Page 35 of Bitten by Bloodmoon (Mateless Shifters #2)

“They’re here,” he says suddenly. He reaches into his back pocket, pulling out two blades and hands them to me.

I grab them, but he doesn’t release them to me.

He holds on until I’m looking him in the eyes.

“Stay near me. You’re who they came for.

I won’t let them take you unless you want them to.

And if you want them to take you, you have to convince me it’s because it’s what you really want, not because you’re turning into a martyr and will sacrifice yourself to save the Bloodmoon pack or the vampires. ”

I yank the blades out of his hand. “I’m not a martyr.”

“Good, don’t become one.”

“I’ll do my best to stay close.” I swallow. After all, that’s what I wanted this whole time, to be intimately close to him. I won’t run.

“If you choose him, tell me,” he says.

There’s an awkward pause as if he wants to say more. He really thinks I’ll choose Ambrose right now after everything he’s done.

“We’re here. Come talk to us, and no one will get hurt,” Ambrose says in my head. He feels like he’s on autopilot, talking to me. Not like the intimate mate I used to know so well, like he’s playing a role right now.

I open my mind as wide as I can, letting the words drift through so that Nyx can hear Ambrose’s words too.

“If you try to take her against her will, it will be the last thing you do,” Nyx says to Ambrose in my head.

“I’m not the one who can mind control her,” Ambrose snaps back.

“No, but you can alpha command her and control her wolf. So both of us suck. She chooses who she leaves with,” Nyx growls through my head.

It’s chaos having them both speaking to each other at the same time in my head.

“Agreed, Lumi chooses. So release her from any mind control.”

“Already done.” Nyx looks to me, and I nod, already knowing what he’s about to do. One second, I’m standing in the bedroom, the next, we are in front of the Bloodmoon pack and coven of vampires staring across a field to where the Moonlight pack and Moonfire coven are waiting for us.

Ambrose is standing front and center next to Isolde, with Emeric right behind him. The twenty or so that make up the rest of the pack and the dozen witches are spread behind their respective sides.

Nyx places me to his right. Sylara, Talonis, Brax, Riven, and Kael stand right behind us, followed by another nine of the Bloodmoon pack and the Nightfall vampires, who number almost double that of the witches.

“We are here to collect the girl,” Isolde says, like she can’t even be bothered enough to speak my name.

I glare at her from across the field. “My name is Lumi.”

“Doesn’t matter what your name is, you lied to us. You knew a part of the prophecy and withheld it from us. Others have died for less.”

“But you can’t kill me, can you? If you kill me, your chance at breaking the curse dies with me,” I spit back.

“As soon as the curse is broken, I’m going to kill you.”

“Not if I kill you first,” I threaten.

Sylara smirks at me in an approving huff. Nyx doesn’t take his eyes off Isolde or Ambrose. The others, even Kael, seem ready for an attack at any moment. I don’t know whose side Kael is truly on, other than I know he will protect me. And Nyx can control him if necessary through his mind control.

“Come with us, Lumi, and no one gets hurt,” Ambrose says.

“No. I told you I needed space, and this is how you give me that? By bringing the entire pack and coven to take me back?” And then I send only to him. “I thought I had a say in the matter. You agreed that I do.”

“If it were just up to me, then yes. As your mate, you always have a choice. But I’m not just your mate. I’m an alpha, and I have a pact with the Moonfire witches that I have to honor. I’m sorry.”

I shake my head. “Despicable.”

Nyx growls next to me, and I know he heard the conversation I just had with Ambrose in my head.

“You’re my mate, Lumi. You can pretend with that abomination of a killer all you want, but you know he’s not your mate.

His talking to you in your head is just a trick of his mind control and powers.

Come with me and let’s complete the marking ceremony.

Together we can break the curse,” Ambrose says.

“No, I don’t know that you’re my mate, actually. And it doesn’t work that way. You already know that the curse can only be broken for one species—wolf shifter, witch, or vampire. Not all three.”

“The curse is broken by those who break the curse. Typically, that would be two of the same creature. But Ambrose isn’t just a wolf shifter, he’s also a witch. So the curse would be broken by both,” Isolde says.

“Well, that’s convenient for you,” I say.

“It is,” Isolde smirks back.

Nyx has yet to speak. He just watches the exchange, not speaking for me, which I appreciate. But I don’t control his pack or vampires. They shouldn’t have to fight on my behalf.

“They think you’re my mate. They will fight for you and themselves. For a chance for you to break the curse for them since I’m half vampire,” Nyx speaks in my head.

I glance at the vampires who have gathered in large numbers, outnumbering us all. They are all looking at the witches and shifters on the other side in a stance that tells me one signal from Nyx and they’ll kill without a second thought.

“You’re my mate, Lumi, whether you like me right now or not, you know it’s true. If you let Nyx mark you, you’ll die. I’m sorry, but you don’t have a choice. The gods have decided. Please, don’t let others die for my mistakes,” Ambrose says.

For a second, I consider him. I know his words could be true.

He could be my one true mate, but I’m not ready to accept that yet.

Not after being with Nyx. Not after what just happened in the bedroom.

There’s a chance I have two mates. That I can actually choose between them.

Or that one is a decoy meant to confuse me, placed by the gods for their entertainment.

Either way, I’m not ready to make my decision yet.

And as far as only being able to break the curse for one or maybe two types of creatures, maybe there is still a way to break it for all three.

“Whatever mind control he’s using, whatever pleasure you think he brought you in the bedroom that makes you smell like him, it’s not real. He’s just playing with you to hurt me and try to break the vampire curse. He’s not your mate. And he’s incapable of love,” Ambrose says.

“Do you want to go with him?” Nyx asks in my head, his temper barely contained.

I don’t want a war to start. I don’t want anyone to die. But I made a promise I wouldn’t be a martyr. And even if Ambrose is my true mate, I’m not ready to accept that yet or go with him. I need more time to get answers.

“No.”

“Lumi is my mate. Not yours. But unlike you, I don’t have to beg her to be with me or threaten her or the lives of her friends to be with me,” Nyx’s voice booms. “She is by my side because she chooses to be. Now I’m giving you one chance to leave before we kill you all for threatening to take away my mate. ”

“Shift.”

The word floats through my head so forcefully that it hits me like a bullet, harsh and unforgiving.

I’m barely able to process who said the word or why until I see Ambrose staring at me intensely a moment before my bones begin to morph, my body bending in excruciating painful ways, my eyes descending into darkness as I shift into my wolf.