Page 29 of Bitten by Bloodmoon (Mateless Shifters #2)

Nyx

L ying next to Lumi and not being able to touch her is my living heaven and hell. But I did it to myself by trying to be a gentleman and not kiss her until I’m sure it is what she really wants. That wine she drank was strong, too strong. The witches are up to something.

I don’t tell Lumi this. There is nothing she can do anyway but try to sleep off the effects of the wine.

It takes her a long time to fall asleep; she tosses and turns relentlessly, her heartbeat speeding the entire time, before her soft snores finally fill the room.

She needs the rest before we face whatever tomorrow brings.

I lie on my side staring at her, my hands aching from where the gashes were sliced open and still not healing. It’s strange to have a wound like this still hurting me when usually my body would heal much quicker. This pain is a never-ending annoyance, but nothing more.

Lumi is heartbreakingly beautiful when she sleeps. Her long hair spills across the pillow in silver strands that look like streaks of moonlight. A soft flush warms her cheeks, pinked by the warmth of the comforter. Her lips are parted slightly, as if ready for the long-awaited kiss I promised.

I should have kissed her. I’m going to regret not kissing her until my dying breath.

Ever since she kissed me last, all I’ve been able to think about is her kiss and how it would feel to let loose and really kiss her, not being held back by the idea that she was only doing it to save my life.

But there’s a feeling that’s haunting me, telling me I might never get the chance to kiss her again.

So I should have taken it, even if it wasn’t the perfect time or under ideal circumstances.

Suddenly, Lumi jolts awake, sitting up frantically in the bed, sweat dripping from her brow. She’s staring straight ahead as if she’s still seeing something or someone, but there is no one in the room except me.

“Lumi? Are you okay? What’s happening?”

She doesn’t answer. She’s still locked into whatever it is that she’s seeing, not fully present in the room with me yet.

I wait, watching her closely for any signs that the witches have put a spell on her. Any sign that I need to intervene. But her breathing is steady, as is her pulse. She’s just lost in a vision.

She blinks, and the room seems to come into focus for her. She turns to me, not surprised to see that I’m already awake.

“They could be false,” she says.

“What could be?”

“The prophecies. Some are false. And even the seers don’t know if what they are saying is true or not. They could simply be false,” she says it with hope in her voice. Hope that she can choose for herself whether Ambrose is her mate or not. Hope that she can get her wolf back.

I frown. “How do we know when they are false or not?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Fucking gods. I hope they find this amusing.”

“I’m sure they do, the assholes. If I ever meet one, I’d like to give them a piece of my mind.”

“Same.”

Our eyes meet again, and it’s as if we both recall my words from the night before at the exact moment. Words that promised a kiss as soon as she wasn’t intoxicated anymore.

I suck in a deep breath, not smelling a hint of alcohol on her breath anymore. Her eyes are no longer red-rimmed.

“I’m not drunk anymore,” she says.

I gulp as I’m propped up on one arm next to her in bed. “Do you know what you’re asking of me?”

She smiles seductively. “I’m asking you to kiss me, not marry me. Just kiss me. It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean we are mates even if we enjoy it. I just want you to kiss me.”

“But what if it feels like more? What if it locks in our bond? Deepens it? Makes it harder for you to tell if Ambrose is your mate or if I am? What if it’s just the gods playing more games with us?”

“Then you better damn well make sure the kiss is worth any heartbreak we’ll have to endure.”

There’s no arguing with her there. I lick my lip, her eyes hone in on my tongue, and the heat returns to her gaze.

There is no denying that this is exactly what she wants.

And my body hardening at even the thought of getting to kiss her again is enough for me to know the same. I need to fucking kiss her.

I grab the back of her neck with my bandaged hand, stroking her lower lip with my thumb, teasing her with the promise of what my kiss will bring. I move closer, inch by inch, like I know she’s going to back out and say she doesn’t really want me to kiss her at any moment.

But she doesn’t. If anything, her eyes deepen and darken with a heat that makes my breath catch. Heat diffuses over her skin, and the pull of desire radiates in thick waves—her scent overwhelms me with its unmistakable plea for how badly she wants me. Fuck, I want her too.

I lean forward to kiss her and then…

“Ah!” I cry out as the jolt shoots from my hands up my arms.

“Nyx? What’s happening?”

