Page 64 of Bitten By Bloodmoon
“I’ll have Riven look at it. I’ll be ready to go at dawn.” He dismisses my concern for him and then vanishes from the room before I can ask more questions or show more concern. But I won’t be able to forget about his pain or what caused it anytime soon. He didn’t deserve that.
“Come in,” I shout to the door.
It opens slowly. Kael is standing in the doorway looking somber, while Sylara stands behind him. She doesn’t say anything to me.
“I’ve got it,” I say to her.
She nods, for once, not arguing with me as she vanishes. Kael walks into the room and shuts the door.
I get up from the bed and walk over to the large windows, where I find a door that leads out onto an expansive balcony that goes all the way around the circular room. I don’t have to say anything, but Kael follows. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to tarnish the room with this conversation. It needs to happen outside.
I walk to the railing and lean against it. Kael hesitantly walks next to me and does the same. He doesn’t dare speak. He waits for me, which is the only smart thing he’s done all day.
“Why? Why did you kiss me? Was it to hurt Nyx? Because Ambrose asked you to? Or because you love me?”
“Ambrose asked me to come, to protect you. But he didn’t tell me to kiss you. I doubt I’d still be breathing if he knew what I did.”
I turn and face him. “So why? To hurt Nyx?”
“Not to hurt him, but I don’t think he’s your mate. He can’t be, he’s a vampire for fucking sakes! A killer. He kills just because, for no reason other than he wants to taste blood. He killed one of your friends. I don’t care what he’s pretending to be around you; that’s not the real him.”
“Did you see him do atrocious things when you were held captive by him?”
He hesitates.
“Did you?” I need to know.
“No. He mostly just had his pack members follow me around and keep me mostly isolated. I saw him once with some vampires before he turned into a lord, but I’ve heard the rumors. I know who he is. He’s a killer, a monster.”
“Do you love me?”
“Of course, I’ve known you my whole life. You’re my best friend. The only thing left of my real pack. Of course, I love you.”
I shake my head. “Are you in love with me? Do you think I’m your mate?”
“I don’t know. The curse has all of my feelings all mixed up. I don’t know how I feel. I just know you don’t belong with Nyx, and I’m not exactly happy with how Ambrose has treated you. So maybe you and I belong together like you thought from the very beginning. I’m not sure I believe in fated mates or that even breaking the curse. But I don’t need babies to make me happy. And I know you don’t either. We don’t need to break the curse. We just need to be happy and safe. We could have that together.”
“The curse has to be broken, or a war will start. One we will never be able to run from. We won’t be able to escape, no matter what you think.” I stare back out at the vast darkness, only lit by the smallest of moonlights. “And I don’t want safe. Even if there was no curse to break, I want real love. The kind that doesn’t happen often. The kind that roots itself deep in your soul and you’d whither and die if anything happened to your partner kind. And maybe I do want babies. I don’t know.” I picture little kids with Ambrose’s golden eyes, Nyx’s black hair, or even Kael’s messy hair. But I can’t picture any of them fully.
Fucking curse.
“It’s hard to explain to you, to anyone, but I know I’m the only one to break the curse. I’ve felt it. I’ve dreamed about it.”
“You’ve had dreams about it?”
“Yes. Dreams, visions, I don’t know what to call them. But I know that I will break the curse. I will change everything. I don’t have a choice.”
He frowns. “You have a choice.”
“Maybe in a lot of things, but I don’t have a choice to not break the curse. I can’t live with myself if I don’t try when I see the suffering, the carnage, the death that will come as a result of doing nothing.”
“Then that’s your choice.”
“It is.” I’m silent for a beat. “As is my choice in what to do with you.”
“Lumi, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re right, it won’t. I won’t allow it.”
