Joely Sue Burkhart - Queen Takes Queen

For my Beloved Sis.

Thank you to my beta readers, Sherri Meyer,

Laura Walker, Melissa Joy Vailes, Alexx Ragan,

Rachel Mowry, Jenn VonBerg, Lydia Simone,

Francesca Vance, Mads Schofield, Shelbi Gehring,

Alyssa Muller, Meagan Cannon West,

Amber Lynn Hamblin, Lachaundra LaRue,

Elle Cross, and Jennifer Swan

Special thanks to Stephanie Cunningham for naming Eztli.

Amber, Ezra thanks you personally.

L ounging in bed was a luxury Id been denied most of my adult life. When you were on the run, afraid for your life, the last thing you wanted to do was close your eyes. Let alone drop your guard enough to actually sleep soundly. Sleeping made me vulnerable, and alone, I couldnt afford to be vulnerable. I couldnt relax one second without worrying Id end up dead.

That fear was long gone now. I could lie in bed all hours of the day or night and sleep without a single worry. I didnt have to keep one eye on the door, or strain my ears to hear a whisper in the hallway. Because I would never be alone again, not with my Blood by my side.

Before I opened my eyes, I liked to touch each of my six Blood bonds one by one, locating their position. Partly to know who was in bed with me, but also so they would each feel me touch their bond. Theyd know I was awake and well, and Id know they were well.

Of course as my alpha and my biggest, baddest Blood, Rik probably knew I was awake before I realized it, but I always felt for him first, even though I knew hed be right there beside me.

Until he wasnt.

He isnt here.

I jerked upright, my heart pounding. Rik?

He hollered from the bathroom. In here, my queen. Sorry, I didnt mean to worry you.

Even alphas need to take a leak now and then, Xin said beside me.

Whew. My heart still pounded, but I lay back down beside him and curled into his side. Even in his human form, Xin smelled like a wolf. Well, that didnt come anywhere close to a good description. He smelled like a wolf, paused in a clearing in the middle of an ancient forest, beneath a full moon on a cold winters night, with frost and snow crystallized on his fur.

Touching him felt so strange with that image in my head, because his skin was so hot and smooth. I ran my palms over his chest and shoulders, enjoying the play of muscle and sinew beneath his skin. He was one of my leaner Blood, but no less powerful or strong than the others. As my second-oldest Bloodborn in 712 ADhe had endured centuries upon centuries in a cold, untouchable service to his queen. To say he was starved for touch was the understatement of the year. All my Blood were starved to a point, but he and Mehen, my oldest Blood, whod been imprisoned as the mighty dragon, Leviathan, definitely felt the need most severely.

I pressed closer to Xin, tangling my legs with his and sliding one hand around to his back. My eyes drifted shut and I relaxed into his embrace, just enjoying the feeling of companionship.

Okay, I was starved for touch too.

Tell me something about you, Xin whispered against my forehead, stroking my back. Something no one else knows. Something good.

It would be impossible for me to tell him a secret when my Blood bonds tied our hearts and minds together. They usually knew what I was thinking before I realized myself. But he would at least be the first to hear the words.

Silent a few moments, I tried to think of something not just good, but special. Its funny, but when youre a kid, you think that your life is normal and everyone else is weird, you know? So I thought everybody had terrible nightmares and saw red glaring eyes outside their windows. I thought everyone was scared of the dark because of the monsters. So when I talked about it at school, I got labeled special pretty quickly. After a few years, Mom took me out of public school and I stayed home with her. Dad was gone by then, but she really tried hard to make things normal and safe for me. Fun, even. But I didnt have any friends, and as much as I loved her, I was still lonely, even before she died.

He made a low sound against my skin. I said something good, my queen.

Im getting there, I promise! I didnt have a lot of friends, and I hung out mostly with Mom. But all through my life, little things happened that made me feel like I wasnt alone. That I was watched over. Like I had a guardian angel. Maybe Id find a flower on the porch, something tropical and hot pink, when we didnt have anything like it growing on our street. Or a really pretty red leaf in the middle of winter, pressed to the windshield of the car. Or Id smell something sweet and soothing at night when I was scared, and Id close my eyes, and itd feel like someone was there, watching over me. I didnt know then who it was, but now I think it was my real mother. Even though she was dead and I had no idea of her existence, she was always with me.

I didnt bother saying her name. Thanks to a geas Esetta Isador had placed upon all Aima, no one living could say or remember her name. I didnt have that problem, since Id technically died the first time I came into my power when Rik and Daire found me just a few miles from here.

My throat ached and my eyes burned, but with happy tears. Even though she knew I had no idea that she even existed, she still made sure I felt her presence. Thats pretty special.

Mom would always be Mom, the woman who raised me, who died to keep me safe, even though she was technically my aunt. But now I had Esetta, too. I had her words shed written to me. Even if no one else could remember her name, I would always remember.

Thank you, Esetta.

Something soft brushed my cheek like a featherthough I didnt see or sense anything.

Thank you, my queen, Xin whispered.

He didnt tighten his grip or press against me, but something tugged on my sixth sense in the bond. I sank deeper into his bond, now used to the gray fog that seemed to surround him. Each of my Bloods bonds felt different in my head, and Xin had always been distant. Not that he tried to deliberately hide from me, not at all. His gift of invisibility wrapped his bond and made him harder for me to sense. His former queen hadnt wanted any of her Bloods emotions to leak into her head, and so hed learned a long time ago to keep his emotions tightly under wrap. When I first met him, Id had to jump off a metaphorical skyscraper to find his true self. It was easier now, but I still had to reach to feel him.