I grind my teeth together as I pull my hand back from her body, refusing to scream in pain again. But it’s taking all of my focus not to scream out. I have to let Lumi know what’s happening, but if I open my mouth again, all I’ll do is scream.

“The witches. Hands. Pain.” I punctuate each word even in my mind to keep from screaming into her void.

Lumi’s eyes widen, getting the message. She grabs my hands and unwraps one of the bandages. We both glance down and see my blood turning black as it begins to spread from my hand, winding its way like twisted rivers up my arms.

“They’re trying to kill you. Why?”

I let out a whoosh of breath to keep another agonizing howl down.

“We have to leave. Can you run? Or shift?” she asks.

I have a feeling their magic won’t allow me to leave. But I don’t have much time.

“Stay here?” My words barely make it through our connection, but I hope she understands what I’m asking her.

She searches my eyes, trying to understand. “No, I won’t stay here. I’m not going to hide while you do whatever you think you can do to stop this from happening. I want to help.” Her voice is frantic but determined as I expected her to answer, but I had to try.

I let out a strangled growl. “Distraction—they won’t kill you. They think you are the key to breaking the curse.”

“I can do that. What are you going to do?”

I shake my head, my words hard to get out even through our connection. I jump out of bed, pulling Lumi behind me, wasting no time at all.

“Not to be an asshole, right now, but um…do you really think you are capable of stopping them when you can’t even speak?”

We reach the door of the hut, and I’m gripping her hand, keeping her behind me. I turn, looking her dead in the eyes as I answer, “Yes.”

Her eyes heat, and she bites her bottom lip at the single-word answer. “Later, love.” That is, if you still want me to kiss you after you see what I become.

I open the door, shielding Lumi with my body as I’m greeted by the full coven of witches. Lumi doesn’t care to use my body as a shield, though, as she quickly moves to standing by my right side.

“Tell me when,” she says calmly in my head, no fear or self-doubt in sight.

I stare them down. “I gave you an offering, and this is how you repay me? By spelling me?”

I can feel Lumi’s eyes on me with a hint of surprise at how well I’m speaking when I was doubled over in pain seconds ago. But it’s a skill I’ve had a lot of practice refining that I can do under the right circumstances.

“You lied to me,” Starling says coolly.

I raise my eyebrows. “I don’t lie.”

“Juliette has a gift for seeing what people try to hide. And you, alpha-lord, tried to hide that the curse can only be broken for one species. Either the witches, the wolf shifters, or the vampires.” She spits out the last word like a curse.

“Get ready,” I warn Lumi.

She reaches into the side of her boot and pulls out her blade. I don’t know what she plans to do with the blade, but I’m glad she has it.

“And you, alpha-lord, seem to think that you could be the snow wolf’s mate. Which would mean you would be breaking the curse for the vampires or the wolf shifters. We won’t allow that to happen.”

“Now.”

I don’t look at what Lumi’s doing to serve as a distraction. I trust her, and I know the witches won’t kill their only chance at breaking the curse.

Instead, I do what I’ve been trained to do—I kill.

The pain intensifies in harsh waves, traveling up my hands and through my arms. But I don’t need my arms to kill them. Only my teeth and speed.

They only see me as a vampire. So that’s how they’ll die, from the venom of a vampire. My teeth sink into the first neck before their magic even spreads past my shoulders. Before her body even hits the floor, I’ve sunk my teeth into two more—one wrist and one neck.

A blast of a witch’s magic strikes my thigh, but I don’t stop running. I’ve got seconds to get this done before their magic overpowers me. Speed is my strength, time my enemy.

I force my body to move faster, searching for any limb to sink my teeth into as quickly as possible.

Wrists, hands, necks, thighs, and even one shoulder, until I’ve hit all twelve of them with a shot of my venom.

It’s not an instant killer, but it weakens them all instantly, the first ones getting a stronger dose than the last.

Five of the bodies are already lifeless on the ground.

A few more are fading fast, but a handful seem unfazed by the venom in their bodies.

Magic blasts toward me, hitting me hard in the chest. I fall forward onto my knees as their magic overwhelms me.

If they plan to kill me, they better make it fast, and they better have a fucking stake to do it.

I glance over at Lumi, who has also fallen onto her knees. But it’s not the position she’s in that has me concerned; it’s the pool of her own blood circling her.