The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert Read Online
Chapter 43
Savannah clenched her l!ps, preparing to fight. This conversation was going from bad to worse.
“What kind of reaction do you expect to get for a claim like this?” She crossed her hands over her chest. The defensive movement came naturally to her, and Darius frowned, seeing this.
“I want you to go with me,” he said without breaking eye contact. Bjorn wasn’t lacking confidence.
“Now.”
“Go where exactly?” Savannah was slightly startled by his bluntness,
“To the real North.” He lifted his chin higher and took a step forward. Savannah decided not to budge and stayed in her place. Showing weakness now would have been a mistake,
“And this is… where again?” The woman looked at him questioningly.
“My castle,” he replied calmly. “The White Bear Clan territory. This is from where I am planning to rule the North and other kingdoms in the future.”
“Other kingdoms?” She shot her brow up. Now, this was getting interesting. “Are you even serious?”
“I am deadly serious.” Not a muscle flinched on his face, and he took another step. “My family have been working for this for years. And we have never been closer.”
“You family?” Savvy decided to try and fish for more information while he was offering it so easily. “And here you gave me an orphan vibe.”
“I guess you can say that about me now.” The man chuckled. “I am one of the last ones left. But I will do anything to keep the family’s legacy.”
“How very noble of you,” she scoffed, still thinking of the best course of action. “I didn’t take you for a family man.”
“Family is of crucial importance to me.” Now Darius was almost next to her. “You will learn this over time as you are going to be a part of it.”
Savannah was unimpressed with the statement. “Have you ever thought about maybe asking for my opinion first?”
“I am asking you to go with me now. Leave this place; forget about Kai and the stupid humiliating Luna Trials.” His jaw tensed as he took another step. The last one. Now she was finally within his reach, and they both knew that. “This is a one-time offer, Princess.”
“And if I say no?” She swallowed the lump that formed in her dry throat. Close, he was too close. What would you do then?”
“I would still make you mine,” he promised while his healthy eye darkened. “But it would be a less pleasant process for you. This is why I want you to think carefully now. It’s rare for me to give anyone a choice, but I would prefer us to have a good start even if the finale doesn’t change.”
“It doesn’t sound like a choice!” Her fists clenched. “It’s a threat!”
“It’s an offer,” Bjorn retorted. “I am offering you everything. I will throw the whole world at your feet. I will give you your mate’s head on a spike. Your every wish will be granted as long as you stay by my side.”
“Generous.” Savannah sighed, choosing her words cautiously. “You offer me Zack’s head? Isn’t he your best buddy? The last time we spoke, he even had s*e*x on your command.”
“Command is the right word here.” Bjorn brushed his fingers over her arms gently as if he was studying her skin, her reaction. For the first time, Savvy stepped back, and he scowled.
“He was doing that on his own accord. As you know, I had no interest in you just until recently. Everything changed after I met you.”
“What did I do to deserve such an honor?” Savvy taunted, quirking her brow up.
“Come with me, and I will tell you.” The bear knew how to be stubborn; at this point, it was a game of wills.
Yet Savannah made her choice a while ago, and nothing could change her mind. She was in love.
Deeply, unreasonably and beyond retrieve. Even if the leaders of the white bears decided to K*ll her here and now after her words, she knew she wouldn’t humiliate her chosen mate by lying. She would d*ie fighting if she had to of them conspiring to do this to her made her livid.
However, before that, she would first try to push the man in front of her off that ridiculously high bridge.
He must have read it in her eyes as he glowered suspiciously, but then his gaze landed on something else, and Savannah felt him grasping her neck painfully and yanking her towards himself. The airflow was restricted now, but it wasn’t her main problem.
The main problem was the power she felt vibrating from him. If he tightened his grip on her just slightly, he would snap her neck, and it would be the end of her.
“What is this?” He growled as he pulled the zip of her front jacket down and tore the rest off her with his free hand, leaving her just in a black cropped top. She was terrified when his hand went to her chest, but then she saw him hooking the North Star necklace with his finger. “When did he give this to you?” Bjorn seemed furious, his eyes glowing red now. “When you disappeared with him for a few days and let him have his way with you?!”
“Why ask if you know the answer?” she said, breathing rasp in her throat as he squeezed it tighter. Her vision started to darken, and she thought this was the end when he threw her to the ground.
Savannah gulped the air greedily, returning to her senses quickly. “Doesn’t matter!” Darius grunted as he circled her, looking down on her, yet stretching his hand as another offering. “What is your answer? Come with me now and …”
“No!” She snorted, her voice hoarse, certainty still present in it.
Bjorn’s l!ps clenched tight, but other than that, nothing changed in his expression. Deep inside, he knew that this was how it would end. They both knew.
Luckily, Savvy was restoring quickly and gathering her strength, she managed to stand back on her feet to face the enemy.
“Whatever happens, I will never go with you! I will never be with you! I will never-” He charged at her, trying to capture her again, but this time she was ready and dodged in time, recoiling with her own attack and pushing him closer to the edge.
“This is something you are going to regret!” He promised, baring his teeth. “I thought one lesson was enough for you, but it looks like you will need more! No worries, Savannah. I will be a good teacher for you. You will learn to obey and respect me!”
“See, this is exactly why we will never be a good match!” She chuckled, not letting him out of her sight. Then she tried to kick him again, but he caught her foot and threw her towards the giant fire pit. She hit the heavy hot cast iron wall that burned her exposed skin. It didn’t matter much. Scars wouldn’t K*ll her, but losing wasn’t an option right now.
