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,

and now they were struggling to get

minutes left of sanity, feeling how she was starting to enjoy the scent of blood and chaos she was leaving behind her. Each new kill was becoming easier and easier. Soon she wouldn’t care whom she was killing. By then, it would be best

away from this place

decoration for the marking ceremony, and there were plenty around the castle. She watched the flames catch onto the curtains and spread over them quickly. That  should distract them.

already missing, either killed or sacrificing themselves to delay the bears

Fortunately for all of them, she knew exactly what she was doing when she turned into a small passage and then paused by an old wooden

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

to

would understand that she would come back for the

is something I need to tell

the door that led to the square

there was a thick circle

have

breaking, destroying… At some point, she felt like she had found a rhythm to all this. It became a part

to do it.

was barely conscious and his gaze was unfocused. There were cuts and bruises all over him, and Savvy almost threw up when the smell coming from him

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

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 harder and harder to form words. The beast was

They needed a beast

roared, and surprisingly, that helped Aspen to come back to reality. Even if

so it wasn’t surprising he took her for a white bear in this form. Just like

mate’s name. “I

to worry about how they were going

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 kind as to bring her back together with Kai. Maybe

m**** “e that was to follow, and Sawy closed her

at least the tiniest

ancient stone were landing around them, hitting some of

was so much closer. Ash growled excitedly, knowing that his

nothing to do with any of it, but the bears believed that she did. Moreover, they didn’t know what to

off and ending as many of their lives

a safe corridor for them through one of the broken castle walls. She knew that Ash

every move, and this

charging into the darkness outside Bjorn’s home. She knew where her friends went; she could

lost on the way. Slowly, her priorities were changing. She couldn’t wait to be left alone with them

did not interest her anymore. She wanted to be killing bears. Her instincts were telling her to kill them all, and each roar she heard from them excited her. A

The annoying bird was still circling over

soon because the bears

primal lycan inside of her couldn’t wait anymore. She pounced at the closest one, tearing him to pieces on the spot and

them all, feeling only pure rage

hill. She wanted to kill them even more now,

multiplying by the minute, and it 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

This time it was a sound of a

the howl, 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 happened so fast that she couldn’t tell what was going

she couldn’t explain, some kind of strange pull that made

her knees, knowing that the enemies would finish her off now. However, each bear that was getting close to

the warriors so fast that none of them couldn’t detect it. Yet  there was

Or something else. 

pieces of ice flew in the air. Only that the trajectory seemed

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

felt a strong desire to shift back into

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

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

only one question on

had bits of the red dress still hanging over her frame. Some parts of the gown were

had some kind of coverage. Even if it

was nothing lethal. She would heal