45. Lumi
A mbrose and I stand at the top of the hill with our fingers intertwined. We look down at the crowd that has gathered on the side of a hill overlooking the stage where I was presented as an offering last month. This time, I’m here because it’s my choice. And this time, I know exactly who my mate is.
I’m dressed in a long, curve-hugging, black lace dress next to Ambrose and his black suit. Golden crowns adorn both our heads. I’ve never felt so powerful, even if I’ve never physically been weaker. The blood flowing through my veins is just enough to keep me standing, to keep me walking. Ambrose, despite putting on a brave front, hasn’t fully recovered yet, either. But he squeezes my hand as if he has enough strength for both of us.
When we reach the top of the hill, silence falls through the crowd as all eyes track us. Together, we start to descend the stairs hand in hand.
I was sure the crowns were too much, but as we walk, several pack members and even nonpack members bow to us. They seem to understand and respect the sacrifice we are about to make.
I spot Isolde at the bottom of the stairs where the stage is and stumble. I knew she was the witch that would conduct the ceremony, but I still don’t like her.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe. I won’t let Isolde hurt you,” Ambrose says in my head.
“I know. I trust you.”
His lips curl up just a touch, and the warmth and assurance in his eyes tell me any doubt from earlier is long gone. He truly believes that we can do this. I know we can.
We only briefly discussed what Thalia said to us about the prophecy. But it was enough to give us both confidence that we can break the curse and survive. We avoid speaking about his kiss with Rowena.
Once we hit the stage, Ambrose turns to face the crowd. “Tonight, my mate and I will complete the marking ceremony confirming that we are mates. We will break the curse. And my queen and I will take our places as alphas of the Moonlight wolves.”
Cheers break out, but Ambrose and I just stare everyone down. I scan every one of their faces until I find who I’m looking for. Nyx is standing next to Kael in the front row. Nyx raises his eyebrow at me as if to call my bluff. But I’m not backing down. I quickly scan Kael. He doesn’t seem hurt, but I can’t read much about his condition beyond any obvious outward injuries. There is nothing I can do to help him at the moment, even if he is injured.
So, for now, I push Kael out of my mind and then sweep my attention to Emeric and Rowena, who are on the other side of the aisle in the front row. Emeric is grinning wildly at us with all the faith in the world that we are going to do this. Rowena, however, looks like she’s chewed her nails completely off at this point and doesn’t know what to do with her hands now.
“It’s going to be okay. We can do this,” I mouth to her as much for my own sake.
She nods but doesn’t look too assured. Shame still marks her face. She tried to speak with me before the ceremony, but I brushed her off. When we break the curse, and everything can be spoken about, then we’ll talk.
Ambrose and I both turn to face Isolde. Ambrose warned me that this ceremony will probably be a bit different than what we saw before. He said Isolde has been doing a lot of research, but he didn’t tell me more than that. It’s probably because, based on how fast his heart is beating next to me, he doesn’t know what Isolde has planned either.
“As Ambrose has said, we are gathered here to conduct the marking ceremony and break the curse. Thank you to everyone who came to ensure that the ceremony goes off smoothly. I know how desperate we all are to end this.” She flicks her hand in a signal, and suddenly, the stage is surrounded by witches.
The crowd gasps.
Ambrose and I are both stone-faced. We expected this, but it’s still shocking to see an entire coven of witches surrounding us. There is no turning back now.
They all hold their hands up at the same time, and I watch as golden threads flow from their fingers up toward the sky. The threads begin to weave together in an intricate pattern that I would call beautiful if it wasn’t for the fact that it was forming a cage around us.
Ambrose and I continue to hold hands while keeping our expressions neutral. We are either leaving this cage as true mates, having broken the curse, or we die.
Isolde turns to us with a calculated smirk and a cold, piercing stare that screams she’ll be happy either way.
“She better hope we die. I plan on killing her after we break the curse.”
Ambrose chuckles under his breath. “Nothing less than what she deserves, my queen.”
My queen —I love it when he calls me that. It has nothing to do with the crown on my head or the role he expects me to play. He calls me that because of how he feels about me.
“The moon will soon be at its peak. It’s time to start.” Isolde holds up her hands. “Do you, Lumi, accept Ambrose as your mate?”
“Yes.”
“Do you, Ambrose, accept Lumi as your mate?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, we shall see if you both chose correctly. There are two parts to the ceremony. Part one is to join as your human selves. Part two is to shift into your wolf forms and for Ambrose to mark Lumi’s upper shoulder. If you both survive, then the mating bond should make itself known.”
I’m listening, but still focused on the first part. “What does she mean about joining as our human selves?”
