The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert

63. True Mates 

Savannah charged at him, and this time she was too fast for Bjorn to detect. That’s when she gave him another sla.sh of the divine 

dagger over his chest, making a clean cut. 

“We are mates!” He said bitterly, covering the new wound with his fingers. 

“No. We’re not!” She replied without hesitation. “I’d rather die than be your mate!” 

The words hurt him more than the dagger did, but it wasn’t enough for her. He could see it in her eyes as she lifted her hand to try to 

kill him again. He’d had enough of this. She had to be contained! 

He caught her wrist this time and overpowered her easily, bringing her closer. 

“It’s over!” he roared, shaking her roughly, hoping that she’d return to her senses. 

However, it only made the princess sneer. 

“Bjorn, Bjorn, Bjorn,” she whispered and clicked her tongue. “I am just getting started!” 

Savannah’s bones started snapping before his eyes at unnatural angles, and in a few moments, she was able to free her hand from 

his grasp. Bjorn stepped away, panting, and watching her turn into something else completely. He’d already seen this when he and Joran 

went to observe the battle with Castiel’s men a few months ago and also when Kai did it so effortlessly many times in the past. 

It was harder for Savannah, he could see it, but she was determined to go through with this. 

“Savvy, no!” Darius‘ voice broke. He knew what it meant to her. Other royals rarely used their feral third forms because they were 

next to impossible to control. If they didn’t shift back soon enough, they risked never being able to revert back to their human form again. 

The realisation that she was ready to die or stay a beast for the rest of her life just to kill him, hurt him more deeply than the divine weapon ever could. 

But the monster with glowing golden eyes already stood in front of him. Tall, mighty and deadly. And she was out for blood.  blood. 

His 

Savannah tried to keep control just like Kai had taught her. Lycans were primal beasts who were born at the beginning of times, but her Lycan wasn’t a separate entity; It was a part of her. The part she was taught to suppress, the part she was taught to hide. 

Today she was going to embrace it. 

Bjorn looked like he was suffocating, but she decided just to end him immediately. However, when she took the first step, something invisible stopped her. 

“Enough!” The Serpent said, looking as calm as if people weren’t killing each other left and right around them. He didn’t even spare the Lycaness a glance. He didn’t take part in the fighting. He just defended Bjorn once and that was it. 

Wolves that came with Ash were dying. One of the bears almost grabbed Petra, who was still in her human form. From the corner of her eye, Savvy saw how Chloe shifted into a golden–coloured wolf, and Claude was quickly tying something around her neck. 

She wanted so badly to kill Bjorn… but… her friends were more important. If the Serpent didn’t plan to act, and it looked like he had something else in mind, then they had a chance to survive. If she would help them, of course. 

Growling angrily, Savvy flipped the table and was down next to Petra and Ash in seconds, leaving Bjorn behind. 

“Shift!” she commanded in the beast’s voice, and, luckily, they understood her instantly, following her lead. Petra’s wolf was the smallest, but even in the middle of the chaos, Savvy paused, seeing her unusual colour. The wolf was black with soft pink waves of fur all over her in a beautiful pattern. No wonder everyone wanted her! Someone like her was rare indeed! 

Chloe was next to the group already and Claude shifted in one jump, joining them as well. 

Now all they had to do was get out of that castle. 

If only it was that easy… 

1/5 

The bears were shifting too and Savvy let out a roar so loud that the ground underneath their feet shook. 

crowd and made a clean sweep, clearing the path for her friends. Thanks to that, they were able to leave

and now they were struggling to get through the corridors of

knew she only had minutes left of sanity, feeling how she was starting to enjoy the scent of blood and chaos she was leaving behind her. Each new

place and

marking ceremony, and there were plenty around the castle. She

few wolves from Ash’s team were already missing, either killed or sacrificing themselves to delay the bears

distressed Petra, Ash, and the twins were. Fortunately for all of them, she knew exactly what she was doing when she turned into a small passage and then paused

still in their wolf forms, and

just one thing left to do now

that they would understand that she would come back for the Gamma. He was one of Kai’s closest friends.

her back. “There is something

and pushed the door that led to the

there was a thick circle of bears guarding Aspen

wouldn’t have

Savannah threw herself at the enemy, tearing, snapping, breaking, destroying… At some point, she felt like she had found a rhythm to all this. It became a part of her

She had to do it. While there was still

his gaze was unfocused. There were cuts and bruises all over him, and Savvy almost threw up when

silver chains with ease, although they were soaked in something that burned her fingers. Claude was surprisingly the nearest to him and offered his back for the Gamma.

unconscious, and the princess was worried that he’d fall off during their escape. She wanted to say something, but it was becoming harder and harder to form words. The beast was slowly taking over

They needed a beast

Aspen to come back to reality.

at her. His eyes barely opened from the swelling and damage. His vision was probably blurry so it wasn’t surprising he took her for

repeated his mate’s name. “I

more and more bears in the square, and Savvy was starting to worry about how they were going to leave this place. She had to

side, and Savannah could already feel the desire to sn.ap all those necks. There were more of them than she could handle, but at least she would die trying. She didn’t mind. If she died, maybe the Moon Goddess would be so

to follow, and Sawy closed her eyes just for a second, feeling how her mind was slipping

you for anything,” she prayed silently, “but if there is at least the tiniest chance of me saving them and reuniting with

around

so much closer. Ash growled excitedly, knowing that his little gift

of it, but the bears believed that she did. Moreover, they didn’t know what

their flesh off and ending as many of their

walls. She knew that Ash would have help somewhere nearby. She just needed to give them a chance to

were on her, tracing her every move, and this was when she

miss that wonderful opportunity and stood on all fours, charging into the darkness outside Bjorn’s home. She knew where her friends went; she could feel it. Thanks to that, she chose to run in the opposite

that none of them got lost on the

instincts were telling her to kill them all, and each roar she heard from them excited her. A fight. A hunt. Only they weren’t the ones hunting

stopped in the middle of a clearing and waited. The annoying bird was still circling

thoughts left her soon

they approached, but the primal lycan inside of her couldn’t wait anymore. She pounced at the closest one, tearing him to pieces on the spot and enjoying it. Then another one tried to get her but to

another, she was killing them all, feeling only pure rage running

her to a rocky hill. She wanted to kill them even more now, to

in frustration, realising that this could be her end. She would die

time it was a sound of a dying, desperate animal, and

her breathing turned into snowy mist, and for the first time, she felt cold. The ground under her feet was icy, the darkness was replaced by clouds of snow. Everything

of strange pull that made her think that

would finish her off now. However, each bear that was getting close

fast that none of them couldn’t detect it. Yet  there was no denying that

Or something else. 

sharp pieces of ice flew in the air. Only that

going to complain. Her humanity was getting back to her against all odds, and she didn’t know what

she felt a strong desire to shift back into

were slowly breaking one by one, she clawed her way to sanity until she

her cheeks, but she was back. She was alive and she

was only one question on her mind now.

hanging over her frame. Some parts of the gown were very stretchy, and now she was happy

coverage. Even if it was

wounds made her hiss from the pain, but she already knew there was nothing lethal. She would heal if no new battles occurred  now.