Filed To Story: Traded To The Lycan King Novel (Colette & Merikh) by MG Wattsons
“She is in need of healing. Percy will take her.” I glance around, noting the bodies on the ground are either bloody or burned. Many of them are my people, and a sadness grows deeper in my chest.
“Where is Beta Hayes?” Percy asks, motioning for the warrior with Brandy to take the ashes.
“No one has seen him since” Brandy pauses and clears her throat.
“Since what, Brandy?” I ask, my voice firm as my stomach twists in knots. Percy steps up and I gently place Colette into his arms, then scan around once more, trying to decide in which direction I need to look first.
“Leandra disappeared. One moment she was there and the next she was running from the pack house screaming.”
“Get to the point already, Nate.” Brandy hisses at him. “The alpha doesn’t need the details. He needs a general idea of where to find Beta Hayes.” He furrows his brows and looks at the ground.
“His mate went crazy and ran into the woods screaming. All the wolves with the red eyes did=”
“We tried to stop him, but Beta Hayes went beyond the line, Alpha. He crossed behind the dragons and they chased him and Leandra. As soon as the fog hit and the dragons left, we started looking for them, but truthfully…I am not holding out much hope for their survival.” Brandy says, tears in her eyes.
“Get Percy, Colette, and those ashes to the pack house now. I will return.” I spin on my heels when thin fingers gently squeeze my wrist, the fluttering in my stomach disappearing as the bond relieves my worries, even if just for a moment.
“Merikh,” Colette whispers, I turn, giving her a gentle look before her teary eyes meet mine.
“I will be back soon,” I tell her and she seems to shrink at the thought of me leaving her side. “Hayes is missing,”
She registers my words and nods slightly before she tries to get out of Percy’s arms.
“Let me help,” she croaks.
“Not a chance, my love. You can barely walk and stay awake. Unfortunately, you would only slow me down I promise I will be back as soon as I can.” I assure her. She reluctantly nods, and I press my lips to hers in a chaste kiss before taking off.
as1
If Hayes is injured, if he is truly out here somewhere, I need to find him before it is too late. My family consists of Colette and Hayes, and losing either of them now, after everything would feel like losing an extension of me. All I can hope is that I find him and Leandra hopefully just passed out from a blast with minimal injury.
Exhaustion is my only companion, as I run from body to body in different openings, hoping to find either of them or at least a clue of where the hell to go next. It feels fruitless and slow, the tedious work of fluttering from person to person.
-Warriors, Beta Hayes is missing, as is his mate. We need to find them now.– I shoot through the pack mindlink, unable to hide the franticness in my voice.
It is wrong and an asshole move to ask them to stop looking for their friends and loved ones to look for mine, but desperation wins out. Their beta needs them as much as they need him. As much as I need him.
There is a collective yes alpha even though it was not an order, but more of a plea. The hollering of his name rings out through barren trees and echoes off once vast part of forest.
“Hayes!” I scream, my voice hoarse as I feel it straining to work through the heavy smell of smoke that clogs my lungs, even after the wave and fog eliminated the flames.
“ALPHA MERIKH!” My name rings out and I spin, trying to find the location when I see a young warrior break out of some trees, frantically waving me down. “Alpha! Here!”
“You found him?” I ask, my heart beating like a war drum heading into a battle. My legs carry me toward him as I break into a faster run with every step.
“He is this way,” the warrior says, turning and leading me. The trees where he takes me are untouched by the fire, all dusted in a light layering of wet ash, but the further we move, the denser the greenery is and the ash disappears.
“Are you sure?” I ask him and the man frowns, a gloom look on his face as he looks away, pointing behind a rock.
“I am sure, Alpha.”
Something feels off, the air stale, tasting slightly of burned flesh and boiled blood. My nose scrunches at the smell, my mouth sealing closed to keep the stench of it from entering any way. I inch around the rock and my body freezes, unable to move, my chest burning and my blood vacating my face so quickly it feels like I might faint.
“Hayes,” his name falls from my lips as I snap into action, flying to my knees and landing at his side.
A raging burn licks up the side of his face, nasty little tendrils where the flame had burned hotter reaching up and into his hairline. Muscles are exposed in some parts of his chest, the melted, twisted flesh bleeding into his neck.
It looks as if half his upper body took a direct his from a dragon’s flame, but under it all, behind the stench and the burns and blood, I see the slow rise and fall of his chest.
