Emerald: Rare Gems Series - Billionaire Wolf Shapeshifter Romance (10 page)

Yes, her mind screamed, but it wasn’t that simple. “I have to get permission from Blair. You’ll…Christ, just bite me, please?”

His teeth sank into her hard. The moment he broke the skin, she felt her climax take her. Grabbing his arm that was nearest to her, she bit him as well, let her wolf mark him while she tasted his hot spiked blood. His cum filled her with his heat and seed, and she came again. Emerald felt as if he was marking her the way her kind did, and when he tore at her shoulder, she came again. This time her wolf made her own pleasure known. The howl that spilled from her was primal and loud. Then she bit him again and heard bones break. His screams were cut off when he fell forward over her.

He was out for no longer than ten minutes. In the whole time she never left him, only to go and get a wet cloth to put over his bloodied face. At first she thought it was his, but after cleaning him up, she figured out it was hers. He’d marked her, and that was all it was. As soon as he opened his eyes, she burst into tears.

“I’m fine, love. Seriously, I don’t hurt at all.” She crawled in to be next to him and held him tightly against her, while he told her over and over how great he felt. She noticed that his wrist was already healing.

“You’ve a great deal of me inside of you.” She showed him how she’d shattered his wrist and that it was healing. “But this is nothing compared to what it will be like when I change you. I have to really hurt you. I mean, tear into you like I’m going to kill you.”

“I trust you.” But she didn’t trust herself and told him that. “But you will do it? You’re going to change me into a wolf? For us?”

“I don’t know if I can.” He held her but said nothing. “I have to bite into you hard enough to bring you to near death. That way your body can heal it and you while it makes the change. I’ve only seen it done once before, and that was because the person was nearly dead anyway. Lucky for her, her mate was strong enough not to stop the process when everyone feared that he’d killed her.”

“You won’t let me die.” She was glad that he had so much confidence in her, because she certainly didn’t. “I talked to Dawn at dinner, along with Thad and Quentin. Both of them said that they’d been changed or they would have died. Dawn said that Colby changed her because she’d become his mate. She had the most information on it.”

“Blair might not let me.” She knew that he would say she could, but she wasn’t a hundred percent positive. “And then because of you wanting to do this without it being an emergency, we have to do it in front of the pack. When Ruby changed Josh, there wasn’t permission given and they had to be punished. I’m not sure how much of a punishment it’s been for them. They seem to enjoy being in charge of their pack.”

He rolled her to her back and looked at her. “I love you. More than I ever thought I could love a single person. I want to be with you, like you, and a part of you. If Blair says no, whatever the punishment is, I’ll gladly do it to be a wolf like you. I love you very much.”

As he moved over her and then back, she wondered how hard it would really be if Blair said no. But when Jul took her hand and then slipped a ring over her knuckle, her mind went completely blank. He held it in a way that she couldn’t see what it looked like, not even the band.

“It’s a ring.” He laughed and nodded. “You didn’t have to give me a ring. I mean, whatever it looks like, I’m sure that it’s very lovely, but I don’t have to have a ring. Can I see it?”

He moved his fingers out of the way and then turned it so that the stone was on the top. Emerald looked at it for several seconds before she looked up at him.

“I wanted to give you all the diamonds in the world, but that seemed mundane after seeing your sister’s rings. And then when I saw that each of them had a ring that was basically their name, I had to be different. You know, be the best.” He laughed when she nodded. “I’ve rendered you speechless, haven’t I?”

“I don’t know what to say.” She didn’t either. The ring…well to call it a ring was like calling this place a shack. “Did you design this?”

“My mom helped, but yes, I did. It was easy compared to working up the courage to ask you to be my wife.”

She sat up, unmindful of her nudity, and stared at the setting. “There is one of each of us here, isn’t there?”

The base stone was an emerald, a round cut one that sparkled around the room. There was a small sapphire, diamond, jade, opal, then a ruby. They repeated themselves twice as they surrounded the stone. The band, a platinum one that was as wide as her first knuckle, balanced out the ring and made it look dainty rather than heavy and crass. And on the band were wolves, each of them chasing the other all the way around. Jul told her to look on the inside.

