Traded To The Lycan King

"Why do you have that phone?" Merikh grits out as he rushes toward the trees. Johannes puts his hand up in a display of surrender, but it does nothing to slow the raging lycan within.

"It's not what you assume," He says as I rush after my mate to remind him to remain calm, that he is still healing even if he is doing much better than before.

Merikh's claws dig into the vampire's shirt and skin, blood seeping through the white fabric as he frowns, but doesn't fight back.

"Answer my question!" Merikh roars and Johannes' lip twitches in defiant anger.

"He gave it to me as the dragons arrived,"

"What?" The word is a panicked whisper, carried my way on a breeze that, though warm, chills my very soul. Attacked? When and how? No one is supposed to know where the second pack location is, unless...

“Lauren,” I mutter, my hand flying to my head and my skin heats and my eyes burn with unshed tears. The stupid bitch wasn't just coming for me, she was coming to gloat, distract us from everything we have been separated from all because of my selfish choice to find more of myself.

"She visited you then?" Johannes asks, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

It's so clear to see there was a connection between them, one beyond the tethering of the chosen bind they had. Deep down, Johannes cared for her. Yes, his ambitions maybe have mattered more, but even love can be twisted.

"She came for me, Giselle sent her." I offer as Merikh turns his head to the side, his pallor green and his eyes closed as if he is trying to not vomit. "Shit." Johannes mutters, a dry chuckle. "Lauren got you, didn't she?"

"She tried." Merikh grimaces. I reach out, extracting him from Johannes, who grumbles as he smooths his bloody and wrinkled shirt.

“I just bought this shirt." He sighs, then he looks up, his devilish eyes flicking between the two of us. "He looks like he has yet to decide if he intends to live."

“Ezrah fixed me up.” Merikh mumbles, his arms limp at his side as panic weaves its way through me.

"You trust a fae? After knowing their queen is a traitor?" He asks with a quirked brow.

"You expect us to trust you after you stole his mate and killed his father?" I retort, and he thinks for a moment.

"Touché, Luna." Then he sighs. "Though it might benefit you both to remember, I took some silly oath to a lycan king. I couldn't lie to him if I wanted to."

"Enough." Merikh says, his voice demanding though soft, as if he may slip away at a moment's notice. "What is happening with Hayes and our pack?" "Giselle is waiting for you to show up. The war has started, but it's on your pack's doorstep, waiting for you to invite it in or stave it off." Johannes says, looking directly at me.

I stand in silence, unaware of who is near me other than Merikh who I can feel through the mate bond. He is as unnerved as I am, unsure of what to do. There is no world in which I will ever leave his side again, which means we will be thrown into one with a war instead.

"And he gave me the phone so that he would not be tempted to call you before you were ready to come back."

"How long have they been there?" I ask him, my mouth falling open in shock.

"Three days."

"Fuck." I grumble, spinning on my heels and rushing back to the cabin. Merikh calls out for me but I'm on a mission to pack the few things we have and get our asses moving.

I hear frantic footfalls behind me

and I already know who it is. Without looking, I can feel the look of

concern in my back from my

v

mother's eyes. She doesn't speak,

though. Instead, after a few

moments of silence, she steps upContent bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

next to me and proceeds to help me pack.

"Caspian is helping Merikh into the vehicle that the vampire came here in..." Melody pauses for a mere second before signing heavily. "Are you sure you can trust him?"

A chuckle breaks free as I zip the small bag in front of me and spin to face her.

"Trust is a strong word, but I trust the oath he took." I say, "and even if I didn't trust him, I would still be going."

Her footsteps retreat as she leaves me in silence and I sense Merikh enter the room, his arms sliding around me from behind. His cheek presses into mine, nuzzling toward my neck as he inhales.

"My little Luna has made up her mind?" He murmurs and I chuckle, dropping the bag and spinning, my hands closing up his chest and around his neck, my fingers grazing over Lauren's bite. A frown consumes my lips, and he exhales.

"I hate her." I whisper.

"She is dead." He reminds me.

I shake my head, letting him know

เอนน

he is misunderstanding who I mean. Lauren was a problem, yes. But she was only a small part of the problem. She was annoying and a nuisance. But Giselle, Giate. I don't just want her gone; I want her dead, drowned, ability to come back gone forever.

"Giselle." I sigh. "She takes and hurts and-"

"She is as good as dead." He tells me, the sincerity in his eyes almost enough to convince me. He must sense my hesitancy as he frowns. "There is one thing I am good at," he says confidently, "and that is killing people who harm what is mine."

I bite back a smile.

"Is that the only thing you are good at?" I tease him and he chuckles, his pale complexion brightening a touch,

"I'm great at the things on your mind, and I will remind you of it..." his lips capture mine in a heated kiss, the warmth of his tongue slipping passed mine as I moan, pulling myself closer.

"Eh hem," a voice interrupts us and I glance over to see Ezrah leaning on the door frame. "We have to go. Giselle will only hold out for so long as she grows more frustrated every day."

"Is fish stick man not coming along?" Johannes asks, cranking the engine to life as he looks around the black interior for my dad.

"No,"

'my mom says. "Not yet, anyway. He needs to speak to his people, make arrangements, and see if they will allow him to leave again. Caspian is all about the rules."

Her words are dry and emotionless, but I can hear the tension in her voice. To say I am shocked by his absence seems like a huge downplay as we drive away and Merikh squeezes my hand tight.

"Are you ready for this?" He asks.

"I get the feeling I was made for this," I mutter, offering him a nervous smile.

"For war?" He arches a brow.

"For standing up to people who want to use those around them to better themselves. Giselle wants a war? Fine, but she is in for a tremendous surprise when she realizes she picked a fight with the wrong Luna.”