Page 31 of Bitten by Bloodmoon (Mateless Shifters #2)

Lumi

H e’s a killer…he killed Rowena…he killed an entire coven of witches…he’s a killer…a killer…a killer…

The words start strong and then begin to fade in my head as I stare at him.

He’s a killer—yes.

I hate him—yes.

He’s cruel—yes.

A vampire—yes.

And yet I want to kiss him.

I want to feel his lips pressed against mine again for real, not the forced kiss to convince others. I want to know what his kiss would feel like when he’s not holding back at all.

Nyx starts to walk away, not waiting for my answer. He thinks he already knows it because of what I think of him, what the world thinks of him—he’s a killer.

He’s a killer.

I’m naive. I fell in love with a man who now controls my wolf and can’t love me back. And now I want a vampire lord to kiss me. To make me forget who I love.

We all have our faults.

“Yes.”

He stops in his tracks. Standing in the thick snow, blood soaks through his dark shirt and pants. He’s barely wiped the witches’ blood from his mouth. And I fucking want him to kiss me.

What is wrong with me?

But I’ve never been more certain about what I want. Maybe it’s the mating bond between us. Whether it’s real or a diversion for the gods to tease me with until they are ready to let me break the curse, I don’t know or care.

He could die at any moment, from the dark veins now growing up his biceps and into his shoulders. I don’t know how much time either of us has left on this earth. But I know I want to spend a few moments kissing this beautiful male.

Nyx’s dark eyes narrow at me, as if he’s trying to understand how I could possibly feel this way. Trust me, I don’t understand it myself.

“It’s the bond. You don’t really want me to.”

I shake my head.

“It’s the adrenaline after almost dying.”

I shake my head.

“It’s because you want me to wipe him from your head.”

I shake my head. “All of those things could be part of it, but the biggest part is simple—I. Want. You. To. Kiss. Me.” I pause. “Unless, of course, you don’t want to. I don’t want to force you to—”

He growls, cutting me off. “Fuck, I want to kiss you. It’s the only thing I can imagine doing right now.”

“Then kiss me.”

I’ve barely taken a breath, and he’s closed the gap between us. He looks down, I look up. Our breathing synchronizes in delicious anticipation. He waits a beat. One...two…three…

It doesn’t feel like he’s waiting for me to change my mind anymore. He’s drawing out the anticipation. The second we kiss, things will change. The desire will grow. The want, the stupidity on both of our parts.

We aren’t mates.

We both know the most likely outcome is that the gods are playing games with us. Fucking with us to make it more difficult for us to break the curse.

I know deep down that Ambrose is most likely my mate. I just need to complete the marking ceremony with him and find a way to forgive him afterward. Or at least, be able to live with my decision because it ended the curse.

But what if Nyx and I are mates?

“Don’t think about any of that. Just be with me right here, right now,” comes his low whispered breath in my head.

His broad hand grasps me on the hip near the spot where I stabbed myself. The wound is still sensitive as it heals, but I forget all about it when his thumb brushes over it. His other hand sweeps my hair back as he casually places his hand at the nape of my neck.

Fuck, I can’t breathe. I can’t—

His lips crash against mine in a hungry kiss that steals my breath away.

Heat burns beneath the icy surface that links the two of us together.

His cold-blooded vampire collides with my frosty snow wolf until something undeniable takes shape.

This is always where we were meant to find each other—in this space where fire freezes and ice ignites.

His tongue dives into my mouth, desperate and ravenous, tasting me like my kiss alone is what he has to survive on.

Our teeth clank together, and I feel the sharp point of his fang glide over my bottom lip.

The same one he used to inject venom into the witches.

The same one he used to kill with. And now it brushes over me, not to kill, but to consume.

I know he won’t kill me. I know he won’t inject me with his venom. He gave up his ability to mind-control me. He won’t hurt me.

My hands fly around his neck, bracing his body against mine as I kiss him back.

Sweeping my tongue into his mouth, wanting to taste every drop of him, even the parts that remind me of the killer he is.

I don’t taste the metallic blood—all I taste is him.

He tastes like icy darkness. If it wasn’t still dark outside, I’d think his essence alone would force nightfall to descend all around us as he kisses me.

It’s like the entire sky opens up for us when he kisses me.

