The Luna Trials

Chapter 53

The bears looked at Savannah‘as if she had committed a grave sin. Which she probably had by their standards. One of the people who greeted them rushed to Bjorn‘s side and started wiping him clean with his own cloak, his eyes flickering with terror at the same time.

That made Savannah smile weakly. If she could do it again now, she‘d aim better.

Two warriors that arrived with them were already at her side, undoing her chains and pulling her off the huge white bear. She had no strength left in her at this point, and her limp, exhausted body fell right into someone‘s hands. To her surprise, it was none other than Bjorn himself, who had already managed to shift back to his human form and was now watching her with a mix of concern and anger on his face. It was hard to tell, especially since his white hair was covering half of his face.

“Excuse my Queen,” he chuckled loudly. “It has been a long journey, she is too tired and needs some rest!”

Everyone around them made sure they nodded or made some kind of noise of approval. It was clear as day they all feared Bjorn and didn‘t want to risk seeing his wrath.

“My King,” one of the men approached him boldly, “considering the scale of your current victory, it would be wise to give a speech to your loyal subjects now.” Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Bjorn looked at the woman in his arms, knowing Savannah was in no state to even stand by his side at the moment. This wasn‘t how he planned it, how he envisioned it, but he had to roll with it now and make the best out of the situation. At least, it had all been done, and she was rightfully his now. He could deal with the rest of it all later.

“Take her to my room,” he carefully handed his prized war trophy to his trusted Delta, and a growl escaped him when she frowned upon hearing his instruction. She was fighting to keep her eyelids open

but lost this battle just as she lost the war. He watched the Delta disappear into the main entrance of the castle, knowing that Savannah would never be able to escape this place. She would get used to the new reality sooner or later. She would have to.

***

Savannah had the worst dream. She dreamt of her whole family being killed on the day that was supposed to be her happiest. She dreamt of Kai dying in her arms and of their common enemy taking her away in chains.

It was just a dream. Nothing else. A dream, dream, dream...

Two strong hands wrapped tighter around her, and she let out a sigh of relief because this was exactly how she and Kai had been waking up for the past few days. Tangled together and enjoying each other‘s scents.

Only that today something felt off, and Savvy couldn‘t tell at first what it was.

Mint. The intense scent of mint hit her nostrils, flaring them up as her stomach churned, ready to be emptied again. Her whole body jerked in a spasm that followed. Savannah clamped onto the grey satin sheets in an attempt to reach the edge of the bed. She knew she wouldn‘t make it further than that. The hands around her unwrapped, letting go of her, and the next thing she knew, he held her hair as she threw up on the stone floor, the acid burning her throat. He caressed her back as she kept vomiting, and at some point, she felt him placing a kiss on her shoulder, which sent a shiver down her spine and didn‘t help her feel better at all.

However tempting it was to dream, she knew by now that it wasn‘t Kai next to her side. She tried to run away, but the moment her feet reached the floor, her muscles gave up, and she fell

down to the ground, avoiding the puddle by some kind of miracle. A grunt emerged from behind her back which she ignored, whilst crawling towards the exit of the castle. She was inside of a castle, only that this time it wasn‘t Kai‘s. The stones used to build this one were different, darker and not properly polished. The wood of the doors was almost black. Overall, the building looked like a work from a rougher skilled master than the one who worked once for the Northern Lycans. It was as if they did not care much about how everything looked. Which they probably didn‘t. The Northern bears always had bigger problems than aesthetics.

“Calm down, Savannah,” Bjorn placed his feet on the cold floor, and the Princess was happy that he was at least wearing pants. She quickly checked what she had on and was relieved to find out it still was the blue dress from the day before.

“Wh–why were we together in bed?” she demanded.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He rubbed his forehead as if he was exhausted too, then stood up and strode towards her, which only made her crawl back to the wall. “You will need to get used to me. We will sleep together from now on every night.”

“Can I decline this generous offer?” Savvy scoffed, barely holding herself back from charging at him. Only that she knew that it would be useless now. She was in no state to fight.

“No,” Bjorn was next to her in no time and lifted her from the ground in one swift move as if she weighed nothing, taking her back to the bed. The minty scent intensified, and she just knew he was the one doing it. After all, he did this before.

“Stop it!” She practically barked at him, and he quirked one brow up at her. “Stop what?” He taunted, thinking that it was some kind of a flirting game.

“That disgusting scent!” Another spasm contorted her body as she couldn’t stand it anymore. However, to her surprise, the mint disappeared almost immediately, and it became easier to breathe.

