I hate running, and I vow whenever I do get my wolf, I’m never running from a fight again. But it’s all I can do. Run and find help because I’m useless on my own.
But I don’t know where to find help. I don’t know where the pack is. And I’m running in the wrong direction from town.
I whip my head quickly behind me to try to get a sense of how many are following me. The yellow glowing eyes are there in the dozens.
Wait. I holt to a stop when I realize who has glowing yellow eyes—the Moonlight wolves.
It’s a huge gamble. I could be wrong. But I won’t get much further running.
I turn at the same time I stop. My breath is heavy, and my heart is sprinting at full speed, ready for me to run again as I stare down those glowing yellow eyes that number in the dozens.
The eyes stop growing closer, but they seem to grow in number. A chill races up my spine, and I glance over my shoulder to see that some of the eyes have moved behind me, until I’m completely surrounded by those Moonlight wolves.
I scan them, looking for someone I recognize. It’s then that I realize I haven’t spent enough time with the pack. But then again, that’s not my fault, as Ambrose hasn’t let me out of his sight.
Several of the faces are familiar, but I can’t come up with any of their names.
“I think Nyx has Ambrose,” I say calmly, trying to take deep, relaxing breaths.This is the Moonlight pack. They aren’t going to hurt me.
No one speaks.
The moon begins to rise high in the sky, and my eyes begin to adjust to the darkness enough that I can make out that some of them are in their wolf forms and some in their human. The ones that are human are completely naked, as if they were in their wolf form but recently shifted back.
I keep my eyes on their faces, waiting for someone to speak to me. To tell me what they know or don’t know about who and why they have Ambrose.
Shivers overtake me again, though, when I realize something odd about the faces—they’re all male. Only the male members of the pack are here. I don’t see any females. I don’t see Rowena.
“Emeric?” I say suddenly when I see his blonde hair and a hint of a smile.
“Oh, thank gods. Ambrose is being held by a witch’s spell and two vampires, maybe more, in a tree…” I trail off as Emeric doesn’t respond to the words I’m saying. He shouldn’t be smirking at me like that, not when Ambrose is being held hostage.
“Emeric?” my voice says hesitantly.
He runs his tongue across his lips in a seductive manner. He sees me as his next meal.
I swallow down a lump in my throat. I made a mistake. Whether the witches cast a spell on them or this is the curse driving the males of the pack into a frenzy, there is no reasoning with them. And now I’m trapped by all the male members of the Moonlight wolves, while my mate is held hostage. I made a grave mistake that there is no saving myself from, unless I can shift.
Chapter 32
Lumi
Shift.
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?
