6. Lumi
Chapter 6
Lumi
S tartling awake, I find myself sliding off the muscled surface I’m lying on. I dig my fingers in to keep myself from falling and get a fistful of midnight black fur.
It’s then that I realize where I am or, rather, who I’m on top of. I’m riding the back of the wolf who rescued me. I try to pull my hands apart, but they’re stuck together by rough vines roped tightly around my hands and ankles. It’s a miracle I’ve managed to stay on top of the wolf the entire time I’ve been passed out.
How long have I been out?
Minutes, hours, days? I have no way of knowing.
Kael?
“Kael?! Where’s Kael?” I scan the forest, and that’s when I see them—at least a dozen other wolves jogging beside us. None are as large as the alpha I’m riding on, but the others look healthy. Their numbers are good too, not dwindling like our pack.
My eyes dart from wolf to wolf. There are several wolves whose fur is a similar brown shade to Kael’s, but none seem quite right. And when I look at them, none look back at me with the recognition I would expect from Kael.
The alpha doesn’t answer my question, and neither do any of the other wolves. They’d have to shift back into human form to answer me, but it doesn’t stop me from asking everything that’s racing through my mind.
“Where are you taking me?
“What happened to Kael?
“Is he safe?
“What are you going to do with me?”
All of my questions go unanswered and completely ignored.
“You could at least tell me your name,” I snap.
He answers with a lift of his shoulders that has me bouncing on his back.
“Hey, that wasn’t very nice!” I dig my nails deeper into his fur, cutting into his skin with my nails. I get no indication that it hurt him, or that he even noticed.
His head looks back at me, and I swear I see him smirking at me.
I glare back. “You could at least untie me if you’re going to make me ride on your back. You asshole!”
He bounces me again, and I fly through the air. I flail and manage to get my legs free as I land on his back, straddling him like a horse.
Did he mean to set my legs free?
I take a deep breath, calming my heart before saying, “Thank you.”
A loud howl rips through the forest, and his ears perk up. Everyone stops moving as they listen, deciphering the meaning. I have no idea if they really can or not. The howl sends shivers through me and begs my body to move toward the sound, but my instincts tell me to run in the opposite direction.
The other wolves all look toward the alpha, toward us, waiting for his command.
He howls back in equal length and volume. My body trembles at the sound, wanting to bow down to him to show him respect even though he’s not my alpha.
Suddenly, we’re all running again toward the first howl, and it takes all of my energy to stay on his back. My thighs clench over his fur, and my white-knuckle grip tugs at his skin as we sprint through the forest.
There are more howls and growls throughout the trees. Each one lights a spark deep in my chest. My heart pounds louder, hoping I can turn. I pray any part of my body will answer the call and prove that I will one day be able to shift just like Kael did. It will take time, but maybe being with another pack will help me learn to shift faster.
That is, if I live that long.
I don’t know what this alpha or pack has planned for me. They tied me up but haven’t harmed me—yet. But what did they do with Kael? Where is he?
This alpha with the midnight black fur saved me and then took me as his captive. I’m not sure if I should trust or fear him.
The howls quickly grow in volume and number. Goosebumps pepper my arms and legs as my body tenses in anticipation.
The cacophony of wolf vocal cords ramps louder and louder and louder…
And then, suddenly, we all stop.
I look down and realize the pack is standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down into a valley.
I gasp.
There are hundreds of wolf shifters below. Most are in wolf form, but some remain as human.
Suddenly, I’m thrown into the air and falling.
Strong arms catch me, and I stare up into red eyes, shifting to black. His body is once again naked as he cradles me against his bare chest. My wrists are still tied together, preventing me from fighting back.
A shudder works through my body as I stare up at this man as we still stand on the cliff.
“Good job not falling to your death, my clingy snow wolf.” His eyes snap into the blackness that matches his hair, completely vanishing the red-eyed wolf within him.
“I’m not your anything.”
“Not for much longer, you aren’t. But for a few hours, you were mine.” He says it in a melancholy whisper that doesn’t make sense to me.
I open my mouth to speak, but before I can say anything, he straightens and peers out at the vastness beyond the cliff. I look down at the array of wolf shifters gathered in one place. Why didn’t Father bring us here? Why couldn’t we have come here and found help?
We are the traitors, the reason everyone is cursed , my mind reminds me.
But there had to be at least one pack here that would have helped us. If only my father had been willing to seek help instead of accepting his fate. Then maybe he would still be alive, and our pack would be, too. And Kael and I wouldn’t have had to search them out ourselves.
No, it’s not too late. They are not dead. He’s not dead…
“Ambrose,” the alpha’s voice booms in my ear and through the forest, so loud that everyone moving around in the valley stops and looks up. I don’t know who this Ambrose is, but there is no doubt that he heard him.
“The Bloodmoon wolves are ready to present our offering,” the alpha says.
Chills race over my skin, and my heart thuds to a stop. I was foolish to trust this man at all, foolish to think he cared about me when he saved me.
I’m their offering.