Lumi
Iwalk away with heavy breaths, trying to vanquish all thoughts of Nyx from my mind.
Fucking asshole. What was he thinking? He could have killed Kael, could have killed me.
And why the hell was he looking at me like that when he has Amora?
He doesn’t want me. Probably never truly wanted me. He has the real love of his life back.
Whatever that was, it couldn’t have meant anything. And yet, there is no denying the heat I saw in his eyes.
He just likes toying with me, like I’m his prey. He always has. It doesn’t mean anything. He’s just a cold-blooded, callous killer.
“Lumi!” I hear Ambrose yell, his voice filled with worry and relief.
I walk toward him. He keeps his eyes planted firmly on my face. He doesn’t let them dip down to enjoy my body. He doesn’t stare at me like he wants to devour me. Doesn’t set my body aflame with one look. When he looks at me, he just sees me.
I suck in a breath. “I’m okay.”
“You really did it. You broke the hold I had on your wolf. You rejoined the Wintermoon pack. And you’re an alpha, my queen.”Ambrose bows slightly, his eyes giving me a knowing look like he’s known the entire time that this was my destiny.
Kael jogs over, and I turn my attention to him. He smirks at Ambrose on his knees in front of me. “You’re a badass.”
I smile at my best friend, looking him over to make sure that he’s not hurt.
“I’m fine, thanks to you, my alpha.” He bows dramatically.
I cringe when he says it. I never wanted to be alpha. Never thought I’d even be worthy or strong enough to be one, and yet, here I am.
“Stop it. And I’m only alpha because you’re the only other pack member, and you don’t want to be alpha.”
Kael shakes his head. “No, you’re alpha because you were always destined to be. I would have thought after fending off Nyx, you would have realized that you are worthy.”
“Beta?” I ask.
He straightens and smirks. “Of course, but I know I only got the job because I’m your only pack member.”
I roll my eyes and turn back to Ambrose, who is still kneeling in front of me. “Thank you,” I sway weakly.
He looks up, and I take his hand, prodding him to stand.
“Thank you for helping me to get my wolf back.”
He shakes his head. “You did that on your own.”
We both stare at each other, and for a moment, I get the tingling back in my body that I got when I first met him. The feeling of excitement and hope. Maybe I was right about him from the beginning. Before he ruined everything. Before I fell for Nyx…
I swallow hard.
“I’m still not sure this is real. Any of it.”
“It’s real. But you need to practice. Especially with the curse getting worse. You should practice shifting back and forth until it becomes second nature to you.”
In a blink, my brilliant white wolf looms over them. The smile Ambrose gives me is like nothing I’ve ever seen from him before. It’s bright, brilliant, and gorgeous. It lights up the entire sky.
In a flash, I’m human again. My muscles ache slightly. My head spins from the change. And I realize how right Ambrose is. I need to practice. I need it to be easier. I need the dizziness to go away. Because I can’t depend on Ambrose or Nyx’s help to force me to shift anymore.
So I shift again. And again. And again. I shift until I can barely stay on my feet. Until I’m so exhausted that it feels like I just ran a marathon.