“‘Forever true is my love for you.’” Then there were their initials as well as the year. Emerald looked up at him again.

“I love you.” He nodded and said he loved her as well. “I will convert you. As soon as we get this thing with the bastard completed, I’ll do it. With or without Blair’s permission.”

“Good. I love you very much too.” He pulled her into his arms and held her while he continued. “This plan tomorrow. I need to ask you a few questions. Like what the hell are we supposed to do if he brings a gun?”

She explained to him that bullets would hurt like hell, but unless it was silver, they could survive it. “But not to the head or heart. We will die from that like any human.”

They spent most of the night talking about the plan. Then when he seemed satisfied, they talked about his business and her new job. By the time the sun was coming up, Jul had fallen asleep and she lay there looking at him. Sapphire touched her mind, and she asked her to come to the kitchen.

I’m lonely.
Emerald dressed as she kept staring at the ring and went to keep her sister company. It was going to be a long day.

Chapter 10

Nolan arrived early. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that there wouldn’t be some sort of backup plan. This thing with Erickson was going to be fun and all, but shit, he knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. So when he arrived at the homeless place at two, he was surprised to find several delivery trucks backed up to it, as well as about fifty people unloading them.

From the amount of food coming out of those trucks, he wondered what the hell else was going on inside the place. There had to be enough food going in there to feed a thousand people. Or more. His belly rumbled as he watched. The thought of going in there and taking a few things to fill the void was making him slightly ill.

His food had run out the day before yesterday. And while he had some money, the one time he’d gone out to get some supplies he’d almost been caught. Whoever the broad was that had started screaming it was him was not going to be telling anyone who he was for a long while, if ever. He’d hit her pretty hard with his car when she’d come out of the store looking for him again. Christ, Nolan thought it would have blown over by now.

He was hoping that after today, when Erickson was dead, things would get back to normal. Nolan was making plans to go back to working with the cable company again, and cleaning out his apartment of all the shit that the cops might have done to it. And getting him another notebook. He really would miss his other one, but it wasn’t like he could ask for it back. That would fuck up his entire plan.

By three he was thinking that he was going to leave and come back. There was nothing going on here but a bunch of trucks coming in and going out, and some homeless shits getting a few meals.

The guy who seemed to be in charge was having things set up outside when he got out of his car to walk to the convenience store at the corner. It looked like they were getting ready for a concert or something, and he wondered who the headliners might be. Still, by the time he’d returned to his car with three of them roller dogs and a bag of chips with a six pack of beer, things didn’t look like Erickson and her family of wolves were even going to show up.

Nolan must have fallen asleep at some point. When he woke up and looked around, things were a great deal different than they’d been when he’d parked there. The chairs were set up in lines, and this time he knew it wasn’t a concert but a wedding. The big bunches of flowers and the trellis were his first hint, and the band setting up told him the rest. Who the hell got married in a homeless shelter?

There were people already seated in a few of the seats. He looked at the clock on his phone and was surprised to see it was just going on five-thirty. If he was meeting Erickson here at seven, then the wedding was going to take place about the same time. Great, he’d have a distraction when he left her dead body lying there.

At ten minutes to six, a long limo pulled up. Nolan sat up higher in his seat and watched the couple getting out. He had no idea who they were, or again what the hell they were doing here, but he watched them enter the warehouse. Twice more limos came and left people before he finally got out of his car to go and have himself a look at what the hell might be going on.

The place was done up like some sort of Christmas pageant. He’d never been to one, but he’d seen pictures of them. While he was standing there looking around, he was bumped from behind by another couple as they made their way inside. That was when he noticed the Christmas tree and all the gifts under it.

“It’s July,” the woman behind him laughed. “What the hell is going on? Christmas is not for another six months.”

“It’s a charity ball. We’re raising money to help children and families celebrate the holiday. We’re hoping to have enough money so that each family has a lovely meal and presents for everyone in the family. Last year we surpassed our goal by nearly ten grand. I think we’ll make more than that this year.” She looked around. “I think this was a grand place to have it this year, don’t you?”

