Free Claiming Emerald by Kat Barrett Page B

Does Joel know that?”
    “He has been told.”
    Em opened the door and slid out. It felt as if every joint in her body was aching from the internal chill. She shivered as she walked to Gaelic. Oddly enough, it was easier to run. It calmed the tremors slightly.
    Gaelic looked at her and sighed. “What happened?” He hooked his arm around her and began to walk.
    “We were out trying to find windmills.” She sighed and told him the complete story before shivering violently. “Now I’m fucked up.”
    “Who is Russell?”
    Em had forgotten that Joel and Gaelic had left before she got involved with Russell. “He’s a shifter.”
    “Why would a shifter be so interested in saving you?”
    “Um. Because he joined us a while back.”
    Gaelic stopped and glared at her. “You are fucking a shifter?”
    “Is there a problem with that?”
    He shrugged and pulled the door open. “It just seems fucked up. They usually stick to their own kind.” Gaelic led her down a long hallway.
    She could hear music off to their left. There was an opening and she got a momentary glance at a hall that was filled with people dancing and singing. “How many humans are here?”
    “Three hundred and twelve.”
    “Wow. How many vamps?”
    “Ten. There are also four shifters and three werewolves, but as I said, they keep to themselves.”
    “Oh. I’m sorry if you disapprove, but he is one with Rory, Salt, and I.”
    Gaelic led her through an open door. Joel was lying on the bed. Two very beautiful women, a blonde and a redhead, were giving him a massage. They both stopped and leaned back onto the pillows when Gaelic walked in. Em wondered if they were currently Joel and Gaelic’s mates or if they were just present to piss her off.
    Joel rolled over to face her, his naked body glistening with oil. He took his sweet time about getting up and walked over to her. “Queen Em has gotten herself into a tizzy. Imagine how surprised I was when I got a note saying that you would be here tonight. I was instructed to give you my blood and say good-bye.”
    “Say good-bye as in you would never see me again?”
    His haughty expression faded. “No. As in don’t detain you. Why would you think otherwise?”
    “I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling that I will not be allowed to leave the governors’ caves once I’m there.”
    “Then why are you going?”
    Em was partially controlling the shivering, but she was frozen to the core.
    “Because I’m freezing to death. I don’t have much choice. The book says that I have to take blood from my maker and an ancient or I will remain this way.”
    Joel touched her cheek and frowned. “Holy shit, you’re cold. Are you shivering?”
    Em nodded, her head feeling slightly jerky. “I hurt all over. Rory gave me his blood last night and it helped. I tried again tonight, but it did nothing.”
    Joel immediately offered his throat and drew her into his arms. Em sank her fangs into his flesh and took from him. Joel moaned softly. “I still love you.”
    She snapped her fangs back into place, feeling slightly better. “I know. I still love the two of you also. We just can’t make it together anymore.”
    “Stay here with us. You can be the queen again.”
    “I am the queen, Joel. You and Gaelic can no longer give me what I need. I like the all-encompassing release of control that I find at home. I like the things that my men do to me. I relish the pain and the sexual high it supplies. That may change some day, but right now… Thank you, Joel. I have to go face my fate with the governors.”
    She stroked his cheek, the sadness that she saw in his eyes heart wrenching. Em turned to Gaelic. “Thank you.”
    He nodded and Em saw a glimmer of grief in his watery blue eyes. “Be safe.”
    “I’m gonna try. Maybe someday I’ll stop and say hello when I have more time.”
    Gaelic smiled. He still looked like her beautiful surfer boy. “I do miss the two of you.”
    “I’ll bet. Get going before your