One of my white paws moves on its own accord, lifting into the air and then taking a single step toward Nyx.
“No!”I shout the single word, but it slips into the depths of my mind, never to be heard.
My second paw lifts and moves, forcing my hind legs to jump forward to keep my balance.
I snarl in Nyx’s direction, knowing I don’t need words for him to get the message.
“You can snarl, growl, fight it all you want, Lumi, but in the end, this was always going to happen. I’m not your mate. My vampire curse has been activated. I’ll soon go mad, unable to control my own bloodlust until I’ll have to be ended. Not to mention Ambrose’s curse ensures that I’ll kill you before the sun rises if you don’t kill me first.”
I feel the pull again—like a magnet yanking me toward him. I can’t stop it. I take another step and then another.
“No, stop this!”I send another thought flying toward that mental connection we used to share, but it goes nowhere. This time, it just bounces off the walls in my head, over and over, repeating until my own words feel like taunts to me. “No, stop this! No, stop this!”Why did I sever our connection? Why did I think that was a good idea?
“I’m coming. Just hang on,”Ambrose says suddenly in my head. I’ve never been so thankful to be reminded that I still share a connection with him—my true mate.
“Shift me back into a human!”I scream at him as my legs move forward again.
“What? Are you crazy? No way! Nyx will kill you in a heartbeat, and you’ll have no way to defend yourself if I do that.”
Another step. I’m five feet away from Nyx. Close enough that in one leap I could tackle him and take out his jugular with one sweep of my teeth.
“Ambrose, please! He mind-controlled me to kill him. I can’t stop it. If you don’t shift me, I’ll kill him,”I beg. And then everything that I’ve done will have been for nothing.
“Shifting you won’t stop you from killing him,” he says.
“I know, but it will slow me down. Give you more time to stop me.”
“Who says I’m going to stop you?”
“Ambrose,”I hiss, the fear taking over me in strong waves. But before I can take another step, I feel the sharp pain explode down my spine. My body begins twisting. My bones breaking, shortening, straightening. My skin is shifting, my fur disappearing. The pain is just as excruciating as the first time. The control I have over myself, my body, and my mind has all been taken. My body by Ambrose. My mind by Nyx.
I know why they’ve done it, but right now, I’m pretty pissed at both of them. And I plan on telling them both exactly that when I can breathe again.
Time slows, speeds, and then slams into me as my naked human body collapses onto the ground. Hopefully, Ambrose has gotten here because I don’t have any energy left to fight Nyx’s mind control. My only hope is that my body is too weak to kill him and there are no weapons nearby.
Slowly, I stand and stare directly at Nyx, who is looking at me in complete awe. His hungry eyes peruse up and down my bare skin, not missing a single part. The runes that mark me as part of the Moonlight pack light up my skin, glowing under the moonlight. They confirm once again that Ambrose is my mate.
“You bastard,” I growl out. “You fucking prick. How dare you use mind control on me? How dare you force me to do the one thing that you yourself would never be able to live with after doing? The one thing you’re more afraid of than anything? How. Fucking. Dare. You!”
Nyx blinks, my words ripping through him like a shockwave, and I can tell from his expression that the control he had on my mind vanishes. The concentration he must have needed to ensure I followed his command is gone.
“I’m nothing to you. A former fling you once thought could be your mate. A boy toy you could play with when your mate hurt you. I’m the one the gods placed in your path to fuck with you.” He pauses. “I’m a predator. A monster. A killer. I’m nothing. A blip in your memory that you shouldn’t feel guilty about killing. I deserve to die. The things I’ve done. The things I will do if I’m left to live. Kill me. End the curses. Live happily ever after with your mate. Fall in love with him.”
My anger almost splits me in two. “You’re an idiot.”
“I’m sure I’m that too,” he says hesitantly. “Whatever reason you need to think is what I deserve to die.”
I shake my head, my long silvery hair falling over one of my bare breasts. “You don’t deserve to die. And if you think I could kill you and be able to live with myself for a single second after I did it, then you’re a fool.”
He blinks again, slowly, like he’s processing brand new information that never occurred to him.
“I still love you, you idiot. I love you. I’m doing everything I can to keep you alive, including completing the marking ceremony with Ambrose if I have to. I’ll do anything for you, but I won’t kill you any more than you’ll kill me.”
“You love me? Then why break out bond? Why reject it?”
“Because I was doing the same thing you think you’re doing now—a kindness. I thought you couldn’t handle feeling theconnection that Ambrose and I would inevitably have to share to become bonded mates. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have taken that choice away from you.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” He blinks back a tear. “I never would have mind-controlled you to kill me if I thought you loved me. I thought you rejected me because—”