

“I’m on it,” said Russell.
“No! If he is waiting, then you will be ambushed. I will not allow

that to happen. Let him go. I can always find him. I carry his blood in
my body.” She turned to Russell, and Rory saw the softness of her
gaze. “I can’t bear the idea of one of you getting hurt.”

Russell nodded. “The queen speaks.”

* * * *

She smiled at the age-old title. She didn’t feel like a queen at the

moment. She didn’t even have the energy to stand up on her own. The
blood had renewed her flesh, but she was incredibly weary. “This
place is a hell of a mess.”

Rory smiled. “Yes, it is. That’s what happens when you are

ambushed.”

Em nodded as she gazed around. This was not her fault and for

once, she was not going to feel guilt for something that someone else
did to her. How the hell was she supposed to know that Joel had given

Kat Barrett

her the names of traitors? His own brother didn’t know. Em realized
that for possibly the first time in his life, Gaelic was alone.

“I love being in your arms, Rory, but I would like to try and stand

again.”

He set her gently to the floor. Em leaned back into him, and he

wrapped his arms around her. She now had a clear vision of the
carnage around them. Sawyer and Getta were standing just past
Gaelic and she gave them a smile. “Thank you.”

Sawyer nodded, but Getta appeared truly stunned. “Are you

thanking us for giving you blood or saving your life?”

“Both. You didn’t owe me anything for sparing your brother. As

he pointed out, I abhor killing that can be avoided. I look around and
see such a waste of life. The governors needed to die because they
were never going to amend their ways. All these other people didn’t.”
She gazed around the hall. Apparently, she now had everyone’s
attention. She looked at Gaelic and shrugged. He held his hand out
graciously to her. “Unless one of your kings cares to speak, go for it.”

Em turned to Rory and he shrugged. “Go for it.”
From Russell and Salt, she received only a grin. “Would you and

Russell mind boosting me up?”

Russell took a place next to Rory, and the two men lifted her up to

their touching shoulders. Em concentrated on making her voice carry.
“I see many of you looking for information in the aftermath of your
current living arrangements. There are seven of you who have been
recommended as new leaders. How many of you are still alive?”

Em saw Blue Aqua walk from the back of the room. He was

followed by Sparrow Ink and Fellows Martin. She saw Nicca Bast
coming from another direction with Hallow Green walking beside
him. They approached, and Gaelic turned to stand beside Rory so he
was in a better position to see what was going on.

The six vampires knelt before them and Em rolled her eyes.

“Please get up.” They frowned and stood, standing loosely in a line.
“Where are Rice and Honey?”

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Blue took a step forward. “Rice was found dead the night after

you passed out the notes. Honey was killed during the battle.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Em looked out over the crowd. “These

are the five remaining vampires that were asked if they would be
interested in taking over the governors’ positions. I think in all
fairness, there should also be five humans and five shifters. Are any
of you willing to give your time to try and rebuild a better civilization
for this amazing place?

“It would be in your best interest to do a complete reorganization.

At our fortress, everyone is equal. Those who do for themselves are
better off. Those who are lazy have less. The humans allow us to take
blood to live and we help them make their lives better. Everything is
done by mutual trade and cooperation. I don’t know if that is possible
on this large a scale, but to have some of you as masters and others as
slaves goes against the basic nature of everything our ancestors fought
against. If you are not willing to pull your weight for the benefit of
everyone, then maybe you should make other living arrangements.”

Sawyer nodded in approval and started to clap. A round of

applause seemed to flow around the room, everyone looking to the
people who stood to either side of them.

A young man stood up on a chair. “Are you staying, Emerald? Do

you remember me? My mate is now with child because of you.”

She remembered him. He was one of Vidar’s choices. “If course I

do. I’m glad that your child will now have a different future. I also
have my own fortress to watch over. I think it would be a good thing
to create a better system of communication between the fortresses. I
also think that this could feasibly be a hub for other fortresses. I
would like to see the creation of smaller gardens around the country,
like the one that has been built here. These caves that once
represented a tyrannical rule should now represent equality for the
betterment of all. The technology here could be used to help
everyone.”

Kat Barrett

“Do you honestly think that can be accomplished?” asked Hallow.

“I have done some traveling and the other fortresses simply want to
be left alone. They don’t like strangers and they are not open to
outsiders.”

Em gazed around the crowd. “I know there are vampires and

shifters here from other states. I can’t imagine that you would be here
if you are not open to a new way of doing things. If each state present
could pick a representative to speak with the new council, it would be
helpful. We still need volunteers from the humans and shifters, if any
of you are interested.” Sawyer stepped up to stand beside the five
vampires. His sister joined him.

A young man and woman walked over, the man speaking. “We

are from Kansas. Our kind there are not open to change, but we are.
What about us? Can we stay here or are we on our own?”

Em looked at the existing members of council. “This can be your

first decision.”

Becka joined them. “I would like to stay, also.”
One of the young men turned to her and gave her a brilliant smile.

Em could sense the unseen sparks flying between the couple. “I can
only make suggestions. It is up to all of you what you care to do with
them.” Em grinned to offset any unintended harshness in the
comment.

Em could feel the sun coming up outside. Inside the caves was

safe, even during the daytime, but her body was so weary, she wanted
desperately to sleep. As if sensing her quickly fading energy, Rory
and Russell stepped apart and lowered her to the floor.

Russell scooped her into his arms and turned to Rory. “Is there

somewhere in here where she can get some sleep?”

He nodded and looked out over the crowd. “Hopefully vampires

and other breeds can find a way to live peacefully together. We have
in our fortress, and it is working very well. We welcome outsiders
because they often bring with them new knowledge and strength. If
you don’t mind, Em has had a few very bad nights that none of you

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can even imagine. We are going to find her a place to sleep, and we
will see you when the sun goes down again. Goodnight.”

Without saying another word, Rory turned and walked down the

hall. The idea of sleeping in Vidar’s chamber made her shiver, but it
didn’t ward off the sleep that was falling over her mind. Em closed
her eyes as they were walking, lulled by the simple, repetitive sound
of Russell’s heartbeat.

Kat Barrett

Chapter 2

Gaelic had pulled a chaise lounge against the inside of the door.

He was lying on it, trying to calm his mind. He looked again at the
bed. Rory was curled into the right side of Em, Salt to her left. Russell
had taken the form of some creature he could only associate with a
very furry bear. He was on top of Em, cloaking her body with his
own. It was a very strange arrangement but felt like a normal one in
their world.

He supposed that it didn’t matter as long as she was sleeping

peacefully.

Gaelic closed his eyes again. He had led them down to Maryann’s

old room. Obviously someone had been using it because the only
familiar piece of furniture was the oversized, round bed. Everything
else had been changed. He had to think it might be one of the
governors, because so far, no one had come to claim the space. Of
course, if they tried to open the door, they would find that a lounger
and a half-asleep vampire were blocking the entrance.

He wasn’t entirely sure if he had been welcome to stay, but he

hadn’t asked. It was partially his fault that things had gone so badly.
Well… It was his fault as far as not keeping better track of Joel.
Gaelic was well aware that his brother had been acting oddly for a
long time. He had become more reclusive after Maryann was killed. It
had been worse after Em had taken vows with her three mates. Gaelic
had thought that Joel keeping company with the female alpha shifter
Preese was a good thing. In consideration, it had probably only added
to his brother’s illusions of grandeur. Preese was an alpha with her

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own kind, but with Joel, she had practically crawled at his feet. Gaelic
had seen it, but the evidence hadn’t clicked into place.

The idea that his brother, his lifelong companion, had betrayed

them all was unfathomable.

Gaelic wondered where Joel was now. The three men that Em had

mentioned as being the traitors were nowhere to be found. Gaelic had
gone back to the main hall to leave word of those who were known to
be dangerous. The first item of business was to seal up all the
entrances from the outside, so another attack could not be instituted.
Gaelic had no idea how many vampires or shifters Joel had amassed
to his own benefit, but those who had shown up to fight were far from
the number who had responded to the call. Had Joel sent out
messengers of his own? Gaelic was very worried about that idea. Was
the fortress in New York safe? Was Em’s fortress safe? Gaelic knew
that the best way to hurt her was to take down what she had created.
He hadn’t mentioned it to her, but he intended to discuss it with Rory
as soon as he woke up.

* * * *

Russell opened his eyes to find Em was shivering beneath him. He

glanced at Rory, who had one eye cocked open sleepily.

“Wake her up.”
Russell shifted back into a human and stroked Em’s cheek. She

opened her eyes, thrashing to get away from him. Russell held her
down. “Em! Stop! You’re safe.”

Her eyes focused on him and she went slack beneath him. “Oh,

fuck.”

“Nightmare?”
“Daymare.”
He chuckled. “Okay, get particular. You need to dream of

something sweet.”

“Like what?”

Kat Barrett

“You can’t think of something sweet to dream about?”
“Not at the moment. It has been a rather crappy three weeks since

I had something nice to dream about. Want to know the fucked up
thing?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”
“I was back maybe two days in my dream. The only difference

was that it was not Vidar who was torturing me. It was Joel. My
mother said that he lost his soul. From the expression on his face
during the dream, I believe it.”

“Your mother?” asked Rory.
The memory made her smile. “Yeah. After you sent me into

unconsciousness, I saw my mother. Her and my father are dead. I
guess whoever ran the place that they were living at had a
premonition about the sonic. Those who believed him took an
overdose of sleeping pills and died before it even happened. It was
funny because she said that I have a very interesting sex life.”

Russell gave her a smile. “What did she say about Joel?”
Her entire expression crumbled into fear. “He wants to hurt me for

betraying him. Oh god. The fortress. We need to get home.”

Rory stroked her cheek. “I don’t want to give you a new daymare,

but you need to think about this. We can’t do anything until the sun
goes down. Even then, if he left right after the fight, he has a big head
start on us. There is also the time difference of when the sun rises. We
are stuck here for an extra hour in which Joel will be able to travel.”

Em nodded. There was no arguing with Rory’s reasoning. If Joel

was going after their fortress, by the time they got home, it would be
too late.

“We have to hope they can defend themselves. They have

weapons to use. We have protected the fortress as well as we could.
Unfortunately, Joel knows about the lights.”

“I know, Russell.” She closed her eyes as if resigning herself to

the reality of things. “Maybe we should put in a radio call to them?”

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“Why the hell didn’t I think of that?” asked Gaelic. He slid back

the chair and headed out of the room.

Russell shrugged at Rory.
“I guess he already thought about Joel going after our fortress.

Maybe he could have said something?”

“He’s probably worried about his own fortress, also. He is not the

enemy, Russell.”

“I know that he’s not, Rory. If anything, he was probably waiting

for one of us to wake up. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for
him right now.”

“Me neither. I didn’t have any siblings. You and Salt are actually

the best friends I have ever had. I know thousands of people, but none
of them that I would call friends or trust with my life. The three of
you are different.”

Em released a weary giggle. “I’m so touched. My men are

bonding.”

“You’re an ass, Emerald.”
She smiled. “That’s not fair, Russell. I wasn’t breaking balls. I

was being serious. I enjoy seeing how well you all get along. That
was an epiphany for Rory to speak.”

She was probably right. Rory didn’t make statements like that

often. “I feel the same way. I suppose we will have to relay this
information to Salt when he wakes up. He should know.”

“I do know, damn it. Will the three of you please go back to

sleep?”

Em turned to him and smiled. “Did we wake you, sweetie?”
“Do you really think that I can sleep with all this chatter going

on?”

“You used to be able to sleep through a bomb. My little one is

growing up.”

“Now you are definitely an ass.”
“True. That time I was breaking balls.”

Kat Barrett

Salt groaned at her and then shifted between her and Russell to

give her a lusty kiss. “I missed you. I freaked out when Rory walked
out with your body wrapped in a sheet. You need to be more careful. I
don’t think that I want to be around without you anymore.”

“Why? What has changed? Were you trying to get rid of me

before that?”

“Holy shit, you are in a mood tonight. Sorry… Today. Of course I

didn’t want to get rid of you. It just scared the hell out of me to think
that you were dead. A thousand thoughts flashed through my mind
before Rory asked for someone to give you blood. The one that stood
out was that without you, I had nothing to look forward to. It is our
life and the shit you seem to get into that keeps things interesting. It is
the joy that I get making you squirm with a cattail or the way the
sound of your screams makes me happy. You have no idea how much
I adore everything about you.”

“I think I do. I adore all three of you that much.”
The smile on Salt’s face was radiant as if her words had infused

him with sunlight. Em had that effect on people. At the very least, she
touched the three of them that way. Russell could feel the glowing
warmth of his own grin. Maybe it wasn’t that Em was actually warm,
it was just the way he thought of her. She felt that way to him at every
moment of every day. Or night. He had become a creature of the
darkness just as they were. It was rare that he even went out during
the daytime anymore.

Salt flopped back onto the bed, and Rory moved in to give her a

kiss. He began to sing a song, a very old song. “You are my
sunshine…”

Em put her finger to his lips. “I love you so much. I know how

hard it was for you to do what was viable. It wasn’t necessarily my
first choice at the moment I asked the question, but…”

“I know. Kind would have been to behead you and put you out of

pain. I just couldn’t do that.” Rory removed her finger, kissing it.

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“It was unreasonable of me to ask, but it was a question of the

moment. Like I said. Rory the wise.”

“I thought I was the movie star?”
Em chuckled at the question and then turned her eyes to Russell.

“My furry one has nothing to say?”

Before Russell could answer, Gaelic walked back into the room.

His face was streaked with the shimmering residue of tears. Em
pushed Russell onto Rory and flashed from the bed, standing in front
of Gaelic. “What happened?”

Gaelic looked to the ceiling, flexing his jaw as if having trouble

speaking. “I was on the radio with New York. I fear that your fortress
is gone. Joel enlisted the help of one of the pilots. They left here and
took one of the high-powered planes with them. They flew just ahead
of the sun. Dennis called New York to say that they were under
attack. He believed that they were heading to New York next. From
what Sammy said, Dennis screamed and the radio went dead.”

* * * *

Em couldn’t speak. She felt her men converge on her body,

Russell’s warmth at her back. Gaelic leaned his head into her chest
and Em instinctively put her arms around him. She couldn’t stop the
tears that formed in her eyes, flowing down her cheeks. “They have to
be wrong. Sammy has to be wrong.”

Rory put his hand to one shoulder and Salt to the other. There was

nothing they could do until the sun went down. Gaelic sobbed against
her chest and then pulled himself back together. “Pierre, the radio
operator here, is going to have one of the large turbo helicopters ready
for us when the sun goes down. It should get us to Connecticut in
about two hours. We can’t do anything until then.”

She nodded. How had her entire life gone from wonderful to shit

in the matter of six months? Em felt weary to the core. She was
physically and emotionally drained as if life had finished the path of

Kat Barrett

death she had been put on over five years ago. Joel had saved her
from death, only to take her heart from her chest and grind it into the
ground with his boot heel. Of course, this part of Joel’s betrayal hurt
all of them. “How can he do this to us, Gaelic?”

“I don’t know.” His voice cracked with the grief of his emotions.

“I don’t know who he is anymore. I keep wondering exactly what
events did this to him.”

Em released a sardonic laugh. Not so long ago, she and Rory had

this very discussion. The chain had started even before the sonic,
when she had the steel-reinforced shelter built in the center of her
home. If Em hadn’t lived through the sonic, none of the things that
followed would have happened.

Rory squeezed her shoulder as if hearing her thoughts. “Don’t go

there.”

“I already did.”

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Chapter 3

Em opened her eyes, feeling oddly sick to her stomach. She was

sitting between Rory and Salt, buckled into the seat with a pair of
muffs of her ears. “I’m sick.”

Rory brushed back her hair. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’m sick. If I had a human stomach, I would be

throwing up. The urge is there. Where the hell are we?”

Rory looked at his watch. “We have about half an hour left.”
“When the hell did I fall asleep? The last thing I remember was

you telling me not to go there.”

Rory grimaced.
“You picked me up and spun me, didn’t you?”
“Sorry. I saw hysteria coming, and you needed to get some sleep.

I was hoping you might feel better once you were more rested. Do
you?”

She looked in front of her and saw that Russell was sitting beside

Gaelic in the two opposing seats. Russell gave her a smile, but Gaelic
looked truly miserable. “You’re wrong, Em.”

“I’m wrong about what?”
“You are not the personal chain of events. If anyone is to blame,

it’s Joel and I. We were the ones who were smitten by you the first
time we saw you. We were the ones that seduced you and claimed
you for our own. If any action caused what followed, it was our self-
centered desires. You began this game as a pawn, who was then
turned into a queen.”

“Do you think that we still possess our souls?”

Kat Barrett

The question obviously stumped him. “Of course we do. The soul

takes time to give up the body. That is why you never change a
human who has already entered into death. You take a chance that
their soul has already separated from the flesh. Why are you asking?”

“My mother said that Joel had lost his soul. I keep remembering

that over and over. Is it possible that the emotional part of a vampire
can die, but the body stays alive?”

“I don’t know. When did you talk to your mother?”
“Last night while Rory was scrubbing my skin off to get the

poison out of my flesh. I was unconscious and I guess that I entered
that realm between life and death. My mother came to me and told me
that I still had too much to accomplish. Do you think that I betrayed
the two of you?”

He lowered his eyes. That question was obviously harder to

answer. “I can’t say that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind. If you
want the honest truth, no. You did what you had to do after we were
taken away. I can’t fault you for falling in love with Rory or Salt, or
Russell for that matter. We weren’t there at a time when you really
needed us. Events changed both of us and that is not betrayal. It is
simply life. Everyone changes.”

“Thank you.”
Gaelic had always been easier going than Joel. Em had often

thought that it was also possible that Gaelic was smarter than his
brother. It was just that Joel was more assertive. She wanted to ask
him what he planned to do but didn’t think it was the right time or
place. Gaelic would be reluctant to answer in the current company.
“At least your fortress has time to prepare.”

He nodded. “They are doing just that. The problem is that the

shifters and some of the vampires disappeared last night. I’m thinking
that Preese had something to do with that. I think that she and Joel
had this planned from the beginning.”

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“Preese?” asked Russell. “Oh fuck, and I raised her status as alpha

by giving her my seed and getting her pregnant. Her child will be
born as a high alpha.”

“Preese is pregnant? I thought Rory fucked her.”
“We both fucked her, Em.”
“Whatever. I have better things to get stressed about tonight. Just

for the record. I did not have intercourse with Vidar.” She gave them
a brief summary of what happened.

Salt tilted his head to gaze at her skeptically. “So you are saying

that he sees you masturbating, spanks you, and then lets you take a
bath?”

“Yes and no. I think that he had planned to have sex with me the

following night, after he made me happy by giving me some freedom.
Of course the traitors turned me in before then and everything went to
shit.”

Rory snorted in amusement. “Leave it to you to get the notes

passed out without ending up in bed with Vidar. Considering you
were with him almost three weeks, that is impressive.”

“I suppose, but he was acting oddly for the entire time. In

consideration, I have to wonder if he was feeling me out because Joel
had tipped him off.” She grimaced. “I lied to him to gain his trust. It’s
fucked up. As a human, I couldn’t lie for shit. As a vampire I couldn’t
even believe the words coming out of my own mouth. They flowed
like honey and were convincing as hell. It was disgusting.”

Rory grabbed her chin and turned her face to his. “That was for

Vidar. Don’t ever think you can lie to the three of us and get away
with it. We will know.”

“I have no reason to lie to you, Rory. I like sleeping with you.

You don’t make my skin crawl like he did. He got stranger than the
last time I was with him. He was distant and didn’t try any of the shit
that he tried the first time. He would bring me down to feed and then
lock me in his chambers for the rest of the night. At some point after

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sunrise, he would wander in and go to bed. I had a mission to
accomplish and couldn’t do it.”

Rory frowned. “It might not have been the lie that got you

released.”

