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 the morning,

he and his warriors were chasing her, knowing that if she escaped, everything would be over. He couldn’t forget how she glared at

Then… after a while… she would understand. She had to. Situations like this were not new to any kind of shifters. Family

had a chance again, and it was

he got inside, noticing that Rita was already there. He didn’t want to see her now but decided it wasn’t the time or the place for

off, and the

bother looking at how she reacted to his words. She was getting over the top

something important to show you,” she purred, and

got his phone out and started checking

that this was the easiest way to get his reaction. The longer he did not see his Savvy, the harder it was on his

know about her!” Zack cut the woman

link with some footage that wasn’t shown on tv. Why don’t you check

it. He had to

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

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

noticed the already familiar blue dress with feathers. He chuckled when

knew Savvy. The Truthteller made sure to film how the Lycan King of The North did not take his eye off the western princess. He growled when that man helped Savannah remove her crown, and

any of that. He

of the video. The Truthteller was clearly implying

the moments again, he

was a man of actions who rarely let anyone know what he thought before he executed his decisions. This was the

phone and looked out the window, not to see Rita’s

a very different

when she was 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 any sort. But Kyle

again. Someone who appeared to be

if that someone

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

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

let someone

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

a message. Yet now… now was different. Who was she with?

he would rip this man’s throat out the first instance he could But for now, he had to teach his

seeing that it was safe now. Nevertheless, Zack pushed her to the floor instead, gesturing for her to start

her eyes filled with hurt, but as he laced his fingers in her hair which she dyed into Savvy’s shade of golden brown, he forced her to take all of him in. Rita couldn’t breathe at first, but as he bobbed her head

he could still pretend that it was the one he truly wanted

felt connected to Savannah again. There was no way

but she wasn’t new to this. This pain could have been controlled. She had already done this so many times before.

saw just for a few

move on to the next….” Elene