Traded To The Lycan King

-I am here-I tell her through the mind link. There is a rustling above me and she drops down from the tree, leaves in her hair and soot on my cheek. She stands, her eyes filled with tears and fear as she reaches for me. My human form takes over as I tuck her into my chest, pulling her tight. "We aren't alone," I whisper, and she nods.

"I know." She says back, pointing behind me. I spin and look up in the tree, catching a glimpse of a familiar lycan, and I frown.

"Percy." I say in a growly voice.

He climbs down, transforming into his human form, as he saunters over with his eyes cast down as he quickly pulls on his shorts. The kid was supposed to be on bed rest, not chasing us into a fucking fight.

"Alpha," He murmurs.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I ask, arching a brow. It seems no matter who sick, heart broken or physically broken he is, there is no shaking this tenacious redhead.

"My job." He says. "I took an oath,"

"And I told you to rest," Colette says.

"I will rest when you are not in danger, Luna. But when you are walking into it head on, I will be there with you. As your shadow, always. Like Penny." I slide a look at Colette, watching as her face goes from anger to gratitude. It's amazing how quickly she can calm herself while I sit here and seethe over him breaking an order. Perhaps this is why I was granted a Luna like her. Perhaps I need to be more like her.

"What happened?" I ask Colette, choosing to ignore the Percy issue for now.

"A wolf and a dragon got into a fight over which way to go." She says. "The wolf wanted to go in your direction. The dragon felt it would be best to keep going toward Giselle. He wanted to be near his queen..." she says, her eyes meet mine.

"Shit." I grumble, my heart falling to my feet.

"Shit, what?" Percy asks, looking at us.

"The dragons are feeling protective of their queen. Which means Giselle is prepared and getting through to her won't be as easy as we could have hoped. Not that we expected any less, but-" I pause, releasing a heavy sigh.

"It's possible Giselle knows we are coming now." She frowns.

"How?" Percy asks.

"We have a traitor among us, and since Lily is still alive and nearby, I have the feeling Elm has been lying and playing us for fucking fools all along." Fuck, fuck, fuck. With Lily still alive, Giselle will remain too strong against our forces. It will be a massacre against our kind, yes we have packs here to fight with us, but our defenses against the dragons are nil. Colette and Caspian are the only ones who can protect them from the fire.

"You need to go back." I insist, taking her hand in mine.

"Hell no!" she scoffs. "I need to contain her burst of heat when she combusts, Merikh."

"She won't kill anyone but the people closest to her...hopefully." I say, trying to convince her. But I know I am wrong. The entire area will be flattened, laid to waste and ash when she goes up. Colette will need to use her skills to provide a wall to save them.

"And I suppose you think you will be the one to antagonize her?" She growls.

I shoot her a charming smile, trying to break the tension.

"I am very good at antagonizing," I remind her and she groans, throwing her hands up in the air.

"No." She says plainly.

"No?" I ask, not entirely shocked by her answer, but more by the passion behind it.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"No. I refuse. If you think someone needs to go back, then you go. Or send Percy."

I deflate, my shoulders slumping and my head shaking in frustration.

"We do not have your skills." I remind her. She licks her teeth and chuckles sardonically.

"Exactly. I am the only one who can do BOTH things that need to be done. Our pack needs you more than I need you right now." She says, her tone softening. "I know you are worried, and you want to be near me, but you taught me what leading is."

My jaw clenches and I clear my throat, looking away. Fuck her and her stupid, logical logic.

"I can't let you do this alone." I sigh, keeping the tears away. "There is no way I can function, not knowing you are okay or that you can handle this." She tilts her head to the side, walking over to me as she reaches up and cups my cheek.

"I can handle this. Okay? I promise. And I won't be alone. I have Percy. He has proven time and time again how talented he is at protecting me. Trust that instinct you had when you chose him to be my gamma."

It feels like I am being torn in two, my chest burning and my fingers itching with indecision. I clench my hands into fist and let out a frustrated groan, then I look up and nod.

"Fine." I grunt, then I grab her at her waist and yank her to me roughly. "But you better make it fucking back to me. Do you understand?"

“Mm-hmm,” she says, tilting her head back for a kiss.

"That's a fucking alpha order, Colette." I clarify and she giggles.

"I know, I know." She whispers as I press my lips to her.

She breaks away too soon, giving Percy a nod as she takes two steps back and then spins on her heals sprinting off with her red-haired

protector. I hate this so fucking

much. But she is right. This is what being a leader is, making decisions | hate but are necessary. Our pack needs us both, but they need us in different places.

Another burst of flames shoots out, and I hear cries and wolves howling. That's where I am needed. That's the fight know how to fight. I am trusting Colette and Percy. Fuck if it isn't hard, though. I take off in that direction, one last glance over my shoulder where Colette disappeared before I inhale deeply and shift into my lycan form.

The path is easy until a tree creaks from the heat and I look up to see it come flying down toward me. I try to leap out of the way, but a branch reaches out, hitting me hard as fly in the opposite direction I was aiming for. My back slams into a hard rock face and I slide down, landing on something wet and fleshy.

In a fight, you always know what that is, and you never look down for fear of seeing someone you know. But I find myself unable to look away when I see who is beneath me. My vision grows red in anger, everything I thought and believed shifting in the span of seconds.

Elm lays dead beneath me as I struggle to get off his mutilated body. His head clings to his neck with a thread of skin and muscle, his eyes wide and

his chest clawed to shreds. Not at the hands of a werewolf. But that of a woman with sharp, long nails.

Elm isn't the betrayer. He didn't kill Lily like he promised because he was killed first.

But if the traitor wasn't Elm, then it only leaves one person.