She pursed her lips, considering it. “So you think that if Joel had

already tipped him off then Vidar released me on purpose just to see
what I would do.”

“Bingo.”
“Lovely. So I subjected myself to his shit for nothing? That idea

helps bunches.”

It was Rory’s turn to grimace. “Sorry.”
“It would have hit me eventually. The only difference would have

been if I didn’t pass out the notes, I wouldn’t have been tortured to the
brink of death.” Another thought hit her. “Tell the pilot not to land!
See if he can slow down and do a flyover. If this is a setup, then we
are walking right into it.”

Gaelic turned to the pilot and relayed the message. “He said that

he could slow down and hover over the fortress. Is that what you
want?”

“Yes.”
It was a touchy situation. If the fortress appeared fine, they would

have to figure out what to do next. Someone had made Dennis shut
the radio down, so either way, there were probably vampires in her
fortress that didn’t belong there.

* * * *

As Em had feared, the fortress appeared untouched. The houses

were bright with lights and a fire was burning in the central pit. They
didn’t see anyone sitting near the fire, which was disturbing.

“Where to now, Em?”
She shrugged. “I could use some input here.”

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“The fortress looks fine. I expected the buildings to be burned

down and the place to be a wreck.”

“I see that, Salt. It is disturbing that there is no one out by the fire.

Usually if they put it to burn, they are out enjoying it. It’s too early for
everyone to have gone to bed, and too late to think that they are inside
having a gathering. Not including the fact that someone shut down the
radio.”

“I think we should land and then go back on foot. If we can get in

unseen then we can check things out without getting caught.”

Em nodded. Rory had a good idea. “Gaelic, can you tell the pilot

that up ahead there is a clearing that should be big enough to land in?”

He nodded and relayed the message. “He sees it and is going to

set down. He is going to wait for us. If one of us isn’t back within an
hour, he will take off and report back to the caves that there is
something wrong.”

“Good thinking.”
Gaelic wiggled his eyebrows and made her smile. “How are we

doing this?”

Em looked to Rory for advice. “I think that we should all head

there and then stay out of sight. Two of us should go in and if we
don’t return within a set time then the rest of you come after us. It
would be nice if we had walkie-talkies or some such luxury, but we
don’t.”

“So who goes in?”
Rory smiled at Gaelic. “You and me. If your brother is there then

he will be less likely to kill me in front of you.”

They thumped to the ground and Russell slid the door open. Once

they were outside, Gaelic walked up to her. He dragged her into his
arms and kissed her intensely. It was different than New York. The
kiss turned her on and she couldn’t stop herself from returning it.

Gaelic released her and spun with his hands raised in surrender. “I

had to do that. I had to see if there was any difference.”

Rory looked like he wanted to choke him. “Explain.”

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He smiled, giving his eyebrows a flex. “The images that used to

be on my brother’s bed always intrigued me. I’ve restrained that part
of my nature because of Joel. It was stupid because the engraved
bedposts were his idea, but he was never into trying any of the scenes
they depicted. I am. I would love to see the three of you with Em. I
know it’s a ridiculous thing to ask and the timing couldn’t be any
worse. I just figured if I was gonna meet death tonight, I deserved the
kiss I had been thinking about giving her. For once in my life, I’m
free. I no longer feel a commitment to live by Joel’s ideals.”

Rory surprised her by chuckling. “It figures. Let’s go.”
Em had no idea what that meant. She also had no clue what she

would do with Gaelic in her bed. She had wanted it for an occasional
thing, not a full-time arrangement. Was Gaelic thinking about giving
up New York, or was something else going on in his mind?

Eternally Yours

Chapter 4

Russell said that he would catch up, which allowed the other four

to flash to the fortress. Rory was slightly angry with Gaelic, but he
was trying to understand the other man’s point of view. He wondered
what he would do if Gaelic suddenly asked to join them. Em had
obviously considered the idea. He had seen it in her eyes, but he
wasn’t sure of to what extent.

Reaching out, he took Em’s hand. She threw him a smile and then

returned to looking forward. At the speed they were traveling, it
would be a really bad idea not to pay attention to where she was
running. Rory really wanted to talk to her in private and ask her about
Gaelic. For all he knew, he might be getting worried for nothing. It
was just that if she asked, he needed to have a clear and concise
answer for her. The decision was also not completely up to him. The
others would probably look to him for advice. Even if he gave it, he
wasn’t sure of which way it would go. Hell, he wasn’t sure which way
he wanted it to go.

It might make Em happy to have Gaelic back in her life. It might

also be a nightly reminder of Joel’s betrayal. Maybe Gaelic didn’t
really want to hold that position. He had kind of hinted boldly to the
idea, but Rory wasn’t sure if he just wanted to try it with her, or have
it be a nightly ritual.

To think that he was the alpha and would be higher than Gaelic in

rank was quite intriguing, though. There was no real hierarchy
between them, but by a simple matter of time together, he was Em’s
alpha. Rory had no doubt that she could love four men. It was more a
matter of logistics. Em slowed and he followed her lead. Gaelic and

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Salt were ahead of them and almost to the fence line. Salt grabbed
Gaelic’s arm to stop him. There were clear markers for those who
knew how to spot them that marked the perimeter of the sun lights.

Em stopped, turning to look at him. “What are you thinking

about?”

“Gaelic.”
“Are you angry that he kissed me or does it go further than that?”
“Much further.”
She nodded. “Yeah. Me, too. I’m not sure what I want, and I’m

not sure what he wants either. We need time to sit down and discuss
this, and there isn’t time right now. I love you, Rory. I would never do
anything to deceive or hurt you. I lied to Vidar because I had to. I
have never lied to you.”

“I know. I guess with what has been going on I’m a little off. I

love you, too.”

“Okay.”
Rory took her hand and led her closer. Rory identified their exact

location on the fence and headed right toward the back of the
compound. Gaelic took a place at his side. “I was just wondering, has
Joel’s security system ever been dismantled?”

Rory stopped, staring at him in thought. “I didn’t think of that. I

have no idea. It hasn’t been used. It’s possible that Adrial or Holden
used some of the parts for different projects around here, but I’m not
sure.”

“I don’t think the cameras had this much range. They were only

set up to watch around the outskirts of the fortress itself. If they are
still working, we won’t be able to get in the front door without being
seen.”

Rory stopped him with a palm to his chest. He pointed to an

almost invisible tripwire and then hopped over it. Gaelic did the same.
A few steps later, Rory stopped again. He pointed to some rough-
hewn stones laid into the ground. “You have to step on the center of
the stones and do not sway your body from side to side as you walk.

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When you hit the fence, leap over it.” Gaelic nodded and went first.
Em walked over and gave Rory a very sweet kiss that relayed not only
her love, but her concern. “Please be careful.”

“I will.”
With a stroke to push back a wayward strand of her hair, Rory

headed toward the fence.

* * * *

Em turned to Salt. “What do we do now?”
“I guess we should go back and wait for Russell.”
She nodded. If they walked back to the place where they had first

arrived, they could also see the front entrance to the fortress. She
found it very unnerving that there were no sounds. The houses were
insulated, but not soundproof. If they were outside, it wasn’t unusual
to hear the sound of a child crying or yelling with glee. Tonight there
was nothing.

Salt took her hand, caressing her fingers softly. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t even been thinking about the past few

days. I haven’t had time. How did everything get so fucked up? Is this
fate’s retribution for taking down the oldest living vampires?”

“If fate was capable of retribution, don’t you think it would have

done this for us? How many vampires have the governors killed in a
quest to keep any vampire from reaching the age of three hundred and
one?”

He was right. It was one of their unwavering laws that didn’t

apply to themselves. “I guess I’m not thinking too clearly.”

He released her hand and put his arm around her shoulder, tugging

her into his side. “I wish I could do something. You seem to be
turning to Rory and Russell for everything lately.”

Em stopped, turning slightly to look at him. “I’m not purposely

excluding you. I value your opinion as much as the others. The only

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difference is that Rory and Russell are so much older than us. I’ll
make you a deal.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”
“After this is over, you and I will go running alone. If I can get

Rory and Russell to agree, they can go sleep in one of the other
chambers for a night. That way you and I can have a night to
ourselves. Okay?”

“I would really like that. I have never spent a night alone with

you. What about Gaelic?”

Em wanted to get his unbiased opinion and played stupid. “I don’t

know. What about Gaelic?”

“He made it quite obvious back at the helicopter that he wants to

spend time with you, with us. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. I feel really bad for him. I also felt the difference

in his kiss. Gaelic has come into his own for the first time in his long
life. I know he is torn up about his brother, but at the same time he is
free.”

“What do you mean?”
“Gaelic seems like he is more aloof. His appearance makes him

look like a blond-haired, light blue-eyed surfer boy without the tan. I
think in many ways, Gaelic is deeper with emotion and commitment
to family. Rose is dead and Joel had betrayed all of us. Gaelic no
longer has to worry about him. He was always in Joel’s shadow
because Joel was more commanding. Now that shadow is gone, and
he can stand on his own in the moonlight. He proved that when he
kissed me. There was no reservation as I felt up in New York.”

“Interesting synopsis. Has it every occurred to you that maybe

things aren’t that cut and dry? What if Gaelic is in on it? What if he is
playing the good cop to Joel’s bad cop?”

That was a concept she hadn’t heard in years. What if Salt was

right. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m jealous. Maybe it’s just

because I have always been more suspicious of people. I suppose it’s

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a hang-up from when I was a teenager. When you’re a fourteen-year-
old prostitute, you learn not to trust anyone.”

“I can understand that. You’re right. I didn’t even think of that,

but it is always possible. Why are you jealous?”

Salt led her over to a huge rock that had been placed as a warning

stone that a vampire was getting close to the trigger point for the sun
lights. She sat down and he hopped up beside her. “If Gaelic joins us,
I will still be low man in seniority.”

“I presume you are speaking about age. I have been with you far

longer than I was with Joel and Gaelic. Please don’t think that I love
them more than you.”

He smiled and shook his head, his beautiful brown hair

shimmering around his face in the moonlight. “I don’t. All three of us
are aware of your ability to love without favoring us. I was thinking
about age. Gaelic is so much older than me.”

“Gaelic is five years older than Rory.”
Salt looked stunned. Em knew the feeling. Gaelic looked about

seventeen or eighteen and always would.

“How old is he in human years?”
“Sixteen. In vampire years he is one hundred and seventy-seven

that makes him one hundred and ninety-three.”

“Holy shit. It is so weird to think of anyone being that old when

they are not wrinkled and ancient looking.”

“If you want to get technical, you and I are almost the same age. I

have just been a vampire a few years longer than you. You were also
older than me in human years when I turned you.”

“Yeah, by one year.”
She giggled. It was hard to believe that she had reached the big

three O. Russell ran up to them and stopped, shifting back into a man.
Salt pointed to the spot where he had put Russell’s clothing down and
he gave him a brief grin before walking over to get dressed. His
appearance gave Em a slight idea of how long Rory and Gaelic had
been gone. Shouldn’t they be back by now? “Salt, what time is it?”

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Salt looked at his watch. “It’s been fifteen minutes. Should we go

after them?”

Em looked toward the fortress and frowned. Maybe we would

have been better off going in together. “Let’s take a walk around to
the garage.”

Russell joined them and they followed the fence to the back of the

fortress. They walked cautiously toward the large gate that would
allow the vehicles to be driven out when they once ran. Em didn’t see
anyone, but that didn’t mean they weren’t inside the opening for the
garage. “I don’t like this. If things inside were fine, then they would
have come out and notified us, wouldn’t they?”

Eternally Yours

Chapter 5

Joel was lying on his bed. Rory glared at him. “Do you mind

getting your boots off my quilt?”

Joel purposely lifted his feet so they were sole down on the fabric

and twisted them so the dirt was ground into the surface. “Make your
choice, Gaelic, are you with me or are you with them?”

Rory turned to look at Gaelic. If he said he was with Joel then at

the very least, he could help them. If he meant it, then they were
screwed. Rory needed a way to warn Em not to come into the
building, but there was none. They had been escorted down to his
bedroom with swords crossed to the sides of their throats. It had been
quite obvious that any wrong move would leave him without a head.
There were now two guards at the door, and there were vampires
laying on his sofa and lounging in his chair.

“I guess I’m with you, brother. I don’t agree with you, but I have

always had your back. We are family, right?”

Gaelic walked over to sit beside his brother. “Good boy. My little

brother is forever faithful. I thought for a while there that you were
going to betray me as Emerald and her clan did. As you did, Rory.”

Rory needed to watch what words came out of his mouth. It

wouldn’t do any of them any good to end up dead. He might be able
to take a few of the vampires out, but he doubted he could kill them
all without being beheaded. “I did not betray you, Joel. Life did. Why
are you here?”

He rolled his eyes in a gesture of disgust. “You know very well

why I’m here. I want your food. I want your woman. I will have both.
Actually, I want my fortress back. Once I have you all assembled, I

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will explain. Where is the little whore with the baby vamp and the
shifter?”

A soft hand trailed through his hair and Preese stepped into view.

“So beautiful and such a nice cock. Too bad that I’m spoken for
now.”

Rory wanted to grab her by the neck and ring it. It would be his

last act in life and Rory kept his tempter in check. Never let your
enemy know that you are anything but calm and composed. “I don’t
know where she is. She was told that if we weren’t back in fifteen
minutes to return to the helicopter and go for help.” It was not the deal
and he waited to see if Gaelic would disagree. He didn’t.

Joel grabbed his brother by the hair, yanking his head backward.

“Was that the deal?”

“Yes. They didn’t want Em to be in danger.”
Joel turned his gaze to Preese. “Why are you not at your post?”
“There is nothing to see, Joel.”
Joel scowled at her. “Get back there.”
Preese rolled her eyes and sighed heavily as if it was far too much

trouble to listen to him. She turned leisurely and strolled back by
Rory, running her hand over his chest before walking out the door.
Rory wondered what entrance she was supposed to be guarding. He
wanted to know where Em was. Rory was sure that more than fifteen
minutes had passed.

* * * *

Em considered her options for a few seconds. She didn’t have a

sword and she was getting very nervous for Rory. She turned to Salt.
“Give me your sword.”

“What?”
“You heard me.” He reluctantly removed it and handed it to her.

“I want one of you to wait for a little while longer. If I don’t come
back, you go back to the helicopter and call for help. I’m not sure if

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we will get it, but… If we do, don’t forget to warn them about the
lights. Do not use the front entrance. If Joel is here, he will have
repositioned it so the path is no longer safe. I’ve been thinking about
it and he was never told of this entrance or the one at the back of the
complex. He only knows about the main one.”

“So what? You are going to charging in there alone, Em? Are you

kidding?”

“Joel wants me. The only thing he wants the two of you for is to

make sure you are dead. I’m thinking Rory is still alive because I can
still feel him. If Joel has all four of us, the three of you are fucked. He
won’t like the idea that he has enemies who are unpredictable
wandering around. It will make him nervous and that is a good thing.”

“I have a better idea,” said Salt. “Why don’t all three of us go

back to the helicopter and get help?”

“Which won’t arrive for another two hours if there is even another

turbo helicopter or jet available. What happens to Rory during that
time? If Joel thinks that I’m gone, he might kill him just because he’s
pissed off. Rory has a better chance at life with me inside with him.”

Russell shook his head. “The three of us have a better chance of

helping. For you to go in and fight alone is ridiculous. Rory wouldn’t
want you to put yourself in danger.”

He wasn’t disagreeing with her logic. He was simply trying to

stop her. She was risking her own death and her relationship with Salt
and Russell to go after Rory. “Okay. You tell me if Rory will still be
alive by the time we get help and get back here. That is providing they
come. Tell me he doesn’t have a better chance if I’m inside.”

Russell grimaced. “I don’t know.”
“I do. Joel may be fucked up, but I can still anticipate his logic.”

Em had an idea of exactly what was going to transpire if she was
captured. She wasn’t sure exactly why, but it wouldn’t be the first
premonition she had. If nothing else, she intended to put up a good
fight and lower the number of vampires that were inside. She wanted

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the three who had betrayed her dead, almost as much as she wanted
Joel dead.

“I’m sorry.” Em was over the fence and running toward the back

entrance to the garage before they could stop her. Em could only hope
they didn’t come after her.

She made it safely into the garage and tried to stay in the shadows

as she sprinted between the vehicles. When the door to the inside
opened, she ducked down, watching. Three figures came out, but they
were wearing dark clothing and hoods, yet their soft conversation told
her that none of them were Rory or Gaelic. They walked casually past
her, heading toward the opening to the outside. Em took her chance,
she leapt out of the shadows, coming down behind them as she swung
her sword and beheaded all three of them.

Em suddenly hoped they weren’t from her own fortress. What if

she had just overreacted and beheaded three of her own humans or
vampires? Em flipped back the hood from the face of the one nearest
to her. It was Andros, one of the men who had betrayed her. It was
sweet revenge. She wanted to know who the other two were and she
slid back another hood. Jace. What the hell was Jace doing with
Andros? He was one of her vampires and had lived in the fortress for
over two years. Em slipped the hood back over his face. She didn’t
have time to worry about him. Em slid the third hood down. The face
before her made her bottom lip fall open. “Holy shit.”

She lifted the head by the hair and walked into her fortress. Em

kept to the walls as she silently headed through the empty back
chamber. It had once been used by the watchers to cook food or
simply for the vampires to gather in private. Now the room was dusty
and unused. When they wanted to socialize, they went out into the
main hall with the humans. So much had changed since the sonic
bombs had been fired to level the earth.

Em turned the corner, looking down the long hallway. She could

see two men standing outside her door. That was probably where they
had Rory. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to bring the head with her.

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Why piss Joel off even more? Em walked over and stuck it in the old
refrigerator. It was no longer cold and the inside was mildewed and
smelled terrible. “Sorry.” Em shut the door.

“Em,” a voice whispered from behind her. She spun, the sword

held at head level. Em sagged. She whispered in an angry voice,
“What are you doing?”

Russell walked closer, leaning into her ear. “Salt and I made a

deal. He went. I’m here with you.”

“Russell, I love you. But…” He spun her body, making her

slightly dizzy. Four vampires were walking in from the hall, their
swords drawn. “They can smell you.”

She took a step forward ready to do battle. Joel pushed Rory

between the men. He had a thick leather collar around his neck. It was
attached to wrist shackles and then clipped to his ankles by the thick
chain that was used to tether her to the ceiling. Joel had a sword to the
side of his neck. “Go ahead, Em. Give me a reason to kill him.”

Rory mouthed the words, “Kill me first.” Em put the sword on the

table.

“Good girl. Get the shifter and bring him with us. Where the hell

is the baby?”

“Salt was sent back to the helicopter to go for help.” Em could

only hope that he had fallen back into the shadows where he couldn’t
be seen. She also hoped that he did as he was told for a change.

“Where the hell is Preese?”
Em fought to keep the grimace off her face as she was shoved

forward. Preese was currently divided between the garage floor and
the refrigerator. Em felt slightly guilty for killing her. If they got out
of this, Russell would have to sow his seed somewhere else. Why was
she not scared about what was about to be done to her? If anything,
Em was oddly resigned to her premonition.

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Chapter 6

Salt walked in small aggravated circles. He had picked up the

habit from Em. They had not returned. He and Russell had played that
stupid game of rock paper scissors and he had lost. Now he needed to
decide if he should go for help or try to go in himself.

Em was probably right. They were most likely outnumbered. He

needed a way to see into the fortress. Their room had no windows, but
the kitchen did. He growled at his own indecision. He bolted into the
forest, flashing at top speed back to the helicopter. The pilot looked at
him oddly. “Do you have a way to contact the caves?”

“Yes. We have a private connection if anyone is monitoring the

radio.”

“Can you please try?”
“What am I saying?”
“Is there another turbo vehicle available?”
“There are four of them, so if Joel took the jet then there is one jet

and one helicopter left. Why?”

