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. 

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

were struggling to get through the

Yet, Savvy 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

away from this place and her –

down every candle on her way past. Luckily, they were a major part of the decoration for the marking ceremony, and there were plenty around the castle. She watched the flames catch

were already missing, either killed or sacrificing themselves

exactly what she was doing when she turned into a small passage and then paused by an old wooden bear statue. One movement and the walls before them opened, revealing a dark staircase. This was something Savannah learned from the maps the day before, and something none of the bears could have

all the way down while still in their wolf forms, and this got

thing left to

back for the Gamma. He was one of Kai’s closest friends.

her back. “There is something I need to

door that

a thick circle

wouldn’t have

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 and felt so natural that she scared

do it. While

she reached the wall where Aspen was chained, he didn’t look good. He was barely conscious and his gaze was unfocused. There were cuts and bruises all over him, and Savvy almost threw up when

with ease, although they were soaked in something that burned her fingers. Claude was surprisingly the nearest

him on top of the golden wolf. She couldn’t do anything gently in this form. But it was better than the people beating Aspen up. He was practically unconscious, and the princess was worried that he’d fall off during their escape. She wanted to say something, but it was becoming

They needed a beast now. They

Savvy roared, and surprisingly, that helped Aspen to come back to

probably blurry so it wasn’t surprising he took her for a white bear in this form. Just like her wolf, her Lycan was white in colour, with black fur

his mate’s name. “I knew you’d come.”

Savvy was starting to worry about how they were going to leave

handle, but at least she would die trying. She didn’t mind. If she died, maybe the Moon Goddess would be so kind as to bring her back

to follow, and

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

exploded. Pieces of the ancient stone were landing around

this time because it was so much closer. Ash growled excitedly, knowing that his little

that she

and ending as many of their

friends when she created a safe corridor for them through one of the broken castle walls. She knew that Ash would have help somewhere nearby. She just needed to give them a chance to

the bears did not follow her friends. All their eyes were on her, tracing her every move,

Bjorn’s home. She knew where her friends went;

to make sure that the bears followed her and that none of them got lost on the way.

Her instincts were telling her to kill them all, and each roar she heard from them excited her. A

was still circling over her head, and she was ready to kill her if

thoughts left her soon because

couldn’t wait anymore. She pounced at the closest one,

was killing them all, feeling only

were so many of them that slowly, they started to overpower her, cornering her to a rocky hill. She wanted to kill them even more now, to taste their

didn’t look like there were fewer bears around her. She roared in frustration, realising that this could be her end. She would die here today, killed by

sound of a dying, desperate animal,

for the first time, she felt cold. The ground under her feet was icy, the darkness was replaced by clouds of snow. Everything happened so fast

she couldn’t explain, some kind of strange pull that made her think that she did want

that the enemies would finish her off now. However, each

between all the warriors so fast that none of them couldn’t detect it. Yet  there was no denying that someone else was here.

Or something else. 

and it became so cold that sharp pieces of ice flew in the air. Only that the trajectory

was getting back to her against all odds, and she didn’t know what

weren’t her problem anymore, and she felt a strong desire to shift back

by one, she clawed her way to sanity until she was panting on the

was alive and she didn’t turn into

question on her mind

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

some kind of coverage. Even

but she already knew there was nothing lethal. She would heal if no new battles occurred