I look at Nyx, who is staring Emeric down. “You understand what you’re doing. If you join the Bloodmoon pack, you’re giving up your connection to Ambrose. You’re giving up your spot at beta. You are pledging loyalty to my pack members and me. You will be one of us. I’ll have alpha command over you.”
“I know what I’m doing. You’re a good alpha. One who is strong and loyal and treats his pack members with respect. I can pledge my loyalty to you. I can willingly give you power over me because I know you’d never use that power unless you absolutely had to. I’m tired of living in pain.”
I wince at his words.
Nyx looks over at me. “You really going to let him go?” He asks mind to mind.
“He’s my best friend, and I hate that he’s suffering because of me. I’d do anything to protect him.”
“You know that once you are exiled, you can’t go back. The Moonlight pack will never accept you again. If you ever choose to leave the Bloodmoon, you’d become packless unless another pack took you in. This can’t be reversed,” Nyx says.
“I understand. I want to become a Bloodmoon.”
“So be it,” I say. And without warning, I let my magic flare. Usually, a witch would have to be involved, but I have enough power for this. With a wave of magic, mine sweeps through him, ripping the runes from his body, the moonlight from his veins, the very essence of who he is from him. I strip him bare until there is nothing left. No magic. No moonlight. No gold flecks. Nothing that represents the Moonlight pack.
Emeric’s body twists in pain, but he doesn’t fight it. He knows it’s the last pain I will ever cause him. Seconds last minutes, minutes last hours. It’s a slow process, one I wish I could change. Every time I see a wince of pain on Emeric’s face, I want to step in and stop it. A lifetime of watching him in pain is the only thing that prepares me for this moment.
Finally, it’s done. My magic stops. And our bond is severed. And my best friend feels like he’s been ripped from me. I didn’t realize until now how much I’m connected to him. How every thread of me is twisted with him. Until now.
Riven walks over to me and pricks my finger with the edge of a blade. “Can you feel that?”
Emeric nods.
Lumi, who looks on the verge of tears, says, “It didn’t work?”
Riven says, “Not until he pledges loyalty to another. His curse is about putting Ambrose first. To undo it, he must put himself first. Or at least another first. I thought maybe just denouncing the pack would release him from the curse, but it’s not enough. It’s about undoing your individual curse.”
Emeric looks to Nyx
“Do you, Emeric, want to initiate into the Bloodmoon pack? Do you promise loyalty to us above everyone else? Above all, you used to call a friend?”
“Yes,” Emeric says.
The air shifts, the ground shakes, the word spins. I grab onto Lumi, terrified that she’ll be hurt again. That is, until I see Emeric’s face. He takes a deep inhale, letting the oxygen fill him up completely. Pink warms his cheeks, and his shoulders slump in a way that I haven’t seen since we were kids. For the first time since the curse took root in us, Emeric is able to relax.
He did it. I know without testing it. It’s been years since I’ve seen him looking this free.
He smiles.
Riven pricks my finger again.
“Nothing,” Emeric smiles.
I do too. Despite what it cost me.
“So what does it mean for Ambrose breaking his curse?” Nyx asks.
“My best guess for Ambrose to break his curse is for him to stop loving Lumi and her to start loving him,” Riven answers.
I look at Lumi, and as she stares back at me.“That’s impossible, isn’t it?”She asks mind to mind.
“I hope you’re still capable of loving me. But me hating you seems like an impossible task. You’re my mate. I’m finally able to love you. Undoing that in any real way would be hard. And would severely test our future together.”
“I’m sure I could find ways to make you hate me,” Lumi says, flicking her eyes to Nyx.
My body stills, cold as ice. But I answer honestly, shaking my head. “There is nothing you could do to make me hate you.”
She doesn’t say there is little chance of her falling in love with me. The problem is me hating her while she loves me at the same time.