The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert

17. Touch

Zack left, probably the most important meeting of his life. His terrible mood now lifted even though his mate was out of his grasp for the time being at least. His plans were finally back on track, and he couldn’t believe his luck.

He closed his eyes, thinking of Savannah again. Just yesterday, his Beta showed him something that made him go feral and destroy the little guest house he was staying in. His Savannah… his Savvy was in the North, competing for the position of Queen. Needless to say, he couldn’t trust his own eyes when he saw his mate being presented as one of the many contenders.

What was she thinking?! Their connection was still in place.

Yes, what happened between the two of them wasn’t perfect, but he intended to fix that and get her back. He decided to let the fact that she let another male touch her slide. After careful consideration, he concluded this action on her part was her desire for revenge against him. It even made him happy for a short while because simply knowing that she still cared meant something to him. It meant he still had some control over her. As long as she cared, she wasn’t lost to him

They had been deprived of each other thanks to the big political games he played, and deep down inside, Zack hated that he had to take part in it at all, yet still, his pack came first. It had

to.

It was the primary responsibility of the Alpha, and he couldn’t ignore it. Only bigger packs were safe. Only domination could keep it this way.

The lycans were ruling over werewolves for a while. Graciously. . . Condescendingly.

It was some sort of peace, no matter how humiliating it has been for him. No one knew how long it would last. It was bad enough that it would only take one iycan to go on a killing spree to wipe an entire pack of werewolves. What if they all decided to do just that? There was only one way to avoid that and that was to be the one to attack first.

Besides, it was tiring to be their vassal.

There was an Alpha Summit, of course. Thanks to that, werewolves of the West always had the illusion that they were making decisions on their own. However, Zack knew that it was bullshit. The moment there were serious issues, lycans were right there, shoving their authority in

their faces.

It happened the moment king Gideon felt that Luna Riannon was his mate. It did not matter that she was married to another or that she wanted to rule her own pack. The moment Zack saw how the king looked at her, he knew that no werewolf Alpha would ever be allowed to have her. This was when he knew there was no turning back from his alliance with the werebears and foxes.

Now that all felt as if it took place a million years ago.

Savannah changed everything. He still didn’t know when it happened. Probably the very moment he laid her eyes on her and recognised her as his mate.

If he could have controlled himself then, he would have thrown her into the dungeon, locked her in the deepest and darkest cell the moment she entered his house. That would have been the wise choice, considering he was planning to kill her brother. That would have been safe. A couple of days wouldn’t have meant much, and they would have a whole new life together later, where he would have then earned her forgiveness in one way or another.

He couldn’t forget how tense his pack was greeting her and how all he wanted was to get her into his bed. She smelled divine, tasted divine, looked so beautiful… She was his perfection. He remembered thinking that the Moon Goddess knew precisely what she was doing when she paired them together. He was supposed to become the Alpha King, and Savannah was going to help him with that. She would have been his perfect Queen…

Every time he closed his eyes, he pictured her next to him again. He claimed every inch of her body that night, not believing that all the s*x he had before couldn’t even compare to being with his mate. He couldn’t have enough of her.

This was probably why the euphoria of claiming her didn’t wear off in the middle of the night when he had to get back to work.

He thought about it a lot… of how she found out about his plans and made the decision to leave him. He knew that nothing could give him away in the bedroom where she was sleeping. He kept all his documents in his office, and this was exactly where he went to speak to his partners. They found out who he was mated to, and he persuaded them that nothing had changed. That his plans had remained the same. To kill Gideon and get the wolf throne, sharing lycan lands between wolves, foxes and bears. This was probably when she heard him. It had to be this moment.

On his way back to the bedroom, he smelled her scent but decided it was natural since she was all over him. However, something changed when he got close to her. She was wearing his shirt when he left her absolutely naked.

it back then, but now he knew he was right… Savannah already knew everything. He locked her in his arms, and they fell asleep again, but when he went to shower alone in

were chasing her, knowing that if she escaped, everything would be over. He couldn’t forget how she glared at him when she reached safety in the werecats’ territory. Mainly because it was

would understand. She had to. Situations like this were not new to any kind of shifters. Family members were dying all the time, and

it was all

didn’t want to see her now but decided it

off, and the girl sat closer

the distance,” he told her dryly and didn’t even bother looking at how she reacted to his words. She was

you,” she purred, and he knew she was

interested,” Zack got his phone out and

that this was the easiest way to get his reaction. The longer he did not see his

know about her!” Zack cut the

link with some footage

He had to see what was going on. Besides, it meant he could see more of

she was taking part in this farce of a contest and still had to figure out what game his beloved and her royal brother were playing at

Truthteller logo shining on his screen, and then the video began. It was the same masquerade but from different angles. One of the guests must have

but Zack just scrolled it to the moment he noticed the already familiar blue dress with feathers. He chuckled when he heard the task for Savannah, realising that northerners did not want her there. This was something he counted on, and they did

Kai interrupting the event as if… As if he already knew Savvy. The Truthteller made sure to film how the Lycan King of The North did not take his eye off

didn’t like any of that. He

the video. The Truthteller was clearly implying that King Kai was

again, he had

things about the Northern King. Kai Fionnlagh wasn’t one to show his emotions. He was a man of actions who rarely let anyone know what he thought before he executed his decisions. This was the reason why he was such a dangerous

off his phone and looked out the window, not to see Rita’s innocent smirk. She knew what she was

a very different perspective, and he did not

already at the North. His first suspicion was her best friend, Kyle, even though there were no reports from anywhere that they ever had a fling of

appeared to be close

that someone

his wolf furious, and a growl escaped him. The loud and menacing growl made Rita move to the back of the

jolt of pain went through Zack’s muscles, and he groaned, losing his breath. Again and again, it felt as if his whole body was electrocuted. His elongated claws ripped the expensive leather seat, and he didn’t know how long it lasted. However, he knew exactly what

someone

control of himself when it was all over. The pain was gone,

thinking that she was sending him a message. Yet now… now was different. Who was she with? Did she think about that other man? Was she planning to spend more time with him

out the first instance he could But for now, he had

his lap, seeing that it

he laced his fingers in her hair which she dyed into Savvy’s shade of golden brown, he forced her to

his eyes. If he ignored the scent, he could still pretend that it was the one he truly wanted to be on

odd way, he felt connected to Savannah again. There was no way she could ignore

a statue, trying to take the pain under control. Zack was an assh-le, but she wasn’t new to this.

was worse since she had to remember a small and insignificant fact from the book she saw just for a few minutes while experiencing this. Not to mention that

the answer, then let’s move on to the