Vampire Food 08: He Smelled Like Peach Pie (10 page)

“You drank Shanagar’s blood. He is a strong alpha and typically, the scent of their cum on a female is so musky it puts off other males. Shanagar is a vampire and as such, it is the scent of his blood that is the marker for what is his. Only a male vampire who wants you will smell it. I was hoping it wouldn’t happen. As I said, I can’t smell it.”

“What?” snarled Rory. “You drank his blood? Why?”

“I don’t remember doing it. I was trying to save Mia and I gave her too much blood. I was starving and the last thing I remember was thinking that Shanagar smelled like peach pie. Then I woke up in here with a killer headache.” She spun back to face Russell. “Tell me it will fade or I can wash it off or something.”

“I can’t tell you, Em, because I don’t know. As Shanagar said, only one other vampire has ever lived after biting him. The story was written in one of legend books. It was a different time and a completely different situation. He lived with her for years, but there were no other male vampires around. The only reason that he knew about the scent was because the woman met up with an old vampire friend of hers and he smelled it. He killed her because of it. Shanagar then killed him after getting some answers from the man.”

Em staggered back to the bed, sitting on the mattress. This couldn’t be true. There had to be something she could do. Rory and Salt couldn’t go through the rest of their lives being repelled by her scent. What was to become of her without them? There had to be a way to fix this.

“Em, we love you. We are all alive, that is all that matters right now. We will figure something out, okay. Maybe me and Salt will have to get some nose plugs.”

She chuckled sadly at his comment. She supposed that was an option, not a good one, but an option. “I guess you need to get right on it, huh?”

“Yeah, right after we go help try to heal all those burned vampires. We’ll be back later.”

“Okay. I’m so glad that you are okay. I love you both, too.”

“We know,” replied Salt. “We will figure this out. Don’t look so worried.”

She nodded, but the conviction in her mind wasn’t present. What if they couldn’t work it out? Russell sat down and wrapped his arms around her. “I should have told you, but I was hoping it wouldn’t happen.”

Tears began to drip down her cheeks. “If Shanagar was with that woman for years before the other vampire killed her, then the scent doesn’t fade, does it?”

“I don’t know. I won’t lie to you and say yes.”

Em nodded, her body beginning to shake as she sobbed. Russell pulled her tighter into his chest, holding her as if he was afraid to let her go.

* * * *

Shanagar stood in the shadows watching as the two men strode back down the hall. They were wrong, they would not work it out. The scent would not fade unless they stopped loving her, but he had a feeling that was not to happen soon. He needed to figure out what to do with his guilt. He could leave with the night, sneak away like a common thief, but that was not his style. There was a need for care, he was in a new world with many who didn’t know who he was or even care. He wondered who had killed Vidar and his minions? Em had said they were dead. The best course of action was probably to go speak with her and the shifter Russell.

Shanagar turned the corner from the tiny hallway and knocked on Em’s door. It was the man who beckoned him in. Opening the door slowly, Shanagar walked into the room. She was watching him with angry tearstained eyes as he pulled a chair over to sit beside the bed. Did she hate him for what he had done to her? Actually she had done it to herself, but that was not something that she would admit.

“I have come to beg your pardon.”

“For what?”

The question was spoken in a soft, levelheaded voice, and it was not what he had expected. What exactly was he sorry for? “I should have warned you what could happen.”

“Russell could have warned me also, but that is neither here nor there. It was an unknown that had a bad outcome. Shit happens.”

“Shit? I have heard that word before, but could never reason a meaning from the structure it was spoken in.”

She further surprised him by smiling. Had he said something amusing?

“Shit is specially the bodily waste that is extruded from a human’s body. As a slang term it means that things happen that are out of our control. Loosely translated, when you have the urge to defecate, it must happen eventually. Why are your eyes different colors?”

Queen Emerald was a very confusing, yet interesting woman. “I’m not sure exactly. My eyes were once amber with gold in them. After I was turned, one eye became the color of my creator’s. Does it distress you?”