Salt stopped for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. “Rory

and Gaelic went in. Em and Russell went after them. They haven’t
come back out. I think they are probably outnumbered more than we
realized. They need help.”

The pilot picked up the radio and called to see if there was anyone

on the other end. A woman answered.

“Hi, Terra, this is Jake. Can you do me a favor and get one of the

vampire five for me?”

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Terra said yes, and Jake sat back to wait. “You might as well get

in and sit down.” Salt nodded and got in, closing the door. It seemed
like an eternity passed until someone spoke into the radio.

“Jake, this is Blue, what’s up?”
Jake handed the microphone to Salt. “Blue, this is Salt. We are at

our fortress and I think it has been taken over by Joel and his
vampires. I don’t know where our humans are, but Rory, Russell, Em,
and Gaelic are inside and they haven’t come out. Em told me if she
didn’t return within fifteen minutes that I should try to get help. Can
you send help?” He sounded horribly whimpery and he was begging
into the microphone.

Blue was silent for a moment. “I can try to set something up. Do

you have any idea how many are there?”

“I don’t know. If Rory or Em couldn’t handle them I suppose

there are quite a few. They are both excellent with a sword.”

“Is there any place to land a jet?”
Salt shook his head in thought. “I don’t think so. There must be

somewhere. Joel was in a jet. Maybe on the main road. Of course if
there is already a jet there then there is no room left for another one.
There are cleared sections of highway, but I don’t know how much
room you need.”

“A little more than a helicopter. The jets land by hovering to the

ground.”

Salt was stunned to hear this. Some amazing innovations had been

accomplished in the governors’ caves. “Then there is a clear section
of highway near here.”

“I will go see what I can arrange. Hold tight. I will get back to

you.”

* * * *

Em was shoved into the room ahead of Joel. Russell and Rory

were walking behind her with double swords to their throats. She

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spun on Joel. “Cut the shit. You don’t need to keep shoving me. I can
walk. I haven’t fought you so far, have I?”

“No. But it doesn’t mean that I can trust you. Be a good girl and

go find me some rope. I also want you to chain Russell up as Rory is.”

“Why do I have to do it? You have a bunch of big burley guards

around who can manage.”

He leaned to her ear. “I have a bunch of big burly guards who are

going to rape your ass if you don’t do what you are told. Don’t be a
belligerent little shit, Emerald.”

Would Joel really go that far? She was no longer sure. Em

grabbed a collar and some restraints from the bedside drawer. Her
men had amassed quite a collection of different kinds over the years.
She walked over to Russell and he held out his hands. “Go ahead.
This is a new twist, huh?”

“Shut the fuck up!” snapped Joel.
Em gave Russell a smile, rolling her eyes. Her complete lack of

fear was unnerving. She wrapped a leather band around one wrist and
then another, synching them somewhat loosely. She put the collar
around his neck and then knelt down to do his ankles. Em purposely
put the cuffs over his pant legs, knowing it would give him extra
space to escape. Of course, all Russell had to do was shift into
something smaller and the restraints would fall off. Presumably, Joel
hadn’t thought about that. It was his own fault for not getting to know
the people who lived in her fortress.

She turned back to Joel. “What would you like me to shackle him

with?”

“Don’t play stupid, Emerald. Get another piece of chain.”
“The thick chain that you have on Rory is the one that clips into

the ceiling bolt. It is strong enough to hold me air bound and not
break if it is twisted. It is the only thick piece in this chamber. If you
would like me to go looking around the compound maybe I can find
more.”

“You are trying my patience, Emerald. Use something else.”

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Em walked over to the dresser and tugged open the drawer. She

took out a rolled strand of thin chain that had once been a dog lead, a
loop of plastic encased steel leader, and a thick piece of rope. She was
going to choose the rope, but Joel walked over and removed the
longer, heavier roll of encased wire from the drawer. “Use this.”

She took it from him and walked back to Russell. She was getting

an odd ache in her skull and had no idea why. She looked at Rory and
noticed that he had his eyes closed. Em let her shoulders hang for a
moment, trying to release the tension in her body. Rory’s voice blared
into her brain. “Em.”

“What?” she thought back.
Rory toned his volume down. “We’re fucked.”
“Considering that Salt hasn’t come blundering in yet, I have to

think that he actually went back to the helicopter to call for help. I
figured that you would be safer if I was here to create a distraction. I
wasn’t planning on Russell joining us.”

“They smelled him the minute he came in the door.”
“I know.” Em ran the wire through Russell’s wristbands and then

clipped it to the collar around his throat. Joel walked over and pushed
her aside. Em saw Russell go stiff in anger and she raised her eyes in
reprimand. He needed to keep his cool.

“Do you have any idea how many vampires are here?” she asked

into his thoughts.

“I saw at least ten if not fifteen shifters and an equal amount of

vampires on the way in. I think that there might be more strewn
between the interior rooms, plus the ones in here. Preese is also
here.”

“Yes, I know. Her body in the garage and her head is in

refrigerator.”

Em could feel the urge to laugh bubbling in his mind. The

emotion was contagious and she had to struggle to keep from
grinning. “Why did you wait for now to speak into my mind?”

Kat Barrett

“Good question. It occurred to me that if we could chat in

dreams, than why not outside of dreams. I have been trying since you
disappeared, but I think that Vidar did something to block your mind
from outside interference. Now that he is dead, I decided to try
again.”

That explained the headache. Joel grabbed her by the arm and

hauled her across the room. He had the thicker rope lying on the bed
and he ripped her shirt open, tearing it from her body. Em went to
slap him and she was grabbed from behind. Joel snatched her wrist
and began to wind the rope tightly around them, just below the
elbows. He tugged her forward, shoving the V of her lower arms
tightly around the bedpost. He then pulled the rope tight and twined it
down her wrists and over her hands. It was incredibly uncomfortable,
straining her shoulders, arms, and chest muscles. He pushed her arms
down to the height of the mattress, forcing her to bend at the waist.
Em tugged at the ropes, but they were unyielding, and she didn’t have
enough play to break them. She rolled her eyes at Joel. “Really? Isn’t
this what you disliked about what Salt was doing to me?”

Joel seemed to consider this for a moment and then shrugged.

Without a word, he walked over to the other side of the bed. Joel
returned a moment later with what looked like one of those thin
fiberglass snow markers that people would stick in their lawns before
it snowed. He flexed it and then let it fly. Em swallowed. If he hit her
with it, it was really going to hurt. Not including the fact that it might
leave strands of fiberglass in her skin. She refused to give Joel the
satisfaction of appearing nervous and she shrugged.

Joel handed it to Gaelic. “Your job is to make her ass bleed. Then

I want you to fuck her. You have always dreamed of what it would be
like, now do it.”

She could see Gaelic in her side vision and he looked mortified.

He stared at her for a moment and then looked back at his brother.
“Are you kidding me?”

“Absolutely not.”

Eternally Yours

Since when did Joel use Rory’s favorite term? Rory took note of

it, also. He spoke into her mind, “I wonder if he said that to harass
me or he didn’t realize he said it?”

“I don’t know. My question is, don’t all these idiots know that

they are following a madman?”

Rory harrumphed. “Have you no knowledge of history? How

many people over the years have been handed dreams and led down a
path of destruction by madmen?”

“Good point. I guess vampires aren’t any smarter than humans in

that respect.”

Gaelic got slowly to his feet. He walked over to Em, grimacing. “I

don’t want to do this,” he mouthed silently.

“Joel, what do you hope to accomplish? I like pain, remember?”
“I have not forgotten. I just intend to make it so agonizing and so

degrading that you lose your desires. I intend to break your vampire
imprint so I can recreate it to my way of thinking.” He strode across
the room, unzipping her jeans and ripping them down to her knees.
He made a gesture to one of the men at the door and then stood
waiting.

Gaelic was obviously hesitating because Joel moved to the back

of her body and began to rapidly whip the pole into the cheeks of her
ass. The pain was incredible, each hit jarring her forward to strain her
arms against the bedpost. It stopped and she saw Joel’s booted feet
walk beneath her bent head. He was back a moment later. He wedged
a cold, half-round slab of metal between her already strained upper
arms and under her chin. It dug into her chest as he lifted her head
with it and strapped it tightly around her skull. The metal forced her
to look in front of her, not allowing her to lower her gaze or turn away
from the ten or so vampires and shifters that now stood in the room.
In her side vision, she could see Rory and Russell. Joel had brought
two female shifters in and they were kneeling before her men. Joel
walked back over, shifting her head slightly by moving the brace. Em
now had a clear view of her audience and of her mates. Joel leaned

Kat Barrett

before her with a needle and thread between his fingers. “If you try to
close your eyes, I will sew them open. Understand me, Emerald?”

She wanted to spit in his face. She understood him very well and

had no doubt that he would do it. “Yes.”

“Good, now take your punishment like a good little girl and

scream nice for those who want to hear it.” Joel stood. “Well, Gaelic?
You need to get your priorities straight. Are you going to do what you
are told or not?”

He hesitated for only a moment longer and then cracked the

fiberglass across her ass. The strike was much gentler than what Joel
had done, but it hurt nonetheless. She cried out, despite her desire not
to. Her premonition had prepared her, but not to this extent.

Eternally Yours

Chapter 7

Gaelic watched her skin turning redder with each hit. Welts were

forming on her flesh, bright red and puffy. He could tell from the look
on Joel’s face that he wasn’t hitting her hard enough. He didn’t want
Joel to take the whip away from him again. For one reason because he
didn’t want Joel to see how fast she was healing. If he didn’t
centralize his strikes and hit her repeatedly in a single place, there was
no chance of getting her blood to flow. Gaelic ground his teeth and hit
her harder. Em was jarred forward and inwardly he winced with her.
She was crying out from the force of each blow, the flexible crop
digging into her skin.

This was not what Gaelic wanted. He wanted to torment her and

make her moan with pleasure. There was no pleasure in this act and as
her flesh began to bleed, Gaelic wanted to throw the cane across the
room and ring Joel’s neck. Joel grinned in approval. “Well done, little
brother. Now take your cock out of your pants and fuck her. Make it
hard and visible so her mates can watch. I am king and you are my
prince. They should be shown this through your actions.”

How the hell was fucking Em going to do anything but piss them

off? A man did not show his strength by beating or raping a woman.
He feared what Em was thinking of him. He had told her the truth
before they had arrived. He no longer wanted to be under Joel’s rule.
At the moment, Joel was in control and he was better off to be on his
brother’s side rather than against him. When the shit hit the fan, Joel
would find out just how much his little brother now disliked him.
Fuck family. He had given his life in support of his family. Joel’s
desires had changed. Well, so had Gaelic’s.

Kat Barrett

He unzipped his jeans, smiling as Joel turned his back to him to

watch what the women were doing. Gaelic ran a cool soothing palm
over Em’s skin. The soft touch made her shiver and he could only
hope that it relayed his point of view. He palmed his cock in such a
way that he could slip in a few gentle strokes to her clit before
entering her. Em always enjoyed her clit being touched or caressed.
He ran his finger over the opening of her pussy, feeling that the skin
was wet and quivering with desire. Obviously the pain had not been
as bad as he assumed. Of course, compared to what Vidar had done to
her, the caning that Gaelic had just given her was nothing. He pushed
slowly into her pussy, the muscles grabbing at his dick. Was it really
possible that she was enjoying this?

Gaelic suddenly had a desire to make it good for her. Joel had not

been around when Salt had showed him how to flash and he didn’t
know how much Em enjoyed it. From Joel’s perspective, it would
look fast hard and probably painful. He centered his body, keeping his
thrust short as he began to move his hips. He built speed slowly and
caught Joel’s attention.

“Ah yes. I have been told that you do that now. The human Misty

expressed to me how painful it was. She begged me to tell you never
to fuck her like that again. What a brilliant choice on your part.”

Gaelic grinned and he caught the stunned expression on Joel’s

face. Rory knew exactly what he was doing and he nodded in an
almost unperceivable gesture. Em was crying out as if he was putting
her in agony. In direct contrast to the noises she was making, he could
feel the interior of her pussy getting wetter and warmer. Her cunt
muscles were throbbing and snatching at his dick, the feel of her
amazing. A human woman would often feel too hot around his cold
cock. Em was different, her warmth was slight and it was only the
friction of flesh against flesh that was raising her temperature. This
was what he wanted, the woman who gave him everything during sex.
The Em who enjoyed it fully and completely was now in his grasp.
She had disconnected her mind from her surroundings and he was

Eternally Yours

taking her into an oblivion that blocked out everything unpleasant. He
flashed faster, suddenly discovering a coordination that he didn’t
know he possessed. To flash during a run and to flash just his hips and
his dick were two completely different things. Her pussy was so tight
and so wet, his cock sliding in and out as her body convulsed around
him. Em screamed, her cunt clamping around him and making it
difficult to move. Her inner muscles were pulsing, massaging his dick
to draw from him the life fluid that had caused it to swell with desire.
Gaelic grabbed her hips, holding her, slowing his movements.

Em was shaking and sobbing loudly. Her ass was almost healed.

He had a feeling that the show of emotion was for Joel’s sake. Her
pussy was not echoing her grief. She was probably upset about being
fucked in front of Joel’s vampires. The fact that he had been doing the
fucking had probably made it easier. Was she upset because Rory and
Russell had women sucking on their dicks? Gaelic could see by the
bored expression on both their faces that neither of them was finding
it particularly invigorating.

Gaelic glanced casually at his watch. They had managed to waste

three quarters of an hour. He stepped back from Em, tugging up his
jeans. “Now what, Joel?”

“I’m hungry. Go get me one of the humans to feed from. I want

someone old and female so I don’t feel bad when I drain her.”

Gaelic hesitated. To have Em be forced to witness one of her

friends as they were drained would be intolerable for her. With
everything that had happened to her, that one thing would break her
heart.

“Go!” Joel demanded.
Gaelic could see the horror in Em’s eyes. He turned and walked

from the room, heading down the hall and then stopping to look at the
fifteen vampires and shifters who were left in the main gathering area.
If nothing else, it was a good time to gather some information. “My
brother wants a count of who is here. Has anyone else arrived?”

Kat Barrett

Paul rose from his chair. “No. There are just us and the ones Joel

called for earlier. Can we go to bed? There is no protection out here
when the sun comes up.”

“I don’t think Joel wants anyone but those he has already called.”

It was a dangerous lie, but he knew many of those who were gathered.
They were unreliable and lazy. They were men and women looking
for an easy road in life. To take up sides with Joel had probably
seemed like the easiest path to follow. If he could cast doubt, there
was a good chance they would take off into the night and disappear
before it was too late to do so. “I guess you get to sleep out here in the
cubicles. Where are the humans? He wants me to bring back one so
he can drain them.”

Paul shrugged. “What’s left of them is in the kitchen. We already

had a feast.”

“Whatever. Have a good time sleeping on the hard floor while the

rest of my brother’s lackeys are sleeping on soft beds.”

Gaelic braced himself and walked into the kitchen. The room

looked like a slaughterhouse. Those who were left were huddled in
the corner. “Oh my god. What the hell did they do?”

Ruth staggered up to him, sinking to her knees at his feet.
“Gaelic, spare us, please. They killed them. Please tell me that you

have defeated them and they are gone. Are we all going to die?”

He had no idea what to say. These people had once been their

friends. They were still Em’s friends and to see them as they were
now disgusted him. How the hell could anyone do this to these sweet
people? Now he had to choose another one of them to die. If he
didn’t, Joel would know that he was lying. Gaelic searched for Billy
and saw him lying on the floor. His skin was gray with death.
“Where’s your child, Ruth?”

She began to sob. “They took her and killed her. I can never have

another, Gaelic. I’ve gotten too old. What am I to do without them?”

Gaelic looked down at her grief-stricken face. He gazed at the

others still cuddled together in the corner. If help were on the way,

Eternally Yours

they would be safe within a few hours. If no one was coming, than he
might be a determining factor as to if they ever had a future. He put
his hand out to Ruth and helped her up. “Come with me, please.”
Gaelic did not want to do this. It sent an ache into his chest so
intolerable that he wanted only to help them. He had once thought
nothing of draining a human and now his heart went out to this poor
woman. His only solace was that she would no longer be in emotional
pain. It would all end with her death.

Gaelic led her out into the main hall and stopped. The outside

door was open and the room was empty. They had all turned tail and
ran. He stopped Ruth, looking her in the eyes and knowing that it
might be a mistake. “You need to listen to me because if you don’t,
you are all going to die. Go back and get everyone. Run with them as
fast as you can. Don’t hesitate for even a second. Go!”

“Go where?”
He considered the question for a moment. The safest place for

them was outside the fence, under the sun lights. “Go out, go to the
other side of the fence, and line up against it. Stay where the sun
lights will fry any vampires. If you have weapons, bring them with
you. Some of those who were here are shifters. The only one you can
trust is Salt. Others will come, but stay where you are until one of us
comes for you. Now go.”

Ruth nodded, her dirty, tearstained face looking small and

pathetic. She ran back into the kitchen and moments later, they all
came out, running for the door. Gaelic turned and walked down to
Joel’s room. He looked at the security system and saw that it had
indeed been used for parts. With a sigh of relief, he returned to the
room and walked inside.

What he heard made him cringe in remorse Joel standing behind

Em, her words harsh and brazen. “Go ahead, Joel. If that’s what will
truly make you happy, then do it and get it over with.”

Kat Barrett

She was taunting Joel, taking the power from him with her

agreement. In his side vision, Gaelic saw that the others were waiting
for a turn, their cocks out, their expression filled with lust.

“The ones that aren’t dead are gone, Joel.”
Joel stopped. “What?”
“Your lovely team of shifters and vampires drained the humans

and they are gone. I went looking for them, but the outer gate is open
and they are nowhere to be seen. The kitchen looks like a
slaughterhouse.”

Em was staring at him in horrified dismay.
Joel tugged up his pants and stormed from the room. One of the

other men started to walk toward Em and Gaelic grabbed a blade from
the wall. He sliced through the rope on Em’s wrist and then turned on
the man, beheading him. The other nine came at him, and Gaelic lost
his mind to the fury within it.

* * * *

Em crawled to Rory. Her fangs snapped out and she growled at

the woman kneeling before him. Her hand flashed out and she
unclipping the lock from Rory’s ankle. He ripped the chains from the
buckles, lifting the shifter by her throat and draining her without a
thought. Em tackled the other one, pinning her to the ground as she
stared into the woman’s eyes. What she saw there was hatred and
fury. Em did something that she had never done. She sank her teeth
into the woman’s throat and sucked until she felt her heart stop.

Russell pulled her upward. She spun and stared at him, her eyes

wide with anger. With a momentary glance at Joel, Em flew out the
door. She raced down the hall and looked around, but Joel was
nowhere to be seen. Gaelic was lying on the floor. He was bleeding
from a variety of slashes as if he had gotten into a swordfight with his
brother. Neither of them was particularly talented with a sword, but

Eternally Yours

Joel was slightly better. She ran up to him, sliding to the floor beside
him.

“I couldn’t stop him, Em. Oh god, I’m sorry.”
She bit into her wrist and let the blood flow from within her. It

was fresh and warm from the shifter, her body barely having time to
start metabolizing it. She could only hope that it didn’t kill Gaelic
rather than save him. He drank greedily of it, his wounds healing
quickly. Em pulled her arm back, dropping back onto her thighs.
“You know that I’m going to kill him, Gaelic. If I do nothing else in
this life, I will have his head in my hands so I can dropkick it into the
sun.”

Gaelic nodded as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Rory

lifted Em upward and wrapped his arms around her. Russell walked in
front of her and they encased her with their bodies. Em struggled
between them. Her anger filled her mind like a burning fire and she
flared her nostrils in fury. “Let me go.”

“No!” snarled Rory. “I won’t let you do this. You have to let it go,

Em. If you let this continue, it will consume you like an inferno. I
know. I have been there. There is nothing more dangerous than a
vampire hell-bent on revenge.”

