13. Lumi
Chapter 13
Lumi
L ight splinters through the window shades, flooding my room. My eyes squint open, and my body barely moves, begging me to go back to sleep. If the sun is any indication, I’ve slept most of the day, and there’s too much that needs to be done. There are too many unanswered questions. A curse needs lifting, and I need to talk to Ambrose—now.
I sit up quickly but immediately regret my actions as my head pounds. The sheets fall down my body, and I realize I’m still naked. The details of last night are foggy. I remember following Ambrose and Emeric back to the campgrounds. I remember Emeric showing me to the bedroom, and then I must’ve passed out.
My eyes cut around the room, looking for clothes, but I find none.
Damn wolf shifters and their inability to realize that most people don’t like to strut around naked.
I rip the sheets off the bed and wrap them haphazardly around my body until I am at least covered. I run my hand through my long hair, wishing I had a hairbrush or, better yet, a bath. Grit and grime coat my strands, while sweat and oil coat my pores. Hopefully, I’ll be granted a bath and a brush soon enough.
I cautiously open the door, expecting Emeric or someone else to be guarding it, but I find no one. Huh? Strange.
I walk down a long, empty hallway, listening for signs of Ambrose, but there are none. The house is huge—a maze of hallways and doors. I’m shocked to find that no one was guarding my door. Did Ambrose trust me enough not to flee? Did he trust that the other males would leave me alone?
Finally, I hear a pan clanking, and I turn a corner to find Emeric standing over a pot on the stove with a cup of coffee in his hand.
Emeric beams at me like I am the sun itself.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Emerics says, his voice is sweet and kind. He looks at me like Kael used to look at me—in a loving, sister sort of way.
“Morning. Where is Ambrose?”
“He’s out doing alpha stuff.”
“What does that mean, ‘Alpha stuff’?” I lean against the counter opposite Emeric.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he is saying goodbye to the other alphas and their packs before arranging the marking ceremony next month.”
Next month—that’s my deadline. I have one month to learn to shift. One month for Ambrose to fall in love with me and me with him. One month to ensure that he is indeed my mate. One month to break the curse.
“And why aren’t you out there with him? You are his beta, right?”
“Because I have far better things to do than say goodbye to a bunch of arrogant, hot-blooded alphas.”
“Like what?”
He hands me a cup of coffee. “Like ensuring you don’t run away.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I want to meet with Ambrose. I want to break the curse.”
Emeric’s eyes shoot through me sadly for a split second. He turns back around to stir the eggs in the pot, and then he flips the bacon in the other pan.
“You weren’t doing a very good job of guarding me all the way on the other side of the house.”
Emeric chuckles. “I can guard any human like you from a far greater distance. My hearing and smelling abilities far outweigh your own. I knew the second you woke up, and I heard every footstep you made down the hallway. I smelled you the second you entered the room. You weren’t getting away without my knowledge. And as I am ten times faster than you, you wouldn’t have made it farther than a step outside before I caught you.”
I glare at him. “I’m not a human.”
“You could’ve fooled me.”
I snarl and growl.
Emeric just laughs again. “You’re going to have to work on that menacing growl. It’s adorable.”
“And what would stop someone else from breaking in and taking me? Another wolf shifter—an alpha, perhaps—could have kidnapped me before you had a chance to stop them.”
Emeric’s eyes fall and darken. “No one is a threat to you in this house.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re in Ambrose’s house. The alpha of the Moonlight wolves. He is the alpha that trumps all others. No one would dare break into his house. No one would dare harm you, not here. You’re safe here.”
The seriousness in Emeric’s voice hits me. It’s the truth, but I can’t help but think he’s not telling me something.
“Does this house happen to have any clothes that would fit me?”
Emeric seems to finally realize I’m wrapped in bedsheets. He’s standing in nothing but loose athletic shorts and no shirt, perfectly at ease with his semi-nakedness. He’s a superbly sculpted man with sun-kissed skin, blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. He’s so lovable and good-looking at the same time. But I’m still pissed at him for leading me to that cave, for tricking me. And I’m pissed off at him now for not telling me the whole truth.
“I’m sure I can find you something to wear. But do you want to get dressed or eat first?”
My stomach growls, and my mouth salivates at the smell of the eggs and bacon he’s making.
He grins knowingly. “Eat first. Maybe there is a wolf inside you after all if you pick eating over clothing yourself.”
He dishes up a plate of eggs and bacon, and I snatch it from his hands, not bothering to make it to the table before digging in. Emeric and I eat in silence, too hungry for words. After eating, he finds me jean shorts and a tank top for me to wear.
