My eyes cut to Nyx in his feral state; he looks like a wild, untamed animal about to strike. He looks the part that he believes he is in my story—villain, monster, killer. My heart aches, seizing up from all the pain he’s caused me when he fucked Amora, when he chose her over me. But I’m no more afraid of him than I was the last time.“He won’t.”
“Please, I’ll do anything. Just let Lumi be. She’s been through enough,” Ambrose says as my body is dragged away from him and toward Nyx.
Isolde doesn’t stop at Ambrose’s words, though.
“Are you really going to risk her life when she is the key to breaking the curse for you?” Ambrose snarls.
“I’m doing the exact opposite. I’m ensuring that the curse is broken by making sure she chooses the correct mate.”
“You already know it’s me. Every seer has stated as much. What you should be doing is figuring out how to make that cure last longer for the vampires, so she has an incentive to break the curse for the witches rather than the vampires. She’ll have no need to save Nyx. He’ll already be safe.”
She smirks. “So smart. I’d give you more credit, alpha king, but then my plan is obvious to anyone with eyes. Not that I need to motivate the girl when I have enough power to force her hand.”
“You don’t, and you’re scared,” I say.
Isolde gives me a wicked look. “I’m not. You are the one who should be afraid, marked one.”
“I’ve severed the bond with Nyx. I doubt I can even choose him now if I wanted to. You’re wasting your time.”
“Severed bonds can be mended if you are truly mates. Besides, I’m going to enjoy this immensely.”
Isolde’s magic draws me closer and closer to Nyx. I’m not afraid. Not of the look in his eyes. Not that the man I fell in love with has vanished from his eyes. But the fear doesn’t encompass me. Instead, I feel a familiar fire in my belly that stokes true desire. I want to kiss him. Need to kiss him. It’s been far too long since I kissed him.
But he’s not my true mate. I hate him for hurting me. For loving her.
Despite everything, Isolde is about to see how much I enjoy the kiss. Ambrose will see. They’ll all see. And if they force Nyx and me to complete the marking ceremony together, then we’ll die.
My heart doesn’t jump in fear at that thought. Instead, it aches for the sweet surrender of death if it means I get to spend whatever awaits me after this life with Nyx.
Nyx thrashes at the last second, his arms and legs straining against the chains. Unlike Ambrose, he’s not fighting to get away from me. He’s trying to get closer to me. To devour me, sucking me dry until I’m dead.
I don’t flinch, barely moving at all.
“You don’t scare me,”I send to Nyx even though I know he won’t hear me.
He cocks his head, though, looking at me with curious fascination. Like he has no idea who the hell I am. He doesn’t jump at me again; instead, he turns on that vampire charm. His eyes light up, and I see that familiar gleam, that wicked grin that draws me in.
I feel Isolde’s magic working again, but to be honest, I’m moving on my own accord, damn the consequences. I need to kiss him. I don’t care if it’s the last decision I make. If my life ceases to exist after. I need to kiss him.
And then I am.
Our lips slam together so forcefully that Nyx doesn’t have the time to do anything but kiss me back. Cool, flaming desire hits me hard, like a flame stampeding through my body. I can’t breathe. Can’t think. Can’t even remember why I severed our bond. I’m desperate to reclaim it.
I feel Isolde’s magic pulling away, giving me space to decide what I want to do on my own. I feel Nyx pulling away, maybe he has some consciousness after all.
I grab onto the nape of his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair, and hold him firmly against my lips. It’s not enough. My bare skin presses against his bare chest until I feel the sweat and blood spilling onto my body. I want more. I’m desperate. The moan slips up and out of my mouth, and I don’t care who hears it. There’s a high probability that we are going to die soon, and I’m going to enjoy what little pleasure I have left in this world while I still have it.
I feel his fang pressing against my lower lip, but I don’t try to pull away. That fang of his pierces my lip. His tongue sweeps over it before I have a chance to pull away, pulling a single drop of my blood into his mouth.
He can control me again. But then he doesn’t need my blood to do that.
Our eyes lock, and I know he knows how much control he has on me. His own eyes heat with that knowledge.
“Interesting, very interesting,” Isolde says as she jerks me back away from Nyx, the chains and manacles once again snapping around my wrists and ankles, making my limbs feel infinitely heavy.
She glances at her watch. “I have to go, but tonight has been very eye-opening to say the least. And as I’m still working on a longer cure for the vampires, we should test that control of Nyx’s.” The chains unsnap around Nyx’s wrists and ankles.
Isolde studies me as if she knows a secret that I don’t. “Let’s make this interesting.”