“That bad, huh?” Bjorn brushed his hand over her hair, but she slapped it away. He growled as a warning but didn‘t do anything else.

“Just why would you think that my dead mate‘s scent would be a good idea when I recover from our breaking bond?” she asked.

“I thought it might be comforting,” he confessed and wanted to caress her again, but stopped at the last moment. “I am not a complete monster, you know. I want you to get better faster.”

“So that you can parade me as your trophy Luna again?” Savannah scoffed.

“You were fine with being paraded before,” Bjorn locked his healthy eye with her. His usual black eye patch was missing. “Why is it a problem when it‘s for me?”

“It is a problem because it‘s you!” she rolled her eyes, tired from this conversation alone. “I hate you. You killed everyone I loved and cared about. I will always hate you, and to be honest, you can kill me now too. I will never be your Luna, Queen, prize or whatever you think I am.”

“You just need time,” he insisted, and she wasn‘t sure if he was telling this to her or to himself. “Once the bond is finally severed, and you heal, it will–” Bjorn stopped talking, and Savannah flinched. What was that? What was on his mind?

“Once I am healed, I am going to do my best to kill you!” she promised, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists.

“I am fine with you thinking that.” The bear took the cover and pulled it over Savannah‘s legs, shocking her with all this. “As I have said, when the time comes, you will see it differently.”

“Time comes for what?” The Princess covered her face with her hands. She didn‘t want to talk to him anymore. She did not want to be here. The moment she closed her eyes she was back to where she really belonged – in the real North and with Kai. Now that Zack was dead, they finally had their chance to

find out if they were second–chance mates. It could have been her wishful thinking, but she hoped that once

the bond with Zack was gone, a new one would form with the man she loved.

Suddenly, she realised what the bear king was talking about. Her eyes opened wide, and she tried to sit up, although it was still difficult.

You must be crazy!” she gasped, and his expression immediately changed to a much darker one. He knew she had figured him out, and she wasn‘t thrilled with the idea.

“I knew it the moment I met you in the woods,” he told her. “No!” she shook her head in denial. This couldn‘t be true. He was lying! Or he was delusional!

“My first mate died years ago,” Bjorn looked at her without blinking, his facial muscles tightening from time to time. “I knew you were my second chance mate the moment I met you.”

“Not possible!” She wanted to cover her ears and run away from this. “Anyone but you!”

“If it wasn‘t for this, you would have never made it out of that forest the night we met. I didn‘t need any witnesses,” the King went on. “But your scent was so... alluringly intoxicating that I couldn‘t stop thinking about you being my second chance.”

“Lies!” She felt tears stinging her eyes and wiped them away angrily. She couldn‘t accept this reality. And she was not going to.

“You will see it for yourself,” he persisted. “Once you feel it, you will not be able to deny it. All we need now is for the bond to snap in its place.”

That sobered her up from the panic that overwhelmed her. The thing was... she did not feel it. She didn‘t feel any kind of pull towards Bjorn. She loathed Zack, but she couldn‘t deny that something was

connecting them both until the very last second. Something physical. And she was ready to thank the Moon Goddess because she did not feel anything like this now.

“Savannah,” the bear took both her hands into his large, calloused palms, “you are exhausted now. Have some rest, and we will continue this conversation when you are ready.”

She looked at him for some time, not knowing how to respond, when a laugh escaped her. And then one more, and one more. Until she simply gave in and burst out laughing.

“Wow!” Her eyes were teary now. “Speak about wishful thinking!” “I know what I feel!” The bear snarled.

“So dol!” Savvy laced her every word with venom as if it was a knife she was ready to plunge into Bjorn‘s heart. “I feel hatred! So much of it! And disgust! You killed my brother, sister–in–law, my best friend, people who were dear to me, and innocent victims too! Mates don‘t do that! Mates don‘t chain each other, don‘t force each other, don‘t torture each other! They don‘t lie, they don‘t cheat! This is how mates are supposed to be. If you think that what you do is normal, then you need to think again!”

He gawked at her as if he saw her for the first time. The silence between them was uncomfortable, and Savannah just wanted him to leave her alone so that she could finally close her eyes and disappear into the world of dreams again. The last bits of strength almost left her.

However, when Bjorn‘s lips curled into a smirk, she knew he had a plan to get what he wanted either way.

A scent she had never smelled before reached her, and she realised that, for the first time ever, he let her know what his real scent was. Chestnuts and wintergreen.

Savannah‘s lips parted in shock. “See? I told you!” The White Bear King sneered at her...