Salt raced into the main chamber, looking around in fear. “What

the hell happened?”

Russell gazed at him, but didn’t release his hold on Em. “Why?”
“I came back after I got confirmation that the caves were sending

help. The humans from our fortress are outside, huddled against the
fence. I almost got fried by the sun lights.”

“Some of them are still alive?” asked Rory.
Gaelic stood. “Yes. I lied, because I released them after I tricked

the vampires and shifters who were in the hall into leaving. I just
couldn’t bear to bring one of those poor souls to Joel. Em, I’m sorry.
I’m sorry for what I did to you. I’m sorry for what Joel did. I’m sorry
for lying to protect the humans and scaring you half to death. My
brother is gone. You can’t go after him.”

Kat Barrett

“I have to go after him. He created me and I’m the only one left

who can destroy him.”

Eternally Yours

Chapter 8

“We need to go see who is left. They might need help,” said

Gaelic.

Rory backed up a step and so did Russell.
“I won’t run, I promise. I’m more worried about whoever is still

alive.” Em strode past Salt and outside. She walked up to the interior
of the fence and leaned against it with her fingers laced in the metal.
“They are gone. They are dead. If you want to come back inside, it’s
safe now.”

Ruth stood on the opposite side of the fence and put her hands up

to Em’s. “Who were they? Why were they here? What happened to
Joel, Emerald?”

“Please don’t call me Emerald. It was once my name, but now

carries bad undertones. I’m not sure if I can explain, but I can try if
you come back inside.”

Ruth nodded and walked by those who were gathered. Em was

brought to tears as she saw the meager few who were still alive. Out
of the seventy adults and eight children that had been living at the
fortress when they left, she counted fifteen, including three children.
Rory put a hand to her shoulder. She turned, burying her head in his
chest as she began to sob. Rory stroked her hair and she felt Salt put
his hand to her back. Russell was there, she could smell him. Rory
was calming her with his body, the others, rubbing her back to help
soothe her.

She opened her eyes and leaned back. “I want him dead.”
“I know. We need to take care of things here first. Then we will

find him.”

Kat Barrett

This was not something that she would do with them. Em needed

to do this alone. She needed to hunt Joel down like the rabid dog he
had become. Rory shook his head slowly. “No. You may take your
due when we find him, but you will not do this alone. You need to
stop being so damned stubborn.”

“Stubborn? He fucking raped me, Rory.”
“I know what he did. I was there, watching and unable to do

anything for you. Don’t you think we want revenge as badly as you
do? You aren’t the only one who was hurt by this.”

Em saw the humans coming in through the gate. “I know that.”
She wiped the blood-soaked tears from her cheeks. Ruth ran up to

her and put her arms around her. “How could this happen, Em?”

Em hugged her back. The truth was that it had happened because

Joel had wanted to hurt her. He had filled her with a hate so profound
that Em had no choice but to push it into the back of her heart. She
refused to allow Joel’s insanity to char everything within her into a
black and ugly nothingness. What he had done to her was trivial in
comparison. What he had done to her friends was unforgivable.

* * * *

Gaelic watched the humans gather around her. She was truly their

queen as no other in the history of vampires. Em represented the new
world in its ultimate perfection. A world where all races could coexist
in peace and friendship. His brother, however, was no better than the
governors themselves. He had embraced the segregation that had kept
the vampires in the shadows of human life. He didn’t want Joel’s
world but wasn’t sure if he was still welcome in Em’s.

Rory walked over to him. “We need to talk.”
“Talk.”
Salt and Russell moved closer to Rory. Obviously they planned to

gang up on him.

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“I was impressed with what you did. You helped Em enjoy what

could have been an intolerable situation. Joel wanted you to hurt her,
to rape her. You didn’t do that. I could see the pain in your face and I
knew that you were trying to make it bearable for her. Thank you.”

Gaelic turned his eyes to the sky. He was so filled with emotion

that unwanted tears welled in his eyes. “You have to know that I was
trying to protect you. Protect Em. I’m so sorry for what Joel did. I
can’t believe what went on here tonight. New York has been warned
not to let him in, but it doesn’t matter anyway. All of his vampires are
either dead or gone. Fuck!” Gaelic turned and punched the wall. He
grabbed his hand, holding it painfully to his chest. “I have so many
fucking things going on in my brain that I can’t seem to sort even one
of them out and have it make sense.”

Russell put a hand to his shoulder. “We don’t blame you for what

happened. You didn’t do this. It must have been incredibly hard for
you to deceive your brother as you did. Thank you.”

Salt stared at them. “What the hell happened in there?”
Rory shook his head. Poor Salt. He had been spared the atrocity of

the evening, but he now stood clueless as to what was going on. Rory
put an arm around his shoulder. “It has been a really fucked up night.”
Rory gave him a short synopsis and then turned his attention back to
Gaelic. He was sitting on the ground, rocking his body as he cradled
his broken hand in his lap.”

“We should go help Em.”
Gaelic looked up at him. “I have sorted out one question. I really

need an answer.”

“What is that?”
“Am I welcome to become a part of your lives? I don’t know

where else to go. New York is not really my home, and they will be
better off without me.”

Rory looked at Russell and he nodded. Salt shrugged. “I guess.

Don’t think you are taking my spot in the bed because you are older
than me. It isn’t going to happen.”

Kat Barrett

Gaelic smiled. “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“Then I have no problem with it.”
Rory smiled at Salt and then looked at Gaelic. “I have no problem

with you hanging around as long as it’s what Em wants.”

“Thank you. Go help Em. My hand is taking forever to heal. It

was really stupid to punch a concrete wall.”

“Yeah, it was.”
Rory spun and went over to where Em was standing. He draped

his arms over her shoulders and she turned appreciative eyes to him.
He kissed her forehead and then gazed over Em’s head. The humans
were all watching them as if waiting for a decision to be made. Rory
noticed to his surprise that the undertone of fear he had always felt
toward him was no longer present. Had the humans finally
rationalized out that they were friends, not bloodthirsty enemies?

The only family he could see that was still together was John and

Christy with their son Seth. Ruth and David were clinging to each
other in comfort, but Rory didn’t see Barbara or David’s son Brett.
Even the cruelest vampires would hesitate before killing a young
child. What the hell were these creatures that had come into their
fortress? Were they vampires without emotions? Had Joel created
vampires from the recently dead who had already lost their souls? He
had only seen them briefly as he walked through the hall. Gaelic
seemed to know them, though.

Em turned in his arms, looking up at him. “We are going to have

to figure out what to do with the bodies. Are we staying here or going
back to the caves? Granted that things there are still up in the air, but
at least the humans can start fresh there. I can also deal with what
happened to me in the caves a bit easier if I know the humans are
safe.”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask them what they prefer to do?”
“Good idea.” Em turned back around. “I know this might be an

abrupt time to ask this, but circumstances don’t allow for hesitation.
There is a jet on the way here with people to help. They don’t know

Eternally Yours

that it is all over. Anyway. I need you to consider what you want to do
next. There is a huge fortress in Colorado known as the caves. There
is better security and far more people living there than here. If you
want, we could all go there. It would be safer and easier. They are
currently in the process of revamping their society and I think that we
could have a positive effect on this process. Our society has always
stressed equality, but that is not shared by all those who now share the
earth. It is a message that needs to be reinforced. If you would rather
stay here and try to rebuild, we will stay with you. I leave the choice
up to you.”

David stepped forward. “Can we care for the dead first?”
“Of course.”
He looked at the others. “I, for one, think that it might be easier to

forget and move on without waking up every morning to face the
memories here. To go down into the kitchen will be unbearable.”

Everyone nodded back in response. “All those in favor of leaving,

please raise your hand.”

Some raised their hand immediately, but others were more

hesitant. Kay stepped forward. “I can’t believe that all of you are
going to walk away from what we have built here. We have often said
that what we had was preferable to living in a big city where everyone
was aloof and impersonal.”

“The caves have far more people than here, but it isn’t like a big

city. Everyone knows everyone else and there are many changes that
can be made. There is a small town nearby that can easily be rebuilt
and moved into. Some of the buildings are still standing because the
mountains deflected the sonic waves from the bombs.” Rory didn’t
realize how much he wanted to go back to the caves until he heard the
arguments leave his mouth. The caves were safer and had greater
potential now that the governors weare dead.

Em turned a stunned expression on him. He shrugged. “I think

things would be better there.”

Kat Barrett

“Honestly, so do I. I would feel much better considering this is the

second time we have been attacked in five years. We need to figure
out how we are disposing of the bodies. I don’t feel right leaving them
in the kitchen.”

His sweet Em, concerned about the welfare of the dead. The

bodies really didn’t care where they were put to rot. It would happen
one way or another. Rory supposed it was a case of reverence and he
had to admire her for that.

He looked out over the small crowd. “I don’t mean to sound cruel

or inconsiderate to your feelings, but do you want to bury the remains
or burn them?”

All eyes turned to him and they spoke softly between themselves.

The consensus seemed to be cremation. David had taken a place as
their spokesperson and he replied, “We guess the best way is to
simply use the fire pit. It is already lit and it wouldn’t take too much
to get it burning hotter. Would you help us to get them up here?”

“Of course.”
Rory saw that Russell and Salt were already on their way down

the stairs. Obviously they had been listening. With a nod, Rory joined
them. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Em involved or not, but she walked
down the stairs behind him. They headed into the kitchen. Em gasped
and he put his arm around her shoulders. Not only had the vampires
bled them dry, but they hadn’t been particularly neat about it.

Russell flipped two of the men over his shoulders and Salt did the

same. Rory grabbed two more and they began the process of taking
them all up to the fire.

* * * *

Em stood in the silent kitchen, staring in horror at what her race

was capable of. She supposed that she understood the mindset. She
had felt the unimaginable hunger of needing to feed. She had felt the
anger that took over her mind like a fog of fury. That anger had

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calmed due to circumstances, but there was still an ember in the back
of her brain at just the thought of Joel’s name. This was his fault.
There was no question as to where the blame needed to be laid. She
would wait. It was not the right time to run off on her own with the
thought of revenge. Joel would not give up his quest to hurt her and
he would probably show his corrupt face again.

She walked up to tiny Mia and tears dripped down her cheeks as

she stroked the child’s hair. Sweet little Mia, the child of
premonitions. She had adored Em, and Em had returned the feeling.
Mia was the kindest-hearted child that Em had ever met. “How could
anyone kill this poor, sweet baby?”

The buzz of the refrigerator came to a stop and Em gasped as she

heard it. The child had a faint and almost unperceivable heartbeat.
Mia was still alive. Em put her ear to Mia’s chest. It wasn’t a solid
sound as it should be, but it was there. The child had been left for
hours among the dead, but… “Rory!” Em howled into the air.

Rory was there a second later, standing beside her. He dragged her

into his arms. “Oh, Em. I know how much you loved, Mia. We all
loved her.”

“Rory, she is still alive. Her heart is still beating.”
Rory appeared stunned and horrified. He leaned as she had done a

second earlier and put his ear to the child’s chest. Standing, he
grabbed Em’s hand and dragged her from the kitchen. Em struggled
in his grasp, stomping her feet into the floor to stop him. Rory turned
on her in a flash. “The only way to save her is to turn her. She will
remain four-and-a-half years old for the rest of her life, Em. She
won’t age and grow old. Granted, Mia was big for her age, but do you
think she will want to spend eternity in that small body?”

“So we let her die? How can you even ask me to do that, Rory?”
“She is dead, Em. Her heart is barely beating, she will pass in

unconsciousness and go on to do whatever beings do after they die.
Maybe she can be born again in another body that will have a chance
to grow old. Em, think about what you are asking.”

Kat Barrett

Russell skidded to a stop beside them, with Salt on his heels.

“What’s up?”

Rory rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Okay, two more

opinions. Em just discovered that Mia has a very faint heartbeat. The
only way to save her is to turn her. I say that it’s wrong to ask Mia to
spend the rest of her life in her child’s body. Em thinks I’m wrong.”

“I don’t know why, Rory. I hear what you are saying, but…” She

had a feeling that for some reason, Mia would be different. There was
no logic for her thinking, but Em thought it nonetheless. “We have to
save her.”

Russell rubbed his chin in thought. “I don’t know, Em. If she was

a teenager it might be different. She’s a baby. It is more than just her
appearance. Children don’t possess the rationality of an adult. How
are we going to keep her from killing the others?”

“We are not talking about a normal child. We are talking about

Mia.”

“Yes, Mia. If you could have a child, she would be yours. What

will it do to Ruth? She won’t be able to take care of Mia. Ruth won’t
be able to handle her.”

Em turned her begging gaze to Salt. She was being outvoted. The

sound of a child’s heart was fading, but each beat sounded like a
scream as it billowed from the kitchen. Rory closed his eyes, tears
dripping down his cheeks. Em stared at him. She knew that Rory was
right. For her to condemn Mia into such a tiny body would be
unforgivable.

Gaelic staggered down the stairs. He walked past them as if in a

daze and headed into the kitchen. Em watched him and then Rory
went after him. Salt and Russell followed and then Em herself. Gaelic
was holding Mia in his arms, rocking her tiny body as he dripped his
blood between her lips.

“Fuck, Gaelic. What are you doing?”
Gaelic frowned and blinked as if coming out of a haze. He looked

down at the child in his arms and shook his head as if trying to clear

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the fog there. “Holy shit. I have no idea. I was sitting outside and then
you were asking me what I’m doing. What did I do?”

Em groaned. She bit into her wrist and added her blood to

Gaelic’s. “I don’t know why, but she needs all our blood. Please,
Rory.”

“I guess the damage has already been done.” Rory stepped up and

as Gaelic moved back, Rory took his place. Em turned her eyes to
Salt. He nodded and waited for her to shift back.

She watched Mia hopefully, but there was only the final shudder

of her body as it gave up human life. Rory stroked Em’s cheek. “Let’s
get the rest of them upstairs. We need to get everything done so we
can leave when the jet arrives. The humans above are saying their
final respects and packing up what they want to bring with them.”

Em nodded and they moved Mia to the bench, away from the

other dead. Em helped them as they carried the bodies upstairs and
added them to the fire. When everything was done, they stood for a
moment of revelation before the roaring flames. Then they headed
down to their bedroom to pack up what little they wanted to take with
them. It was mainly clothing and the box of sexual toys that they had
accumulated over the years. Rory wrapped up the swords in a quilt
and Em grabbed the wish jar. There were a few other personal
trinkets, but the total of their belongings fit into the two cedar chests
that had been kept against the wall.

Em looked around thoughtfully. “It’s kind of sad to be leaving

here.”

Salt gave her a hug. “I agree. We have created many amazing

memories here.”

Rory smiled thinly. “Yes, we have. Now we move onto another

life with endless possibilities. Let’s get our things outside.”

They grabbed the chests and Em took the box with their toys. As a

final thought, she grabbed the blanket off the back of the sofa to wrap
around Mia.

Kat Barrett

A thought hit her as they walked out into the hall. “Have any of

you seen Wesley, Dennis, Adrial, or Holden?”

Rory stopped and turned his head to frown at her. “No. I haven’t

seen Jace either.”

“I have. He is dead out in the garage. I cut his head off. He was

with Andros and Preese. I beheaded all three of them.”

“No shit. Jace was with Joel’s vampires?”
“I guess he was. Salt. I’m gonna take a quick jog and see if there

is any indication of them in Wesley’s chamber.” Em set the box down
and strolled down the hall. She tried to brace herself for what she
would see, but when she opened the door, there was nothing. She
headed inside, frowning. If Dennis had been stopped from talking on
the radio, why hadn’t they killed him? She found Dennis in the
corner. He had a good-sized slash in the side of his face, but he was
still breathing. Em stroked his cheek. “Dennis? You need to wake up.
We are leaving.” He shivered from the touch of her hand and opened
his eyes. Em was stunned to see that they were no longer brown as
they had been before. His eyes had turned to amber. “Dennis.”

He pushed himself upward and painfully touched the side of his

head. “Can I have a little blood?”

Em bit into her finger and stroked it over the side of his face. The

blood absorbed quickly, taking the wound with it. “Are you hurt
anywhere else?”

“No. I have a killer headache.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
Dennis shrugged. “I don’t know. I was talking to New York and

had taken my colored lenses out when they broke in.”

“Does Wesley know?”
“He did. He’s dead. He turned to ash.”
Em nodded, knowing how close the two were. “Have you seen

Adrial or Holden?”

“No.”

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Em offered him a hand up. “We are going to the caves to live.

You are welcome to come with us.”

“The caves, huh? Are the humans coming?”
“There are only fifteen of them left alive.”
The stunned expression on his face relayed her own feelings of

grief. Dennis nodded. “I’m just gonna pack a few things. I’ll meet you
outside.”

Em went back out into the hall. The others had already gone

upstairs and it surprised her. Of course, they had probably waited to
see if they would hear her scream and she hadn’t. Em grabbed the box
and then went to push open the door to Joel’s room. It was empty. She
tried Adrial’s door and then Holden’s, but the two vampires were
nowhere to be found.

Em headed to the kitchen. She set the box down and wrapped Mia

in the blanket. She wasn’t sure what Mia would be like when she
woke up, and she wanted to protect her from Ruth if necessary. As
she laid the child gently back onto the bench, a voice chimed in her
mind. “How old do I want to be?”

She replied aloud without giving it so much as a thought. “I would

say at least eighteen or nineteen. Might as well remain at a point
where you are old enough to do whatever you want, but still young
enough to not be touched by the ravages of age.” With an absent
smile on her face, Em picked up the box and walked from the room.
How odd it was that Mia was now speaking directly into her mind,
also. The child had strange mental abilities as a human, would they be
amplified as a vampire?

Kat Barrett

Chapter 9

The humans were going on the jet with Em and Salt. They felt

uncomfortable being with a strange group of vampires. Three of the
vampires who had come to help were traveling with Rory, Gaelic, and
Russell on the helicopter. Rory was going to bring Mia with him in a
hope to sneak her into the caves before Ruth saw her. They weren’t
quite sure how to tell Ruth of Mia’s resurrection. After a quick
discussion, they had decided that it might be better to wait and see if
Mia actually grew up as her body finished its transformation from
human to vampire.

Em slid her box into the cubby under the seat. The standard seats

had been removed and replaced by three long benches. There were no
seat belts, but she had to think if they crashed at turbo speed it
probably wouldn’t matter much.

Em gasped and flashed back down the aisle, racing back toward

the fortress. She had forgotten her beloved nipple rings in the drawer
wall cabinet. Em dodged the trees and bushes in her path, things in
her vision little more than a blur of movement. She should have
notified someone that she was going. If Salt got sidetracked and
didn’t notice her missing, the plane might take off without her.

Em was almost to the fortress when she heard the helicopter fly

overhead. She couldn’t run any faster and had no way to notify them
of her possible mistake. Surely Salt would notice that she wasn’t
there.

* * * *

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Janet was clinging to him as if he was the last man on earth. Salt

sighed, patting her back in a consoling fashion. He had never been
good at this human grieving shit, and he wasn’t any better at it as a
vampire. Where the hell was Em? He tried to glance down the aisle to
find her, but Janet was blocking his view. She was probably on the
other end of the plane.

There were so many really large vampires on the plane. Salt felt

somewhat dwarfed. The engines roared to life and Janet held on all
the tighter. “We are going to die and go to be with our families.”

“You’re not going to die, Janet. It’s just the engine. They quiet

down once were in the air. The plane shot straight upward the trees
outside the window disappearing in a blur. Salt really needed to
change his position so he could see who was on the plane. He tried to
shift, but Janet was holding him so tightly, he expected his ribs to
crack. The engine lowered to a low drone and everyone slid slightly
as the jet went into turbo mode, soaring forward.

“See, we got safely into the air. Please try and calm down. It’s

only a two-hour flight.”

