Page 14 of Bitten by Bloodmoon (Mateless Shifters #2)

Nyx

“ K eep Lumi in this house. Don’t let her leave, no matter what,” I say to Sylara, Riven, and Brax as I do the last button on my dark dress shirt, which I changed into when I realized I’d be dealing with vampires tonight.

I can still hear Lumi’s footsteps climbing up from the basement floor, where the gym is.

I’ll be gone before she reaches the top step.

I don’t want to have an argument or use my mind control to get her to do what I want.

I’m trying my best not to piss her off any further.

“I’m not her babysitter. Besides, it’s not like she’s going to leave this house as soon as she realizes there are vampires outside,” Sylara says.

I look to Brax and Riven, knowing I don’t have time to argue with Sylara about this right now.

“We won’t let her out of our sight,” Brax says.

Riven nods his agreement.

“Let’s go,” I say to Talonis as he slips on his dress shoes.

For some gods forsaken reason, the vampires now expect me to dress up when I hold court.

Not that this is really court per se, but they will see it that way.

And if I want to keep the power I’ve worked my ass off to get, then I’d better play the part.

Talonis is the only one who ever comes with me. He’s the only one willing and who actually understands this part of my life. He’s not a vampire, but unlike the rest of the Bloodmoon pack, he doesn’t look down on them.

As we walk out the door, I say, “Let’s handle this quickly before Lumi shows up.”

“She won’t actually show up. I know Sylara doesn’t like Lumi, but Riven and Brax will keep Lumi safe,” Talonis says.

“Yeah, but who is going to keep them safe from Lumi?” I ask.

He raises his eyebrows. “Is she really that dangerous?”

I shake my head. “No, but she’s stubborn, determined, and sly.

She’ll find her way out of the house and into trouble if we don’t make this quick.

” Plus, I’ll be distracted. I still can’t shake the conflicting smells on her body from my mind.

Her sweet cum is still smeared on the inside of her thigh, but it’s mixed with him —an instant turn off.

But I can also smell me on her. Once again, out of all the clothes that Riven brought her to choose from, she chose my shirt to wear.

He frowns. “Then we’d better hurry.”

I nod.

The sun has set, making it easy for me to move in my vampire form.

Talonis does his best to keep up without having to shift, but my vampire speed is unmatched.

Even if he shifted, he still wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.

It’s one of the things I enjoy about being a vampire—the otherworldly speed.

Honestly, there is a lot to enjoy about being a vampire. The speed, the agility, the heightened connection to my emotions. I halt suddenly, waiting for Talonis to catch up, needing at least one ally at my side to report back to the Bloodmoon pack if things go south.

For every pro, there are as many cons about being a vampire. And I don’t need exceptional intuition skills to understand exactly why I was called to court. Nor superior hearing ability—I can hear vampires from outside the cave.

“Fuck,” I say under my breath.

Talonis appears next to me, out of breath, gripping his side. “What is it?” he asks between breaths.

A tortured scream rings out, echoing off the walls of the cave.

“Gods, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” But I can’t wait outside the cave any longer.

The appalling scream slams into me, shaking me to my core.

This one singular con about being a vampire makes even the best of pros taste sour in my mouth.

For this reason alone, I believe vampires were never meant to exist. We aren’t a natural balance in this supernatural world. We are an abomination.

I enter the cave, my face turning neutral as I mask any feelings I have.

There is no room for emotion when it comes to what I have to become and do tonight.

Talonis walks solemnly behind me. Despite his smaller frame and less intimidating posture, he’s the best in these types of situations.

His particular skills lend themselves perfectly to it, and he’d protect me with his life.

I just hope it doesn’t come down to it. We walk through a narrow entrance that quickly opens to an expansive chamber.

Darkness blankets the room, vaulted ceilings and jagged stalactites loom above me in breathtaking columns as a touch of light glistens off them.

But it’s what I see in the pooling shadows that has my undivided attention—dozens of vampires.

