Page 27 of Marked By Moonlight
His golden eyes glow in my direction, and his dark black wavy hair with specks of gold rustles in the wind as is brushes over his shoulders. But it’s his lips framed in dark shadow along his sharp jawline I can’t tear my gaze from.
His lips are parted, and I have the strongest urge yet to kiss him. I need to kiss him. I have to; I’m not sure I’ll be able to take another breath if I don’t kiss him.
I blink, and he circles me slowly. I try to compose myself, to feel nothing, but hot, wicked desire burns through me. My skin crawls with need to touch this gorgeous man.
He’s mine.
The words spread through my body like wildfire.
Mine, mine, mine.
Ambrose, I remember this man’s name. Ambrose—mine.
He stops in front of me and takes a deep breath through his nostrils.
For once, I let myself breathe him in, and I shudder at his smell. He smells of the evergreens, of the earth, and of something far more ancient than this forest that I can’t quite distinguish.
He smells likemine.
The howl that leaves his body rattles through me and makes my heart sing. I howl my own response, matching his tenor in perfect harmony.
In the blink of an eye, Ambrose shifts. Where the naked flesh once was is now large rippling muscles beneath black fur with specks of gold and glowing yellow eyes.
“I’m Ambrose, alpha of the Moonlight wolves,”comes Ambrose’s voice in my head.
I gasp at the easy intrusion of his voice in my head. The mating bond—it allows shifters to communicate with each other in their heads.
“Lumi,”I think back, unsure if he hears me or not, if I’m doing it right. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.
“Lumi, so beautiful. I’ve never seen such gorgeous moonlit hair as yours.”
I blush. “Thank you.”
His eyes bear into mine, and I swear he grins in his wolf form.
I smile back.
“Shift,”he tells me.
My heart races at his command.What do I do? I can’t tell him that I can’t shift. I can’t say I’m from Wintermoon, and the magic that allows our pack to shift has long ago dwindled.
“You can feel the bond between us. I know you can,”Ambrose says.
Deny you feel anything. Stay alive,Rowena’s words haunt me.
But I can’t lie. I can’t pretend that I don’t feel the bond to him stronger than any male here, even if it means the death of me.
I nod.
“Ours is a true bond; it’s not like what you witnessed between Adaluna and Baelor. Ours is real. I’ve never felt anything this strong in my life.”
“Me neither,”I admit.
“Then trust me. I won’t let you die. Shift, so we can finish the ceremony. So we can mark each other.”
“I can’t.”
“You can. I can tell how strong you are. That’s why we’re mates. You’re worthy of an alpha, so strong. We have to accept the mating bond.”