She didn’t calm down, her fingers digging into the muscles of his

back. “Janet, I really need to go talk to Em. How about you sit back
and take it easy?”

“Em’s not here.”
“What?”
“Em got off a little while ago. She probably decided to go on the

helicopter with Rory.”

Salt pushed Janet away from his body. He stood, walking down

the aisle to search for Em. The box was still under the seat, but she
was nowhere to be found. Salt walked into the cabin. “Can you
contact the helicopter?”

“Not while we are in flight. The radio isn’t working. The only

reason we took the plane out was because you needed help. Otherwise
it would have been grounded until the radio was fixed. We can’t
exactly fix it in the air.”

Kat Barrett

Salt didn’t know if he should be worried or angry. This had been

his time to be alone with Em. He was really looking forward to it. He
loved Rory, Russell, and Gaelic, but to have two hours of Em’s
undivided attention would have been really nice. He walked back into
the back and took a seat over the box. How could she get off the plane
knowing they were about to take off? Why had she gotten off?

The slight feeling of irritation at her slowly faded as he looked out

the window. What if she had felt Joel and had gone after him? Em had
said that she wouldn’t, or had she? Salt suddenly couldn’t remember
if she had made a comment one way or another. She had simply
walked away to go talk to the humans. She wouldn’t do that, would
she? Em had said that she was going after Joel alone. Why would she
be so stupid? Had Rory really said that Joel had raped Em? Joel had
killed the people she called friends. Joel had forced them to turn Mia
to save her life. Of course Em wanted Joel dead. Mia had been the
icing on the cake and Em had lost it.

* * * *

Em raced out of the fortress with her nipple rings in her pocket.

She sprinted through the fence and flashed back into the forest. In the
distance, she heard the roar of the jet engines firing up. Pushing her
body to the fastest possible speed, Em soared through the forest, her
face and arms scratched and pricked by smaller branches that she was
unable to avoid. Em was thrown flat on her back as the jets beneath
the plane lifted it in the air. A moment later, it was gone. “Fuck!”

The sun would be up in a few hours and she wouldn’t make it

very far before she had to seek out a hiding place. Em turned and
headed back toward the fortress. The inside seemed cold and lifeless,
a shiver running up her spine. Em had never once gotten the creeps
within the fortress, but she had them now. Don’t be ridiculous, Em.
You’re a fucking vampire. What do you have to be afraid of?

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Joel and his minions. Em forced herself to walk down to Joel’s

old room. There were sounds all around her, cracks and creaks that
she had never heard before. It sounded like someone was walking
above her, but the concrete was so thick, there was no way she would
actually hear that. She pushed the door open slowly and walked
inside. Just to make herself feel better, Em flipped on the light. She
screamed, her eyes wide as she clasped her chest. “Holy shit. You two
scared me half to death. Where were you?”

Adrial grimaced. “We were hiding under the bed. Pretty rotten

thing to do, huh?”

She laughed. “No, it wasn’t. If you had tried to fight, you would

have died. Why didn’t you come out?”

“We didn’t know if it was safe. You wouldn’t happen to know if

Sam or Marilyn made it, would you?”

Em shook her head slowly. Both women had been drained.

“Sorry. They were among the dead.”

Holden pursed his lips thoughtfully. “We kind of figured that.”
“What were you doing in here anyway?”
“We had an idea of a way to rewire the solar power. We needed

some components that we thought might be in Joel’s security system.
We were in the process of figuring out what we needed when we
heard screams from the kitchen. We turned the system on and saw the
mayhem that was going on. There were vampires and shifters
everywhere. Then we saw Joel walk in with his guards. We ripped a
couple of transistors out of the video system so it wouldn’t work for
anyone else and then hid under the bed.”

“Did you know that Jace was one of them?”
Adrial grunted in irritation. “I guess that explains why he had

been so antisocial. After your wedding he started to get really weird.
He stopped hanging out with us and helping us with things. We
figured it was because of Leeah. She had a little tiff with Sammy. Did
anyone else make it?”

Kat Barrett

“Not many. There were fifteen left alive and while we were

clearing the bodies from the kitchen, we realized that Mia was still
breathing.”

“Too bad she was so young. What did you do with her?”
Em grimaced. “We changed her.”
“Are you kidding? She’s a baby.”
“I know. We all know. I don’t know how to explain how I know

this, but I do. Mia is going to grow up, despite being a vampire.” She
strode across the room and took down the two swords. Em handled
one of them, judging the weight and balance. It was a bit off balance,
the blade far too heavy for the length of the shaft. Joel’s swords were
for show, not for easy handling. Rory had taken her sword with the
others. She tried the other one and groaned. “These swords suck. I
wonder if there are others here.”

“There’s a couple on the wall in my room,” replied Adrial. “They

were there when I took the room and I never did anything with them.”

“Let’s go check. I would rather have some kind of protection.”
“What do you mean?”
“Us three are alone here.” She headed toward the door. Holden

and Adrial were at her heels as she walked down the hall and into
Adrial’s room.

Holden put a hand to her shoulder. “What do you mean, we are

alone?”

“Those who were here took off in a jet and a helicopter to go back

to the caves. I would say they will send someone back for me, but by
the time they realize I’m missing, it will be too late. As it is, they will
be flying the sun to land before it comes up in Colorado.”

“What about Joel and shit?”
“Good question, Holden. Some of his shit is dead. Others took off

because they had no commitment to Joel in the first place. Joel
himself is gone. I don’t know where or how far. I don’t feel him near
if that makes you feel any better.”

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Holden nodded as Em took down one of the swords. It was of

extremely nice construction, the blade well weighted. She swung it
wide and then flipped it between her hands to get a better feel for the
blade. Em was impressed. If she figured correctly, it had once
belonged to the original owner of the room. “Nice, Robert, I’m
impressed.”

Adrial frowned. “What?”
“This used to be Robert’s room before Cobalt and his band broke

in here and killed him. I was commenting on the sword. It is very well
made.”

She walked back out of the room, swinging it before her to get

some practice in with it. Em walked into the main hall, spinning to
take out one of the standing lamps. It was sliced in half as if it was
made out of butter.

“Impressive, Emerald.”
Em turned and found herself facing not only Joel, but two other

very large vampires. They had the same distinctly Viking appearance
as Vidar.

“Evening. I didn’t feel you near me, Joel.”
“Of course not, Emerald. You bonded to your mates. That wipes

out all connection you have with other vampires, be it strong or weak.
Of course, our connection was weak because you have diluted it so
much.”

“Ah, thank you for clearing that up. To what do I owe the pleasure

of your return visit?”

“Aren’t we just amiable?”
She was being amiable, wasn’t she? Inside she was boiling. The

lump of coal that had settled into the bottom of her heart was now a
burning ember. “No need to be rude. I figured that I would be
spending the night alone here. I was bad and got left behind.”

“How stupid do you think I am?”

Kat Barrett

Em wasn’t sure if his comment was in reference to her being

alone or the part about her being bad. “I don’t know what you mean.
Enlighten me, please.”

“They didn’t leave you behind. You came back for something and

the plane took off without you.”

Hopefully Holden and Adrial would go back to hiding place under

the bed. “You caught me there. So who are your friends?” Em didn’t
want the conversation to lull and have the two other vampires walk
unwitting in on them.

“Do they look familiar?”
She grinned. “Actually they do. They both look so much like

Vidar. Did the man turn his entire family tree?”

“These are his nephews. They are a bit miffed that a lowly woman

would start a war against their uncle and kill him.”

“I started the war? Since when? Vidar and his governors started

the war with their antiquated ideals. The world has changed and the
concept of killing any vampire over the age of three hundred is
ludicrous.”

Joel lowered his eyelids to glare at her. “It was a just law. Three

hundred years is a sufficient time to be alive. Vampires of older ages
often get ideas of grandeur in their brains. They want things that they
aren’t entitled to. If too many get that old, it caused problems.
Population control was necessary to avoid that. It will be even more
so now. Without the normal control of enemies, the vampire
population could become quite a drag on the available resources. That
is why Vidar wanted you to help his human’s breed.”

“I suppose that is why you sanctioned killing fifty-five of those

precious resources?”

“What?”
“Gaelic told you that your band of merry men and women killed

most of the humans here. To be exact, you killed fifty-five out of
seventy.”

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Joel stroked back his hair, looking temporarily confused. He then

seemed to regain his composure. “I guess we are even. Fourteen of
my vampires and three of my shifters were killed today. One of the
shifters was my mate. Too bad none of yours died. I will hunt them
down and kill them, Emerald.”

He was trying to upset her, but all he was doing was stoking the

precisely controlled fire that was burning in her chest and her brain. “I
kind of figured that.”

“How’s your pussy feeling? It was a shame that I didn’t get to

finish what I started. At least Gaelic got his rocks off caning and then
fucking you.”

Em smiled her most irritating grin. Two could play at the piss-

you-off game. “I quite enjoyed it. It was so refreshing to be caned.
That was a new experienced for me.” She rocked her hips as if in
seductive memory. “The sharp bite of every hit on my tender ass was
bliss. I was kind of glad that you told him to hit me and fuck me
harder.” She lowered her voice to a sassy whisper. “I adored it, Joel.
You, however, suck!”

Em suddenly had an idea that needed her attention. Joel was

getting really angry and there was a good chance he might do
something stupid in the near future.

He had seen her fight with a sword long ago. Would he now

underestimate her mastery of a blade? Em wasn’t sure of that. She
pulled part of her mind away from the present and sent her thoughts
out to Rory. It had worked before, but he had initiated it.

She felt him touch her mind. He was happy and laughing at

something that had been said. “I hate to interrupt, but I have a
problem.”

“Like that’s something new. What? You broke a nail on the

plane?”

She really didn’t need him breaking her balls. “No. I’m still at the

fortress and Joel is here with two very large Viking-like men. They

Kat Barrett

are both carrying broadswords. I have one little sword that I believe
used to belong to Robert.”

The amusement in his mind winked out. “I thought you were on

the plane?”

She felt incredibly stupid. “I came back for my nipple rings. I

thought I had enough time because the boarding was going incredibly
slowly. I didn’t make it.”

“Please tell me you are kidding.”
Em grunted.
“Okay. You are not kidding. Let me see if they can turn this thing

around. Why the hell didn’t Salt let us know you weren’t on the
plane?”

“I have no idea. I really need to be paying attention to what I’m

doing. This is worse than talking on a cell phone while you are
driving. Cars don’t have big Vikings vampires in them that want to
kill you.”

She put her complete attention back on Joel and his lackeys. She

wasn’t really sure if he intended to kill her or take her as his slave. As
he had indicated earlier, he planned to rearrange her mind to his way
of thinking. He couldn’t very well do that if her mind was
disconnected from her body.

“So what’s the plan, Joel?”
“Why don’t you tell me, smart-ass?”
“The way I see it, one or more of us is going to end up dead. We

have to do something fairly quickly because the sun will be up.”

“We have a few hours yet.”
Two hours and thirty-four minutes. It was a hell of a time for her

mind to start knowing what time it was. “So what do we do? Stand
here and stare at each other?”

“Oh, Emerald. You have become such a trying creature. I liked

you so much more before.”

“Before what? Before you left me? Before you betrayed me?

Before you had Vidar torture me and leave me to die? Before you

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killed all my friends and drove me out of my fortress? Before what,
Joel?” Her voice was filled with rising anger. Em reminded herself
that if she turned into a whirling dervish with a sword as she had done
before, she would pass out. “Maybe you should have just left me in
my house to die. You would have made all our lives so much easier.”

The comment obviously startled and disturbed him. His brow

creased with a frown. “My mother told me that you lost your soul. I
believe her. You are not the man who pulled me from death. You are
not the man who told me that vampires never treat humans like cattle.
You are not the man who once said that he loved me. You are no
longer capable of love.”

Kat Barrett

Chapter 10

“Unfuckingbelievable.” Rory stood up, walking into the cockpit.

“Is there any way to turn this fucking thing around and go back?”

“It’s possible, but we don’t really have the fuel to do it. We would

also never make it back before the sun comes up in Colorado.”

Rory rolled his eyes. “Em was left behind. She just touched my

mind to tell me that Joel just showed up with what she called two
huge Viking looking men.”

Jake shook his head. “Does the woman have a talent for getting

into trouble?”

Rory couldn’t help but chuckle despite the terror in his mind.

“Yes, she does.”

“I guess any woman who is that beautiful and that smart often

finds herself in odd situations. The two Viking-looking men are
probably Sanuk and Salia. They are related to Vidar somehow. They
lived up in Canada and I was sent to fetch them on a few occasions.
They weren’t much on conversation. I honestly don’t think they are
too bright. I have no idea how they ended up with Joel.”

Jake grunted to himself. “I take that back. Joel has a turbo jet at

his disposal. He probably met the boys while they were there the last
time. Vidar threw a big party for them. I know that Maryann went,
probably so did Joel and Gaelic. Joel was her black sheep, but at an
event like that, she liked to have the two men hanging on her arms.”

He was turning the helicopter in a wide arch. Rory took a seat in

the empty chair. “You seem to know a lot about things.”

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“I always keep my ears open. I always did what the governors

asked. It kept me in their good graces. It also gave me a way to get
information. I believe they used to call it flying under the radar.”

“I have heard that once or twice.”
Jake smiled. “So what’s the deal with Em, or am I not allowed to

ask?”

Rory shrugged. “She is a very unusual woman. Even more so for a

vampire. She can be sweet and loving or sassy and wild. I fear that
she is giving Joel shit in hopes to goad him into an angry fight. You
give the woman a sword and hope that you are not on the other side of
it.”

“I know she belongs to you. What about the others?”
“Em doesn’t belong to anyone. She gives herself freely to us.” He

laughed in memory. “It’s funny because everyone thinks that her men
are in charge. We aren’t. Even when we pretend to be, we know that
we’re not. She gives herself to all of us. She gives her love to all of
us.”

“Does that include Gaelic?”
“That’s a tough question. Joel turned Em, but Gaelic was also

there. You know that Maryann took them back to the caves. I was
here for Em. I can’t say that Em’s love for them has faded. It was just
overshadowed by her love for us. Now Gaelic is back and she wants
to kill Joel. I’m not sure if she has thought about how much she will
hurt inside for that act.”

* * * *

“Who the fuck do you think you are, Emerald? You are a fucking

vampire whore with three, or is it four, lovers? When my brother and
I saved you from a drawn out and painful death, you were very
different. You had never been with two men, and I suppose it is our
fault for seducing you as we did. Now you are an arrogant, prideful
woman who thinks she is above the rest of us. Do you even grieve the

Kat Barrett

humans who you call friends? They can never be our friends,
Emerald. They fear us. Shifters fear us. Even your shifter when given
a chance did not turn down an opportunity to fuck one of his own
kind. One…forgive my incorrect wording. He didn’t fuck one of
them. He fucked them all like a rabbit with a roaring hard-on. He and
Rory traded off the shifter women like they were erotic toys.”

He was trying to get to her, but Em was not going to allow it. She

was definitely getting to him though. “Your point? Russell wanted to
sow his seed and Rory wanted to be reminded of what a warm cunt
feels like. I’m well aware of what they did. If you remember
correctly, I fucked you and then fucked Gaelic for the rest of the
night.”

“And Gaelic said that it felt like shit.”
“I agree. I was the first one to sling that insult at you, remember?”

She was being a cocky little bitch. She wondered what the two
Vikings were actually here for. They seemed bored by the
mudslinging conversation. Em was bored, but she was hoping that
Rory might show up and even the odds a bit. She felt rather
uncomfortable going against two men with such large swords. Hers
was well made, but it might not hold up under pressure. If it came
down to a confrontation, she would have to be faster and precise with
her swings. She might not get too many shots in.

If Joel had a blood pressure, Em swore that his face would be

scarlet with anger. Did she really want to kill him? He would keep
hunting her if she didn’t. He would go after her mates and have no
problem killing them. Although, he didn’t when he had the choice.
Was it just a simple oversight on Joel’s part? He had wanted Rory and
Russell to watch as he raped her. Had he really turned into that much
of an egotistical shit? “I really have to ask. You said that you would
hunt my mates down and kill them. You had the chance to do it, why
didn’t you?”

Joel frowned deeper. “Are you suddenly playing stupid? I wanted

them to watch as I brought you to your knees. I wanted to send them

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into hell with a vision of you begging at my feet for me to love you
again. I don’t, you know. I can’t love a woman like you.”

“No problem. So I can add liar to my list about you. You told me

you loved me right after you assaulted me and fucked me. Of course
that was up in New York. I suppose your emotional state has become
more unstable since that time. You always were a needy, insecure
little fuck. It’s the reason that Maryann turned Gaelic first. It is also
the reason that she controlled you so easily.” Her words were like a
knife, spoken to him with utter resolve. It was a theory that she had
held in her mind since the beginning of time with them and now she
had spoken it. Joel hated the fact that Gaelic had been turned before
him, even though they were both lying in the bed with Maryann at the
time.

“Fuck you! Kill her.”
She had pushed her luck a bit too far. Em took a stance, watching

the two men as they lumbered toward her. The sound of gunfire in the
hall made her ears ring painful. The two Vikings went down to their
knees, gaping holes appearing in the calves of their pants. The best
way to shoot a vampire down with a gun was to take them to their
knees. It made it easier to take off their head.

Em leapt, the sword poised to strike without mercy. She brought it

down on the first Viking’s neck, severing his head cleanly off. The
second one was starting to rise and she spun on him. He was drawing
his sword, the thick metal shimmering with the sharpness of the blade.
Gunfire again. She grimaced, wanting to throw her hands to her
burning ears. She swung the sword instead, misjudging and scalping
the man instead. He put his hands to his head as she brought the blade
around again and Em grimaced as she was forced to remove his hands
as well as his skull.

She had no idea why it was more disgusting to have to cut his

hands off, also, but it really was. She kicked his head aside and
looked up in search of Joel. He was gone again.

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“Son of a bitch!” Em wiped the blade off on one of the Vikings

shirts and flashed up the stairs. She opened the door, flying through it,
and ran dead into Rory.

He grabbed her so she wouldn’t fall back down the stairs. “What

the hell are you doing?”

“I’m going after Joel. He ran again.”
Russell peered around Rory’s shoulder. He held up Joel’s severed

head. “You said something about dropkicking him into the sun?”

Em stared in stunned silence. For all her resolve to take Joel

down, to see his blank eyes staring at her from midair was
unimaginable. She could feel her mouth hanging open, the anger
leaving her body as a wave of cold filled her flesh. It crept through
her, making her shiver. Rory turned to Russell. “Get rid of it. Throw it
in the fire with his body.”

Em started to cry, a feeling of grief flowing through her as she had

never felt before. Everything came crashing down on her mind. Her
parents were dead, her friends were dead, Joel was dead. He hadn’t
deserved to die. It was her fault that he lost his mind. Em closed her
eyes and would have crumbled backward down the stairs if Rory
didn’t have his arms around her.

Eternally Yours

Chapter 11

Em was tired as if she had never slept. Her body ached, her ears

still ringing. She couldn’t move. Russell was sleeping on top of her,
his fur tickling her nose. Em swiped at her face, accidentally
smacking him in the head. Russell groaned and leaned back to look at
her. He smiled. “Hey, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit. If vampires can get the flu, I have it.”
“Rory and Salt went for a run. Are you hungry?”
She shook her head. “Not at all.” She glanced around, but couldn’t

place the room. “Where are we?”

“In the caves. As it turns out, there were rooms built above the

center, but no one ever used them. We liked this one. It has a window
in the other room with that sun blocking glass in it. The view is
stunning.”

“That sounds nice.” She could feel tears flowing down her cheeks,

but couldn’t stop them.

Russell sighed and wiped them away with his furry hand. “Rory

warned me. I had to do it, Em. Be it for revenge or simply because I
knew that as long as he was alive, he would keep trying to get you,
get us.”