“No, they are beautiful. So tell me about this stink I have acquired.”

That was a question that he had anticipated. “When I was a shifter, my mating musk was very strong. I was a king and it needed to be known that my women were not to be lusted after. The scent was a marker of what was mine and also a deterrent for any that wanted what was mine. When I became a vampire, my sexual scent faded and was replaced with a mating stink from my blood.”

“Okay, so did you consciously choose me as yours or was it just an accident because I bit you?”

Her voice held a touch of sarcastic challenge. “That is an interesting question. It is undeniable that you are beautiful and alluring. I don’t usually take women to my bed indiscriminately without getting to know them first. I was a noble man who didn’t condone forced sex on anyone. I was also not interested in mating for gain, or taking a woman who wasn’t my mental equal. Stupid sexual partners are fine, but when you have to talk to them under different circumstances, you want a woman with a brain.”

Sitting up, she leaned back on Russell, folding her knees into her body. Planting her elbows on her knees, she laced her fingers together and rested her chin on her thumbs. Russell began rubbing her back with his upper hand as the lower arm he was leaning on supported his head. Em grinned sassily. “That is all a good thing and interesting information, but you didn’t answer my question.”

“I did answer you. I don’t take a woman for my own without getting to know her.”

“But you do know me. You told me that you have been gathering information about me while in your prison. I have to wonder if maybe it kept your mind amused to gather tidbits about Queen Em so that when you got out, you would have the information needed to make a conquest on the current queen of the caves.”

He had been doing just that, but not to make a conquest of her. His mind had just enjoyed the sound of her voice, and his imagination was kept busy trying to envision of what she looked like. “You think very highly of yourself.”

She took the insult with a chuckle. “I was simply speculating because of what you said earlier. My title holds very little in the way of power. If anything, I am simply a central figure at the meetings and a sounding board for ideas. I have no desire to be above any other person or breed. I’m really big on equality.”

“Equality? Not all people can be equal. Equality stifles those with high ambitions. There are those that can lead and inspire and those that follow because they don’t have leadership skills. That is the way it has always been. I fear that will never change because society cannot survive with too many chiefs and no Indians.”

“Interesting phrase for you to speak. I suppose you are right. I was speaking about base, respect-type equality. I am called the queen because I have very good reasoning skills and an ability to make the right decisions. I should be more specific and simply say that I have no desire for subjects who bow at my feet. I would rather have friends who stand by my side.”

She had a very good point. “So who of those friends set off bombs to kill you all?”

“I have an idea, but we were in the process of investigating when the bombs went off.”

Emerald was a challenging woman. He liked a woman who was high-spirited. “And what will you do if you find them?”

“I will do to them what they tried to do to me. I will burn them at the stake and enjoy watching them scream for mercy.”

“Will you give it?”

Her nostrils flared with momentary anger. “No!”

Russell was stunned by her words. Since when had Em become so unforgiving? He stroked her arm and she turned to him, the anger in her eyes was a staggering force. “What brought on that?”

“You didn’t see Mia.”

Mia? Her anger was about Mia? “No, I didn’t. What happened to Mia?”

“They severed her head, not completely, but enough so she was almost dead. Then they cut her from shoulder to pelvis, spitting her down the middle like a fucking fish on a filet table. I can only imagine how much she suffered before we saved her. I never wanted Mia to feel such pain. She did nothing to deserve such agony.”

Hearing her description was horrendous, but Russell could only imagine how it had felt for Em to see such a thing. “Why would they fuck with her like that?”

“To get to me or Salt or any of us who survived. Maybe it was a message left for Gaelic. Who the hell knows?”

He hadn’t even considered Gaelic in this. If he felt Em dead, he would surely fly to the caves. Everyone was aware that Gaelic had created Mia. That was one hell of a message.

Shanagar was watching him like a hawk and it was really unnerving. “Do you have something that you want to say?”

“I was just wondering why an Alpha male would bow down to a female. Is it because she is queen, or do you give up your status to be with her?”

