Traded To The Lycan King

I pace the old wooden porch of the small cabin we have been staying in. Well, where I have been sleeping and Mom, Merikh and Calvin have been living. Guilt runs rampant in my mind, tearing apart a decision I have made in the last near week.

Should I have come? Should I have allowed Merikh to even stay with me, or would it have been wise to send him with our pack, insist he be where he should be?

"Stop doing that," Caspian says, sighing heavily as he pushes himself up from the swing hanging from the old rickety ceiling.

"I can't sit still," I say, shooting daggers from my eyes in his direction. A frown tugs at his lips as he shakes his head.

"That is not what I mean, Letty." He says, his gentle father's voice turning on. "You can not change what happened by standing here and thinking about how you could have done something differently."

"What would you prefer I think about? A life without him? Preparing for a world where he does not exist-" I pause, my voice cracking as my eyes water. Then I clear my throat and roll my shoulders. "You are right. I can't change what has happened in the past. But staying out here, waiting and doing nothing doesn't help anything either."

"You should be training." He says, simply. My eyes snap to his, my blood boiling at the mere suggestion of leaving Merikh alone and at the hands of fucking Ezrah.

Ezrah who has been at every turn when shit goes down. Ezrah who works for no one yet everyone at the same time. The damn messenger who seems to think his neutrality wins peace when all it does is bring war to everyone else's door steps and he delivers it.

"I do not trust him." I hiss out, unable to tone down the anger that oozes from every part of me.

"He is in there, of his own accord, trying to help," Caspian says with a frown.

"He is in there fixing the fucking mess he created by bringing the fucking abomination to our doorstep under the guise of 'I am a messenger, this is what I do'," I scream at Caspian. His eyes turn dark.

"Ezrah has been a trusted friend for many, many years,"

"As was your mate, yet now that you found her, you ignore her and suspect she is a plant among us, while your trusted friend delivers a messenger who might have killed a council member, the lycan king. MY FUCKING MATE!"

His lips twitch and his nose flares as he breathes through it heavily and looks away from me.

"I did not say your mother was a plant to spy on us," He whispers and I snort a sardonic laugh.

Caspian avoids the topic of Melody at every turn. I ask when he will speak to her, but he changes the subject. I ask him to come to the cabin but he was too injured and still recovering. He is near her and he can't seem to find words to be civil.

He doesn't have to say what I already see on his face when he looks at her. Caspian wants her to be the bad guy, so he doesn't have to bear the guilt of her suffering for ten years while he sulked and blamed her for my proclaimed death.

"You don't have to say it for everyone to know what you are thinking." I scoff, shoving past him. I pace over to Zale, who sits in a rocking chair, an exasperated expression on his face as he watches everything unfold.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"Zale?" Caspian asks, looking at the siren male, who clears his throat and lifts his hands.

"I wish to remain out of this, my king." He says, bowing his head.

"Fine." Caspian whispers. "Fine. Yes, there is a fear that they got to your mother. Can you blame me? You are taken, your gamma killed, and they place you next to your mother and somehow you escape with her? Why? What do they gain from that? It feels too convenient, all of it does."

I take a step away from him, then turn and lean on the white railing of the deck. He makes valid points, but convenience doesn't equal guilt, just like fear doesn't foster loyalty.

"Mom is not a spy, and they did not turn her."

"How can you be so sure?" he whispers, and I see the conflict in his eyes. For the first time since recognizing him as my father, I feel a flicker of disappointment.

"Her body is beyond repair, even for her wolf to heal, even now after being freed. She was locked in a damp, dirty cell with bars of silver. When I cried, she let those bars burn through her skin with no thought to her own pain so she could touch me, comfort me." I say, pushing off the railing.

"I can't hear this," he says, that inner conflict turning to sheer agony.

"That means you need to." I say in a low voice. "Mom was beaten regularly, bones broken, meals skipped and no sun in ten years. They toyed with her by playing tricks with magic and using a fake version of me as bait. And yet when I was there, she was so willing to trust me, to believe me because she was desperate. She needed something to live for."

"Colette Lynnae, that is enough." My mother's voice says from the doorway. I spin to see her holding the door frame for stability, her eyes watery. "Melody," Caspian's voice breaks, and my mother avoids looking at him.