“What of his mate?” I ask the young warrior, who doesn’t respond. I sigh heavily, turning to look at him and chastise him for his lack of response when I see him look up into a tree. My eyes follow his line of sight and bile rises in my throat.
“AHHH!” Hayes lets out a scream of agony that makes my skiing crawl.
“Hayes, I know it hurts, it’s okay—”
“NO!” He roars, his burned arm shoving at my chest and knocking me aside, then he looks up and he stares. He says nothing as he lays back down, his eyes focused on the mangled flesh of Leandra in the tree.
“Hayes,” I say once more. But he doesn’t register me or my words. He focuses only on his dead mate, his eyes locked on her cold and lifeless, bleeding orbs.
Hold on, Hayes.” I mutter, crawling over to him.
His eyes don’t move from her, the grotesque way her body looks as it hangs there, various parts of her impaled on branches. It’s not until I move in his line of sight that I see any genuine emotion from him. His void eyes slowly blink as he looks at me like he has no idea who I am.
“Kill me.” He garbles out, his words gutting me as my anger grows.
“Not a chance in hell,” I grit out.
His blistering hand reaches up as he tries to grab my shirt, his fingers unwilling to bend to his will as he grunts in pain. It drops like a heavy rock to the ground.
“Please,” he whispers, his breathing ragged and sounding full of emotion.
“No.” I growl, unable to control myself or the hurt in my chest. “We are family. You are my brother. I will get you through this, we will get you through this, Colette and I will.”
He turns his face away from me, a sob in chest as he refuses to speak anymore. I stand, bending low as I grunt and hoist him up. His skin squishes against me and he cries out in agony as I try to adjust to how I grip him. Once he seems calm and I have a better hold, I take off running, the warrior just ahead of me, leading the way.
Warriors stop and stare, their eyes filled with sorrow and worry as they see their beta in my arms, deformed and unmoving. I look around, hoping for Brandy when I see Colette walk out. She stops in her tracks when she sees me. For a moment I wait for her to cry or panic. I half expect her to rush over and ask for information.
“Percy,” she calls out, looking behind her. “Grab the healers and send for Calvin.”
“Calvin?” I ask her, confused as she moves over to me. “I thought…”
“Oh Hayes,” she whispers, looking at him in my arms, and then she touches my biceps in the most loving and reassuring way. “He will be okay, Merikh.”
“Alpha,” A healer rushes out, his eyes growing wide when he sees the state of Hayes, but instead of speaking, he takes him from me.
Everything seems to move at hyper speed around me. One moment they are taking him from me and the next I am seated in the living room trying to understand what is taking so long. Colette’s thumb rubs up and down the top of my hand, her arm tucked around mine as she snuggles into my side. “How is it this is the most normal thing we have done our entire relationship, and it is under the most terrifying circumstances?” I mutter and chuckle dryly to myself.
“It’s the first time it feels like life has come to a halt.” She whispers back, her voice raw. I look down at her, taking a minute to appreciate that even in her hurting, she is here comforting me. Colette shows me once again not only how considerate she is, but how strong she is.
“How are you? Truly?” I ask her. My free hand comes up to gently stroke her cheek and she leans into it. She then pauses and says nothing until she exhales heavily and tilts her chin up to look at me.
“Horrible.” her voice squeaks, tears brimming her eyes, and she pulls her lips to an impossibly sweet little smile. “But at least I have you. And hopefully, Leandra will be around soon to help him heal.”
I wince and she notices as I look away, realizing how much I have failed my brother and his now deceased mate.
“What?” she asks, rising on the couch as she looks me over for injury, her hands lifting my shirt, searching for something that isn’t there.
“I am fine,” I exhale, grabbing her hands and tugging her to me.
“Then why do you look like you are getting cut open when I ask about Leandra?” She asks.
“She is dead, Colette.” The words feel wrong as they slip from my lips. Her eyes grow wide before they soft and her shoulders droop.
“But you said…I thought you meant she was severely injured and couldn’t be moved. That is why he looked catatonic.” She murmurs to herself.
“I need to collect her body,” I say, releasing her and standing. Fuck, if Hayes knew left her like that, he would never forgive me. Hell, I would never forgive him for it, either. [left my brother’s mate’s dead body spiked to a fucking tree. What kind of asshole just forgets to get her body?
“It has already been taken care of, Alpha. Leandra’s body is being cleaned up and prepared for when Hayes is ready to return her to the moon goddess.” Percy says as he pauses at the doorway.