Nolan didn’t bother answering her. She was nuts. Who the hell wanted to help the homeless out anyway? And to raise money for them was just dumb. They’d be spending it on beer and drugs before even one dime went to getting a gift.

He’d been in the system when he’d been a kid. Some woman would come along and ask his mom what size clothes he wore and what one gift he wanted more than anything. His mother had been the dumbest thing on earth. She’d told the woman that all she wanted for her son was a good coat.

“A coat.” He looked around when he realized that he’d spoken out loud. She’d told the social worker that he’d not needed anything but a warm coat, and that was all he’d gotten, except a few other things that were just as useless; a pair of boots that were too small, a backpack filled with school supplies, and underwear. Who the hell got a kid underwear for Christmas?

At a quarter till seven, after sampling everything on the buffet line, he went outside again. The bride and groom weren’t anywhere he could see them, and even though a few more of the seats were filled with fat asses, it didn’t look as if that part of tonight’s shindig was going to happen any time soon.

He was back at his car, leaning on it this time, when he saw her. She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt. There were two other women with her that were dressed the same, but he had no idea where they were going. As they headed around the building, he moved behind them. He had his belly full now, and things were looking up.

As he rounded the corner, there was a man sitting in a chair. It was one of the wedding chairs, and he stood up when he saw him. The man didn’t move, but Nolan watched him carefully.

“You must be Nolan Bruce.” Before he could think this was a trap, Nolan nodded. “Good. I’ve been waiting for you to come around. The woman are waiting for you to get here before they come out. But you should know that…well, you’re not leaving here. I just thought you’d like to know that before they get out here.”

“Come out of where? And what the fuck are you doing here anyway?” The man didn’t answer but sat back down. “What the hell is going on? I was supposed to meet Erickson here. And as for me not leaving here? I think you got it all wrong, buddy. I’m going out the same way I came in. On my own two feet.”

“No, you’re not.”

Nolan was getting pissed. He had things to do. Well, not really, but this wasn’t what he had planned. When the man laughed, he looked at him again.

“What the hell is going on? I want answers, not you sitting there giggling like some school girl on her first date.” The man stood again and Nolan realized how tall he was. At least five or six inches taller than him. “Who are you? And why should I believe a single word coming out of that puss of yours?”

“My name is Blair Henson. These men,” Nolan turned when he pointed behind him, “…are Thad Galloway, Quentin Witt, Sloan Crane, and Josh Ewing. Oh, and that man coming from over there is Jul Whitney. We’re all married, or in Jul’s case, about to be married, to the Gems. You ever heard of them? They’re something special, our gems.”

“I’m here to see—” The man cut him off. And that was one of Nolan’s most hated crimes as far as he was concerned, cutting someone off when they were talking.

“So you said, you’re here to meet with Erickson.” Henson sat down, and the men, who Nolan just noticed had been carrying their own chairs, joined him. They were all facing him and looking as relaxed as men at a bar looked when they’d had a few. When Henson nodded in that direction, Nolan turned. “They’re here now. And as they all were Erickson’s at one time, I think you should know that they’re sisters. All six of them.”

“Fuck.” The six big dogs that were standing there looked like something out of a nightmare. His nightmare. As they started toward him, he heard one of the men tell him not to run. He started to ask why when he answered him.

“They like to run down their prey. The first time I met Emerald I’d been told not to run. But I did and…well, I’m pretty sure your encounter with her won’t be nearly as enjoyable as mine was.” He laughed again. “She said something to me today about it being the best way to kill someone. Just to run them down and tear out their throat. I’m betting you don’t last that long, but it will be fun to watch you die.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” The man didn’t answer him, and Nolan turned then. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but you call them dogs off right now. This isn’t the way I had it planned out. And I like a plan.”

“Wolves.” He looked at the man who’d sat down next to Henson. “They’re not dogs, but wolves. They’re our wives. You should also know that they hate being called dogs. Bitches is okay, but not dogs. Brings their pissyness out, and that’s not ever pretty.”

