The Amber Shift

Exclusive Chapter: Chapter Fifteen (Elijah's POV)

I am so screwed.

I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to keep my resolve. Watching Noelle sandwiched between my three sentinels, her body swaying to the beat of the music, pressed against Remi with Killian at her back, his hands on her hips, and Asher running his hands down her side...my cock has been hard for what feels like hours. I wanted nothing more than to get up and join them, but fuck knows I can't.

It's too risky.

Especially after she admitted her desire to be with not just one of us, but all of us. All of us. Including me. And by the way she looked at me when she said it, I know it embarrassed the hell out of her to admit it. And I made it worse by completely ignoring her statement.

Or pretending to.

I want to be with all of you.

Those words have been echoing in my head ever since I walked out the door and left the rest of the guys to take her to the hot tub. That's why I'm standing here in the shower under a cold stream of water, willing my dick to soften and my thoughts to go anywhere but her. But they don't. All I can see, even now with the freezing water running over every dip and ridge on my body, is Noelle's jean cutoffs that practically show her ass cheeks every time she takes a step, and that tight little v-neck t-shirt she parades around the house in. She's so damn sexy without even trying, and I don't know how much longer I can keep my hands to myself.

I shut off the water and step out onto the heated tile floor, wrapping a towel around my waist and running my hands through my damp hair. I grip the sides of the counter and slide my palm over the fogged mirror. The lycan looking back at me is pathetic. Where is the wolf who always puts his duty first and doesn't let anything get in his way? He's been overtaken by a lustful beast who wants nothing more than to fuck. My dick hasn't been at constant attention like this since my first shift.

"Fuck you," I say to my reflection. "You walk into that room and get it all out of your system. Jerk yourself off to all the fucked-up fantasies you have about Noelle and then we are done with this bullshit. Your job is to protect her and nothing more."

I swear my blue eyes spark to life with excitement. My head is in a messed-up place for sure. It is time to get it right again and if giving into my desire for Noelle is what it takes, then so be it. I'm granting myself this one free pass to let my imagination run wild.

The towel falls from my waist as I step into my bedroom. The plush rug under my feet and mountain of pillows in various shades of gray on the bed are meant to be inviting, but the empty mattress is anything but. I'd give anything to be as free as my friends, to be brave enough to lay Noelle out on my bed and spend hours making her eighteenth birthday one she would never forget.

I fling all the pillows to the floor and rip the blankets back. Turning to sit on the mattress, I'm brought to a stop.

Elijah, help me.

The sound of Noelle's voice is so clear I swear she is in the room with me. It is followed by a tug at the center of my chest...a need to move. My wolf claws at me from the inside, eager to break free of my human form. I slump over from the power it has over me.

What the hell is happening? How can I possibly be—

As if the full moon is high in the night sky and this is my first shift, the wolf comes to life and takes over my body.

My bones crack and skin stretches. Fur sprouts all over my naked body. My sense of smell is heightened, and hearing becomes sensitive. The sounds of shuffling from the deck outside and pained whimpers roar in my ears. I leap forward and race through the house. My claws sink into the wood floor, keeping my paws from slipping on the smooth surface. The back door sits ajar, and I press my powerful sleek body through the opening.