The Luna Trials by Marissa Gilbert

13. Cold Shower

The slap echoed through the woods, and Savvy saw red.

It made her so angry that she was ready to rip this arrogant king’s head off. What did he think of

himself? Was it a joke to him? She had never been slapped in her life! Not to mention on such a …

sensitive spot.

The worst thing about it was the heat she experienced in the lower part of her body, thanks to that

absolutely inappropriate contact. And she hated that she did not loathe it.

However, she had even more significant problems because the man’s grip on her became tighter and

his breathing definitely got heavier. His second hand gently rubbed the spot of its previous contact and

stayed there, making her feel all kinds of emotions.

“Don’t touch me!” she roared at him and received a defensive growl in response as if it was his right to

do that. “Touch me again, and I will bite this hand off!”

Her promise only made him chuckle loudly.

“Don’t worry, Savannah,” he cooed, “I just think you need to cool off a bit and get rid of that horrible

scent.”

“What …” before she could formulate her question, he threw her off his shoulder. She abruptly flew

through the air at a much longer distance than expected, landing in the freezing cold water of some

northern lake.

It was unbelievably appalling, and the rage she felt was overwhelming as she kicked her legs to swim

up to the surface

“Kai Fion…whatever!” She didn’t even bother to pronounce his last name right. “You are so paying for

this!”

Savvy finally managed to remove wet hair off her eyes and glared at the lycan standing on the top of a

small cliff, watching her with a smug smile plastered over his handsome face.

“Cooling down?” He mocked her, and Savvy groaned as she climbed up the cliff. She wasn’t motivated

to swim to the more accessible bank since she had had about enough adventures for one day

“Scr*w you!” she grunted, grabbing the rocky surface and glaring at the northern king with as much

hatred as she could muster. He lowered himself and stretched his hands out to her.

This was too good an opportunity to pass it. Savannah tried to pull him past her in one sharp move,

but, of course, he expected it and only burst out laughing, lifting her up as if she weighed nothing at all.

“Nice try! You can try again another time when it’s not too obvious.” Kai chuckled, placing the princess

back on her feet.

“I don’t like to wait!” Savannah hissed and jumped on him, trying to force him into the lake after all.

Instead, she found herself held by him again as he managed to stay on his feet even though they were

balancing on the very edge of the cliff.

“Stubborn,” he muttered, sliding his hand right back to the place where he slapped her a few

minutes ago and grabbed a fistful of her flesh.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” She warned him as he pressed her tighter, her nails digging into his skin. Kai felt

her warm core up against his bare abdomen. Her heated core and his knowledge of her nudity caused

a stirring of sensations within him. Sensations that he couldn’t describe with words.

The realisation that he wanted her struck him again. He let her slide a bit lower and enjoyed watching

her eyes grow wide as she felt his hardness, a beautiful blush finally reaching her wet cheeks.

Her chest was heaving up and down when she finally wrapped her legs around him, securing herself in

this position. Faces so close their noses and lips were barely touching, uneven ragged breaths burning

their skin with want.

He was parched for a taste of her lips, a kiss right here and now to end this torture. Then … his foot

slipped, and they both found themselves falling right back into the cold northern lake.

The water was freezing to their bones, and when they managed to reach the surface, Savvy turned to

give him a death stare.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” she demanded, as his shoulders twitched apologetically.

“I slipped,” he awkwardly endeavoured to explain, but as she clenched her lips and closed her eyes,

clearly trying to hold back some kind of insult, he realised that she wasn’t talking about the fall.

Did he misread things? Did she not want him the way he did her?

The girl turned away from him, this time, swimming to the shore on the other side in an attempt to avoid

him. Only he wasn’t ready to let her leave, to go off, alone, in the woods.

She walked out of the water, squeezing her hair, looking like a nymph or some magical deity. Kai was

thankful for the icy cold water, or else, there would be no way to follow her without disclosing his not-

so-secret desires.

“Savannah,” he called out to her, wishing to make amends between them. Everything was headed in

the wrong direction.

“Don’t…” Without looking, she lifted her hand in the air and motioned for him to stop. “Don’t speak to

me. Don’t touch me. Don’t follow me.”

She started walking, and he noticed she was trembling.

It was all his fault …

She could have been in her warm and cosy bed if he hadn’t overreacted after smelling another male’s

scent on her. Thinking about her in bed did not appease him one bit, however, the northern king knew

that he had already exhausted all the strikes he could with her today.

So, he just followed behind her quietly, not saying a word. He couldn’t leave her alone no matter what

she said or did.

Observing her at rear view, he noticed wet fabric clinging to her toned body, and this only triggered

more lustful thoughts in his mind. He had to think of something else. Something that would be a …

mood killer.

He chose to distract himself by contemplating how Bjorn managed to trespass into his territory. Bjorn’s

presence here was terrible news and meant that he was probably using lax security thanks to the

current Luna trials. He would have to work on strengthening security over his land in the next few

weeks. That bear shouldn’t be walking freely and touching what was his.

His, no …, she was his … guest. Yes, this was what she was. His guest. And a Luna candidate ... A

very unlikely one, albeit she could be classified as his. At least for now.