“I’m not—”
But then an ivory altar with gold etchings up the side similar to the runes marking our bodies appears in the center of the stage. There is a single pillow and very thin looking mattress that makes the altar look like a bed and it becomes perfectly clear what she means.
“Sex, she means sex.”
“We don’t have—”
“We do. We will. Whatever it takes. I trust you.”
“I’ll help you kill her the second this is over,” he growls in my head.
“No, she’s mine.”
“We have restraints if you need to use them to get the job done, Ambrose,” Isolde says with a cruelty in her voice that leaves an unsettled feeling in my stomach.
A raw, primal growl pours out of Ambrose as he uses his body like a shield, blocking me from her. “That won’t be necessary,” he says through clenched teeth.
“I’ll make this fast and keep you as covered as I can. I’ll—” he says in a panicked voice in my head.
“I know. I trust you. I don’t care who sees our bond. We are doing this, not just because we have to but because we want to. You’re my mate, Ambrose. I want the world to know.”
His jaw twitches, but he takes me by the hand and leads me gently to the altar-like bed.
“Just focus on me.” His eyes lock on mine and mine on his as we both take a slow, deep breath. His fingers gently brush against my cheek before her cradles my neck with the palm of his hand, and his lips brush over mine. Once, twice before he quickly sweeps his tongue through the seam of my mouth and gently lifts me onto the hard altar.
Heat weaves through me with every purposeful kiss until I’m quickly burning up. A fervent longing beats hard in my chest as my core begs for him inside me to quench the ache between my thighs.
“It’s just us.”
“Just us.”
That’s all the preparation I’ll get—anything more would be too intimate and take too long. It would expose my body to the rest of the world. There are no blankets, nothing to cover our bodies with. He kissed me just enough to turn me on, just enough to make this pleasurable for me, to prepare my body, but nothing more.
Ambrose gently spreads my legs and takes up the space between them, hiking my dress up my thighs until it’s bunched around my waist. His thumb circles my clit over my panties once before he realizes how soaked the material is. I’m ready for him; I’m always ready for him. He carefully pushes my panties to one side.
“I want you so much.” His voice is desperate, as is the look in his golden eyes.
I don’t look away as I hear the zipper of his pants. “Me too.”
I feel the tip of his length brush against my clit, and then he takes me in one hard thrust, burying himself to the hilt. My eyes squeeze shut as the quick shot of pain overwhelms me. I thought I was more than ready for him, but his large size compared to the heaviness of the moment is more than I was prepared for.
Despite my best efforts, a wretched moan squeaks out before I can contain it. I quickly bite my lip, refusing for anyone to see or hear that I’m in any pain—especially Isolde.
Ambrose is focused, though. He fucks me fast to get this over as quickly as possible. His lips dance over mine again, soothing my agony.
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t. I’m okay,” I reassure him.
Both of our voices are strangled, pushing through the torment we feel in this moment.
His lips brush against mine again and again, and the heat returns to my body, quickly overshadowing the burning and stretching I felt before.
I don’t dare open my eyes, too terrified I’ll lock eyes with anyone in the crowd. Instead, I focus on feeling Ambrose inside me. But my mind is rushing through all the possibilities of what could happen. What if we can’t break the curse? What if…?
The bruised, burning feeling when he first took me is gone, but my mind won’t allow me to settle into the moment with him like I usually would. I’m too panicked. Thrust after thrust, he expertly fucks me. It’s pleasurable but nothing like when we’ve had sex before. It’s as if he doesn’t want to share that part of us with the world. This feels methodical, mechanical. He’s going through the motions but not really revealing much of our relationship to the world.
Panic sneaks up my chest as I realize it’s going to take forever for me to come.
“ Please don’t let me having an orgasm be required for our joining as humans to be complete.”
“It’s not. Just me. You coming undone is only for me. I won’t share that with anyone else in the world.”
“Good. I don’t want to share it either.”
“I promise to make you come all night long as soon as this is over.”
“I can’t wait.” I bite my lower lip to keep another moan from leaving my lips as my back drives into the hard altar with one of Ambrose’s thrusts.
“So close, my queen,” Ambrose pants in a tormented whisper.
“Finish this,” I demand.
And then I feel his seed spilling inside me in warm ribbons as if he was waiting for me to give him permission.
I take a deep, long breath as Ambrose pulls out of me, pulling my dress down my thighs to ensure no one gets a view of my body. He quickly helps me into a sitting position with my legs dangling over the side of the altar. Stars twinkle in my vision instead of the crowd surrounding us.
“You okay?”
“Yes.” I blink, and my vision returns to normal as I look at him. He looks as perfect as when we first walked here, not at all like he just fucked me in front of a hillside of supernatural creatures. Even the crown atop his head hasn’t tilted.
