Chapter 225 – The Luna Trials Novel by Marissa Gilbert

Filed To Story: The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert

A growl escaped him at the realisation.

“She is long gone,” Jor commented, gulping the rest of his wine and throwing away the glassangrily. His l!ps were pressed into a thin white line now, and Bjorn didn’t know what to make out of it all.

“You could have helped!” the White Bear King snapped.

“Not in this case,” the Serpent scowled, turning away as if he was keeping more secrets from him. Secrets, secrets, secrets. Everyone had secrets, and Bjorn had had enough of all this.

He kicked a jug that was on the floor right next to him, and a menacing growl escaped his ch3st as he pushed himself to restore, the acceleration clouding his mind temporarily.

He heard the despair of his men in their mindlink. He felt them dying one by one, knowing that it was Savannah’s doing.

“Just K*ll the b***h!” One of his warriors growled. “Or she is going to K*ll us al!”

A wave of panic rippled through him.

Whatever it was, he couldn’t let anyone hurt her. If his men K*lled her, they were as good as dead.

“Bring her back alive!” He snarled at them in his mind and ran. Ran, ran, ran to where he felt her. Though thoughts of the many punishments he could inflict on her for what she did today were flashing before his eyes, he knew that the main goal was to protect her. In a way, he would always be protecting her. Why couldn’t she see that and accept him? Her first mate was dead, Kai was dead, her whole family was dead. He was all she had, too.

The sight in the square startled him for an instance.

So many bod*ies… He’d lost so many men!

But that wasn’t important now. All he wanted was to save her, to get her back. He would do everything differently now, he would not underestimate her again.

He raced through the woods in his human form.

That let him use some narrow paths a bear wouldn’t be able to. He ran without thinking twice, using his instincts to reach her.

A great idea suddenly came to his mind. Poison! He could tell people that she was poisoned, and that was why she did all these things today. It wasn’t the most believable version in the world, but it could work if he could scare people enough to support his claim. He would have to lock her in the highest tower and keep her there for a year or two for safety reasons, but.. at least they could still be together.

Finally, her delicious scent reached his nostrils, and he breathed out in relief, knowing that she was alive. The stench of blood let him know that his warriors probably weren’t..

But he could live with that. Losing Savannah would have been unbearable.

However, he soon smelled something else. A familiar scent but with new notes.

Only that couldn’t be.. He was dead. He had to be dead! Bjorn personally pierced his heart with that spear to ensure a situation like this would never happen.

And yet the Northern Lycan King stood before his eyes, holding his mate. Savannah wept in his arms, and then he claimed Bjorn’s mate’s l!ps.

It was worse than when she stabbed him with a  dagger, it was worse than when he found out his first mate was sleeping with his father. Why did it hurt so much?

Bjorn had to lean against a tree, his elongated claws digging into the bark as he did his best not to give himself away. Why was life so unfair to him? He did everything he could to survive, he did everything he could to get his mate to accept his mark, he did everything by the book! He was told not to face Kai in battle, and he never did! And he managed to win! The victory was clear; it was his and he had worked for it for so long! His plan was perfect! He had thought about everything! Why! Why did it have to be this way?!

A roar of pain and despair escaped his ch3st against his control, it was the cry of a warrior, the scream of a betrayed lover and a warning to the ones who hurt him.

He saw how Savannah flinched in the Lycan King’s arms, how the man he hated so much moved his mate behind his back, trying to protect her from him. Him!

They must have been joking!

The rage overwhelmed him, and as if he was an impulsive teen, he shifted uncontrollably and charged at his enemy. All the years of restraining himself were now gone. He did everything as he was told, planned everything meticulously, he kept away from Kai because of that prophecy, and this was what he got?!

Bjorn didn’t care anymore. He was going to K*ll the Lycan King today, once and for all. He would be more clever this time and tear Kai’s body into pieces, then he would burn them and scatter the ashes in different parts of the world just to make sure that he would never ever come back and disturb his happiness again.

Blood. He wanted his blood as payment for all the pain and humiliation.

Savannah screamed when Kai gently pushed her back, and then he was gone in an instant, turning into something completely else. Bjorn’s fierce attack was met by a creature no one had ever seen before. The place where they clashed was covered with frost in mere seconds, making the Princess gasp. She still did not know what was going on, and in all honesty, she did not care how Kai came back. She was genuinely happy to just see him, happy that they had another chance. But now she was asking herself, what did he go through to get back to her? What happened to him? What had been done to him?

