5. Lumi
Chapter 5
Lumi
F or a split second, I consider staying. I don’t know what’s about to happen to Kael. And if he is going to turn, I need to help him find a safe place for it to happen.
“Please,” he groans.
I turn and run—out of the motel room, through the open-aired hallway, down the open staircase, and toward our Jeep. I’m not sure where I’ll drive, but seeing as the sun is setting and the moon will soon begin to rise, making his shift more likely, I’m going to have to spend the night away, hoping Kael survives.
Panting, I make it to the door, but the handle doesn’t budge.
Shit, I didn’t grab the keys.
I can’t go back.
I hear a door thrown open and footsteps pad down the hallway above the parking lot.
Fuck, I don’t have time to hesitate.
I start running again, but I don’t know where I’m going to go. There’s a busy highway to my left. I can’t lead Kael there; too many witnesses.
Woods —there’s a forest behind the motel. We’ve searched it before and found no wolf packs. There also aren’t any hiking trails, so we shouldn’t run into any humans.
Kael will be safe if I can lead him far enough away.
And what of me?
I should have spent my time learning how to fight, how to wield a weapon, anything to defend myself. Instead, I put my energy into trying to shift. I thought once I could shift into a wolf, I’d be safe—so foolish.
Maybe I’ll climb a tree or something once I lead Kael far enough in the woods?
I don’t know; I just run.
I hit the edge of the forest just as the sun begins to dip down beneath the horizon. The faint glow of the sky is all that lights my path as I jump into the thick underbrush—branches and leaves cut into my skin as I dart between trees and bushes.
Growing up in a forest comes in handy, as I know exactly where to step and how to make a path for myself where none exists. I keep running, even as I hear his footsteps behind me. I don’t glance back. I don’t look to see if he’s shifted—I know he hasn’t yet. His footsteps would be heavier, he’d howl, and he’d be screaming in pain. My father said it can take a while to shift the first time. If he shifted now, I might have enough time to run and hide.
Sweating and panting, my lungs and thighs are burning from how quickly I run. If I stop, I’ll never escape again. I have to keep running.
But I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this. I need to find a place to hide and catch my breath.
Even though he’ll be able to sniff me out if he turns, hiding in the darkness is my best chance. My eyesight is far better than his, at least at the moment.
I need a dark spot to hide.
The lingering sunlight is almost gone. It’s still not dark enough for me to have the advantage.
A howl streaks through the air from behind me.
I stumble at the sound, almost losing my footing, but somehow manage to stay on my feet.
Did Kael turn?
I can’t help myself. I glance back.
It costs me.
My legs stop moving, and I gasp.
Brown fur and bright silver eyes stare back at me. A large brown wolf is running toward me, his fur shaggy, just like his human hair. He doesn’t seem to hesitate in his body. He runs like he’s shifted into a wolf hundreds of times already.
It’s beautiful watching him run so elegantly. He’s majestic and too fucking close.
How did he shift so quickly?
He growls, baring his sharp canines at me—as if he’s trying to tell me to run. Maybe he still has some control of his thoughts but hasn’t figured out how to control his wolf instincts yet.
Gods, I turn and take off again. I run faster than I’ve ever run before.
My heart sings for Kael, and I can’t help the grin that spreads wide on my face. He did it! He finally shifted!
My heart shutters faster— his shifting might kill me.
It might be a better fate than living with the fact that he can shift and I can’t. He’s finally grown into who he’s always been, while I might as well be a normal human.
I’m so in my head while I run that I don’t see the dip in the forest floor. My feet give out from underneath me, and I slide onto my ass.
Suddenly, a hot breath flames my neck. He’s right here.
This is it—the end.
A ball of fur lands on top of me as I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the end. But I don’t feel the claws, the teeth, the sharpness of my flesh tearing. All I feel is his heavy weight on top of me.
I peek open one eye, hoping that Kael has figured out how to control his primal urges. The sun has completely set now. Darkness covers the forest like a thick blanket, but I can see as clearly as ever.
The fur on top of me is not the same muddy brown color I saw before. This shade is midnight black. When the wolf’s head turns to me, its eyes are bright red.
I gasp.
The wolf gives me a harsh look devoid of any softness, and even though I can’t hear what he’s saying, I know the meaning deep in my bones.
Stay here and hide.
And then the weight of him is gone, and I hear a deep howl that trembles through me. The howl is much louder than Kael’s earlier. It’s a howl that can be heard for miles and miles, meant as a command to be followed.
I shudder.
Growls shortly follow. I arch my head back, peering over the top of the small ridge I fell between, and see flashes of teeth and fur.
Kael.
Fuck, Kael is going to be hurt. He’s not ready to fight another wolf, especially not one as massive as this one. I’m guessing the midnight black wolf is an alpha, and a strong one at that. He’s far larger than my father, and his howl is louder, deeper, and fiercer.
“Stop!” I shout, my voice cracking, dry, and barely audible.
I scramble up as a high-pitched whining sound cuts through my heart.
Kael—no.
I’m on my feet, running toward the two wolves as if I’m strong enough to stop them. I have to be.
“Stop!” I shout again as the much bigger, black-haired wolf’s bite clamps down around Kael’s neck.
Kael whimpers; there’s no telling how much he’s hurt.
The wolf releases Kael. For a moment, I think Kael is going to run. He needs to get away from this wolf. We can’t both survive, but now that Kael can shift, he has to leave. Maybe now Kael has a chance at stopping the curse.
Kael takes a deep breath through his long snout, breathing in my scent. His head snaps to me, and he growls low and deep. The rumbling courses through me, and my legs freeze to the spot where I’m standing.
He thinks I’m prey.