He takes a deep breath that washes over me like a warm blanket, instantly calming me. And then adjusts my crown sitting on my curled white hair.
I’m composed, but I still refuse to look out at the crowd. I was barely exposed. No one saw anything, but it was still embarrassing, still too much.
Ambrose holds me tight to his body as he looks at Isolde. “Move on to part two.”
She nods. “Shift.”
“We are doing part two without shifting,” he says.
She smirks like she knew that’s what we’d say. “That’s not your choice. I know she can shift now.”
With a wave of her hand, magic burns into me hard and fast like lightning striking my body. Violent tremors wreck me as I try to maintain control. An explosive force of heat infiltrates every nerve, muscle, and flesh of my skin.
I consider shifting just to make the pain stop. But I remember Serenai’s warning—shifting when I’m this weak could kill me. Besides, I can barely feel my connection to my wolf inside me. And she’s made it clear time and time again that she won’t make an appearance to save my life. The only thing strong enough to bring her out is needing to save my mate.
“Ah!” a scream is pulled from my body as the witches in Moonfire’s coven begin to pour their magic into me one by one until all twelve are attacking me at once. They are going to force me to shift, giving them the ability to control my wolf for the rest of time.
I’m going to die. I’m too weak, and my wolf can’t appear when I’m this fragile.
“Lumi!” Ambrose screams, but his voice feels like it’s miles away from me. “Stop this, Isolde! She can shift on her own. Just give her a minute.”
“We don’t have a minute. The moon is cresting. It has to be now,” Isolde says.
“Lumi, hold on,” Ambrose says in a terrified voice that echoes in my head, but I can’t focus through the intense pain seizing my body.
I don’t know how long the magic pours through me. Time feels endless and meaningless. Fire burns through my body in the way it does before I shift. But it’s too intense. It’s too much. I feel my body give out as I collapse to the floor.
As soon as I hit the ground, the witches stop. It’s quiet, so quiet that I can hear every breath and heartbeat of every mortal and immortal creature within a mile radius.
I stand, ignoring the ache in every crevice of my body. With a heavy breath, I look Isolde straight in the eyes, and I say, “I will complete the ceremony in my human form.”
“You’ll never survive,” she says with a hint of pleasure in her tone.
“Watch me,” I growl with unrestrained fury.
I turn to Ambrose. “Shift.”
He watches me closely, waiting for me to second-guess myself. But I don’t. I won’t.
A second later, Ambrose’s large black wolf with golden streaks and glowing eyes is standing in front of me. His frame is still scary as hell, as are his sharp teeth that are about to tear into my human flesh. But I don’t feel any of that fear when I look at him now. I know what has to be done, and I know I’m strong enough.
“Do it,” I say.
He growls low in warning.
“Do it,” I give my own alpha command, unsure if it will work. “Mark me as your mate.”
Ambrose bares his sharp canines at me, reminding me of the pain I’m about to endure.
I swallow the lump in my throat, preparing my body for the pain. It doesn’t matter how painful it is; I’ll survive. Not because I’m stronger than anyone else here, but because he’s my mate. My soulmate. My lover. Mine . The connection between us will ensure I survive.
Ambrose stalks toward me. I take a deep breath and brush my snowy-white hair off my shoulder, giving him easy access. My eyes blaze at his a second longer before he opens his massive jaw, and I wait for the pain. The pain that will make everything worth it. The pain that will break the curse.
His teeth brush against my skin in warning before his canines begin to pierce my sensitive flesh. I grind my teeth together but will not allow myself to show any outward pain. I will survive this. I will—
“Stop! I’m your mate, not Ambrose,” a deep voice says, halting Ambrose as if he’s been commanded.
I blink, unsure of who spoke, but the pain in my neck has lessened as a drop of blood rolls down my neck, stopping at my clavicle. I don’t know why Ambrose even listened to him, but when I look at Ambrose, I see that magic is holding him frozen a few feet away from me.
My heart thunders as I turn toward the voice—Nyx.
“You’re not my mate. Ambrose is,” I say clearly.
“I’m calling in my favor,” Nyx says. My eyes widen as I realize he says it in my head.
What the hell?
“I think you got it wrong. I think I’m your mate, not Ambrose. I want to challenge him to be your mate.” Nyx stalks toward us.
“You’re not my mate,” I say again and more clearly.
“You let me do this, or our deal is over, and Kael is dead.”
I look over to Kael and see two vampires surrounding him.
“Kael!” I scream, trying to warn him, but it’s too late. He’s held tightly by the two vampires at his side.
I glare at Nyx. “Let him go.”