Savannah hissed but still tried to get up. However, the creaking of the opening shrine doors distracted them both as they turned and saw Astrid walking in, followed closely by Naya and Petra. All three women were shocked by the picture that unfolded before their eyes
“Savvy!” Astrid was the first one to charge at Bjorn, not a moment of hesitation. A true warrior at work.
“Petra.” Naya turned to look at the pink-haired werewolf, “Go back and make as much noise as you only can. The guards are near. Let them know that there is an intruder inside the shrine, and he’s attacking the contenders.”
Petra paused for a second but then nodded and turned on her heels, almost bumping into Brigit’s chest. Now there were two white bears in the room, and Savannah wasn’t sure how it was going to go.
However, Bridgit’s eyes glowed as she a*s*sessed the space around her, and she firmly stepped on the bridge.
“You!” She grew her claws, not caring about the rules of the compet*ition anymore. She ran at Bjorn and tried going for his neck, however, he managed to dodge the blow and recoiled by throwing her at Savannah, who was trying to attack him too, knocking her off her feet. Both women grunted as they tried to get up, but Naya and Astrid were next. The white bear leader laughed as he blocked their attacks. This didn’t seem to bother him at all. For Darius Bjorn, it was just a game.
Savvy was furious This was probably the best opportunity they would ever have at catching him and ending all that.
By now, she knew there was only one way to overpower him. They either needed more people, or she would have to use her third form. Just the thought of It made her shudder. This was her one weak sport, one thing she was bad at. Every royal lycan had a problem controlling the beast inside of them.
They were primal creatures, full of power and strength. They were sleeping inside of them, hibernating, One could go his whole life without awakening them. But once a beast was unleashed, it started craving freedom, power, blood … It was never enough.
The creature inside of her was unstoppable. It wasn’t like what your brother had, where he simply had to control the time, he spent in that form. The longer he spent in it, the harder it was to get back. It only changed with Riannon’s advent in their life. During the last bloody battle, he didn’t stop on time, and she was the one who managed to bring him back. Their love, mate bond, their special connection pulled Gideon out of the darkness.
Her own mate was useless in that sense. Sometimes she thought that Kai could be the one to do this for her, but he was nowhere near now. Nevertheless, she was ready to take one for the team. If it meant ending the Great War that threatened to happen any day now, she was willing to make the sacrifice. Kai and Elene could control their forms, and Gideon was now in the North. Between the three of them, they would be able to stop her. To K*ll her if they had to.
Yes, she had made her decision and stood up.
“I will hold her back as long as I can,” Athena promised her in their shared mind.
“I know,” Savvy breathed out. She was ready to turn into a monster when Kai’s warriors burst through the door. The room suddenly became crowded.
Bjorn was surrounded, but it didn’t seem to disturb him as he removed his leather jacket and made it fall to his feet. His l!ps curled into a smirk as he twirled on his feet, either watching his enemies or showing himself off to their faces. It was hard to tell. But one thing was for sure – he still wasn’t bothered with any of this. He still wasn’t lacking confidence. On the contrary, he radiated it when he lifted his hands as if he had welcomed them all.
Savannah had a bad feeling.
Two men shifted into their wolves in a jump, trying to get the white bear first. He met one of them with a strong punch in the jaw, well managed to catch the other one by his neck. The grey wolf scratched him where he could get it, but Darius twisted his neck and the cracking sound echoed through the high walls.
Astrid tried to attack him again, but he didn’t pay too much attention to her, not taking the werewolf seriously. He threw her over the bridge, and Savannah screamed, running after her friend and trying to catch her. A fall would mean death for her. She managed to catch her hand at the very last second, clinging to her as if everything depended on It. She was ready to sacrifice herself, but she was not prepared to lose the people she liked and cared about.
“You really don’t have to do this!” Astrid tried to smile as her hand was slipping out of Savannah’s. “I can hear water. Maybe there is a pool down there, and I will not d*ie.” The she-wolf tried to joke but it wasn’t funny.
“We don’t know that!” Savvy tried to get her out, but the grip was uncomfortable, and she was afraid she would lose her any moment now.
“Hold on!” Naya appeared by her side and somehow bent lower, grasping Astrid’s second hand.
From the corner of her eye, Savannah saw that it wasn’t going well for the warriors. One wolf managed to bite at Bjorn’s side and rip a big chunk of his flesh. The blood was gushing at first, but the wound started healing very quickly, closing before her eyes,
This wasn’t possible! What was he?! Because he definitely wasn’t a simple bear! She couldn’t heal like this. Her brother, the mighty lycan king, couldn’t heal like this! She was pretty sure that no one could heal like this. No creature she was aware of.
They managed to pull Astrid out when they saw Bjorn lifting Bridgit up by her neck. He was covered in blood now. Mostly not his. His black t-shirt was in pieces on his toned body, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on the man.
Brigit was kicking her legs, trying to reach him and save herself. It proved to be useless.
“What do we have in here?” He let out a dark laugh that could make chills run down everyone’s spines. “A little traitor, aren’t you?”
“I’ll put my life to K*ll you!” Brigit gurgled.
“More reason to K*ll you now!” The man didn’t seem impressed by her speech, but this was when two loud, powerful growls interrupted them all.