The Amber Shift

Twenty-Four

Remi

The aroma of apple cinnamon is overwhelming when Killian and Noelle walk into the game room. His arm wrapped around her waist is an even bigger clue; they've already been busy this morning. My dick twitches behind my zipper. It's been days since I've had my hands on her, and I am all but having withdrawals.

Knowing Killian won't try to kick my ass, I walk up to them and slip my arms around her waist, pulling her away from him and flush against me. "Hi, baby. I've missed you," I whisper, brushing my lips against the corner of her mouth.

She grins and wraps her arms around my neck, shifting so my mouth is right on top of hers. "I've missed you, Remington," she whispers, and when she parts her lips, I slide my tongue inside, slipping my hands down to her ass and cupping the round globes in my palms.

"Are you all right?" I whisper in her ear. "I know you had a lot of stuff dumped on you the past few days."

She nods and brushes her fingers across the stubble on my face. "I'm fine now. It was a little scary for a minute, and honestly, I'm still terrified of the shift, but I know you guys will be there with me, right?"

My eyebrow dips and I glance at Elijah, who is pointedly looking anywhere but at us. "Uh—Elijah?"

"What, Remi?" His voice is gravelly and has an edge to it I haven't heard in a long time.

"Are we going to be with Noelle tonight for the shift? I thought we—"

Noelle jerks her head toward me. "What do you mean? Is there a question?" She darts her gaze toward Killian. "You said that you'd keep an eye on me...is something different now?" Her voice climbs an octave, and her entire body shakes like a leaf, and I hold her close to me as I wait not so patiently for Elijah's answer.

"I'm not going anywhere," Killian says. "I'll stay with you in the cells if that's what you want."

"The cells! You're putting me in a cage?"

Elijah rubs the back of his neck and shakes his head. "Could you have at least tried to be tactful, Killian?"

Killian pulls at his red waves and bellows, "How the fuck am I supposed to know what you have and haven't told her? You have dropped breadcrumbs for the girl and Corbin is trying to hand her the entire loaf."

Corbin enters the room, rolling up the sleeves of his olive-green designer shirt. "Not the entire loaf; just the pieces of the loaf that Elijah didn't give her. And watch your fucking tone, Barlowe," our alpha says, shooting him a glare.

"I don't think the cells are necessary. Noelle can call upon the shift; she has more control than any of us here," I say, gripping her hand.

Corbin leans on the pool table and crosses his arms. "Correction, she will have more control after she experiences her first shift. We don't know how she will react to the initial change."

"We all remember our first night, the desire to follow our animal instincts. People would have been hurt if we were not confined to the cells for the night," Elijah says from the corner of the room.

I glare at Elijah and glance down at Noelle, who is clearly shaken and horrified by the idea of being caged up. "There are four of us to watch over her. I think we can handle it."

Noelle speaks up. "I understand that you guys all know what's best for me and all since you've done this so many times, but I'd like to say something."

Corbin nods in her direction. "Go ahead."

"I feel like this has already been a painful enough realization for me. I've had no time to prepare for it and didn't know I was going to be caged up. I've been attacked once already and lost the only family I had left." She shoots an apologetic glance at Corbin. "You know what I mean." He nods his understanding, and she continues. "I don't want my first moment as a lycan, if I even shift, to be in a cage. Please don't do that to me," she whispers, and instead of looking at her uncle, she lifts her gaze to Elijah.

Our commander runs his hands down his face and shakes his head. "You will be the strongest lycan. None of us know what that will entail. You can outrun us, become crazed with hunger and hunt the humans instead of animals. You could be a slave to your lust. And if you command it from us, there will be nothing we can do to stop you. Tonight, you could become the most dangerous creature in the world."

I understand Elijah's concern. The command of an alpha is strong, debilitating. There is no choice but to do as they say. But a ruler...fuck. We don't even have a moment to contemplate the right or wrong of their request. If she becomes power hungry during her shift, life for every lycan will be flipped upside down. Yet, taking all of that into consideration, I can't lock her in a cage.

The years leading up to my first shift were filled with lessons. I had no questions about what to expect. I didn't fear a night in the basement under lock and key. For me, it was a rite of passage. For Noelle, it is imprisonment for an uncontrollable circumstance she just learned about. I will go to blows with every lycan here to keep her out of that cell.

"No, there has to be another way," I say, glaring at Asher and Killian, wondering why they aren't speaking up in her defense, why they aren't helping me sway Elijah and Corbin.

Elijah blows out a breath that makes his lips rattle. "Remington, you're being stupid. I understand that you think you know what's best for her, and you care about her. But you're letting your emotions think for you, and that's just as bad as when you let your dick do the decision making."

His condescension irritates the fuck out of me. "You're right, Elijah, I do care about her. It's pretty clear that you don't."

"Step back, pup, you don't want to fuck with me, especially tonight," Elijah growls, and his blue eyes glow with a menacing shine that, while I hate to admit it, rattles me.

"Remington, you're out of line," Corbin says, pushing off the pool table. "Elijah does care about her, just as much as any of us here. We all want the same thing here, son. And that's to protect her at all costs. And letting her run wild tonight is not protecting her or anyone else."

I start to speak, but Noelle puts her hand on my chest. "Remi, I appreciate you fighting for me. I really do." She sighs and chews on the inside of her cheek. "But they're right. Who knows what I might do tonight? Put me in the cell, just—" She glances at Killian. "I need someone to stay with me. I can't be down there alone. Please."

Killian nods. "I made a promise and I intend to keep it. Missing one full moon this year won't kill me."

Corbin chimes in. "We will all miss out on the hunt this time. All sentinels will be on duty tonight. I want the perimeter of the property guarded until sun-up. You four will take shifts staying with Noelle. We can't afford for anyone to get comfortable. Dante will have his eyes on us tonight and the cells will be the first place they look. No one but us and Bennett are to be in this house tonight. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," the lycan say as one.

"There's three hours 'til sunset. She needs to be in that cell in two," Corbin says. On the way out, he hugs Noelle around the neck and kisses her forehead. "Don't worry, hon. We'll protect you. And then next time, you can run with us. I promise. Okay?"

She nods weakly, and when Corbin leaves the room, the five of us look at each other, the tension in the room thick, all our emotions—and libidos—running high.

Killian is the first to speak. "Two hours, Noelle. What do you want to do?"

She looks at him and then glances up at me, her eyes already aglow when she whispers, "All I know is I don't want to be alone right now."