But it’s too late.
Serenity holds out her hand, and it slams into Rowena’s chest.
I scream as we tumble to a stop, with Rowena taking most of the impact to her chest. I fall off her back and hit the ground, bruising my shoulder as I slide against the dirt road we were running on.
I hop up immediately, barely even registering the pain in my shoulder.
Rowena doesn’t get up. She’s not moving. Her chest doesn’t appear to be rising and falling.
“Rowena!” I yell.
She still doesn’t move.
I start to run toward her, but before I can move, I’m hit with a blast of Serenity’s magic. It’s immediately obvious that whatever Isolde did to me during my pack initiation was nothing compared to this. This otherworldly force knocks through my body like a bomb. A pulsing shockwave sends hot flames through me. I succumb to the dizzying rush in my head and heaviness pushing down on my lungs. There is no breaking free of this magic.
“Vampires, Serenity, Rowena…help,”is all I can get out to Ambrose before the magic blinds me and controls every aspect of my body to the point that I’m no longer breathing.
Breathing is a struggle.Every inhale I take is like pressing against the bars of a cage. I can’t take a full breath. Shadows surround me, but the room quickly comes into sharp focus.
I’m lying on a large bed with white silk sheets. Thick, dark shades cover the window, casting the room in darkness. I have no clue if it’s daytime or nighttime. My wolf eyesight allows me to see the room clearly, though. The room is simply decorated with abstract paintings on a light gray wall. A dark nightstand and dresser line the walls.
All of a sudden, I get a pit in my stomach as I feel eyes on me, watching me.
I pop up and see them—the vampires and Serenity.
“You’re a tough little thing, I’ll give you that,” Nikolai says.
I frown. “Where is Rowena?”
“I think you should be more concerned about yourself,” Verspera says.
“Where is Rowena?” I repeat.
“Dead, alive? Who knows? We left her where she fell after I hit her with my spell. She was weak,” Serenity says.
They all step closer to me, watching me closely. I’m not bound. And the magic Serenity used on me seems to have almost disappeared from my body. They aren’t afraid of me running or shifting. They know.
“I told you,” Nikolai says.
“She can’t shift, not even to save herself,” Vespera spits out in disgust.
“I can shift,” it’s not a lie. I know I can. I just haven’t, not yet.
“Don’t lie to us!” Serenity roars. “We are tired of waiting, child. Shift, prove to us that you can break the curse. We only have a week left. We are running out of time. Shift.”
I glare at her. “I’m not a dog. I don’t just shift because you command it.”
“You don’t shift because you can’t. You couldn’t to save your friend. You can’t to save yourself,” Serenity says.
“I don’t have to prove anything until the marking ceremony. But it doesn’t matter if I can shift or not; I can break the curse. I’m strong enough. I’ve already proven that.”
Serenity laughs. “Fool, no one can survive if they haven’t come into their full powers yet. Not that we care if you survive or not, but you have to survive long enough to actually break the curse. You won’t be able to. You’re weak. Too fucking weak for an alpha’s mate. I don’t know why he chose you or what his plan is, but you aren’t a match. We can smell how unlike mates you two are.”
“You’re wrong. We’re mates. I can shift if I want to. And even if I can’t, I’ll survive. I’ll break the curse.”
“Why should we believe you?” Serenity asks.
I open my mouth, considering telling them the truth. I doubt they would believe me, and I doubt it would be enough even if they did. There is nothing I can do to save myself except shift. And I don’t know how to do that on command.
