Page 71 of Bitten By Bloodmoon
I freeze, unable to move, not sure of the answer I want. Lumi, on the other hand, is having a panic attack; it seems her heart is racing out of her chest. Honestly, neither Ambrose nor I is a good choice for a mate for her. There has to be someone better out there for her.
Juliette eyes me suspiciously, then turns her attention to Lumi. “Your mate is who you’ve known to be your mate this entire time. The one who controls your wolf. The only one you can have a future with. The one who can help you break the curse—Ambrose.”
Chapter 19
Lumi
Ambrose—I whisper the single word in my head like a prayer and a curse. When I do, I feel the threads connecting me to him pulling, like I’m tugging him to me.
“My queen,”I hear him whisper. The connection is still faint, but it’s there.
I slam my mind shut. Shut it all out. Him. Nyx. I even try to shut myself off from my own thoughts.
“Thank you,” I say to Juliette and then quickly get up from the table and walk out of the house, needing some fresh air. I don’t know if Nyx stays to ask his own questions or immediately follows me outside.
When I step out into the crisp air, I take a long, deep breath as snow begins to fall, hitting the tip of my nose. I left my coat inside, but I’m not cold. The icy flakes seem to bring me alive, if anything.
Home, I miss home. That’s what this smells like. The small group living deep in a thick forest surrounded by snow. I miss my dad. I wish I could talk to him. I wish he weren’t dead.
The snow begins to fall faster, blanketing the ground in a delicate, glistening layer. I move through it in my boots, eachstep releasing a soft, satisfying crunch beneath my feet. The witches barely glance my way as I pass, their silence a wall I don't try to breach. I focus only on the cold kiss of snow against my cheek, willing myself not to think, not to feel—just to exist in this quiet, frozen moment.
I don’t know how long I wander around their town. But long enough that the snow is a couple of inches thick beneath my boots and the sun has begun to set. Only then do I notice that Nyx has left the hut we were in and is now sitting in a chair by the fire, chatting with a couple of the other witches.
He looks up when he sees me approaching, but he doesn’t speak to me, nor does he invade my head to talk to me either. He’s let me have my space all day.
There is an empty chair on the other side of the fire, and I take a seat in it. I never got my coat. Never needed it. And now with the fire warming me, I definitely don’t need it.
“Soup or wine?” A witch to my left asks me.
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, not sure I heard her.
“I can tell you’re in a frazzled state. Soup would heal you the best, but sometimes we aren’t in a place to heal and would prefer the wine to help dampen the pain you’re in.”
My stomach sours at the thought of food. “Wine would be great.”
She smiles and returns a moment later with a glass of red wine.
“Thank you. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
“It’s Starling. And I’m not a seer like Juliette is, and I don’t know what prophecy she told you. But I can sense great things will happen in your future.”
I take a long drink of my wine. “I would prefer if more average things happened to me. Not everything needs to be this big, massive thing. I’m just a girl—”
“No, you’re a snow wolf. One who doesn’t need a coat to stay warm. You’re a queen, destined to rule other wolves. You’re a curse breaker. And you’ll become many more things, but I’ll let you figure those things out yourself.”
I frown. “Has Nyx mentioned when he’d like to leave?”
“Your traveling companion has been very courteous. He’s been helping with some physical chores and answering all of our curious questions about what it’s like being an alpha and lord. I doubt he’ll want to leave until morning, after his wounds heal, when he’s already been offered a bed to sleep in here. It might appear rude, and your companion seems to want to make a good impression on us.”
“Does he now?” I mutter under my breath, my gaze fixed on Nyx as he smiles and laughs at something the attractive witch to his left says.
He realized I’m not his mate, and that frees him to go sleep with any attractive woman he can find. He doesn’t need to hold out any longer.
I down the rest of my wine and then hand the witch back her glass. “Thank you for the wine.”
I stand, unsure of where I’m headed or what I’ll do, but I know I need to get away from here. I take two steps before I stumble, my head a little dizzy. I frown. I take another step, barely staying on my feet as the ground seems to shake so badly that it must be an earthquake.
“I’ve got you,”he slides into my head as his arms slide around my waist, holding my hands and bracing my forearms against his to keep me from falling again.