“I thought Rory did it.”
“No. Rory warned me that it would hurt you, but I had to take that

chance. Do you hate me?”

She put her hands to his cheeks. “No! I don’t know how to explain

this. I wanted him dead. I knew as you did what would happen as long
as he lived. It doesn’t change the fact that some unconscious part of
me is mourning for him. I was also struck with the memory that my

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parents were dead. I have been too busy dealing with life to give it
much thought. How is Mia?”

He smiled. “You were right. No one has ever seen anything like

her before. She doubled in size while she was sleeping, so she looked
about maybe ten or eleven. Over the course of that first night, she
continued to grow and get older. She looks maybe nineteen or twenty.
She says that you told her eighteen or nineteen, but she picked twenty
because it was a nice number. She said twenty had good chi and she
likes the way that she looks. She wants to see you.”

“I want to see her, also. Just not right now.” She hesitated, not

wanting to hurt his feelings.

He nodded as if knowing her unspoken question. “Gaelic is here.

He was upset, but I think Joel’s death comes as a relief. Gaelic said
that his brother was no longer in the body. All the things that made
him Joel were gone. He’s not sure what happened exactly. He wants
to see you, also.”

Em chuckled at his chagrin expression. “Can we go look at the

sun?”

Russell shifted back from her and then rolled to the side. As he

stood, he turned back into a furless man. He held out his hand to her
and Em slid from the bed, walking beside him. The room was
beautiful. The bed was similar to theirs, if not a bit larger. The canopy
was a beautiful shade of blue swirls that reminded her of the sky. Em
liked the color. They had more furniture, also. There were four
dressers for clothing and a small vanity for her with a mirror. It had
been a long time since she had such a luxury. Russell opened a door
and led her into a sitting room. The sofa was new and so were the
three chaise lounges. They were all covered with rich, brownish-red
leather. There was a beautiful coffee table that had been inlaid with
shells and highly varnished. The window was set into the side of the
mountain, the round glass sealed into the stone. As Russell had
predicted, the view was striking, the mountains seeming to go on
forever.

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Em frowned. “Where the hell did they go for a run if the sun is

out?”

“This place has a gym with a track that goes around the mountain

on the inside. I don’t think that Vidar allowed you to see the entire
place. There are passages into other mountain ranges that I have been
told go on for miles. There are hundreds of separate apartments and
many of the humans from our fortress moved to the outer settlement.
We have so much to show you.”

She nodded, her body feeling leaden despite the warming sight of

the sun. Russell was watching her with concern written all over his
face. She gestured to one of the loungers with her head and he walked
her over to it. Russell sat down and Em sat between his thighs, sliding
back into his body. “Did Rory happen to say how long I’m going to
feel like death warmed over?”

He chuckled. “You are death warmed over.”
“Ha-ha, Russell. I’m serious.”
“Since when? Our Em is never serious.”
“Maybe I’m getting old.”
“Bullshit.” He leaned and nipped at her ear. “I think you just need

to be reminded of how loved you are. What are you going to do with
four men in your bed?”

She shrugged. “I suppose one of you will have to settle for my

hand. I only have three orifices. I guess I could get a pedicure and use
my feet.”

Russell chuckled, his chest quivering beneath her back. “Rory

might just get into that.”

“He does have a slight food fetish. I promised Salt that we could

spend a night alone. Is that okay with you?”

“Only if I get one, also.”
“It’s a deal.”
Em shifted in his arms, rolling to her side so she could see his

face. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

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She shrugged, feeling odd about asking. “Joel said that you fucked

all the women shifters. Did you?”

He rolled his eyes. “No. If you need an exact count, I fucked eight

of them. While we are on the subject, Becka asked me for a favor. She
has been smitten with a young vampire here in the caves. She asked if
at some point in the future I would be willing to give her a child. I
told her that she would have to ask you. I have a feeling that she
intends to ask. Don’t be shocked. It would only be to get her pregnant.
I don’t want her or anything.”

Em nodded. “I guess it’s okay. I wasn’t asking because I didn’t

trust you. I was just wondering how the hell you fucked so many
women in one night.”

He snorted in amusement. “Ah. I never wanted to make Rory or

Salt feel inadequate. I could fuck you all night if I wanted to. I just
never have.”

“Oh. We have had times where we fucked all night. Well, most of

the night, in between the three of you tormenting me.”

“Yeah. I’m not talking about that. I mean literally. I can keep it up

for hours without taking a break or stopping. Back before the purists
showed up and killed my mates, we had what you might call a fuck
festival one night. I took turns between the three women. We fucked
until we fell down. I think it went on for twenty-six or seven hours.
My dick was sore as hell afterward, but…”

She laughed. The expression on his face was adorable. The pure

joy of the swell of emotions touched her like a soft, warm breeze. Em
suddenly felt alive again, the humor of his story and his expression
filling her with vitality. “Did you really?”

He nodded. “Things get boring on a farm in the dead of winter.

There was a storm and the power had gone out. We locked ourselves
in the barn with the animals because it was heated by solar power. We
were up in the loft and we needed to stay warm.”

“Oh shit. Thank you, Russell.”
“For what?”

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“For making me laugh. I feel so much better.”
“You suddenly look better. The slight blush of pink has returned

to your cheeks. You are so beautiful, Em.” He stroked her face with
his palms, the touch soft and gentle. Em leaned forward, her lips
caressing his as he parted them with his tongue. It seemed like
eternity had passed since she had been kissed so lovingly.

Russell kissed the tip of her nose, the space between her eyes. He

pushed back her bangs, his lips resting on her forehead for only a
moment. The touch moved downward to her closed eyelids and then
her cheeks. Em suddenly knew that it wasn’t gentle sex that no longer
aroused her. It was any sex with the wrong man. Things between her
and Gaelic may be different now. Now was also not the time for their
rediscovery. Gaelic had been freed from Joel’s life and now he was
looking to her to replace him. She needed to turn him free, make him
understand that he had to branch out on his own and live in his own
space for a while. Only then would Gaelic have the mindset to share
her world in equal terms if he chose to.

This was not the time to discuss such a revelation either. To tell

Russell that she was considering Gaelic as he softly covered her face
with kisses was elementally wrong. She focused her mind back on
what he was doing. The warm glow of arousal was finding its long
lost place within her. It felt wonderful to have her pussy be renewed
with lust that she actually wanted to feel.

Russell leaned back his head and she opened her eyes. He looked

concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, why?”
“I was just apprehensive that with everything that had happened it

might be too soon.”

“What exactly are you referring to? What happened with Vidar? I

got off lucky. I didn’t have to fuck him. There was no sexual intent
when he filled my skin with metal. Are you discussing what Gaelic
and Joel did? I actually enjoyed Gaelic. It would have been better if
he hadn’t brought my ass to the point of bleeding, but even that

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wasn’t so bad. None of you have ever caned me before and it was
kind of different. Joel? Well. I didn’t like it, but I dealt with it. If the
others had taken me as Joel intended, that would have been different.
I said that he raped me, but…I don’t really feel that way. I guess in
my mind, Joel was my maker and sex with him could never actually
be rape.”

He tilted his head in thought as he gazed at her. “I guess that

explains why you are not devastated as I expected you would be. I
know that rape is one of the worst things a person can experience.
Given the connection between a vampire and their maker, Joel could
do anything within reason and you would accept it.”

“I don’t know if I would go that far, but basically.”
“So…I’m not your maker, and I didn’t do anything magnificent

for you. What can I do to you?”

Em smiled. “Anything your heart desires.”
“Oh.” He licked his lips seductively and pushed her upward.

Russell grabbed her leg, flipping it over his chest so she was facing
him. Using her hair, he pulled her down to his mouth. The kiss was
more aggressive and filled with fire. It burned from her mouth, down
through her chest and into her cunt. Em moaned as wave after wave
of Russell’s desire washed over her. He was now a part of her as she
was a part of him, the spoken vows more of a spell than a marriage
ceremony.

He pushed her back, grinning broadly. “I love how you fire me up.

Is it me or does it get more intense as time goes on?”

“I think it’s getting more intense. I didn’t think it possible, but it

feels so good.”

“Yes, it does.”
“Ride my dick like a horsy.”
She chuckled at the correlation between his words and what he

had actually been just recently. She slid her body back, mounting him
and folding her knees into the lounger. It was rare that she was on top
and still in control. It was kind of nice. She placed his cock to the

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outer ring of her pussy and slid downward in a torturously slow
motion. Russell had his hands on his thighs, but he was not
controlling her.

She began to rock, rolling her hips forward and back as well as up

and down. “What’s it like?”

“What?”
“To be a horse or a leopard?”
“I don’t know. It just is. It feels different to run on four legs rather

than two. If you do it enough, it becomes second nature. To watch a
young shifter trying to walk or run as a beast is actually quite
amusing. They tend to fall over their own feet because they are not
used to having four of them. I suppose it feels the same as flashing.
What does that feel like?”

“Incredible. It’s like riding on a motorcycle going really fast. The

only difference is your legs are proving the horsepower.”

She rocked her body, picking up speed slightly and then slowing

back down again. The friction was soft and every inch of his glorious
cock seemed to be rubbing against her inner nerves. She could feel a
man’s dick as she never had as a human. Each movement was like an
inner caress, his dick massaging the muscles like his fingers would do
on her back. She leaned her spine toward his legs and then rolled back
upward, leaning forward to kiss him again.

Russell was giving her complete control. He was matching her

thrusts but was not moving faster or slower than her. Her pussy was in
love with the motion and she again rolled her hips slightly harder and
faster. She had buried his cock to his balls and he was stroking every
possible inner inch of flesh.

The door to the bedroom opened and they both turned to look. Salt

chuckled. “I think she is feeling better, Rory.”

Rory stuck his head around Salt and chuckled. “I would say that is

a safe bet. We’re going to bed, sweets. Join us when you care to.”

Salt shut the door. Em turned a frown on Russell. “Huh?”

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“You got me. I can’t say I mind them not joining us, but it was

strange that they didn’t.” He grasped her hips, pushing her
movements so she was grinding forward and back with only a slight
ability to move up and down. Her pussy was throbbing deliciously,
the feel intense and consistent. Russell growled in pleasure, releasing
a long breath through his open mouth. “Flash me, Em.”

She shifted to get better leverage and built the speed of her

movement. Em was forced to choose a single movement and she
completely changed the pace. She rolled her hips as if swinging a
hula-hoop, the motion hitting all the right places. Russell obviously
agreed, his head digging back into the cushion as he inhaled sharply,
grinding his teeth.

Her pussy hit the brink of perfection, the nerves shimmering with

wonderful sensation before the crash came. Em stopped, her muscles
slamming around his cock. Russell’s climax was always so hot within
her, sending her deeper into the rapidly pulsing sensation that took
over her entire mind and body. It was oblivion for a short eternity and
then she dropped on his chest, kissing him rapidly.

Russell wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her into his

chest and slowing the touch. His tongue was wet heat as he enveloped
her own, his palms caressing the flesh of her lower back. Em closed
her eyes. She was suddenly tired again and no amount of joy was
going to keep her awake.

Russell turned on the lounger, grabbing her lower ass and lifting

her into his body. Em put her head on his shoulder. “I love you,
Russell.”

He kissed her throat. “I love you, also. Take a nap. You have a

long night ahead.”

Why did she have a long night ahead? What was going on that she

didn’t know about?

Eternally Yours

Chapter 12

A soft warm cloth was being dragged over her flesh. Em opened

her eyes with a moan of delight. Salt smiled. “Good evening.”

“That’s my line. Complete with the creepy vampire voice.”
He chuckled.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of waking up in a bubble bath?”
“I don’t know. It was an idea that I thought you might like. Do

you?”

“I love it. Let the water wash away your regrets.”
“What does that mean?”
The memory made her somewhat sad. “My mother used to say

that when you were stressed or had a bad day, a hot bubble bath
would wash away your regrets. I never had time to take a bath. I used
to come home and have a cup of tea. Some nights I didn’t even have
the energy to finish it. I would drink it cold in the morning before
running out the door.”

“I thought you ran a salad stand?”
“I ran three of them and it isn’t easy keeping track of three very

busy restaurants. I rarely had a day off and when I did, I was too tired
to enjoy it.” Em missed her parents now that she knew they were
dead. She didn’t want to discuss it with Salt. He had a horrible
childhood with a very bad mother. Em wasn’t sure who she could
discuss it with. Rory had spent most of his childhood in boarding
schools. His father was a diplomat from France and was not around
most of the time. He had died of a heart attack a few years after Rory
was married to his wife Rebecca. Em knew nothing about Russell’s
childhood. Gaelic had been thrown out of his house at a young age.

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Did she collect men with horrendous childhoods? In the scheme of
things, her childhood was perfect. Salt dragged the cloth over her
nipples, the sensation it created surprisingly good. “That felt nice.”

He leaned into the tub and gave her a sweet kiss. It was slightly

harsher than what Russell had given her during the day, but no less
inviting.

“Are you going to join me? I have never fucked in a bubble bath

before.”

“Never?”
“No. I love new experiences.”
He stood up and stripped out of his jeans and T-shirt. He was

amazingly sexy with his thin build, brown hair, and eerie green eyes.
His eyes had gotten lighter over the years as if being a vampire had
softened them. Maybe love had softened him.

“Rory told me what happened while we were running. He said

that you enjoyed being caned.”

“I actually did. It was interesting and created a burn that was

unlike anything I have had done to me before. It made a sharp whistle
with the speed at which he was moving it. I don’t know how to
describe it.”

He pursed his lips and nodded. “I think you should tie us up and

do something to each one of us so we know what it feels like.”

It was a surprising comment. Em had never thought about turning

the table on them. Did she really want to use a whip on Salt, or a
paddle on Rory? “Really? I don’t know if I could do that. I have no
idea how to use a cattail.”

“It wouldn’t be hard to teach you.”
“Let me think about it.”
Salt climbed into the tub, sinking into the steaming water. Em

lifted her legs to either side of his body, the feel of his skin chilled in
comparison to hers. Em shivered, stroking his cheeks with her bubble
filled hands. He laughed as Em filled his hair with the soap and began
to play with it. She pushed it all up onto the top of his head and

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squashed it into a huge Mohawk. The moment she let it go, it drooped
to the side making a half-loop on his head and causing her to her
laugh. Salt began to tickle her. “What’s so funny?”

“Your hair. It looks so cute.”
“I don’t do Mohawks. I like my hair long.” He put his palm to the

top of her head and pushed her under the foam.

Em came up sputtering and spitting out soapy water. “Really?”
He crinkled his nose, chuckling as he pushed her soggy bangs

away from her eyes. “Yes, really. That was fun.”

She splashed him with a handful of water. “So was that.”
“If we continue, we are going to soak the entire room. I think we

should fuck instead.”

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.” Before she had even

finished the sentence, he wrapped his hand around her ass and sank
into her pussy. Em had no idea that he was even aroused and the
filling sense of his dick was amazing. He moved her slowly, thrusting
in a very filling fashion. The water sloshed around them, the large
bubbles popping and forming into smaller ones.

Salt shook his hair, the water spraying in droplets on her face and

splattering on the walls. He flipped his head back, the strands slapping
back around his head. Em ran her fingers through it, pulling him to
her mouth. She wanted to feel his tongue against hers, his lips
crushing her. She was sliding against the bottom of the tub, Salt’s
palm holding her ass as they both went under.

Em panicked momentarily and then realized that it was not a

problem. She didn’t need to breathe. She wrapped her arms around
him, letting him move her, letting the water rock her in time with his
thrusts. It was really nice to have some individual time with her men.
It was even better to have a very large tub to fuck in.

Salt shifted his head downward, nibbling on her throat. He lightly

bit her shoulder blade and then continued down to her nipple. The feel
of his lips encasing her flesh was extravagant, his teeth grating softly
against the skin. Her cunt was throbbing, pulsing slowly and

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repeatedly. He was thrusting harder, but the water was making it hard
to keep an even pace. His dick was shifted by the movement of the
water around their bodies. It was rocking him from side to side. Salt
leaned back, shaking his head again. He slid back farther to his knees,
dragging her up onto his bent thighs as he pulled the plug to let out
the water. Em wrapped her legs around his lower body, shifting so
that his dick was buried within her cunt.

“You feel so good, Salt. Rock my world.”
He lifted her, thrusting into her pussy and sending her crashing

back down over his cock. Salt was building speed, but couldn’t quite
create the full flash in the wet tub. It didn’t matter, her cunt locked
tightly around him for a moment before it burst into a crushing pulse
of bliss. Salt snarled through his teeth, grunting as he was jarred by
her body. The chilled feel of his climax was amazing, Em’s body
relaxing as she kissed him softly. Salt smiled against her lips and then
leaned back. “I love what your body does to me, for me. Whatever. It
feels great. Your hair is fucked.”

She smiled and pushed off him, climbing from the tub. She

toweled off as Salt got out and wrapped his arms around her, soaking
her freshly dried skin. She wrapped the towel around him, drying
what she could reach of his skin. Rory stuck his head into the room.
“Done with your bath?”

“Yes.”
“Good, because we need to talk.”
Salt stepped back and she wrapped herself with the towel. Em

walked out, looking around the room. It was just her, Rory and
Russell. “What’s up?”

Rory patted the empty space on the mattress between himself and

Russell. He was making her nervous with the serious expression on
his sculptured face. Em took a seat.

Rory shifted so that he was facing her. Russell took her hand,

stroking her palm with his finger. “I have a message from Gaelic. He
says that he is sorry for everything that happened. He is relieved to

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know that you didn’t consider what happened as rape. He apologizes
from the bottom of his heart for leaving you again without saying
good-bye. Gaelic needed to go back to New York. I guess he was
thinking, and now that Joel is dead he needs to figure out life on his
own. He can’t do that if he becomes a part of our lives.”

“So what is the problem? I knew that already. I would prefer if he

had said good-bye, but I understand how it was probably easier not
to.”

Rory chuckled. “We have been stressing out about how to tell

you. We figured that you would be upset.”

Salt hopped up into the middle of the mattress. He knelt behind

her and began to comb her hair. “Wow. The kid was right for once. I
said that you would understand.”

Rory rolled his eyes. “There are two other things that we need to

discuss.”

“Try me.”
“We are in agreement that you are probably not going to like this.

You have been elected queen of the caves. The new regime wants you
to head their committee. They want your ideas and your input.”

“Ideas and input, fine. Queen. Don’t want it. Why would they

want me for queen?”

“They are all impressed because you killed the evil Viking twins.

I guess they have been real assholes during their lives and every time
they were here, they earned more hate from those who were subjected
to them.”

Em rolled her eyes in disgust. “I didn’t kill them alone, Salt. Did

none of you notice the gaping holes from the gunshots in their legs?”

“They were partially dissolved by the time we got there,” replied

Russell. “Who shot them?”

How did they not know this? Didn’t Holden and Adrial come back

to the caves? “I’m not sure. It was either Holden or Adrial.”

Russell frowned. “You found them?”

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“Yes, they were hiding under Joel’s bed. They didn’t come back

with you?”

“No. We didn’t even know they were around.”
Obviously Holden and Adrial had either gone back into hiding, or

they had decided to stay behind. “They shot them in the legs which
made them fall down. I simply beheaded them. I probably wouldn’t
have walked away unscathed without them.”

“Oh. It doesn’t matter much. You still beheaded them. Our pilot

has a very big mouth. I don’t know who he told, but everyone knows
about it. They already knew about Cobalt and his people.”

She sucked her cheeks between her teeth, irritated as hell. To be

called the queen in her little fortress was amusing. To be called so in
this huge establishment was not. She didn’t want to be the queen. She
wanted to be Em with no responsibility besides taking care of her
men. Granted, she did want to help, but she wanted it to be on a
volunteer basis, not a full-time position. “So they think taking down
two Viking vampires makes me a queen.”