Teeth, claws, blood, growls and roars; they hated each other so much that neither of them cared about anything else anymore. They both equally wanted the other dead and were ready to sacrifice almost anything to achieve this.

Bjorn saw what was before him. He new that he didn’t have to fight just a Royal Lycan anymore. The creature that fought against him was so much more than that, but it wasn’t stopping the bear from trying to K*ll him. The wolf threw him and made him crash against a tree, breaking the ancient pine in half, chips flying in all directions. But the anger and hate were his fuel now, so Bjorn was back on his feet in no time.

He took in the beast before him and noticed how the ice on his back and neck was growing taller by the minute. The white bear charged at him again, knowing that his best chance was a surprise attack. He would aim for the neck and the belly, the parts where he could make a fatal blow. Luckily, regular bears’ jaws were strong enough to make deadly bites. Bjorn, however, was no regular bear He was the White Bear King of the North, a royal in his own right, a bear blessed by a God, invincible, unstoppable and deadly. And he was going to win this.

He was still running when he saw a myriad of ice needles flying in his direction. He did not avert his eyes or cover himself, so the little sharp blades went through his skin and fur. That stopped him as he had to brush them off, get them out of his eyes and nose and other sensitive areas.

But Kai did not plan to wait. Amarok was a legend for a reason, and he fully planned on using his new advantages to destroy the man who had hurt his mate and tried to break them apart. Kai had hatred in his heart, too. Not only was Bjorn responsible for their suffering and separation, for murdering him, for trying to claim Savannah as his own, but he even ruined the sweet moment they had been sharing just now. Savvy did not deserve to have this man coming back for her again and again and again. He did not want her to have to live always looking over her shoulder, thinking if that damn bear would be back. He wanted her to be happy and safe, and for that, he had to K*ll Bjorn.

The bear got rid of the needles too quickly, but Kai was already there, piercing his side with the ice spikes and escaping before Bjorn could even turn in his direction. The bear let out a menacing roar from the pain, fury, and frustration that echoed through the dark woods and then he lashed out at his rival. His attack was brutal; he wasn’t wasting a second of his time, each move calculated but at the same time filled with agony. A battle of hateful passion and contradictions. However, Amarok manoeuvred easily, escaping e ach time.

Both blessed by the gods, they were equals, but somehow Kai’s technique was better. He was exhausting the bear and using his own anger against him. The Lycan King wanted to pounce on Bjorn and end him quickly, but unlike Bjorn, who was desperate and tried to K*ll him at all costs, Kai knew that he had to take his time. Savannah was watching and wounded and if he lost, she would have to go through hell again fighting for her life. He needed to get her to a healer, and although this way took longer, it was the one that was going to bring him victory. Bjorn was sloppy, and soon he made a mistake that opened up access to his neck and made him vulnerable. Amarok did not waste his opportunity and sunk his ice-cold canines in, feeling how the warm blood of his enemy filled his mouth and trickled down both their furs. He closed his jaws, and then, remembering everything the damn bear put them through, he ripped his flesh out, causing a mortal wound.

Bjorn did not expect this. The words of the prophecy sounded over and over in his head. Never meet the Lycan King of the North in battle; never fight him with your own hands.

He should have listened.

Bjorn fell to the frost-covered gra*s*s, its coolness his only consolation. A pool of blood was forming around him, but all he saw was Amarok shifting back to his human form and running towards his mate. Bjorn’s mate. He could still smell her intoxicating bluebell scent, and although it pained him to see her wrapping her arms around his mortal enemy, a part of him was happy that at least her scent enveloped him in his final moments.

For a moment, his eyes locked with Savannah’s, and hope took over his heart once again. But Kai had already shifted back into a giant wolf and lowered himself so that Savannah could climb on his back, and they could escape, leaving him behind as if he was nothing to her.

If Bjorn could chuckle now, he would. His destiny was cruel, after all. The last thing he would ever see would be his mate riding away on his enemy’s back.

The two Lycans were gone, and Bjorn lay on the ground in his human form now, waiting for when death would come for him. Soon, he heard footsteps somewhere in the distance and hoped that his time had come. However, instead, he scowled when he saw Joran standing over him.

“Go away!” the bear spat blood as he tried to speak.

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