Free Enlightened (Love and Light Series) by Melissa Lummis Page B

clothing back in order, and when she looked up, his eyes glowed with a dark light. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
    “Shhh,” Wolf soothed, moving toward her.
    Paralyzed by fear and his gaze, she didn’t try to run or scream, but her hands began a fine trembling.
    “Relax.” His voice filled her chest as he ran his hand along her shoulder to her neck, lifting the heavy curtain of wavy, dark hair. The woman stopped shaking, but she never took her eyes off his as he dragged her to him and spun her around. He tilted her head to one side, exposing her white neck and stretching it into a long, tight line. Resting his mouth over her jumping pulse, he bit. She jerked beneath him, her eyes fluttering and drifting closed. He gripped her tighter, drawing sweet blood in quiet gulps. It was sweeter than usual, and he flashed on a mental image of his own mother: young, strong, dark, and beautiful, but all mothers were beautiful to their sons. Was she as beautiful as he remembered? Or had time and memory worked their magic, softening the rough edges and creating an aura of nostalgia? Had 500 years edited his memory? His mother held a small, dark berry out to him, the sun blazing behind her in a clear, blue sky.
    “Taste it, Wolf. It’s perfectly ripe.”
    Her voice echoed down the years, waking up his humanity. He yanked his fangs from her neck. What was he doing? He blinked. She was tranquil in his arms, breathing deeply, relaxed in the vampire’s spell. As sharp guilt cut through Wolf, he fortified himself against the warring wants. With a practiced detachment, he licked the bite wounds until the blood coagulated and the skin and tissue knitted back together. By morning it would itch like a bug bite and with the two faint marks, she’d think they were bug bites.
    “You went into the woods to relieve yourself and noticed how unusual the moon is tonight,” he whispered into her ear.
    She nodded. “The halo is beautiful. What is it?” Her voice thick with magic.
    “It’s the wolf moon.”
    He nudged her away until she walked on her own, her vacant face tilted up. The spell dissipated and awareness firmed her eyes as she looked to her left then right. She hesitated, looking up at the moon once more and glanced over her shoulder, but Wolf was gone. She had a vague sense of well-being mingled with fear and arousal. What a strange sensation , she thought. He’d taken the memory from her. It was his alone.
     

 
    When Loti woke the next day, she couldn’t quite remember why she was in the guest room at Rachel’s house. Her dreams and the previous night’s events were all jumbled together, and she labored to sort it all out. She remembered everything, but couldn’t decide what was dream and what was real. Wolf. The raven. They were real. The black man? Dream? Yes, he was a dream. There was a knock at the bedroom door.
    “Come in.” Loti yawned, snuggling the quilt up under her chin.
    “Did you sleep okay?” Rachel eased the door open and poked her head inside. Still in her oversized black T-shirt with “Witches Bend it Best” printed in white across the front, she plopped down in the antique bedroom chair. Wolf sat there. Yes, he was real. Things were shaking out in her head.
    “I have to get ready.” Loti groaned, hiding her head under the covers. “I have to pack.” She tucked the covers back under her chin, wrinkling her nose. “I have to shower.”
     “Do you want me to come over and help you get ready?”
     “Thank you, no.” Loti rolled onto her side. “I can manage.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    Loti sat up, letting the covers spill around her waist. “Why do we have to stay with Calisto?”
    “I don’t know. But let’s just play along with Wolf for now.” Rachel stood up, stretching her arms overhead like Wolf had done the night before.
    “You trust him? Even after what happened between you?” Loti tossed the covers aside and scooted down to the end of the old, wrought iron bed,