Resisting the Moon: A Royal Shifters Novel (12 page)

He yelled and let me go, but not before smacking me across the cheek. It burned, but I stood strong and faced him. This guy had short, brown hair and glowing gray eyes. His fangs grew in length, and so did his claws.

I glared straight at him. “You don’t scare me, you worthless pile of dog shit.”

The long haired wolf burst out laughing. “We got a feisty one on our hands.”

“Where’s Amelie?” I commanded.

He smiled wide. “You talking about the busty blonde who lived here?”

“Where is she?” I shouted as loud as I could. Sebastian was sure to hear me now.

Long hair shrugged. “Somewhere up north. We were instructed to kill whoever came looking for her. But I don’t think that’ll be the case with you; at least, not yet. I wanna have a little fun with that body of yours first.”

My eyes flashed and I was ready to shift. “You can try.”

The guy behind me tried to grab me again, but I dropped to the floor and punched him in the balls. As he went down, I jumped over him and out the front door. I didn’t get far before Long Hair lunged and grabbed me around the waist, bringing me down on the gravel driveway. The breath was knocked out of my lungs and I gasped, choking for air.

“That wasn’t so hard.” He laughed maliciously. “I thought you’d put up more of a fight.”

Sebastian’s rage unleashed and I could feel his anger. “I don’t have to,” I said, sucking in a breath.

The loudest growl I’d ever heard echoed through the trees. Long Hair backed away from me and shifted, ready to fight. The other guy stumbled out of the house and joined him, both massive gray wolves. Sebastian didn’t waste any time in his attack. Long Hair lunged for him and they toppled over one another. Short Hair turned and glared at me.

“Mad that I kicked those tiny things between your legs?” I growled. Ripping off my clothes, I felt the magic of the shift shimmer across my body. He roared and lunged at me just as I shifted, but I dodged out of his reach. I was prepared to fight, but Sebastian had already beaten me to it.

Tearing the wolf open with one swipe of his paw, Sebastian sent his blood splattering across the ground. The howls of pain were deafening. I stood back and watched the carnage unfold before me. Sebastian was lethal, tearing both wolves apart limb from limb. The rage had consumed him and it scared the hell out of me. He didn’t slow in his attack, even when they were clearly dead.

Shifting back, I took a step forward. “Sebastian, stop,” I said low.

His gaze lifted, eyes still glowing. He growled and I held my breath. He wouldn’t hurt me, but seeing him like that terrified me. Blood dripped from his mouth as he stalked toward me. I stepped back and lost my footing, falling on my backside. He towered over me, his fangs scraping along my neck.

“It’s okay,” I whispered. “Come back to me.” He backed up quickly, eyes darting back and forth from the dead wolves to me. “Sebastian, please shift back.”

Instead of shifting, he darted off into the woods. He could smell my fear.

As fast as I could, I threw on my clothes and ran inside to grab the keys. If there were more wolves around, they’d find the carnage. I didn’t want to be there if that happened. Grabbing his clothes on the way out, I jumped in the car and raced out of the driveway.

Back at our cabin, I could sense Sebastian was near. His torment was thick in the air. I had to find him.

Shifting back into my wolf form, I took off into the forest and followed his scent. Thankfully, he wasn’t hiding it from me. Coming to a stop at a lake that was partially frozen over, I waited as Sebastian rolled around in the water. When he was done, he traipsed out and shook off his fur, no longer covered in blood.

I approached him slowly and he never took his gaze off of mine. Rubbing my head under his chin, a satisfied growl rumbled in his chest. I just wanted him to come back to me. I nudged him with my nose and licked the side of his neck, only to come away with the taste of blood in my mouth. My mind whirled and a flood of emotions exploded inside of me.
What the hell did I just do?

His feelings became my own and I could see everything inside of his mind. The pain became too much and I screamed as I shifted back, clutching the sides of my head. I closed my eyes and fell to the ground, hoping it would stop. Usually when you tasted a mate’s blood, a vision of your future would occur, but there was only pain, hatred, and rage.

“Tyla!” Sebastian pulled me into his arms and held me tight. “Tyla, what’s wrong?” He grabbed my hands and jerked them away from my face.

I looked into his eyes, and realized what he’d been keeping from me this whole time.
“Sebastian, it’s too much,”
I thought to him, knowing he’d hear me in his mind.

Eyes wide, he shook his head and shut me out. The relief was instant, but his agony was just below the surface. It wouldn’t stay hidden for long. “Dammit, Tyla, you weren’t supposed to see all of that.” Lifting me up, he carried me back to the house.

My eyes burned. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.” And all because of me. To top it all off, I hadn’t received a vision of our future. That could only mean one thing . . . death.

