Free Vampire Food 08: He Smelled Like Peach Pie by Kat Barrett

thing. He pulled out a medium-sized rock and then dropped it back in place, turning and throwing his arms around Em. He took her down to the ground, his body cloaking hers. She felt him move, a sharp stone digging into her back as he kicked out one of his legs. Em had no idea what he was doing, but she didn’t have the strength to push him off.
    It seemed as if hours had passed, but it was probably only a few minutes and then he stood, pulling her up. “Forgive me, but the sun was coming through. We can look no further until darkness falls.”
    His words were like a stake to her heart, Em felt as if she were going to faint. If the cloth was torn in any way, then Rory and Salt were trapped, burning alive under the sun. She turned running back to the drop-off and leaping to the floor. A moment later she had the cloak in her arms and was bolting back upward.
     
    * * * *
     
    She was as stubborn as she was beautiful, but Queen Emerald was also not thinking very clearly. He couldn’t say that he blamed her. He knew full well what it was like to be buried under tons of stone. He had tried to escape, but had only served to bloody his knuckles. Luckily for her, they had grown stronger and his skin had become more resilient over the years.
    He watched as she took a running jump, and knew exactly what she intended to do. The cloth had protected her from the sun before, but it would only work again if she kept her body covered with it. That would be impossible if she was trying to dig.
    He put out his arm, capturing her around the waist as she headed toward the stone that he had just covered the opening with.
    “Stop! You will be burned alive and you will allow sunlight to flow into the caves. How many suffer below us who have barely begun to heal if they even can?” The carnage was bad, but it could be far worse. He had seen many battles and watched many people die during his lifetime. What surprised him was how little the caves had changed. The clothing was different, and the window that let the sun in was new, but basically everything else was the same.
    Emerald was glaring at him. “How the fuck would you know? You’re not a vampire.”
    “Yes, I am. I just have more tolerance to the sun because of my shifter blood. The sun burns me, but does not kill me.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “I was a shifter, Emerald. I was a king in my time, an alpha as none before me. I was seduced by the female vampire who turned me, but some of my shifter blood remained and I became a half-breed. That is how I called to the birds and the animals that sacrificed their life for me. I can survive on blood or meat, they both give me substance to survive.”
    She was obviously stunned. Of course, there was probably little or no reference written as to such a thing. Vampires believed that shifters couldn’t be turned and shifters believed the same thing. It was better off that way, because only a strong shifter such as himself had the ability to survive.
    “I don’t care what you are, or who you were. Those two men are my mates and we can’t just leave them there.”
    A gorilla lumbered up onto the strewn rock platform. He shifted back into Russell, his naked body stark in the dim light. Emerald hurried to him, gently touching the blood on Russell’s side. “You’re injured.”
    “I know. I got hit with a shard of flying stone.”
    She dropped to her knees, leaning and licking the wound. Either she had very healing saliva or she had just bitten her tongue. What a novel and erotic way to heal someone.
    Russell obviously enjoyed it. He shivered, inhaling sharply as her blood began to heal him. “I will go outside and look from there. Hopefully I can find them and assess what condition they are in.” He pulled her to her feet. “What do you feel, Em?”
    Shanagar was wondering the same thing. He was probably contemplating different subject matter, but her feelings were at the root of it. Emerald shrugged and Shanagar had to wonder