"That is not your darkness to share." She says, her voice trembling. "Alpha Merikh is awake and asking for you."

Then she turns and walks back into the cabin. I rush in behind her, watching as she slips into her room, closing it behind her, the lock slipping into place. Caspian footfalls stop following me as I hear him knock on a door, only to be met with silence.

But I don't have time to focus as I fly through the hall and through my room to find Merikh sitting up in the bed, looking pale and ghoulish.

I swallow the dryness in my throat, and then lick my lips as I take a few steps toward him. He tilts his head, confusion on his face as he looks over at Ezrah, then back at me.

"How is he?" I ask Ezrah but I don't look at him, my eyes are glued on the man staring at me.

"He is doing well. Thankfully, you are here and he will heal much faster with you at his side."

"Ezrah, who is she?" Merikh asks, his brows pulling together. My heart stutters and I freeze.

Who is she? Does he mean me? Merikh has forgotten who I am?

"Alpha, this is not a funny joke." Ezrah says frowning and Merikh scoffs.

"The only joke here is the one you are playing on me. You know damn well I don't have a mate." He seems to grow angrier as the room feels like it is going to spin. Then I snap. My eyes grow dark and the water in the cup next to him flies from its glass cage and splashes over his face.

"I am Colette. Your Luna and your mate, whether you want me or not, I am here to stay, so you better fucking start remembering now."

He growls, lifting the blanket to wipe the wetness from his cheeks and as it falls back to his lap, I see a huge smile on his face.

"Ah yes, my little Luna, there she is," he says, his voice a little hoarse.

I don't know whether to cry, laugh or throttle the shit out of him, so instead I rush to him and kiss his lips. His arms slide up my back, pulling me close as the tears tumble down my cheeks and I weave my fingers into his wet hair.

The sparks explode at our contact, my wolf near purring at having him awake, kissing me and in my arms After what feels like too short of time, we break apart, the two of us panting as I look over his face, scanning every part of him from his forehead to his chin.

"You handled that better than I thought you would." He admits.

"I get the feeling you like when I punish you." I murmur, pressing my head to his lips. He chuckles into my hair and a smile pulls at the corner of my lips, despite my annoyance with his terrible joke.

"I like everything you do to me." He says in a seductive tone.

I chuckle, shaking my head as I lean

back and look over at the rest of him. Two holes sit over my mate mark and stroke my thumb over it, anger and jealousy combining with the violent urge to kill Laureninstead of Tetting the sun do it for me.

"Will he be fine?" I ask Ezrah, who is behind me.

"He will struggle to heal, but with time, yes, he will be normal." He says, sounding tired.

I stand, walking over to him, a frown on my lips. He saved Merikh, but that doesn't mean I trust him. It doesn't mean he isn't working on both sides of

the war.

"Thank you for saving him.” I say nicely, and he smirks.

"But you still don't trust me?" he asks.

"Not a chance in hell." I snort. He nods in understanding.

"What can I do to earn your trust?" Ezrah asks.

I tilt my head, thinking why my trust means anything to him in the grand scheme of things.

"Pick a side." I shrug. "And make sure it's the right side."

"Colette," Merikh says my name, sounding shocked as he wears a piqued version of a look of disappointment. So I cross my arms over my chest and stare at Ezrah.

"Did you tell Merikh that you are the one who brought Lauren here?" I ask him. He looks away, ashamed, and shakes his head no.

"You did what?” Merikh roars. “Since when are you in the business of delivering people?"

Ezrah exhales, then drags his hand down his face.

"There are things I can't remem-"

"Not good enough." Merikh growls, throwing the blanket back as he stands, his legs shaking under him.

"Get your ass back in bed, you idiot. I am trying to tell you," Ezrah groans. "I don't remember, okay? One minute I was picking up a letter and the next

I woke the fuck up here. If I try to remember, my head explodes in pain."

"Why didn't you say any of this earlier?" I scoff, and he drops his head.

"Did you give me the time, Luna?" he asks and I realize he is right. I never gave him more than a few seconds to explain anything.

"So what now?" I ask, sighing.

"I choose a side," he says. "And I choose yours."