The guards at the castle dropped their chins to the floor when they saw them walking through the main

gates, water still dripping from both their bodies.

Thankfully, none of them said a word after being met with their king’s warning look.

Savannah solemnly trudged past them with as much dignity as she could muster. Once inside, he

caught up with her, not wishing to leave things like this.

“Savvy,” he said, and she stopped. He didn’t realise that he had used her nickname. For a second

there, Kai expected her to turn, to at least look at him. Unfortunately, she quickly regained her

composure and continued walking as far away from him as possible.

Despite the burdensome disappointment he felt, he sighed and left her to teave since it seemed

obvious this was what she wanted.

The knowledge she was safe and inside castle walls brought some comfort. No one could do anything

to harm her here.

His own mood was ruined, and when he gave his Beta, Gamma and warriors a mental command to

gather on the bridge as soon as possible, he could feel their fear through the mind link.

“It’s a good night to hunt and kill some bears!” Asgard was as angry as he was. He also wished the

evening and their time with the princess had gone differently.

“Indeed, my friend,” Kai agreed eagerly. “Indeed.”

*tt

Savannah was fuming. Words escaped her rendering her speechless at what just happened. All she

wanted at this point was to reach her room in peace and have a run-in with anyone on her way there.

But, of course, it wasn’t meant to be. Half of the castle was still up even though it was late at night. The

stupid king distracted her, and in her fury she had a forgotten to use the secret entrance. Not that it was

a big deal, she would probably be eliminated in the morning anyway, unless the people of the North

vote for her and choose her as their favourite.

Savannah chuckled to herself, knowing that this was very unlikely. If she wanted their love, she needed

at least a few public appearances to win them over, one performance wouldn’t be sufficient.

She hated this place, hated the annoying Elene, hạted the Luna Trials, but more than anything, she

hated that arrogant, self-absorbed, selfish northern bastard who didn’t know how to keep his hands to

himself. Those strong, firm hands that felt like …

No, she wouldn’t allow herself to think of him that way. She fell for that trap once before with her mate,

which ended quite badly. Getting involved with Kai Fionnlagh was not only a bad idea

but also precisely why she was mad at herself, to begin with. Men who lied couldn’t be trusted. She

knew that. It became her new rule after her heart was broken. Letting him get close would be a

mistake. He would use her just like Zack did.

“Oh, Goddess!” Astrid gasped when she saw her in the corridor of their lonely tower. “What happened

to you?”

“Nothing.” Savvy shook her head. “Just a bit more of that wonderful northern hospitality Aren’t you

enjoying it as well?”

An understanding smile reached Astrid’s lips. “Yeah, we are definitely the underdogs here. They really

do not want any of the three of us here.”

“Tell this to Brigit!” Savannah snorted. “She already imagines this crown on her head. Who would even

want that ugly thing? And I am talking about the crown here. Have you seen it? It’s massive!”

“You don’t want to marry king kai?” Astrid’s eyes suddenly became sharp, scanning Savvy’s face.

“No, thank you!” She rolled her eyes. “I just want my alliance and to get away from here as soon as

possible! Penelope or Brigit can have him all to themselves for what I care!”

“Talking about imagining the crown on her head,” Astrid giggled. “Penelope already has her minions

warming up the throne for her!”

“Right!” Savannah smiled for the first time. At least here was someone she could have a normal

conversation with.

“You really need to go to your room and have a warm bath,” the other girl suggested. “And then get

some sleep. Tomorrow we have a long day.”

“I thought we would have a break tomorrow..”. Savvy felt disappointed again. Was there finally

something she didn’t remember?

“They say it’s a break and an opportunity to have some informal time with King Kai,” Astrid whispered

so that no one could hear them. “But there will be cameras everywhere, and our every

step will be filmed.”

“Awesome,” Savvy mumbled unenthusiastically.

“So, you need to look your best and be prepared for more surprises from Elene. They give and take

away points for practically everything here.”

“Got it.” The western princess sighed and started walking away again. When she was at her door, she

turned and saw the other contender still watching her. “Thanks, Astrid.”

“Don’t mention it, Savannah.”

Back at her room, she indeed took a luxuriously long hot bath, washing away the lake, the bear and …

the king.

When she returned to her bedroom, she saw that someone had brought her a plate of warm soup.

Eyeing it suspiciously, she sniffed it several times to ensure that nothing was added to it. Luckily, it was

next to impossible to poison a lycan.

Astrid probably asked the maids to bring it to her, and Savannah enjoyed the warm meal, which was

especially welcomed after everything she had experienced today. Deciding to go straight to bed, her

mind switched off within seconds of her head hitting her pillow.

4/5

“Morning, Your Highness,” she heard Kyle’s mocking tone. “Time to rise and shine!” “Go away!” She

grumbled as she turned away and covered herself with a thick duvet.

“The North is waiting!” her friend sang. Stirring ever so slightly, she felt tempted to throw something at

him, although it wasn’t a strong enough temptation to actually move.

“Go away!” she repeated. The North could wait.

“We have coffee,” Zara informed her calmly, causing her to reconsider her stance on rising out of bed.

“Also, you need to see how yesterday was shown on tv. Just trust me on this one