Page 11 of Bitten by Bloodmoon (Mateless Shifters #2)

Nyx

L umi’s words crack through my mind like a lightning bolt—frying everything in its path.

For a moment, my mind is left stunned, unable to think.

The world seems to shatter around us. I’m left in awe of this female with incredible powers—maybe not physical or magical powers, but she has powers all the same.

I’ve never felt such formidable strength in my mind before, never felt anything so extraordinary.

Her words weren’t meant for me. It’s clear she sent them to Ambrose, but in her exceptional rage, they also flew through the bond we share.

Though technically speaking, she could be rejecting both of our bonds simultaneously.

But her words felt more like a lovers’ quarrel, laced with raw disappointment.

She’s standing between us, closer to me than Ambrose, completely naked in her human form.

The gash on the side has closed some, enough that she’s not going to drop dead at any second, but it could still use a healer’s touch to close completely.

She doesn’t care. The pain doesn’t even seem to faze her at the moment.

Her long mane of white hair blows in the breeze as she locks eyes with Ambrose in a stance that displays her undeniable power.

She’ll fight the most dominant wolf shifter alpha in existence with nothing more than her fragile human hands to get her wolf back.

I knew she’d figure out what I had already pieced together—Ambrose was the one who granted her her wolf, which means he’s the one who controls it, not her.

I can’t think of anything worse in the world than not being in control of part of myself.

He took the most precious part of her and decided it was his without her consent.

I want to kill Ambrose for many reasons, but I’d kill him for that alone.

“Get out of my head, Ambrose,” Lumi says through grinding teeth.

Ambrose looks stunned for a second, and then finally says, “I’m sorry. No, I’m more than sorry. Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it. I never meant to control your wolf. When it happened, it was an accident. It was part of my magic reaching out involuntarily to you to save us.”

“To save you , you mean,” she snaps.

He flinches.

If I weren’t so angry on her behalf, I’d be amused watching him squirm. I’ve been waiting for a moment like this for years. And finally, this scrawny girl is the one to bring the mighty Ambrose to his knees. I can’t help but let a tinge of a grin lift my lips.

“We’re mates. You know that. You can hate me all you want.

I hate myself, but it doesn’t change the fact that we are mates.

We were chosen to break the curses. We don’t have a choice.

” Ambrose speaks with cool conviction, as if he already knows that she’ll eventually come to the same conclusion herself.

“We’re not anything. We’re not mates,” Lumi says firmly, sadly.

Ambrose runs his hands through his hair.

“Just come back with me. Come back, talk to Kael. See Emeric. Let me talk to Isolde and the other witches about how I give you your wolf back. We can fix this.” His words seem to indicate he’s forgotten that I’m even here.

I’ll decide whether to let him walk off my territory without another fight first.

“I’m not going with you,” she says.

“My queen, please. Give me another chance. You’re my mate,” Ambrose’s composure turns to begging as he begins to move toward her.

“I belong to no one.” She takes a step back, and I’ve had enough.

“Don’t take another step,” I snarl at Ambrose.

Ambrose’s head snaps up at me, and he growls, revealing his canines. “ You .”

I stay where I am in the shadows, watching him glare at me with more hatred than I’ve ever seen him look give me. Like him taking away her autonomy over such a huge part of herself is my fault.

“You did this,” he growls at me.

I cock my head like he’s insane, and he probably is. “Did what exactly? Forced you to use your magic to control Lumi?”

“No, you’re using your mind control against her now.”

Lumi inhales sharply, and her head whips to me, eyes flashing with the same blistering fierceness she unleashed on Ambrose. She hates us both, not that I blame her. But I need her to break the curse. My pack and the vampires don’t deserve what they’ve been through.

“He’s in my mind. He’s in my mind. Push him out.

Is that why I feel this hatred for Ambrose? Is he controlling my feelings?

No, Ambrose is a liar. He’s controlling.

But Nyx is no better. He killed Rowena. He’s controlling my mind too.

Push them out!”

Lumi’s thoughts are so loud that I hear them as clearly as if she were just standing right next to me speaking them aloud.

She doesn’t realize she’s doing it. I focus on Ambrose, trying to figure out if he is also being blasted by her every thought or if their bond was severed when she rejected him as her mate. He’s looking from Lumi to me in horror.