I need to talk to Ambrose. I need to figure out where we stand and how he’s going to help me learn to shift. I need to learn everything there is about the curse because, obviously, I don’t know the whole truth if the witches and vampires are also affected by it. And I need to figure out what Nyx did to Kael without revealing that Kael and I belong to the Wintermoon wolves. I don’t believe that Nyx sent him deep into the forest until he could control his shifting, not after Nyx sacrificed me in the offering. Not after I saw the way everyone stared at Nyx in complete terror. He and Emeric are enemies as well. I’m terrified to learn what Nyx might have done to Kael.
“I need to get showered and dressed,” I say.
“Take your time. You can use the bathroom next to your bedroom.”
“I’ll be right back,” I say, hoping that Emeric’s hearing isn’t as good as he claims. I need to get out of here.
Thirty seconds is all the time I allow myself in the shower before I’m out and pulling clothes onto my still-damp body. I quickly run my hand through my long, wintry mane to brush out the tangles, not bothering to dry it as it drips water onto my shirt. Leaving the shower running so Emeric thinks I’m still showering, I sneak out the front door.
As the house door falls shut behind me, I take a deep breath, taking in the warm sun on my cheeks before facing the challenge ahead of me. An unsettling feeling hits me hard in the chest. Slowly, I glance around and find I’m surrounded by six shifter men.
Waiting—they were all waiting. I gulp down a swallow. For me—they’ve been waiting for me. Apparently, there was a reason Emeric didn’t want me to leave the house.
I should go back inside. It’s only a couple of steps behind me. Emeric said the house was protected, and that no shifter would attack me inside. But I’m not inside, and by the way they are all looking at me, I’m fair game out here.
I’m not even sure I could make it to the door before one of them could grab me. They are all so freaking fast, and I have nothing but my human speed. It doesn’t matter that I’ve barely taken a step outside the door. They can close the gap in the amount of time it takes me to blink.
“Easy guys, you know Ambrose will kill you if you touch me.”
“Not if we mark you as our mate. He won’t have a choice but to accept the marking,” a blonde man says.
“I can’t complete the marking with anyone, not right now. It’s not the full moon. And Ambrose will kill you long before there is another full moon.” At least, I think Ambrose would kill them. I honestly know very little about the man.
Mine —that word sounds into my head again. Ambrose is mine. It’s such a strange feeling to have such strong feelings for a man I don’t even know. I’ve only spent a few minutes with him, but I can feel it with every part of my body, with every one of my senses. The connection to him is a living, breathing thing. It’s as part of me as my heart or lungs. I need it to survive. Even without the curse, if something were to happen to Ambrose, I’m pretty sure I would die, too.
The men don’t back down. Their nostrils flare as they breathe in my scent. Their eyes dilate into slits. And I smell their male scents—pheromones trying to draw me to them. They’re all fools. Even if I wanted to choose one of them, I couldn’t.
I run my eyes through the six males. At the last one, my heart beats so hard in my chest that I think it’s going to break my ribs.
“Kael!” I shout in shock.
Tears fill my eyes, and my heart warms. “I never thought I would see you again.”
I truly thought Nyx killed Kael. I thought I had lost him forever. He was the only one left of home, the only thing keeping me going when everyone else I love is most likely dead.
Kael doesn’t look at me like he’s glad to have finally found me, though. He doesn’t look at me with that brotherly love I’m used to seeing from him. Lust—pure, unadulterated lust is all I see in his hazel eyes marked with silver strands.
“Kael, it’s me—Lumi. Your best friend that you think of like a sister. Remember?”
Kael looks at me as if in a daze, as if under some spell himself.
“Kael,” I plead, my body trembling.
He stalks toward me, and the other males move in as well. I inch backward, knowing that if I run, it will just make their predatory instincts kick in, and they’ll lunge for me. Inch by inch, I gain a quarter of a foot, but it’s not close enough. I’m not safe until I’m back in the house.
“Kael, remember who you are. This isn’t you. You’re better than this. You’re my friend. You don’t want me. This is some curse, some spell you’re under. This isn’t the real you.” Another inch back, another inch closer to the door. I’m so close now that I can feel my hair brush against the wood I just have to find the handle.
I keep my eyes locked on Kael, ignoring the other males. My only chance of survival is Kael. If I can break through whatever spell he’s under, then maybe the two of us can find a way to escape.
Kael moves closer—he’s the closest of all of them to me.