“It is neither. Times have changed, Shanagar. Women do not bow down to men anymore, even if they don’t hold a high title. Being Alpha no longer makes me a king, it just indicates that I have stronger genes than most and I’m more successful at breeding.”

“Interesting, so why did you bow to me?”

“I was simply paying respect where respect was due. You are a man of legend and your feats have been written about in the books of old. It was an honor to suddenly meet you when all presumed you dead.”

There was a knock on the door and Em called for it to be opened. A young human stood on the other side. He seemed unaffected by the smell of her body. “I was asked to come get you. The sun is fading and we could use your help to dig out the others. Mia has established that quite a few of them still live beneath their stone enclosures.”

“I’m very glad to hear that. We will be out momentarily.”

With a nod, he shut the door. Em slid to her feet and Russell slipped out of bed behind her. He turned her by the shoulders and dragged her into his arms. “I’m surprised to hear you so bitter. Is it only because of Mia?”

“Of course not. It is all the vampires that died this day. It is that through their actions, I have lost two of the men I love.” Her brow creased with anguish, tears rising into her eyes. “I adore you, Russell. I always will, but even to think that I can no longer have Salt and Rory in my life is breaking my heart into tiny pieces. I have no illusions that things will change. I’m not that stupid. I will even be surprised if I am not asked to leave the hall once I get there. How many men there lust after me?”

She was right. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what? You didn’t do anything. Follow the sequence of events that led to this moment and then put blame where it belongs.”

Russell stroked her cheek, feeling her shiver. He was suddenly afraid for her. From what they had established, within a short period of time, vampire imprint would start gnawing at her mind and body. She might be okay with two men in her life, but with only one man things would be different. He really needed to talk to Rory and get some more definite answers.

Giving him a weary smile, she leaned and gave him a soft kiss before whispering in his ear, “I have missed you.”

“I have missed you also. Let’s go get this done. It is going to be a long, exhausting night.”

* * * *

Em could almost hear Russell thinking as they headed down the hall. She planned to go directly outside to try and avoid having anyone smell her. The moment they stepped out into the hall, she knew that it was unavoidable. The man standing closest to them was a young vampire who would always smile when she walked near him. On this night, before he even saw her, he frowned, his nose twitching like a rabbit sniffing a head of lettuce. He turned in her direction, but gave her no smile.

Em continued walking toward the opening. The birds were gone, not a single one remaining. She turned to Shanagar. “What happened to your ravens?”

“They were only on my shoulders to speak with me and when the conversation ended, they flew away.” As she turned forward again, Em caught the odd expression on some of the faces. Three of them were vampires, their skin still healing from earlier burns. The other two men were shifters and Em wasn’t sure if the looks were for her or Shanagar.

As they neared the ledge, Em took a few quick steps and leapt upward. Rory and Salt were both there and even with the breeze blowing though the opening, they both turned to look at her. Rory gave her a smile. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she replied, almost bursting into tears. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what? You didn’t do anything. The only ones to blame are the ones that bombed the caves and cut Mia to shreds. If not for that, this wouldn’t be happening.” The wind stopped for a moment and he stepped back a few more feet. “I’m sorry, Em. I want to be near you. I want to hold you and kiss you, but I can’t. I can’t even describe how bad this is. It’s making my eyes burn.”

Em took note that Salt had moved a good distance from them. He was staring at her with an expression of grief so profound it was breaking her heart further. Em sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and he offered her a thin smile. “We haven’t found those nose plugs yet.”

She chuckled despite the grief that was threatening to overwhelm her. “So I see. I’m going to go outside where no one will be forced to smell me.”

Rory nodded and stepped back away from her. Em understood, yet to have them avoiding her was torture. She wandered to the very outside of the wreckage and began to slow process of removing debris. She piled it neatly, knowing that the large stone would be needed to put the wall back together to block the sun. As she worked, four men approached her. They were carrying buckets and small shovels. Setting the buckets down, one of them came closer. “Evening, Em.”