Page 99 of Marked By Moonlight
“No,”I try to send the single word to him to not make this trade. If he gets the message, he doesn’t react or send me a message back.
“Done,” Serenity says.
With the single word, the vampires toss me to the floor and attack Ambrose with the same viciousness they were just attacking me.
“No,” I say in barely a whisper as I watch in horror as all three sink their teeth into his flesh. He doesn’t so much as flinch as their fangs find his veins.
I hit the floor with a hard thump a second before my head bounces against it. My head feels unbearably heavy, like it’s being weighed down by the vampire’s mind control. In reality, I’m just so weak my neck struggles to lift my head. Inch by inch, I find the strength to lift my head up. I have to find a way to stop this before it’s too late.
He loves you. That’s why he traded his life for yours. If he doesn’t die, then you will.
I shake my head. It doesn’t matter. He can’t die.
Mouthfuls of Ambrose’s blood leaves his body as the vampire’s sloppy drinking spills so much of his blood from their mouths onto the floor around him. Ambrose’s eyes meet mine. He looks at peace, like this is how he always thought he’d meet his end.
Tears streak down my eyes.“Save yourself. Please.”
The corners of his lips twitch upward, and then he starts to say the words into my head. Words he would only speak if he thought he was truly dying.“It’s true. I lo—”
“NO!” I growl. I won’t let us end like this. We barely even started. We have a whole lifetime together. We have a pack to save. This will not be how we end.
Pain, as I’ve never felt before, shoots through my body. I break my gaze from Ambrose, assuming that Serenity must have broken her promise to let me go and is now torturing me with her magic. But her focus is completely on Ambrose.
My head whips back to Ambrose, and for a split second, I see his eyes widen in awe before the pain overwhelms me to the point that I can’t see anything but the darkness once again.
Heat, overwhelming heat burns through my body to the point that I think I’m on fire. Bones begin to twist, musclesgrow, and veins, arteries, and nerves restructure. My entire body shifts, and even my brain can’t think clearly.
The pain rips through me over and over and over. It will never end. I’m trapped in this body that’s spiraling in unending pain. It consumes me to the point that I forget about saving Ambrose. All I want is to die to make the pain stop.
And then, suddenly, it’s over.
My eyes are still squeezed shut. I’m terrified to open them. Ambrose is most likely dead. I was too late. I let the pain get the best of me.
Slowly, I open my eyes. Ambrose is still standing, still breathing. But he’s so pale I doubt there is more than a couple of drops of his blood left in his body.
I don’t think I just leap.
My muscles are new, but they’re strong. Even though they are untested, I know what they are capable of. And if I’m wrong, then I’ll die trying to save him.
I go for Draven, who is at Ambrose’s neck first, and sink my own teeth into his neck.
“Stop. Release me,” Draven says firmly. I feel the magic in his command dig like a knife into my brain. It feels like he’s torturing me from the inside out, but it only makes me more determined.
I clamp down harder, tasting his cold, hollow flesh.
Save him, save him, save him.
The words I sing to my wolf are the only commands she listens to.
Kill Draven; save our mate.
“Release me!” Draven tries again.
I snarl against the magic that feels like a thousand stabs to my head. I release him, but only long enough to swipe at him with my massive white paws speckled with a golden hue of moonlight.
I’m Ambrose’s mate. The color of my fur confirms it. His fur is black with gold flecks; mine is white with gold—a perfect match.
I don’t know how to use my new body, but my wolf knows exactly what to do. The swipe of my paw hits Draven in the cheek. My claws dig into his skin, ripping a deep gash into his cheek.
