32. Lumi
Chapter 32
Lumi
S hift .
I command my body to shift like I force air down with my next breath. But unlike my lungs, the rest of my body doesn’t listen. I can’t even conjure up the claws I was able to form earlier. The only thing that tells me I have any wolf blood in me at all is my eyesight—crisp as it’s even been. But my eyesight won’t save me.
And even if I were able to shift, I’m not sure that would save me. I’m far outnumbered.
They all take a step closer, many of them now less than five feet away from me. One easy leap for a wolf, and I’d be in any of their clutches. One snap of their jaw and they could inflict a wound that would have me bleeding out in seconds.
I don’t know what’s causing this behavior. And that’s my first step. I can’t break through whatever this is if I don’t know if it’s a spell, the curse, or something else.
“Emeric, what are you doing? What’s happening?” I start, trying to keep my voice calm and my heartbeat regular. Any fear could cause them to react even faster.
Emeric cocks his head, studying me like he didn’t know I was capable of speaking.
I suck in a breath. Maybe my words can get through whatever spell he’s under. If it’s the curse, I know he isn’t as affected by it as the rest of them. He’s so connected to Ambrose. If Ambrose is being tortured, Emeric will feel it. That’s his curse. And it’s my saving grace that if Emeric is still standing and not hunched over in pain, then Ambrose must be alright, at least for the moment.
They all take a step closer to me in unison. Spell or curse?
“Emeric, who have you talked to tonight? Did you talk with anyone before you came here?”
Emeric takes a step toward me, while the others remain frozen. All of them look at me without blinking, with an intensity that makes my skin crawl.
“Such a silly, naive wolf to think you get to ask us questions. Or that we would answer them,” Emeric says, his voice deeper than I’ve ever heard it, almost like he’s the new alpha.
I shutter. No, Ambrose isn’t dead. Emeric is just the beta. Of course, he commands the attention of the others when Ambrose isn’t here.
“What do you want?” I ask, even though I’m terrified that I already know the answer.
Emeric’s lips thin in a wicked smile as he glances over his shoulder at the other males. I can see it happening even before he gives them the cue, but there is nothing I can do to stop them.
“You,” he says simply, like that explains everything.
In a split second, my arms are yanked in two different directions by two different males. Another is at my neck as if holding onto my arms isn’t enough to contain me. And Emeric is standing in front of me, so close that I can feel his breath against my lips. So close that he could kiss me or bite me by barely moving an inch.
I hold my breath, not wanting him to scent any of my fear. But I can’t contain my wince when I feel the yank of my arms wider against my will. Nails grip my neck like a hot iron being branded into my skin.
“Ambrose will kill you for touching me. I’m not yours. I’m his .”
Emeric shakes his head. “You’re not his , not yet. You can’t shift. You can’t complete the marking ceremony. I’m not even sure if you are his mate.”
I frown, searching Emeric’s eyes and hoping I’ll find something that tells me what the hell happened between the last time I saw him and now. This can’t possibly be the same man who trained me. The same man who ripped Ambrose off me when he feared for my life. The same man who is always smiling, playful, and kind. This man is different. There isn’t even a shadow of the man I knew before in his eyes.
So, which man is the real Emeric? And what the hell is happening?
“You don’t believe that. You know I’m Ambrose’s mate. What the hell happened to you? The witches must have cast some sort of spell. You have to fight it, Emeric. This isn’t you,” I say.
His eyebrow curls up, and then his tongue traces the outline of my lips.
I jerk before remembering that three male wolf shifters are holding my arms and neck, and there is no escaping. Emeric and the rest of the pack can do whatever they want to me.
“You’re just a pathetic human. I don’t sense any wolf blood in you.”
I snarl.
“So feisty, but it won’t save you. I see through you. We all do.”
“What are you going to do? Kill me so Ambrose will have a new mate?”
Emeric chuckles, and the guys exchange knowing glances. I take the moment to look them all in the eyes. Every single one of the glowing yellow eyes indicates that they are the Moonlight wolves. A pack it’s clear now I’ll never belong to.
The pack circling the five of us have all shifted into their wolf forms, leaving the four males around me in their human forms.
“As you said, Ambrose will kill us if we kill you. But Ambrose can’t see clearly. He can’t see what’s best for him or for the pack.”
He scrapes his teeth over his bottom lip, and I can smell the scent of sex in the air. I glance down for a split second, long enough to see how hard Emeric is in his naked state. The males holding me are the same.
I narrow my eyes at him. “So you’re going to rape me? Ambrose will still kill you for it.”
Emeric smirks. “He won’t when he comes here and sees that you begged for it.”
“I’ll never beg for sex from any of you.”
“By the time we are through with you, Lumi, you will,” he says it like it’s fact, an inevitability. My heart halts to a stop for a split second. No, I refuse to believe it. I don’t care what spell, curse, or dumbass thought process led them to this decision—I will not be seduced by them.
“Do your worst, but you’ll regret it when Ambrose is tearing you apart piece by piece.” Because I know he will. The vampires and witches seem to be working with the Moonlight wolves this time. He’s not in danger. The entire male pack wouldn’t be here if he was. But they are all very much in danger. Because soon enough, he’ll get free. And for me, he’ll kill them all.