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

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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.

He didn’t want to believe 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, she was gone…

Far too many times he was picking those events in his head of that night and day. Of how he and his

warriors were chasing her, knowing that if she escaped, everything would be over. He couldn’t forget

how she glared at him when she reached safety in the werecats’ territory. Mainly because it was the

last time he saw her.

Back then, all he wanted was to get her. Then… after a while… she would understand. She had to.

Situations like this were not new to any kind of shifters. Family members were dying all the time, and

new families were formed. She would have gotten over it. Especially if he filled her with his pups. The

thought alone made him grunt.

Luckily,now he had a chance again, and it was all that mattered at the moment.

His Beta Viktor opened the car door for him and 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 a scene. He knew how to be

grateful before the Moon Goddess.

The car drove off, and the girl sat closer to him.

“Keep the distance,” he told her dryly and didn’t even bother looking at how she reacted to his words.

She was getting over the top lately.

:have something important to show you,” she purred, and he knew she was up to something.

“Not interested,” Zack got his phone out and started checking his emails.

“It’s about your mate,” she teased him, knowing that this was the easiest way to get his reaction. The

longer he did not see his Savvy, the harder it was on his wolf. Alphas did not take separation well.

“I know everything I need to know about her!” Zack cut the woman off.

“Are you sure?” Rita giggled. “I sent you a link with some footage that wasn’t shown on tv. Why don’t

you check it?”

Zack became stiff. He couldn’t lie to himself and ignore it. He had to see what was going on. Besides, it

meant he could see more of Savannah.

The Alpha still couldn’t believe she was taking part in this farce of a contest and still had to figure out

what game his beloved and her royal brother were playing at the North.

He saw a bright Truthteller logo shining on his screen, and then the video began. It was the same

masquerade but from different angles. One of the guests must have filmed that.

Attention was paid to every contender, but Zack just scrolled it to the moment he noticed the already

familiar blue dress with feathers. He chuckled when he heard the task for Savannah, realising that

northerners did not want her there. This was something he counted on, and they did not disappoint..

However, next, he sawking Kai interrupting the event as if… As if he already 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 when the two of them

stood together as if they were already a couple, he gritted his teeth.

That… he didn’t like any of that. He hated it.

He read the description of the video. The Truthteller was clearly implying that King Kai was infatuated

with Sayvy.

Watching the moments again, he had to agree.

He knew a few things about the Northern King. Kai Fionnlagh wasn’t one to show his emotions. He was

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

was the reason why he was such a dangerous man in the first place.

Zack switched off his phone and looked out the window, not to see Rita’s innocent smirk. She knew

what she was doing.

Now he was thinking about everything from a very different perspective, and he did not like his

conclusions.

Savvy let someone touch her 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 was the closest man to her. Unless… unless there was someone new.

Someone who made Savannah feel things again. Someone who appeared to be close to her when he

happened to f*ck that other girl.

What if that someone was King Kai?

The thought of that made his wolf furious, and a growl escaped him. The loud and menacing growl

made Rita move to the back of the car.

A jolt of pain went through Zack’s 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 long it lasted. However, he knew exactly what was going on.

Savannah let someone close again.

It took him some time to regain complete control of himself when it was all over. The pain was gone,

but the rage stayed with him.

He forgave her the first time, thinking that she was sending him a message. Yet now… now was

different. Who was she with? Did she think about that other man? Was she planning to spend more

time with him and get more intimate?

Zack knew that he would rip this man’s throat out the first instance he could But for now, he had to

teach his little mate a lesson..

“Come here,” he growled at Rita, unbuckling his pants. She eagerly jumped on his lap, seeing that it

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

For a second, 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 at the pace he wanted, she quickly adjusted, moaning loudly.

Zack relaxed in his seat, closing his eyes. If he ignored the scent, he could still pretend that it was the

one he truly wanted to be on her knees before him.

In some odd way, he felt connected to Savannah again. There was no way she could ignore that…

Savannah froze like a statue, trying to take the pain under control. Zack was an assh-le, but she wasn’t

new to this. This pain could have been controlled. She had already done this so many times before.

She could do it again

However, this time it was worse since she had to remember a small and insignificant fact from the book

she saw just for a few minutes while experiencing this. Not to mention that she had to pretend that

everything was A-okay.

“If you don’t know the answer, then let’s move on to the next….” Elene smirked since everything was

going exactly as she expected.

“Give her time,” Kai said in a tone that brooked no objections, and everyone stared at him, including

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Sayannah,

“Brother?” Elene seemed to choke on her own attitude, searching for the right words to express her

surprise without being too evident.

“Sister?” The king arched his brow questioningly, mimicking her tone slightly. The northern

princess’ cheeks flushed because of the embarrassment. Her authority was never diminished like that

before.

“Eleanor Sigurd,” Savvy finally remembered and even forced a little smile on her lips. What Zack was

doing did not seem to be a quickie this time. She would cut his member off before she killed him. It was

simply a must now.

“Excellent,” Elene looked surprised, but just for a moment. She started the second round of questions,

and Savannah prayed for her ex to finally come and be done with it.

“Are you okay?” Kai leaned forward, and she felt his hot breath on her skin.

“I am… great!” She lied through her teeth, throwing a quick glance at him. For some reason, she

wanted to press herself against his skin. The last time they did this made Zack stop. Shame they

couldn’t do it again.

Both her palms were still on the table, and she noticed that the king had placed his hand millimetres

away. His little finger brushed over hers gently, bringing her more relief than she expected. Kai did not

take his eyes off her as well, and she could tell that he had already figured her out and was thinking the

same thing.

She exhaled, closing her eyes and trying not to make any sounds. The pain was getting duller.

“Princess Savannah,” Elene called her loudly, and she nodded without looking at her. “Name the

thirteen male pups of king Bromir the Fourth.”

A little smile danced on her lips as she started saying name after name. She was lucky Penelope lent

her that book. Savvy didn’t even need to look at the northern princess. She knew that it was her little

victory.

“What law was proposed but not accepted by the Northern Convocation in 332 after Fenrir’s war?”

“Elene!” Kai interrupted his sister. “What kind of question is that? I doubt any northern queen, our

mother included, could answer that!”

Elene pursed her lips, but Savvy smirked and replied, “Banning rabbit liver pies. Although, if you asked

me, they should have accepted that one.”

A few snorts and giggles sounded here and there.

“You should try one,” Brigit retorted, helping herself to some pastry. “They are not popular in the West,

but here we make them with heart and soul.”

“And some guts,” Astrid chuckled, adding to the fun.

“Savannah Stormhold!” Elene stood up. “I will demand a check of your mental link usage! One of your

people is helping you!”

“Why would you think that?” Savvy raised her brow. Seriously? It did not bother her when Petra turned

to her mentor every time.

“You couldn’t know that!” The princess clenched her fists. Savannah saw Kyle filming the whole thing

from the corner of her eye.

“And why is that? I thought these are the historical facts that every Luna of The North should know. We

have all prepared. I am sure Penelope would name every single pup of king Bromir, male or female.

Right, Penelope? It was all in that wonderful book you gave me. It was

– lovely of you, by the way.”

Savvy didn’t even notice how the pain went away. She felt so much better now, not to mention that

Elene and Penelope’s faces were so worth the hassle.

“Fine, then answer my next question!” The northern princess regained her composure, but not without

a struggle.

“Enough!” Kai growled loudly, making the ground shutter underneath their feet.