The night and the stars seem to prickle my skin as he kisses and kisses and kisses.

My hands grip harder onto his neck, not wanting this to end ever. I want more. I want to rip his clothes off. I want him touching me. Why isn’t he touching me?

He chuckles in my head.

Dammit, I really should learn how to block him out.

“If I touch you, I’ll fuck you. You permitted me to kiss you, not fuck you. And unfortunately, as badly as I want to fuck you, this stupid spell that’s spreading up my arms might make it a little hard to fuck you properly.”

I blush, heat spreading through my body like a wildfire.

“Based on this kiss, I’m pretty sure you could fuck me just fine,” I think.

A strangled growl echoes through my head.

I bite my bottom lip. “Sorry, did I say that in your head again?”

“Yes,” he hisses. Then suddenly, we are feet apart, and the coldness turns to emptiness.

I’m confused for a second, until I feel the flickers of sunlight hitting my skin. The sun has begun to rise.

Nyx is huddled against the side of the building, standing in the shadows where the sun can’t hit him.

But his gaze never leaves me. I can feel how badly he wants me burning into my skin.

That kiss just lit a flame inside both of us that’s going to be impossible to extinguish.

Maybe we should have sex to try and get each other out of our systems.

If Nyx heard my thoughts, he doesn’t respond to them; instead, he begins to shift, not caring that he rips his clothes to shreds as he does. I’m guessing he considers them ruined anyway, since the witch’s blood is stained into them.

“Find your coat and pack the bag. We should go,” he says in a deeply commanding way that rattles my brain.

I want to tell him that my coat isn’t necessary.

I grew up in Alaska. I’m a snow wolf, I’m used to the cold.

I don’t need a coat, but the mood has shifted, and it’s not worth arguing with him at the moment.

So I run inside the hut, put my coat on, and throw the rest of our things back into the backpack.

Mentally, I prepare myself for spending the next several hours riding on his back.

When I step outside, Nyx stops moving, but not before I catch a glimpse of him limping slightly with his front legs as he walks.

“I can walk. You should run ahead, get back as fast as possible, then send Brax or Talonis to come find me,” I say.

“You’re not fucking walking, and I’m not leaving you.”

“Well, I’m not going to let you die.”

He huffs. “I’m not going to die. This is nothing.”

“It’s not nothing! That spell will work its way through your body until you die. Even if it’s not permanent, you lying dead in the forest means you could die permanently if the wrong person came along while I was getting help.”

“No one is dying. And you are not fucking walking.”

We both glare at each other, both more stubborn than the other.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I say.

“Having you not with me will hurt a lot more than a little added weight to my legs, trust me. I need to know you’re safe as much as you need to know that I am.”

I finally climb on his back as carefully as possible. The second I’m on his back, he takes off, running at full speed without so much as a painful misstep.

We don’t talk, and I’m careful not to let my mind wander into strong thoughts that could accidentally be sent through our bond.

I let him use all his energy and focus on getting us back to the Bloodmoon pack as quickly as possible.

The soft snowflakes hitting my cheeks are the only thing keeping me focused as he runs.

Slumped shoulders and aching thighs have me barely still clinging onto his fur as I finally see the Bloodmoon pack village coming into view.

I have no right to be tired or complain, though.

It’s only as the village comes into view that Nyx begins to show the real pain he’s in.

He’s been far too stoic up to this point.

He stumbles once, and I move to get off his back. But with a quick bounce, he keeps me on.

“You’re not getting off my back until we are safely with the Bloodmoon pack.”

“Stubborn, controlling, asshole.”

But I don’t fight him. I don’t want him to waste any more energy than necessary at this point.

Sylara steps out of Nyx’s house first as we approach the village.

“He needs Riven!” I yell at her.

Her eyes darken for a split second, and then she’s in and out of the house in the blink of an eye, Riven hot on her heels as they run toward us, with Brax and Talonis making their way out the door next.

I jump off Nyx’s back mid-stride, not letting him fight me on this now that they can see us, and I run alongside him.

His breathing his heavy with every step he takes.

His feet stumble, and he begins to fall, but I wrap my arms around his neck, catching him as best as I can to keep him from falling against the ground.

Sylara and Riven are at our sides now.

“Shift,” Riven says.

In a blink, Nyx is human or vampire. I’m not really sure there is a difference.