One intake of air and I know exactly what’s driving the frenzy.

Humans .

Three of them—clinging to one another in the center of the room, beneath a single ray of light, shaking, blood already streaking down their necks.

I don’t know who they are, nor do I care.

I’m a vampire. Vampires feed on humans to survive.

Most kill them, unable to control their bloodlust. But the humans are not what I was called here to address.

No one is upset that a vampire is about to kill three humans.

I scan the room, looking for the cause of the room exploding in a ruckus.

A deafening roar rips through the room, and all heads snap in that direction.

A vampire throws a rope around the neck of another, tightening the rope to add to the three others that are tied to his wrists and legs.

The four vampires holding onto the ropes are pulling with all of their might, trying to restrain the vampire, but with each rope being added, he becomes more feral, more lost to his bloodthirst.

The room is split into two. Those trying to tie up the savage vampire and those on the other side of the room, demanding that the vampire be released. While the humans are stuck in the middle, too stunned and losing too much blood to attempt a getaway.

This isn’t going to end well for anyone involved.

The feral vampire struggles against the ropes like a wild animal.

With one grunt, he pulls free of the ropes and runs right toward one of the humans, pulling him apart limb by limb as easily as if he were ripping paper to shreds.

The vampires trying to hold him back look terrified, while those wanting him free cheer.

I study the numbers, trying to gauge which side has more support, but it seems there’s a pretty even divide among the vampires, with no clear path to take when it comes to the cursed vampire.

“My lord, it’s good to see you. Although I’m not sure there is anything to be done except letting them battle it out,” Raul says.

I scour the room, tending to agree that I can’t get involved, at least not yet.

I’m a brand new lord, still proving myself to the local vampires.

Most still loathe that I was the one to win the title since I’m also a wolf shifter.

They don’t trust my loyalties. They don’t trust me to do the right thing.

The crowd charges with electricity, and it feels like a battle is looming.

“You have to do something,” Talonis says.

I agree, but I need to wait for the right moment. I need to give them a minute to let the fight get physical. To express their initial emotions to each other. Hopefully, if I let them fight a little before I put an end to it, they won’t be so charged the next time it happens.

“Not yet,” I say, stepping into the shadows to watch the impending fight play out.

I hope my instincts are right, but I’m not sure.

I know how to handle the Bloodmoon pack.

I know how to lead them, but vampires are different.

They don’t have the same loyalty to the pack.

They are more individualistic creatures who believe in the powers of the individual.

Talonis and Raul stand on either side of me like guards willing to protect me with their lives if I ask them to. But I would never ask.

I study all of the players as the first fangs are drawn. There will be no winners, not until the curse is broken.

“Why are you letting them fight, again?” Talonis asks me.

“Because there is no right side. There is no right way to handle the cursed one. I understand both sides. The emotions are heightened on each, and they deserve a chance to fight their opinion.” And despite what Lumi says, I’m not a controlling bastard.

My goal in life isn’t to control others.

I want to give them as much free will as possible.

“What is his name?” I ask Raul.

“Benson. He wiped out an entire village of humans. He’s lost complete control of himself.”

“I’ll make sure the human situation is dealt with,” I say, looking to Talonis.

He nods curtly.

An opposing vampire rips out one of the human’s throats, leaving the last trembling, hugging her knees to her chest in the center of the cave as she squeezes her eyes shut.

The cursed vampire has another rope wrapped around his waist, and several other vampires are yanking hard, trying to control him, while the others are fighting to break him free.

None of them is a match for Benson in his cursed state.

He’s ten times stronger than any of them.

With one more yank, he breaks free, going straight for the human on the floor.

Fangs rip through her neck so deeply that they nearly tear her head from her shoulders.

Benson doesn’t bother drinking her blood.

With crazed eyes, he turns to the others, ready to do the same thing to them.

Five minutes. I’m giving them five minutes before I end this.

I let the solutions bounce around my head before I realize there is only one way to end this, and I dread it.

But as a lord, I don’t have a choice. It’s my responsibility.