“You’re one sick motherfucker. I want you to call them off. I don’t give a shit what they are, but you bring out that Erickson bitch, the one called Emerald, and we’ll have our talk.” He turned back to see that the wolves had cut the distance between him and them in half. And the closer they got to him, the bigger they got. Now he could see that they were indeed wolves. “What the hell are they doing loose anyway? Somebody should call the dog pound and have them gathered up. They might cause some harm to some kid or something.”

He took a step back and stopped when one of them growled. Teeth shone brightly in the moonlight, and he nearly took another step back when Henson told him to stop. Nolan felt the hair on his arms dance when one of them, the closest one to him, snarled at him. Sweat poured down his back as it swiped its paw at his leg.

“You said you wanted to talk to Erickson. Well, here they are. All of them. I do believe that Em told you she was bringing her family and that they were indeed wolves.” Nolan turned and looked at the man…Jul, he’d been told his name was. “She and her sisters have decided that there is just too much at stake to let you go to trial. One of them suggested that you’d plead insanity and get out in a few years. That wasn’t acceptable to them. So, they’re going to take care of you right now. And if you think that the police are going to give a shit that they’re going to kill you, think again. They were told by one of them that this is the only way to handle it. Killing you is the best way to rid this world of scum like you.”

“I’m not going to trial, and they sure as shit aren’t going to be taking care of me. If any of them come close to me, I’m going to kill them.” The man on the end laughed. “You think this is funny there, boy? What if I told you that after I finish with your wives, I’m going to kill you too?” He reached for his gun and couldn’t find it. The man laughed again.

“I’ve already taken it from you.” The gun dropped in front of the man. “And if you manage to get out of this, which is highly doubtful, you should learn to bring silver to a wolf fight. Those bullets wouldn’t have hurt any of them. Pissed them off, but not hurt them overly much.”

When a hot breath fell over his fingers, Nolan jerked his hand back and turned. The wolves were standing close enough that he could have touched them. The first one growled low and snarled at him. Nolan took a step back, then another as they advanced toward him in a line.

The softly spoken “Run” had him turning and taking off. He had gone perhaps ten feet when he remembered he’d been told not to. When something hit him in the back, he fell forward. The pain in his leg, the feeling that it was being bitten, had him looking back. Nolan screamed. They were all over him in seconds.

The pain was incredible. He knew they were playing with him, knew that for some reason they weren’t killing him right away. But when they all backed off save one, he looked up at her with blood tinged eyes. Everything in his body hurt, and he was pretty sure that he was bleeding to death. In seconds the wolf was gone, and Erickson was kneeling in front of him.

“I wanted you to see what happens to fucking idiots that mess with my family.” He grinned at her and felt his mouth not working right. He did speak…slurred, but he spoke to her.

“I’m coming to get you, bitch. And when I do, this is going to look like nothing.” He felt the hands wrap around his head. It reminded him of the hat he’d gotten for that Christmas. “You’re going to wish for death.”

“No. You’ll be dead in seconds.” He felt the grip tighten around his head and knew that whoever it was, they were going to snap his neck. The last thing he saw before the person twisted him was Erickson blowing him a kiss.

~~~

Ten minutes. Jul had ten minutes to straighten up or he was going to be late. When someone knocked on the door for the tenth time, he turned to scream at them to leave him the fuck alone for five minutes. But the door opened and his mom was standing there.

“You’re going to be fine.” He nodded. Not because he believed her but because she did. “Em is a lovely young woman and will make you happier than you’ve ever been.”

She took his tie from him and put it around his neck as he thought of what he was about to do. “She still mad at me about this?”

“I don’t think so. I think she’s still trying to decide which of her sisters she wants to murder more. She’s under the impression that someone, one of them, should have told her what you were doing.” He nodded as she finished tying his tie. “And the way that her grandmother is fussing with her dress, I’d say she’s on the list too.”

“Thank you for helping me out with it. I would never have thought of using yours.” She nodded as she fussed with his handkerchief. “How did you know it would fit her?”

“Annabelle told me.” His mom stepped back and looked him over. “You look as handsome as your father right now. I’m surprised all the time by how much you favor him.”