Page 68 of Marked By Moonlight
She chuckles and stands. “We’re going to need some wine for this.” She returns a few minutes later with two glasses and a bottle of red wine. She pours us both a glass and hands one to me.
“No, thanks.”
“Alcohol can help you get out of your head. It can sometimes make it easier to shift.”
I sigh. “Give me.”
She smiles, and we both take a long drink. “Ambrose and I make perfect sense on paper. We are both the strongest in our pack. Both determined and fearless. Both care deeply about the pack and breaking the curse. We are both beautiful people. I will admit there was an attraction between us that we explored.”
I hold my breath. She got to explore him—fully. It’s clear in her eyes. She’s not holding back when she speaks. She got to have him in every way before she made her decision, while I had to be rescued from him because I’m too weak.
“The attraction between us was strong. Strong enough that we didn’t leave the bedroom for weeks. But that lust quickly faded. That wouldn’t have happened if we were mates. There was nothing like love between us. And we both knew, deep down, that we weren’t compatible. Not really. He was focused on being alpha. On taking care of the pack. And I’ve never wanted anything more than my independence. I was never born to be an alpha.”
She looks at me over her wine glass. “You are.”
I frown. “Why does everyone keep telling me that?”
“Because it’s a wolf thing. We can sense when someone is born to be an alpha. There is a different scent and aura to them,” Emeric says as he walks through the back patio door.
“How is he?” I ask, knowing that Emeric will know exactly who I’m talking about. Ambrose could tell me himself, but he hasn’t reached out through our mental bond, and neither have I.
Emeric sinks into a chair next to Rowena, wincing in pain as he does. “He’s angry with himself for putting you at risk.”
I frown. “And otherwise?”
“Perfectly fine.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” Emeric says with a wide grin, trying to hide whatever pain he’s in.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice that little wince. Did Ambrose hurt you?”
Emeric shakes his head. “No, nothing like that.” He pauses and then snatches the bottle of wine from the table and takes a drink straight from the bottle. “How much do you know about the curse?”
“Not enough,” I say, downing the rest of my wine.
Emeric and Rowena share a knowing glance, and then Emeric says, “The curse affects each of us differently. Some it weakens their powers, others it shortens their lifespans, and others suffer in pain.”
“How does it affect you?” I stare intently at Emeric.
He sighs. “As Ambrose’s second, I’m in pain when he’s in pain. I take on all of his hardships through physical pain. All of his worry and fears become pain for me.”
I look him over, confused as to why he’s always smiling and happy if he’s always suffering. Because from what little I know about Ambrose, he’s constantly worrying.
“That’s not fair.”
“The curse isn’t fair,” Emeric shrugs and then smiles.
Rowena places her hand gently on his shoulder as if she’s trying to comfort him.
“What about you?” I ask Rowena.
She sighs. “Mine is far less annoying than Emeric’s. I can’t be intimate with a man without intense pain afterward.”
I frown, especially after the story she just told me about being with Ambrose.
With a twinkle in her eye, she says, “Don’t worry, I can still enjoy intimacy with women.”