I fought for this. I won the title, so I have to do what has to be done.

Two minutes into my self-imposed countdown, Benson turns, sniffing the air, and I know time is up. I can’t give them any more freedom to work through their affairs.

“Enough,” I say in a deep, commanding voice that rattles off the walls.

The room falls silent, eyes slowly turning toward me as if seeing me for the first time. And then, one by one, each vampire in the room begins to bow. “My lord…my lord…my lord.” Each of them says one by one as they bow their head in reverence.

Even Benson bows, making what I have to do next that much harder.

I clench my jaw as I watch them all bow at me. I knew I had earned their respect, but I hadn’t expected this level of respect from them. I expected them to still fight me. Still look at me as less than them, even though I fought to earn the title.

My stare cuts across each of them one by one, the flicker of surprise locked away, replaced by the ruthless authority I must wield.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot her.

She thinks she has hidden well in the shadows, but nothing can hide the delicious scent of her blood.

All creatures have a unique smell that is intoxicating to vampires, but hers is unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before—a rich perfume of sweetness and tangy warmth that turns me primal.

And I don’t trust any other vampire here to resist her.

Benson turns his head in her direction. He’s already locking onto her divine fragrance. But I can’t let him realize she’s here. If any others notice, they’ll demand her blood be spilled for breaking into a vampire court. I have to tread even more carefully now.

“Benson, come forward. I have decided your judgment,” I say, letting my voice carry as I ignore the strong scent of Lumi’s blood lofting through the cave.

I’m not sure if he will listen to me or not; I’m still unsure of the power I wield.

But he steps forward, accepting his fate.

Even in his cursed head, he listens to me as his lord.

The ropes are no longer necessary for him to obey.

My words hold that much strength over him, much like my mind control.

“Yes, my lord,” he says, bowing his head low.

I stand for a moment, knowing her eyes are on me.

This moment is about to change everything.

If she wasn’t terrified of me before, she will be now.

She’ll think I’m a monster, and rightfully so.

She’ll realize we have no chance of being mates, and the only reason there is a bond between us is because we are both so desperate to break the curse.

There’s no way we could be each other’s better half.

We aren’t destined to be anything but enemies forced to work together to end this.

I leap forward, my fangs sinking into the flesh of his neck as I viciously tear at it in the same way he ended the human life. He doesn’t flinch away or fight. He lets me rip into him. He wants me to end his life—his suffering.

And so I do in the most painless way I can. In seconds, it’s over. I can see the life draining from his eyes as Talonis hands me the stake, and I drive it through his lifeless heart.

The cave is silent, watching me. No one fights me.

No one says I did the wrong thing, even though half the cave wanted to give him the freedom to let the curse run him ragged until it was the one to end him instead of me.

Benson didn’t deserve to let the curse drive him even madder, to lose everything that made him him before he died.

He deserved to die with dignity. I gave him that.

But I’m not sure half the vampires gathered will understand or agree.

I wait, assuming there is at least one vampire who will speak out against me.

Instead, a quiet hush has fallen so quickly that all I hear is the tiny drips of water from the stalactites.

It stretches into what feels like a moment of silence for our fallen vampire.

Maybe there wasn’t so much disagreement as I first thought, and no more blood will be shed tonight.

Finally, one of the vampires steps forward. He looks me dead in the eye. “I smell a human.”

Murmurs break the silence around the room as they all scent her.

Fuck .

Red eyes greet me as I look out through the crowd.

Now that the cursed one has been dealt with, their blood lust is the focus, and with a human in their midst after such heightened emotions, none of them will be able to resist her.

I have seconds to get them all under my control.

So, I do the only thing I can think of to save her in this moment.

“She’s not a human, she’s a wolf shifter,” I say, but the red eyes darken. That won’t deter any of them from draining her dry.

With a whoosh, I move unnaturally through time and space, grabbing Lumi from the shadows and yanking her to my side faster than any of them can blink.

“And she’s my mate.”