I make a split-second decision. One that I know I’ll probably regret.

“I drank her blood. You may control her wolf, but I can control her mind—forever.”

“You fucking bastard!” Ambrose screams.

But I have Lumi pulled against me in less than a millisecond. My arm is hooked around her neck as I hold her against my chest.

I pull back my lips, revealing my overly sharp fangs that are twice the size of his canines as I run them over her neck.

Her smell is intoxicating to me, a heady mix taunting me to bite her, taste her.

I can feel her pulse drumming in her neck.

How easily I could drain her with one tantalizing bite.

I’ve only tasted a drop—one single drop.

But that was enough to leave me physically in pain whenever I’m reminded of how good she tasted.

“Leave or I’ll kill her.”

Ambrose’s eyes widen. “You wouldn’t. You think she’s your mate. You need her to break the curse.”

“Let me fucking go!” Lumi screams, elbowing me hard in the stomach. But I don’t budge or acknowledge her.

“I’d rather see us both cursed forever than let you have her,” I say.

Lumi sucks in a breath like she can’t believe I just said that.

Ambrose looks from me to Lumi. “Nyx won’t kill you. He wants to break the curse too badly. Whether he incorrectly thinks you’re his mate or mine, he knows you are the key to breaking the curse. He won’t kill you.”

Lumi just stares at him, not speaking.

“I’ll find a way to break his mind control.

To give you your wolf back. To fix everything.

You’re my queen. My mate. I fucked up. But I’ll fix it.

I’ll come back for you. I’ll save you. I promise.

” Ambose looks at her with such longing, but it’s not enough.

Not enough for her to apologize or take back her words.

“Get out of my territory,” I say in a low, menacing voice, using the full weight of my alpha command as I do.

It’s like stretching a muscle that I rarely use.

It’s hard to use on other alphas, but when I’m this angry and he’s in my territory, the command is a potent one. He doesn’t have a choice but to obey.

He looks at Lumi one more time, and I know he’s trying to communicate with her through her bond. I have no idea if he is successful or not, but my command isn’t patient. I don’t give him any more time to say his goodbyes.

The second I feel Ambrose leave my land, I release Lumi.

She stumbles back, caught off guard as she sucks in a rattled breath. I watch her struggle to breathe for a second before she spins around, throwing a punch at me.

I let her hit me, knowing she has enough anger inside her to destroy the world if she decided to. But even with all the rage inside her, it’s a weak punch. One without any form or technique, so when it hits me, it feels like a fly brushing against my skin.

“That’s all you got?” I ask.

She throws another punch and then another and another.

Each with more rage and less accuracy than the last, until she’s wildly flinging her arms at me.

I see the idea forming in her mind as she decides to try with her leg instead of her arm.

I watch in what feels like slow motion as she sweeps her leg out.

But instead of kicking me, she collapses onto the floor. Her body is void of all breath.

“Did you get that out of your system?”

“No. You’re a fucking bastard. You used mind control against me. You killed Rowena. I’ll never be done with you until I kill you.”

“Fair enough, but why don’t you pause your efforts until you’ve seen a healer so you don’t die. Then you can continue your pathetic attempts at whatever it is you’re doing.”

She bares her teeth. “I hate you.”

“I know, but you’re still bleeding.”

She looks down at her side as if realizing for the first time that there is an immense wound on her side stretching from the bottom of her rib cage to her hip.

Shifting into her wolf form helped somewhat, but she wasn’t in it long enough.

Her wolf would never have been able to fully heal her, but if she’d stayed in that form longer, it might have been enough to avoid needing a healer. We’ll never know.

It’s not the only thing she realizes. She’s naked, as am I.

She hastily covers herself with her hands, but the quick movement shoots pain through her side. She flinches, her hands landing over her wound instead.

“I don’t trust any of your healers. They probably aren’t medically trained, and they will just try to turn me into a vampire.

I’m fine.” The smallest attempt at movement draws a cursed wince.

The adrenaline that was coursing through her when she was throwing punches my way is long gone, no longer providing any pain relief.

“You trusted Ambrose’s healers even though they could have turned you into a witch.”

She opens her mouth to argue back, and then it’s as if the world has tilted on its axis in her expression as she realizes another truth. Her previous medical attention wasn’t medical at all. It was magic—that’s what had healed her.