Ambrose still hasn’t moved. He’s completely frozen. And I have no clue what to do.
I look to Rowena and Emeric. Both look ready to leap into action at my command. The entire Moonlight pack is behind them and ready.
“Release Ambrose, and let us continue the ceremony. The moon will crest soon,” I say to Isolde.
“Afraid I can’t do that,” she says.
“Can you break free? What do we do?” I ask Ambrose.
But he doesn’t respond. I doubt he even got my message with the magic surrounding him and stopping me from talking to him.
I look at Rowena and give her the slightest nod. We’re going to have to fight our way out of this.
Then I shift.
With Ambrose in danger, my wolf makes an easy appearance. The world goes black as blinding pain rips through me. At the same time, I hear the chaos break out around us.
I focus all my energy to shift faster, but I can’t make my body change any faster. And I can’t help unless I shift. So I’m trapped in my body as every muscle painstakingly slowly shifts from my thin ribbons into thick bands, giving me the bulk and strength my wolf form needs.
Hands engulf my body, and I feel myself being carried, but I have no idea by whom. No idea if it’s Ambrose or…
Nyx.
I can smell him. A distinct metallic scent invades my nostrils. He smells like blood.
My eyes burn open as my shift completes, but it’s too late. I flail in his arms, but his grip doesn’t loosen on me. I don’t know how Nyx is strong enough to carry me when I’m in my wolf form, and he’s still in his human body. But his grip doesn’t loosen as he carries me off the stage and into the forest behind it. I look behind us, trying to find Ambrose, Emeric, or…Rowena.
I gasp as I spot her lifeless body lying on the ground in a puddle of blood.
“She’s dead,” Nyx says.
“NO! Put me down!” I scream in my head, but I’m not sure if he can hear me. I fight harder to get free. She can’t be dead, she can’t be.
“You can’t save her. You can save Kael. You can save Ambrose. You can save the rest of your pathetic pack, but you can’t save her,” he says aloud.
I sob, but it comes out a howl in my wolf form.
Nyx doesn’t release his hold on me as I scream and scream, each scream tearing through my body like a hurricane. I sob, and scream, and flail as heartbreak spills through my body. With each sob, I feel myself shrinking, getting smaller and smaller, my senses lessening until I begin to shiver from the cool air hitting my human skin once again.
Nyx cradles my naked body against his chest as he runs effortlessly through the forest. I don’t know where he’s taking me, and I don’t have the strength to fight him. Time once again escapes me. I don’t know how long he runs, just that time stretches infinitely as he does. Eventually, he stops and puts me down on the ground.
I shiver as more cold air hits my naked skin.
“You killed Rowena, didn’t you?” I ask, my throat scratchy and my eyes stained with tears as I stare at the ground.
“It doesn’t matter who killed her.”
I look up at him, finally seeing who he really is. His mouth is covered in blood, and his fangs are sharper than any other wolf shifter. He’s not just a wolf shifter…
“You’re a vampire.”
He nods.
“How? How are you part vampire, part shifter?”
“The same way your mate is part shifter, part witch.”
“What?”
He chuckles. “You really are a fool. I’m almost not sure it was worth rescuing you.”
“You didn’t rescue me.”
“I sure as hell did. If I had let you continue with that little ceremony of yours, you’d be dead by now.”
“No, I would have broken the curse.”
He scoffs. “No, you wouldn’t have. But we’ll have to agree to disagree. For now, I want you to start telling me the truth. What do you really know about breaking the curse?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know who you are, Lumi. I know you’re part of the Wintermoon wolves. I know you’re the snow wolf that the seers talk about. And I know you spoke with Thalia. I know you have more pieces of the prophecy than you’ve let on. I have a feeling it’s a lot more complicated, and there are a lot more stipulations than what the ceremony was about. So if you want me to keep being nice to you, then start talking.”
Through tear-stained eyes, I look at him directly. I know Thalia said that only seers receive parts of the prophecy. That my dreams can’t be prophecy, but maybe she’s wrong. That those who are part of the prophecy also receive pieces. The way that Nyx is looking at me, I know he believes it’s possible.
He’s a vampire and a wolf shifter. If what he speaks is true, Ambrose is a wolf shifter and witch. There is nothing that isn’t impossible.
“Yes, I have pieces of the prophecy that no one else knows. But I’ll never tell you.”
He smirks, his eyes darkening. “We’ll see about that. I think you’ll change your mind when you’ve been mine for a few months.”
“I’ll never be yours.”
“You already are,” he says as he plunges his fangs over the spot on my neck where Ambrose started to mark me.
Thank you for reading Marked by Moonlight! You can continue the story in Bitten by Bloodmoon .