Salt put his arms around her neck, leaning into her hair. “You

don’t understand, Em. Everything about you makes you the queen. It
is just who you are. It is in how you talk to people and make them
understand your point of view. It is in the respect that you demand
without even realizing that you are doing it. People look up to you.
They listen to you, because you have a way of explaining things so
they make sense. You are never brash and don’t talk down to others
even when you think they’re being idiots. You are also a very strong
female who looks sweeter than hell.”

She leaned her head back and gave him a kiss. “Thank you, but I

don’t want to be queen. Do the three of you want to be kings?”

Salt whispered in her ear. “I do.”
She giggled at him and turned her gaze to Rory. He shrugged. “As

you long as you are by my side, then fine. It beats doing other things.”

“Like what?”

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“Like having to go down and mop floors. Other vampires are

doing it. Anyone who doesn’t have skills to contribute can either learn
a trade or work as a laborer.”

“You have skills, Russell?”
He tilted his head in consideration. “I have skills, also, but I agree

with Rory. As long as you are queen then I have no problem being
king. We are your sounding board and the voice of reason when you
seem to lose yours. We are also your knights in armor or without
armor. We would protect you with our lives.”

“I hope that is never tested again. Maybe if I settle down and be

who nature wants me to be, I will stop having shit thrown at me to
deal with. I’m tired of it.”

Kat Barrett

Chapter 13

They walked out into the main hall together, and all activity

seemed to stop. Em was almost waiting for everyone to get up and
bow as she passed, but thankfully they didn’t. They just watched her
in silence as if she were an ethereal being floating across the floor.

A young woman with a very shapely body and somewhat large

breasts ran up to her. She threw herself into Em’s arms, kissing her
cheeks. “Thank you. Thank you.”

“Um, you’re welcome.”
The girl bounced a step backward, grinning broadly. “Em, it’s

Mia.”

She could feel the muscles in her cheeks go slack. “Mia? Holy

shit. You are beautiful. You grew up.”

“I know. I was trying to make you understand that. I think you got

some of it, but then they talked you out of it. The only thing I could
do was to go after Gaelic because no one had talked to him yet. Then
you heard me that I needed more blood. I needed a mixture of
vampire fluid to give me the ability to grow older. It worked.”

“Yes, it did. The only problem is that mentally you are still a little

girl.”

“I was never really a little girl. I grew up far faster than I was

supposed to. I understood things that children my age weren’t even
supposed to think about. I just kept it to myself.”

She stepped back and took a bow. “My queen.”
Em pursed her lips, squinting one eye to her in skepticism.

“Please, spare me the title.”

She grinned broadly. “I have a favor to ask.”

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“Yes, what’s that?”
She fidgeted as if the question was uncomfortable. “I, um, I have

had many propositions since we got here. The men are attracted to me
like bees to honey. I have one man who I would like to be my first.”

Em saw the question coming. “I would like it to be Salt. Would

you allow that? Just one time, please?”

She turned to look at Salt. He appeared flabbergasted. “That is

between you and Salt. I owe him one anyway.”

Mia walked closer to Salt, standing with her head tilted as she

gazed at him. “I would be so honored. I have always liked you so
much. You could make my first time so special. Please?”

Salt looked so lost, Em had to bail him out. “Mia, have you told

your mother who you are?”

Mia turned to her, shaking her head. Her bangs flowed with her

movement, just like Em’s. “I can’t. What am I going to do, walk up
and say ‘hi, Mommy? I’m your four-year-old. I’m an adult vampire
now. I know that I look nothing like you or daddy, but I had a say in
my own appearance.’”

Em had seen it, but it didn’t quite click in her mind until Mia

spoke the words. She looked far more like Em than her parents.
Would it hurt Ruth more to know the truth than to think her child was
dead? “I don’t know, Mia. That’s a tough call. Your mother is
grieving your death and your father’s death.”

“My mother is in the canteen with a drink in her hand. She is

flirting with any human who gives her a smile. My mother’s favorite
saying is if life gives you shit, use it for fertilizer and plant new seeds
in it. She has an amazing ability to walk away from the past and move
on.”

The words were spoken without hostility or anger. Mia had

accepted what her mother was doing just as Ruth had accepted the
loss of her family. “I don’t always take things at face value, but I will
honor your secrecy.”

“Thank you. I knew you would.”

Kat Barrett

She turned her gaze back to Salt. He glared at Em over Mia’s

head. “I need to talk to Em first.”

Mia nodded graciously. “I will wait. If it’s not something that you

feel comfortable with, I understand. Please just remember that I’m
twenty now. I have adult desires and needs. I will fulfill them with or
without you. I would just rather be with someone special first.”

“I won’t leave you hanging. I just need to think about this, Mia. I

still see you in my mind as a child.”

“I know. You have only to open your eyes and see me to know

that I no longer am. If you don’t mind, I was in the middle of a game
of Monopoly and I was winning.”

She returned to Em and gave her a hug. “You’re my mother now.”

Without another word, Mia headed back to her game.

“Wow.”
Rory nodded. “Yeah, no shit. She didn’t look like that last time I

saw her. I guess she wasn’t done transforming herself yet. She looks
like you with bigger tits and a smaller waist.”

“Nice of you to notice, Rory.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t mean that as an insult. I like your breasts.

They are large enough to be enjoyable without getting in the way. I’m
the only one with the hourglass figure in this relationship and I like it
that way.”

She laughed. His shoulders were large and so were his thighs. It

gave him a very sexy hourglass shape that was pure muscle. “You are
so right.” Em gestured to Salt and he walked over beside her. Em
draped her arm over his shoulder. “So what are you thinking?”

“Nothing like leaving it to me so I have to be the bad man to turn

her down.”

“So you are turning her down? I meant what I said. I owe you one

for New York.”

“You don’t owe me anything. It just feels weird to think of having

sex with Mia.”

“What if she wasn’t Mia? What if she was just another vampire?”

Eternally Yours

The question obviously caught him off guard. He shrugged. “I still

wouldn’t be sure that I’m the right one to be teaching a virgin. The
first time is supposed to be with a man you love.” Of all the people to
make that comment, it sounded strange coming from Salt’s mouth.
His first time had been with a stranger for money.

“You don’t have to. I just figured that you would be more

sensitive to her situation. Another vampire might not be. They might
treat her too roughly. I would hate to think that her first experience
will be horrible. I know you would make it special. You are a very
sweet man like that.”

He thumped his head onto her shoulder. “You’re gonna make me

blush. I’ll think about it. Only because you are asking.”

“Okay. Whatever you decide is fine. I would like to go see Ruth.”
Salt walked her down the aisle, his steps jaunty. Em knew that

despite his protest, Salt was honored by Mia’s request. She had
chosen him over Rory and Russell.

* * * *

They walked into the canteen and all eyes turned to them. Ruth

was the only one from her fortress that she saw. Em felt kind of bad
that she hadn’t asked about the others. “Salt, have you seen anyone
else?”

“Yes. There is a village outside. It was built between the

mountains in a ravine. After the governors were killed, some of the
humans and shifters moved into it and began renovations. There were
a few houses that were still empty and most of the humans from our
fortress moved there. The only ones we have seen inside are Ruth,
Mia, and Nick. Nick knew one of the women that were here and it
appears they have rekindled their affections. Oh, Dennis is here,
also.”

“I would like to go down to the Ravine and say hello.”

Kat Barrett

“Of course. We can go later if you want. I know the council wants

to speak with you first.”

Em wasn’t sure if she wanted to speak with them, but given the

circumstances, she didn’t seem as if she had been given any choice.
She took the empty seat beside Ruth. The canteen looked more like a
bar than a food serving area. It was certainly well stocked with liquor.
The man who had been speaking with Ruth stared at her and smiled.
“Who is your friend?”

Ruth turned to look at Em. Obviously she hadn’t paid as much

attention to the entrance as everyone else.

“Em? Oh god. You’re okay. We were all so worried about you.”
Em smiled. “I’m fine. I have good keepers. They took good care

of me.”

“The rumor around here was that you took good care of yourself.

Did you really kill two goliath vampires?”

“I wouldn’t call them goliath. They were large and I cut their

heads off. H—” Salt kicked her.

She glared at him and he grinned, leaning to her ear. “Leave it

be.”

“So how are you holding up, Ruth?”
“You know my motto. You can’t mourn what you can’t change.

It’s a waste of time. All I can do now is to start over again like I did
five years ago.”

“I guess that’s a good way to look at it. Why didn’t you go with

the others?”

“I figured there was more to keep me busy in here. I’ve gotten a

position in the garden. It is so beautiful. Have you seen it?”

Em smiled. She loved the garden. “Yes, I have. It is stunning.”
She felt a tap on the shoulder and Em turned. Blue bowed his head

respectfully. “I don’t want to interrupt your reunion, but the council
has gathered and we would really like to speak with you.”

“Duty calls. I will see you around.”
“I look forward to it.”

Eternally Yours

Em was slightly appalled that Ruth could so easily shrug off the

death of her mate and her child, but it wasn’t her place to judge how
people handled death. Em didn’t imagine that in a similar situation,
she would be so eager to start over after only a few days. It had only
been a few days, hadn’t it?

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Chapter 14

Em wasn’t given time to ask as she was escorted across the aisle

and into another smaller hallway. It was only wide enough to support
two people and Blue was sticking to her side. He opened a door for
her that led into a large, rounded chamber. The walls were lined with
ancient looking paintings and there was a large library to one side. He
gestured to a red velvet-covered chair at the end of the central table.
There were two other tables. There were six humans at one and six
shifters at the other. Rory took a place in a seat to her right and Salt
and Russell to her left. Blue pulled out the chair next to Rory, but
stood behind it.

“It has been proposed that Emerald Slade be offered a place as our

overseer and advisor. That position obviously comes with the ancient
wisdom of her mates Rory Laroche and alpha shifter Russell Cane.
Salt Trantono is quite a bit younger, but he comes with his own kind
of common sense and knowledge.” He bowed to Em. “Queen
Emerald, would you and your mates honor us with wisdom?”

Em smiled modestly and lowered her eyes. She took a moment to

compose herself and then stood. “I do not and have never felt as if I
deserved the title of queen. It was given to me because I was turned
by a vampire who called himself king. I fear that most of the vampires
and maybe the shifters in this room are probably older and wiser than
I am. I would be honored to take the position. I’ve found that I’m
pretty good at coming up with ideas when they are needed. I actually
have a few questions if I may?”

All eyes were trained on her and she was surprised to find that she

wasn’t the least bit nervous. “Due to events, I have not had time to

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really get a feel for the new setup here. Can someone give me a
rundown on what has happened since the battle?”

Sparrows stood and gave her a smile. “It is nice to have you with

us, Emerald.”

“It is a privilege to be asked. If I may make one request. Emerald

was the name my parents gave me at birth. For those of you who are
wondering, I have been asked many times. My mother’s name was
Emma and my father’s name was Harold. My name is a combination
of the two. Anyway, at some point, my name was shortened to Em. I
would rather keep it that way. It fits who I am now better.”

“Of course, Em. What has been done so far is that we put up sign-

up boards to assess what talents the occupants here have. We went for
all the major resources, science, carpentry, electrical, and mechanical.
We also made a suggestion that anyone with any specialized skills
sign up with a notation of what they could do. For the rest of them, we
then posted boards with optional tasks that would need to be done on
a regular basis. Some of them apply to the needs of humans and
shifters such as hunting and preparing food, and laundry. This has
given us a relatively good idea of who can and will do what. We are
still trying to assess exactly who is here and of what breed.”

“Okay. May I suggest that some kind of schooling can be set up

for those who wish to better themselves?”

She made a note. “Very good idea. Any others?”
“Do we want to support and train some kind of security force?”
“We have discussed that, but have not come up with anything

definite yet.”

Em nodded. “A suggestion that I made back…” She turned to

Rory. “Exactly how long was I unconscious?”

He smiled. “The night we discovered you, we did make it back

here. You slept through the entire next day and the night. You woke
up midway through the next day and then slept for the rest of it,
bringing us to tonight.”

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“Thank you. I was wondering when I spoke to Ruth. Anyway.”

She looked back up at Sparrow. “I suggested that maybe we could
send envoys to other fortresses and let them know what is going on.”

“We have started to amass a list of scouts that can be given an

itinerary of information to take with them. We need to establish
exactly what information they need to pass on first.”

“I was also wondering about setting up smaller settlements for

those who would rather live in a closer knit community outside, but
still under the protection of the caves.”

Blue nodded thoughtfully. “That is an interesting idea. There is a

small town in the ravine below, but I assumed that you already knew
about that.”

“Yes. I was told. I would like to go down there as soon as we are

done here. Do you have an estimate of how many actually live here?”

Nicca stood. “We are figuring somewhere between four and five

hundred, all breeds inclusive.”

A young woman got to her feet. “Exactly how do you make the

humans breed more successfully?”

Em chuckled. “I’m not sure of the exact mechanics. I guess there

is an enzyme in my saliva that promotes arousal when I feed on
someone. If I feed on a couple, the result is sexual. I’m not sure if it is
just because of increased sexual activity or the enzyme, but pregnancy
rates seem to become higher when I feed first. I also mentioned to
Vidar back when he first took me that a lack of vitamin D, which
happens with the absence of sunlight, is detrimental to conception.”

“So you were in agreement with him about breeding humans so

the governors could feed off their children?”

Em saw the anger behind the woman’s question. “Absolutely not.

I was not aware of his true purpose when I came here the first time. I
made a deal with him because I needed his blood to stay alive. It is a
long story, but I was caught in the sun. The second time I came it was
not by my choice. I was kidnapped from my fortress. I would never
hurt a child.”

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“You turned a child, did you not?”
“Yes. She was dying. Mia is a very special individual. I knew that

her transformation would be different. Obviously it was, because she
grew up.”

“What if she hadn’t?”
“I had no doubt that she would.”
Em was not really into having a debate with a human who would

never understand. The woman surprised her by smiling. She walked
around the table and stood before Em, bowing her head for a moment
in respect. Em was surprised by the gesture.

“I am Shara Avaco. I am just like Mia, only I was turned as an

adult. I can become any age I choose. I also know things in advance.”
She chuckled, but the way she was looking at her was slightly
disturbing. “I see who Mia imaged herself after. The child has great
respect for you.” She glanced downward. “She did make a few minor
changes though, didn’t she? The child is obviously aware of what
men find attractive.”

Em couldn’t help but laugh. Shara was very forthright. “I have

never had a problem with that part of my anatomy. As Rory so aptly
told me, they are big enough to play with and not big enough to get in
the way. I rather enjoy my furry shifter sleeping on top of me.”

Shara broke into laughter, again bowing her head before she went

back to sit down. Rory was looking at her with his eyebrows raised.
He was obviously restraining laughter. “What?”

He leaned closer to speak to her. “You are in the middle of a

council meeting. Probably not a good time for that particular
comment.”

Em groaned. “I apologize if I offended anyone.”
A round of chuckles flowed through the room. An older-looking,

very stately man at the shifter table stood. “I think that I speak for all
of us when I say that no offense was taken. It is nice to know that
your relationship with Russell is so deep. While we are on the subject,
Russell, would you be interested in breeding outside your mating?

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There are too few alphas in this place. As a matter of fact, there are
only three of us between the hundred or so shifters. We are hoping at
some point to divide back out into separate clans. Those clans will
need alphas to run them. I wonder now if Em’s comment about the
lack of sun is affecting us, also. We will have to start going outside.”

Russell smiled and looked at Em. “My mate understands my

desires to spread my seed with females of my own kind. I will do so,
only for the purpose of breeding. I don’t want anyone to get ideas that
I desire one outside of what I already have.” He turned, looking down
the table. It’s nice to see you, Becka. Becka has already made a
request, so she gets first dibs.”

The smile on Becka’s face was radiant. Not only had Russell just

honored her quest to have a child, but she had been singled out as his
first choice. “Thank you, Russell.”

“You’re very welcome. We can discuss the details later.”
Fellows stood, bowing slightly to Em. “Is there anything else that

needs to be discussed at this meeting?”

There were no comments or further suggestions. “Then I think we

need to get some information before we proceed. For those of you
who are hungry, a donor list has been posted by the canteen.” He
looked in their direction. “Unlike the previous rule, we do not force
anyone to give if they don’t care to. If there is nothing further, then
we shall adjourn and meet in say, two more nights? If each of your
factions can get a headcount of your people and ask around to see
who would be interested in living on the outside or becoming part of a
guard force, we can discuss that at the next meeting.”

Em stood up. “Sorry. Just one more thought. Are inventions such

as the glass for the garden being continued and if so, is there any
chance of getting more of the glass made? I’m sure other fortresses
would find the glass indoor garden not only desirable, but extremely
helpful for feeding the humans.”

“I will check into that personally.”

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105

“Thank you. If this meeting is over, I want to go outside myself. I

would like to see how the few remaining members of our fortress are
doing.”

Rory, Russell, and Salt rose to join her and with a respectful nod

to all those present, they left the room. Em was very worried about
how her friends were faring.

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Chapter 15

Rory led them to a thick metal door. There were keys hanging on

a chain on a hook in the wall, and he took one down, unlocking the
door. Rory hung the key around his neck. “This side unlocks with a
key, the other side has a keypad with fingerprint recognition on it.
Those on the outside know the combination, and they have all been
coded in for access. There is also a sort of doorbell that can be rung to
get in if necessary.”

It was not the entrance that Christopher had taken her through.

That was down on level three where the humans had their dwellings.
She was listening to Rory, but her attention was not on the door. “I
was wondering about your childhood, Russell. I know some about
Salt’s life. Rory told me that he spent most of his childhood in
boarding schools, but what about you?”

He smiled in memory. “My parents were fantastic. They were

alpha male and female in our clan. I was their son and as such, I was a
prince of sorts. I was very popular among the others in the clan. I
guess I have always been outgoing and friendly. I was rarely punished
and when I was, I deserved it. I had my moments of devilish ideas. I
even took off when I was seventeen because I wanted to see what the
outside world was like. I didn’t last very long. I think that I was gone
about six months. It was weird to be out in a world where I was
considered a mythical entity. I tried to make friends, but everyone
thought that I was strange. Humans are very unwelcoming creatures.
They are suspicious and unfriendly if you aren’t what they consider
normal. There was an old Doors’s song about being strange. It is so
appropriate. Well…it was before the sonic. Now we are not the only

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strange ones alive and we are all part of society. I wonder what will
happen in a couple of hundred years when we are the lesser species
again. Humans breed faster than shifters do. My seed can be very
prolific… Well, not just mine, all alphas. Obviously men of lesser
background and inner strength can have children, but they are not as
prosperous at breeding and their children are not as successful at
surviving. I would like to father two maybe three more and then I will
put a stop to it. It is not good to have too many alphas running
around.”

He grinned at Em. “I’ve strayed from your question. My parents

were loving and supportive. They taught me how to read and hunt.
There were no schools in our clan and the children often learned from
their parents or their older siblings.”

“When did you start hunting?”
“When I was five. Before that I didn’t really have a good grasp on

shifting. At that age, I was the physical equivalent of a ten-year-old
human. When I shifted, I was large enough to hunt with the pack. I
was a strong hunter. I learned well from my parents and often came
back with food when the others came back empty handed. I had a
good childhood.”

She was glad to hear that one of them did. Salt’s had been horrid

and Rory’s had been antisocial. So much for the idea that she
collected men with horrible childhoods. It was only the vampires in
her life.

The tunnel was on a downward grade and when they walked out

into the night, it felt wonderfully open. Em stretched her back, gazing
around. The sky was vibrant with stars, the moon bright in the sky.

She took a few quick steps to get in front of them and then spun to

face them. “It is a perfect night. Wanna fuck?”

Her question got a smile from all three of them and she knew that

the question had hit home.

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“Now why would we want to do that?” asked Rory in a teasing

voice.

“Oh, I don’t know. I was just thinking that we are outside in the

wilds of Colorado. It is warm and the moon is full. Why not take
advantage of it.”