Please , I say, but the word never leaves my lips. Kael grabs me before I have a chance to move another inch. His lips slam against mine in a devouring kiss. My hands go up to his chest, trying to push him away, but he’s a wall of muscle. There is no moving him.
I’m not strong enough.
I don’t know how to fight back.
I’m weak, and I hate it.
I hate how uneven a match we are.
And I hate that most of all, when Kael wakes up from whatever spell he’s under and realizes the mistake he made, he’ll hate himself. This isn’t him. Ambrose will kill him before he has a chance at redemption.
Please, I think again. Please, please, please.
The other males franticly close in further. Hands reach out, stroking my back, threatening to pull me out of Kael’s arms. I don’t know which is worse—my friend claiming me against my will or strangers touching me.
Tears stain my eyes, and my heart beats quickly in my chest, like a prey seconds before it’s slaughtered. I push against Kael with everything I have, as I try to bite down on his tongue he’s shoved into my mouth.
But he barely flinches—I don’t even think the pain registers in his head. That’s how consumed he is by his lust for me. I don’t understand it. Days ago, he was so clear that we weren’t mates, that we are nothing but friends, nothing but brother and sister to each other. And now he has his tongue shoved down my throat, threatening to fuck me right here in front of all these males.
A menacing growl vibrates through the air, warning us on a deep, primal level that we have to obey. Our movements halt immediately. Our lungs don’t even expand to take another breath.
Another low growl, snapping of teeth, and the sound of claws scraping over skin break through the silence. Paws pound against the ground as some try to flee. But the snapping of sharp teeth keeps them from escaping.
I take the moment to shove Kael as hard as I can, finally breaking his hold.
He shakes his head, his eyes clearing a little.
“Lumi?”
I nearly sob. “Yes, it’s me. Your Lumi.”
He exhales in relief. But I see the large black wolf with golden flecks in his fur, and I know what’s about to happen. “Run, Kael. Run,” my voice breaks.
“No, I’m not leaving you. Not again.”
Ambrose releases the last of the five men he held in his jaws. The man slips to the floor lifelessly. Ambrose turns his eyes towards Kael. His eyes lock on him, and he crouches down as if he’s about to pounce. He’s going to kill him. I can’t tell how many of the other five are dead or just in so much pain that they can’t get up.
But I can’t let Ambrose hurt Kael.
Ambrose lunges for Kael. Time slows as I throw myself between them at the last second. Ambrose halts, his nose brushing against mine as he huffs out a hard breath.
“Please, no. He’s my friend. He won’t hurt me, not again. He was just under some spell, but he’s not now,” I plead.
Ambrose bares his teeth in Kael’s direction and rolls his shoulders, his fur moving in the wind as a shift changes in the air. We’re eye to eye, even though he’s in his wolf form and I’m a human—that’s how big and terrifying he is.
And yet, when he looks at me, I know he’ll do what I ask. He feels the same way about me that I do to him.
I don’t take my eyes off Ambrose as I speak to Kael. “Kael, find Rowena. She’ll help you. I’ll come find you soon.” I don’t know if she will, but she’s the only person I trust not to kill him at the moment.
“But—”
“Trust me. I’m safe with Ambrose.”
“He looks like he’s about to bite your head off. I’m not leaving you,” Kael says.
“He’s my mate,” I say matter-of-factly, saying it as much for Kael’s sake as Ambrose’s. They both need to hear it. Ambrose is stuck with me. Together, we can figure out how I can shift.
Kael’s eyes widen in disbelief.
“Go,” I order Kael.
Ambrose and I continue to stare into each other’s eyes, both tense. Neither of us backs down, but Kael finally leaves.
Finally, I can breathe again. As I exhale, Ambrose shifts back into his human form. He stands naked before me, his pale skin in stark contrast to his dark hair that hangs in loose curls down his neck.
That’s when I notice the fresh scars, the thin lines of blood rolling down his muscled skin. My heart beats slow and steady as I take him in. I realize the cost to him. I realize how he spent his night and this morning. Fighting off men. Fighting for me. He wasn’t hiding from me. He was fighting for me. Fighting to keep me. Fighting to keep me safe.
And this is how I repaid him? By disobeying his orders and doing something so foolish. And he had to fight even more shifters because of me.
“Get inside,” he snaps in my head. It’s an alpha command, but he didn’t need to use his power to get me to listen to him this time.
“I’m sorry,” I think back to him.
He hangs his head in exhaustion but doesn’t say anything back. I can feel the disappointment rolling off of him as I obey his command and walk back into the house.