Tyla

I
wanted to talk to Sebastian about what had happened, but he was struggling to keep it together. He sat on the couch, watching TV like nothing was wrong, but I knew the truth. He thought he was shutting me out, but I could still see his thoughts. He had seen me get slapped across the cheek and that vision was on loop in his mind. He blamed himself for not getting there fast enough.

Sneaking away, I tiptoed upstairs to the bedroom and dialed Bailey’s number. She knew Sebastian better than anyone.

“Tyla, oh my God,” she said, forgoing the usual greeting. “What’s going on? I heard about your family. I’m so sorry.”

“And it gets worse. We were attacked today. It appears there’s more to this whole story that we haven’t figured out yet.”

“Do you need help? We can send others out there to you.”

Sighing, I sat down on the bed. “The more of us around, the more attention it’ll bring. And unfortunately, we have another problem.”

“What?”

Closing my eyes, I concentrated on Sebastian’s mind. He was afraid I was scared of him after seeing him today. My heart broke. “Sebastian’s a lot worse than I thought. I accidentally drank some of his blood today.”

“Did the link open up?” she asked.

“It did. And what I saw terrified me,” I whispered. “There wasn’t a vision either. I just
knew
there’d be no happy ending for us.”

“You don’t know that. The visions could be tainted because of his rage. Besides, the future always changes with the decisions we make.” She blew out a sigh. “What else happened?”

“He not only killed the wolves who attacked us, he shredded them apart. I’ve never seen him like that before. His mind is in a dark place, Bailey. He’s trying to keep me out, but it’s not working. It’s taking him over.”

“What are you going to do? Please don’t make him suffer. I love him and I know you do too.”

My eyes burned as Sebastian’s words echoed in my mind,
“If you don’t finish this, you will surely lose me. The rage will drive me insane and I won’t be able to control it. You need to make the choice, your fear . . . or my life.”

“Tyla, you there?” Bailey said desperately.

I blew out a shaky breath. “I know what to do.”

“You do?”

“Yep. I’ll call you soon.” I hung up and started for the door, heart racing. Sebastian was still on the couch with an arm draped over his eyes. His breathing was heavy, but he wasn’t asleep. He was fighting his demons, visions of red flashing through his mind. I tiptoed over and watched him, wondering if he was going to acknowledge me.

“I know you’re there.” His voice was low and dark.

Biting my lip, I took a step forward. Slipping my pants and underwear down my legs as quietly as I could, I closed the distance. When I ran my hands up his thighs, his body jumped at the contact and then relaxed, mind clearing for a brief second.

“What are you doing?” he murmured.

Climbing up on his lap, I straddled his waist. “A little bit of this,” I said, sliding his hand up my shirt. “And a little bit of that . . .” I ran my hand over the zipper of his jeans and rubbed his arousal. He sucked in a breath and dropped his arm, eyes blazing.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” he warned.

I knew what I was getting myself into. I couldn’t let him suffer any longer, not when I could see what he was going through. His pain was now my pain. I leaned down and kissed him, biting his lip between my teeth. “I guess it’s a good thing I plan on finishing then.”

His grip tightened and he closed his lips over mine. I could barely breathe, but I knew he needed it. His erection pressed into me and he rocked me against it, his fingers digging into my hips.

“I need you so fucking bad,” he growled, sliding his lips down my neck. Fisting his hands in my shirt, he ripped it apart and tossed it on the floor, groaning when he sucked a nipple between his teeth.

I gasped and leaned my head back, my whole body trembling from his touch. I needed him inside of me. Sliding my hands down his smooth, bare chest, I stopped at his pants and freed him. He lifted me up and kicked his pants to the floor before setting me back down. Moaning, I rubbed my wetness all over him, loving the way he growled deep in his chest at my movements. Raising my hips, I slid down onto him inch by inch, until he was all the way in. He filled me completely, stretching me to the point of pain.

Gripping the back of my neck, Sebastian pulled me to him, ravishing me with his lips. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.”

I slid up and down his length, the delicious ache sending tremors throughout my body. The connection between us opened, and instead of seeing red, I saw visions of me, laughing and smiling—Sebastian’s memories of me. I could feel his need to protect me and how hard it was for him not to force his claim on me.

Holding him tight, I rode him as hard as I could, loving the sound of his groans. I was so close to the edge. His teeth grazed along my neck, but I grasped his face, drawing him to my lips. “I’m not ready for that,” I whispered breathlessly.

Eyes flashing, he drew his fangs back. “I need to feel all of you, love.”

I kissed him again. “You will. Just give me a little more time.”

Gripping a handful of my hair, he held me to his lips and pushed his body up into me hard. My whole body tightened around him and I let go, screaming out my release. He grunted and gripped the side of my hip, holding me down as he came inside me. I leaned forward, resting my forehead to his and smiled. He was happy; I could feel it and see it in his mind.

Wrapping his arms around my waist, he lifted me up and stood.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

His eyes bored into mine and I shivered. “Taking you to bed. I’m not done with you yet.”