Salt pointed to the right. “The settlement is to the right. The main

window is to the left. I don’t think there is anything directly above us
so we’re safe as long as no one follows us.”

“Since when do you care if we have an audience?” asked Russell.
Em scowled at him. “I would rather not. I just recently had far too

much of one.”

Russell grimaced. “I’m sorry. I was breaking Salt’s balls and not

thinking. He didn’t know about the audience.”

“I’m just being overly sensitive.”
Russell walked closer, stroking her cheek. “Don’t be. We love

you. Don’t get stressed about what happened. It’s over and done. Let
it go, sweets.”

She smiled, but Russell saw a glimmer of sadness in her eyes. He

feared that he had opened up a can of worms that were slithering
somewhere deep in her mind. Or maybe they were in her heart. Was
she thinking about what was done to her or what he did to Joel? A
shiver of fear spiked through his mind. Despite what Joel had done,
was Em’s love for him faltering because he had killed her maker?

Russell had no idea what he would do if she rejected him. He had

wanted Joel dead for the atrocities he had committed. He had been a
traitor, almost getting all of them killed when they first raided the
governor’s caves. So many had died or been injured because Joel had
tipped off the governors that they were coming. Because of Joel, Em
had been tortured. Joel’s vampires had killed so many of their
humans, their friends. He had taken Em in front a gaggle of his
followers. Russell had not been wrong in wanting the man’s head, but
he had not considered how Em would react to that single act. In his

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mind, it had been necessary or maybe it was just necessary because
Russell had come to hate Joel in the last week. As far as he knew,
Rory and Salt shared that sentiment. Neither man seemed upset or
appalled that he had killed Joel. Was Em upset?

Since when was he so unsure of himself? Russell hadn’t felt this

lost since he had left his clan. The way Em was looking at him made
him want to shrink from her sight. She narrowed her eyes, her brow
creasing. He couldn’t tell if it was a look of anger or one of concern.

“What’s wrong?”
“Do you hate me for killing Joel?”
Her face creased further into a full-blown frown. “What?”
“I killed Joel. Do you hate me for that?”
“Of course not. I would have liked to do it myself, but no biggie.

He needed to die. I do believe that he had lost his soul. Joel was not
right. He was not even Joel anymore. The more I think about it, the
more I find myself comparing him to the man I met five years ago.
That Joel would never have done the things that this Joel did. Even if
his soul was still intact, he had lost his mind. Why would I be angry
with you for that?”

“I don’t know. It was just a thought that slithered into my mind

and kept burrowing deeper into worry.”

“Tell it to get lost. I love you. You were protecting me. My furry

white knight.”

Russell chuckled. What an image that was, a white knight with fur

sprouting between the hinges of his armor. His fear transformed into a
feeling of how completely ridiculous his line of thought had been.
The only good it had done was to verify what he already knew. He
was so in love with her that he no longer wanted to live without her.
He had sown his seed and his bloodline would not end. If the time
came that Em wasn’t a part of his life, he could walk into the afterlife
with Rory and Salt in peace.

Rory slapped him on the shoulder. “Stop looking so concerned.

Em’s fine. We are fine and so is our relationship. The lady

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propositioned us and I think we should take her up on it. Let’s remind
her why she loves us so much.”

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Chapter 16

Rory walked up to her with his head slightly downward in a

menacing fashion. “I’m trying to figure out what we can do to you out
here in the wilds to make this interesting.”

Em noticed that Salt was gone. Where the hell had he disappeared

to? “Where’s Salt?”

Rory shrugged innocently and she wondered what they had

privately cooked up while she was talking to Russell. Rory grabbed
the front of her shirt, tugging it off. He unzipped her jeans and then
lifted her by the waist. Russell tugged her sandals off and then pulled
her jeans down her legs to lay them on the rock beside her shirt.

Rory put her back on the ground, examining her body. “I like your

body better than Mia’s. I was never big on super slim women with
tiny waists. I would be worried about hurting you even though you are
a vampire. I like to see the muscles in your body, and your waist is
thin enough to be pronounced, but not overly so like Mia.”

Em suddenly had to ask, she had no idea what Rebecca looked

like. “Did Rebecca have large breasts?”

Rory looked stunned by the question. “They were average sized.

Maybe bigger than yours, but smaller than Mia’s. Of course they got
bigger after our daughter was born.”

“Was she pretty?”
“Yes. She was beautiful. She didn’t have your kind of beauty. I

don’t know how to describe it. She had mousy brown hair and brown
eyes. When we met she was slim, but after having a child, she gained
some weight. You are more stunning than she was. Her beauty was

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more understated. Of course, we were farmers and that life changed
both of us.”

Em suddenly realized that he had never said his daughter’s name.

Maybe he had said it once long ago, but she couldn’t remember what
it was. “What was her name, Rory?”

“Rebecca. You know that.”
“Not your wife, your daughter. You never call her by name.”
Rory frowned and lowered his eyes. “She was named after my

mother. Her name was Emily.”

That was an uncanny similarity. “Did you call her Em?”
“No. We always called her Emily or Milly. No. I don’t associate

her with your name.”

Em reached up, pushing back his beautiful black hair. It was

shimmering with bluish highlights in the moonlight. “I’m sorry.”

He smiled, putting his hand to her cheeks. “For what?”
“For bringing up something that upset you.”
“It’s okay. You’re right. I never say her name. I don’t know why,

but it’s easier to talk about her if I don’t say her name. I guess it
makes mentioning her less personal. She was really a sweet child. I
loved her so much.”

“I know you did.”
Salt strolled back up to them, hiding something behind his back.

He swung his right hand around to the front like a magician, but it
was empty. “Guess what I found?”

“I have no idea, Salt. What did you find?”
He brought his other hand around and displayed three thin pieces

of tree branch. They were void of leaves and bark, the light colored
green centers looking almost fluorescent in the moonlight. He handed
one to Russell and one to Rory. “Interested, sweets?”

Em was very interested. Just looking at the switches in their hands

was a turn-on. She had no idea what it would feel like, but it would
probably be somewhat like the cane that Gaelic used. The only
difference was that they wouldn’t bring her skin to weeping and she

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didn’t have an audience. Em had discovered that she was not an
exhibitionist. “I guess.”

Salt grinned and took a dramatic bow before her. Obviously, the

time she had spent alone with him in the bath had a positive
undertone. Was Salt suddenly feeling more comfortable about his
place in her life? He seemed as if he was. Rory and Russell were both
looking to him for the next move. Maybe he and Rory had a heart-to-
heart chat while they were running in the gym. Em had no idea, but
she liked Salt’s initiative.

Salt pulled the belt of his jeans and snapped it in the air. Em found

the sound immensely inviting, a shiver flowing from her brain down
into her toes. He strutted up to her, taking her wrists and wrapping the
belt around them and pulling it tight. Putting his hand to her back, he
urged her to bend down and then twisted the remaining piece of
leather around her ankles, buckling it. Em was folded in half, her nose
down almost to her knees. He walked around in front of her, pulling
her head back by her hair. The angle was slightly uncomfortable, but
not horribly so. Salt knelt before her, unzipping his jeans and
removing his cock. He positioned it beneath her mouth and stroked
her head. “Do me the honors?”

It was an odd position that had her slightly off balance, but she

flexed her head to release the tension and then slowly drew him
between her lips. In the silence of the night, she heard a slight
whooshing sound and then the branch hit her ass. It stung wildly and
Em jumped slightly forward, almost knocking herself over. Salt put a
hand to her back to steady her as one of the other two hit her again. It
came from both sides, the right and then the left, her ass cheeks
singing in pain. They might not be trying to draw blood, but they
weren’t being gentle either. Salt thrust into her mouth, reminding her
of his presence. Em began to bob her head, her pussy pulsing wildly
with yearning. She sucked Salt deeply between her lips, her tongue
twining around the lusciously hard feel of his cock. She whimpered,
caught between a place of burning pain and glorious ecstasy.

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Her men had truly turned her into a beast of sensation. Her flesh

was stinging sharply, each new unrelenting strike taking her toward
that place of overwhelming bliss. She wanted it. She wanted them.
Her pussy was demanding contact, the muscles tightening against the
expectation of a hard male dick fanning the flames of her desire.

Em drove her mouth down over Salt’s cock, sucking and stroking

him with her lips and tongue. Rory and Russell both slowed. They
became unpredictable. A strike and then nothing, waiting, wanting
more, three strikes from the right. Em was rocking her head, Salt’s
fingers digging into her skull. Two more from the left, and then
silence except for the mildly whistling swoosh of air created by the
men behind her. They were snapping the branches to create sound, but
not hitting her with them. Salt was becoming more insistent, thrusting
into her mouth, groaning softly.

A barrage of strikes and then Russell was in her pussy. He filled

her hard and fast, grabbing her hips and then thrusting into her. Em
screamed, her cunt so wet and ready she couldn’t contain herself. She
built pressure with her mouth, sucking and cajoling Salt to rid herself
of the distraction. He rocked his body, grunting as the cool swell of
his fluid spurted into her mouth. Salt was gone, but so was Russell.
Em was left alone and empty.

Her pussy was aching and vibrantly hot from Russell’s flesh. The

cool breeze was tormenting it, the air striking the skin of her slowly
healing ass. Russell knelt before her and as she took him into her
mouth, Rory’s chilled cock filled her aching cunt. Salt was releasing
her hands and feet. He dropped the belt to the ground as Rory pulled
back. Salt turned her by her shoulders, guiding her down over
Russell’s cock. It filled her anus with a warm glow of solid, taut dick.
Russell pulled her down to his chest and Rory knelt between his
spread thighs. He again filled her cunt, the two men thrusting deeply
into her. Em opened her mouth, mewling whimpers flowing up from
deep in her throat. It felt so good and it seemed like an eternity since
she had been filled in such a way.

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Rory leaned forward, one hand to the ground as he used the other

to gather a handful of her hair. His kiss was hard and demanding, his
lips and tongue claiming her attention. It had been a long time since
Rory had kissed her in such a way.

He and Russell had set an opposing thrust, one filling her as the

other pulled back. Her cunt was so close, the variety of foreplay
making her flesh insane.

Her pussy was pulsing, each throb a delight that was causing her

to thrust her hips, seeking that moment of perfection before the final
crash of climax. Rory filled her as Russell pulled back. When Rory
slowly dragged his cock from her flesh, Russell didn’t follow suit. Em
waited, moaning in piteous eagerness for them to fill her again. Her
muscles were grabbing at the emptiness within her, searching for what
they were being denied.

She opened her eyes, looking at the impish grin on Rory’s face.

“Problem, sweets?”

The question was absurd. Yes, she had a damn problem. Her cunt

was so close to climax she wanted to scream, but neither of them was
doing anything about it. “Please? Don’t leave me like this.”

Rory used his free hand to run his finger over her clit. The light

touch made her squirm against Russell’s chest. He locked his arms in
hers, preventing her from moving. Rory waited, staring at her, his
smile building. He stroked her cunt again, her pussy shivering with
frustration.

Russell released one arm as Salt grabbed her by the waist and

flipped her over. He had the switch in his hand a moment later and he
was smacking her bare ass with it. Em squirmed against Russell’s
chest, but he grabbed her arms again, holding her down. The fire in
her ass cheeks was renewed twofold. Salt seemed to be striking every
possible inch of exposed skin, never hitting the same spot twice. Rory
stroked her clit, her overheated pussy snatching hard against the
emptiness within.

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Salt stopped, cool air rushing over her blazing hot ass. Rory

leaned and massaged it with his chilled palms, the act bringing relief
as well as more pain. He lifted her by her hips and turned her back
over. Russell’s cock sank into her ass again. Rory dropped
dramatically over her and lifted her legs to his sides. Russell was
moving quickly, with deep searing thrusts of heat. Rory was using
only the tip of his cock, teasing her, tormenting her with denial. Her
cunt was burning with need, the inner muscles sending spasms of
sensation upward. Em tried to thrust her hips, but Rory wouldn’t
allow her to move. He was watching her, judging her reaction as he
continued his minuscule movements. Russell slowed slightly, his dick
deep within her anus. As the same moment, Rory thrust into her, the
scraping of his cool cock colliding with Russell’s rock hard dick
through the thin layer of skin between. It was too much, her pussy on
overload. Em was shivering, each jarring pulse of magnificent
sensation rocking her entire body.

Together, as a single entity, they began to move, filling her,

releasing her. Her howls filled the night, her cunt locking hard around
Rory, her anus equally as tight for that amazing moment before the
crash came, her hips thrusting into Rory, her back baring into
Russell’s chest. They filled her with their seed, hot and cold, hitting
her at the same moment. Em screamed, her mind teetering on the
verge of oblivion as she went slack against Russell’s chest.

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Chapter 17

Her three men were walking behind her and she purposely slowed,

wondering why they weren’t catching up. Rory raced up behind her,
sweeping her into his arms. He flipped her over into his chest and
then boosted her over his head. Using her like a deadweight, he lifted
her up and down as he walked. Em was amazed that she was not
toppling off his hands, her body instantly adjusting to any movement
that might throw her off balance. She giggled at his antics, wondering
what had possessed him to do such a thing. Rory lifted her ten times
and then dropped her back into his arms, setting her to the ground.

Salt’s mouth was open to display his amazement. “No shit.

Forgive me for not believing you.”

Em was confused. “What didn’t you believe?”
“Rory said that he could do that. He said that with your grace,

your body would simply go slack and make alterations to your
position only when needed. A normal person would have freaked out
at the idea they were going to be dropped, but you didn’t.”

“I knew he wouldn’t drop me.” She turned a grin on Rory. “That

was an impressive display of vampire strength.” It was a display that
had renewed the ache in her cunt.

He bowed his head. “I’m glad you approved. It was something

that the three of us were discussing earlier while you were sleeping.
What just happened is also part of the reason that you weren’t
adversely affected by what was done to you. Your mind had become
adaptive to odd happenings. Even though you were caned and that
could have left bad connotations in your mind, it didn’t. We proved
that with the switches. You trust us completely and that gives you the

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strength to reject bad memories and replace them with good ones.
You are also very adept at finding bits of good amidst the bad and
hanging onto those scraps.”

Em wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad. She had been

appalled by Ruth’s seemingly cold attitude, but Rory was insinuating
that Em was just like Ruth. “So I’m a heartless bitch.”

Rory visibly sagged his shoulders, rolling his eyes dramatically.

“No. You are not Ruth. I can see the wheels of your mind turning. I
was talking about you not associating what Joel did with rape. I was
also talking about you not being devastated by Joel’s death. You
adapt and go on, Em. You don’t wallow in self-pity or dwell on things
that can destroy you. I know you have always had mixed feelings
about betraying Joel and Gaelic. That is the one thing that has
weakened your self-esteem and left you searching for a way to fix it.
That is gone now. You released it with Joel’s death. You never
betrayed them. I should know. I’m the one who was there to watch
you mourn their disappearance. I’m the one who spent months
wondering if you were going to emotionally die inside. You have
changed so much since then. Unlike Joel, your transformation has
been into a stronger, more stable individual. Everyone sees this in
you. This is why you have earned the nickname as the queen that was
so rightly bestowed upon you over the years. Your inner strength
shines around you like a glowing ember. Everything about you is
confident and tough. You don’t take shit and you don’t allow life to
bring you to your knees as you once did. You take strength from us
and you trust us to be here for you.”

He was right. She was no longer that young woman that worried

everything to death. As a human, she had been stressed out and
overwhelmed by life. Her business was everything, yet she longed to
have a relationship and freedom to enjoy herself. It was a choice she
had made and it had left her constantly questioning her life and
looking for things she wasn’t willing to change for. She had been the
same way with Joel and Gaelic, always worried about her desires and

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their actual commitment to her. She had wondered up until the night
Joel changed her if she was their mate or simply a convenient fuck
and a meal. In a way, Em had never truly believed that they loved her
as much as she craved. She no longer questioned what she was or had
doubts about her life. Her life was perfect and the three men standing
around her loved her more than life itself. That fact alone had kept her
from dwelling on the past. Rory had just proven to her that she trusted
him completely. If she didn’t, she would probably have squirmed and
made it hard for him to lift her as he had. She had simply let it happen
and had enjoyed it. “I guess that I’m far more relaxed than I used to
be.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Rory dragged her into his chest, kissing her

softly. “My Em has grown up and stopped acting like a worrisome
human. I like that.”

“You don’t think I’m humanish anymore?”
“You are in some ways. We could never do with a human woman

the things we do with you. A human woman would be crying for
mercy. A human woman could never withstand the physical and
emotional things that have happened to you. The vampire part of you
has made you more resilient. The human part of you keeps you as a
loving and caring individual. That is a nice melding of traits.”

Em smiled. “Thank you.”
Salt gave her a deep bow. “The queen’s modesty is

unquestioning.”

She giggled. Russell stepped in front of him. “Her laughter is a

beautiful wind chime in a soft spring breeze.”

Rory brushed her cheek. “Her eyes are the color of a warm,

cloudless summer day and I will forever see daylight within them.”

Em was being showered with lovely sentiment, wooed as any

woman could hope for. “My men are the sweet flowers in the spring,
the warmth and passion of summer. They are more beautiful than
vibrant fall leaves and stronger than the hardest winder wind. I love
the three of you so much.”

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“We know that.” Russell shrugged. “We can all see the reality of

your love in every smile and every gesture you make. We are
eternally yours.”

She felt tears of emotion welling in her eyes and sniffed them

back. “If we are going to get to the settlement before the sun comes
up, we had better get going.”

“End of subject. We are making her swell with emotion and

probably giving her a big head to boot.”

Em slapped him in the chest. “That wasn’t nice, Rory.” She turned

and strutted along the path between the rocks. Rory was laughing as
he caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her
head. He walked her forward as they rounded the next bend and the
settlement came into view. It was far larger than she expected.

Some of the houses were obviously in the process of being

renovated, but the overall impression was one of a large gathering of
houses with their lights all burning brightly into the darkness. As they
walked closer, she saw that a large bomb fire had been lit in the center
and the humans had gathered around it, just like at home.

As they walked into the light of the fire, all heads turned to look at

them. Alex got up, striding over to them. He gave Em a hug and
shook hands with the three men. “Have you come to join us by the
fire?”

“Actually, Em was concerned and we wanted to see how you were

doing.”

“We have settled in nicely. Our homes need a bit of work, but

nothing like building them from scratch. The people here are really
nice. Come say hi to everyone.” He took Em’s hand, pulling her away
from Rory as he dragged her back to the fire. Alex stood beside her
and all eyes were on her as he announced, “This is Queen Emerald.
She was the queen of our fortress and has come down to see how her
humans are faring.”

“You are not my humans. You are my friends.”

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Alex bowed his head. “Thank you. You are our friends, also. All

four of you are. I’m sorry things turned out badly with Joel.”

Em nodded. “Yeah, so am I. Life changes people in different

ways. Not all of those changes are always for the better.”

Grace took her hand and urged her to sit beside her. Em did so.

Rory took a place behind the bench, his hands resting on her
shoulders. Russell sat opposite Grace, taking Em’s hand. Salt grabbed
a blanket from the stack in a crate between the benches. He folded it,
laying it between her feet and then sitting down. Em put her free hand
to his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. They had a few hours until sunrise
and it was nice to sit in silent companionship before the flames.

THE END

WWW.TAZARIANSAGA.COM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kat Barrett lives in her small Connecticut home with her husband

of many years. She spends much of her time in artistic pursuits,
writing or doing artwork.

Kat is involved with Basenji rescue, but loves all animals. She

tries to help out whenever she can. Her dogs Taz and Ashle, although
gone now, will always hold a place in her heart.

She is grateful for her family, friends, and her fans, and wishes to

thank them all for their support. You can find more information about
Kat and her books on her website.

For all titles by Kat Barrett, please visit

www.bookstrand.com/kat-barrett

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com