“You don’t get it—”
“No, you don’t get it! I can’t shift! We can’t complete the marking ceremony. I’m weak. I—”
His lips crash down on mine, shutting me up. And for a moment, I didn’t realize how much I needed to just be kissed. To stop overthinking and worrying that I’m not enough. When his lips are on mine, I’m more than enough.
The heat of his body presses hard against mine as his hand tangles in my hair, holding me tight against him. I melt into him, loving that we are both naked and that my leather jacket is the only thing clinging to me other than him.
Suddenly, he stops the kiss, leaving me gasping for more.
“You are not weak. You are a Moonlight pack member now. You are my mate. You are my queen. The Moonlight pack’s queen. You are more than enough. You proved that tonight. No one has broken through a spell like that before.”
“What do you mean?” I cock my head up at him.
“I mean, usually, the initiation takes the pack members far longer to break through the spell. Enduring the worst pain. Their worst nightmares. It takes hours, sometimes days before they break through the spell, if they can break through at all. It never involves someone breaking through the spell that quickly. You are powerful—more powerful than any of us.”
I scoff, looking him up and down. “I’m not stronger than you.”
“Strength isn’t just about physical muscles. And the strength and power you have is like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
I hold my breath, not sure how to respond.
“You can complete the marking ceremony, whether you can shift yet or not. But after tonight, I have no doubt that you’ll be able to shift soon. You just have so much power and strength in you. Your body needs to make sure you’re ready for the shift first. When you shift, when you tap into that physical strength, you’ll be unstoppable.”
“You think so?”
He nods, his eyes bearing into my soul. “It’s your choice if you want to complete the ceremony before you learn to shift. But you’ll survive. I have no doubt about that, just like I had no doubt about tonight.”
When he looks at me, there’s an undeniable tingling in my body, something so deep and raw.
“But we don’t have time, do we?”
His eyes glaze over. “Not really.”
I want to know why we don’t have time. I want to know all the truths, but I’m not sure I’m ready to ask or hear the answer tonight. Not after everything I’ve been through.
A part of me just wants to curl up in bed and sleep until I’ve forgotten this entire nightmare. But the other part…
Before I get a chance to gather the courage to ask, Ambrose’s eyes are smiling down at my chest and belly.
I follow his gaze and nearly jump out of my skin. “What is that?”
Ambrose runs his fingers gently over the glowing marks on my chest and belly. “They are runes, magical marks to tell the world you belong to the Moonlight wolves. Everyone in the Moonlight pack has them.”
I frown, faintly remembering seeing a hint of a glow on Ambrose before but that’s it. “Why haven’t I noticed them before?”
“The curse. The magic isn’t as strong as it used to be. Now, only other pack members can see the runes. They’ll help protect you and help you fight your individual curse.”
I trace my finger over the crested moon surrounded by an intricate design that expands from the middle of my chest across the upper curves of my breasts. I look at him with heavy eyes and see a similar design across his chest. His is darker and twice as large, expanding across his entire chest. I see flickers of linesforming all over his arms and shoulders that begin to dip around to his back. He’s covered in the golden marks.Beautiful.
“What’s my curse?”
He shakes his head. “I’ll know when you know.”
“How?”
He looks up at the moon and then back at me, like he doesn’t want to torture me anymore tonight. And telling me the truth is torture for him. I can’t handle any more torture. I can’t handle any more pain.
“Kiss me. Fuck me. Make us both forget for the rest of the night.”Forget that I was almost raped by the entire Moonlight pack against all of our wills.