“Kael, it’s me. It’s Lumi. Stop.”
He doesn’t hesitate. His front legs move toward me, eyes locked on me as he drops low like he’s ready to pounce.
“It’s Lumi. It’s your best friend.”
He leaps, and I squeeze my eyes shut again. I’m tackled to the ground as his incredible weight lands on me. I wait for my head to hit the ground, for the ripping and tearing of my body to begin. But one deep, commanding howl later, there is nothing.
I open my eyes. To my surprise, I’m staring into the same red eyes as before, but this time, they’re attached to a man. I study them closely, watching as the red fades and blackness engulfs them. Deep black hair sweeps across his forehead in long tendrils over flawlessly tanned skin. My eyes trail down his high cheekbones and over the dark five o’clock shadow of his sharp jawline.
He’s incredibly handsome. The way he’s staring at me so intensely makes me squirm beneath him. That’s when I realize how naked he is—so incredibly naked.
“I would stop doing that if I were you,” he says, his voice deep and growly.
I freeze. “Stop doing what? And why?”
“Squirming. You’re rubbing your hot body all over my naked one. I won’t be responsible for my actions if you keep doing that.”
I stop immediately and swallow the hard lump in my throat. Hot? Did he say I was hot? I must have imagined it.
Kael.
What happened to Kael? Where is he?
“Don’t worry, your boyfriend’s safe.”
This man is hot, yes, which causes my heart to do a little flip. But my stomach also grows uneasy with the fact that his naked body is still pressed against me. Something stirs inside my gut that tells me not to trust him. Even if he did save me, there is something off about this man.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
He raises a cocky eyebrow, and a sinister smirk crosses his lips. “Interesting.”
“What’s interesting?”
“You; both of you.” He drags his eyes down what he can see of my body. It unsettles me, and I squirm, feeling his hardness press against my lower stomach.
“I warned you,” he says.
“Where is Kael?”
“I have some questions for you first.”
“No, tell me where Kael is. And get off of me—now.”
He chuckles. “Such a bold and strong snow wolf, aren’t you?”
I glare. “I’m not a…” I almost say I’m not a wolf, but I snap my mouth shut. And how does he know my name means snow? How does he know the winter and cold flakes of snow are where I feel at home?
He tilts his head, causing his dark hair to fall across his forehead. “So very, very interesting. Tsk, tsk, tsk…” He stares at me, his body growing even harder against my stomach until I can feel the entire hard length of him.
I shake my head. “Stop that.”
He grins. “It’s your fault I’m hard.”
“No, it’s not. And it’s your fault you’re still pressing your heavy body on mine.”
“Ouch,” he chuckles, not the least bit offended. “I prefer ‘strong, muscled, handsome body.’”
I roll my eyes. “Get off of me and tell me where Kael is.”
His eyes lock on mine, trying to figure me out. “If I get off of you, do you promise not to do something stupid that will get you killed?”
“No, I wasn’t doing anything stupid.”
“Facing a wolf who has just shifted for the first time, isn’t in control, is alpha-less, and has the hots for you is stupid.”
“How do you know that? And Kael doesn’t have the hots for me; we’ve established that.”
He laughs. “Every man who sees you has the hots for you, Lumi.”
“Where is Kael?”
He ignores me, staring deep into my eyes with a forceful persuasion. Luckily, wolf shifters don’t have the power to force the truth out of another.
“What pack do you belong to? And what are you doing here?” he demands.
“If I answer, will you get off of me and tell me where Kael is?” I push against his hard chest, but it’s a mistake. There is no moving him. His skin is cool to my touch, and it feels like I’m trying to move a stone wall.
“Possibly.”
“Thank you for your honesty,” I say sarcastically.
He snickers.
My eyes sear into him. He takes a deep breath, sniffing my platinum locks. When he pulls back, I see he has gathered some knowledge, and it changes his expression from flirty to devious.
“Never mind.”
“Never mind what?” I ask.
“Are you going to question everything I say?”
“Are you not going to explain anything you say?”
He pauses. “I don’t need you to answer me anymore. I know what pack you’re from.”
“How?”
“Your scent. I can’t always tell. Most wolves wouldn’t let me get close enough for long enough to be able to scent them in this way. But I know now. You’re Wintermoon.”
I freeze, unsure how he’s going to react to that information. When he doesn’t immediately kill me after a minute, I try to explain. “Kael and I are looking for the Moonlight wolves. We’re here to help break the curse.”
He stills, my words landing, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Kael is running north through the woods to an area where there are no human trails, no pack territories, and little chance he can harm anyone. He’ll keep running until morning, when he’s most likely to shift back into his human form.”
I stare at him, unblinking.
“I gave him a command, and since he’s alpha-less, he followed it,” he says.
“You’re an alpha?”
He doesn’t answer me.
“Does that mean Kael belongs to your pack now?”
Again, he doesn’t answer my question.
“I have one more question for you. When Kael was attacking you, why didn’t you turn?” he asks.
I blush bright red and look away, unable to tell him the truth. Now that Kael can, I’m probably the only wolf shifter on the planet who has grown to adulthood and not figured out how to shift. I’m an outlier. There’s something very, very wrong with me.
But I can’t tell this stranger any of these things.
I turn back to this nameless man with rippling muscles, a thick cock, and a hint of evil in his eyes. He may have saved me, but I don’t trust him. He’s told me practically nothing, and his effect on my body is strange. But I trust my gut, and it’s telling me that he’s up to no good.
“Thank you for saving me,” I say.
That wicked grin creeps up his face again.
“Oh, my naive snow wolf, I’m not saving you. I’m taking you.”
My eyes widen, and I struggle beneath his hold. Something sharp sinks into my neck, and everything goes black.