Filed To Story: Traded To The Lycan King Novel (Colette & Merikh) by MG Wattsons
“Percy, just calm down. You don’t know that for sure.” I remind him, and he shakes his head.
“No, I’m a fucking idiot. I should have known. Twins are connected, it’s a soul tie, and hers is…I can’t feel it anymore, Merikh…” His voice breaks and I yank the phone Caspian gave us out of my pocket, dialing the preset number.
An unfamiliar voice answers.
“This is Alpha Merikh. I would like to speak with my Luna, Colette.” I demand. There is a brief break and the phone shuffles. Hope springs in my chest. If Penny is dead, then Colette is dead or in danger too, but if she answers, if it is her voice on the other end, then we have to find another possibility for what is wrong with Percy.
“Merikh,” I hear a deep voice. My stomach is falling and my mouth is going dry as I meet Hayes‘ eyes.
“Is she with you?” I ask him.
“Of course not. You said she chose to go with you. I was hoping you were Colette calling to say she had changed her mind.”
“She did change her mind. She left to go with you yesterday. Her and her gamma, Penny.” I rush out the words, losing hope with every passing second.
“Fuck.” Caspian grumbles. “She never made it, Merikh. Colette isn’t here.”
“Percy should have remained at home,” Hayes whispers as Percy sleeps in the back.
“He has the right to search for his twin sister.” Leandra scoffs from beside the pale redhead, who is hugging the bucket like he may need it at any moment.
“Hell, I should have left you back home too.” he frowns, gazing in the rearview mirror. I look over my shoulder, catching a small smile on her lips as she looks out the window.
“It’s not my home and you don’t own me,” she says in a sing–song voice.
As much as Hayes didn’t want her coming along, I am glad he gave into her request. Or rather her telling him she would meet us in the SUV. Her banter has been the only thing keeping the stifling tension in my chest from snapping and making me go feral. Not that I can say the same for Hayes, but part of me thinks he is enjoying being challenged.
“She has a point, Hayes.” I say, “Percy has every right to be with us searching for Penny,”
He looks over his shoulder at Percy and sighs, removing a hand from the wheel as he drags it over his face,
“I don’t want him to witness what we will find.” He whispers to me.
My stomach churns, my chest aching at the thought of not only losing such a brilliant gamma, but what it will do to Percy. What it means regarding what happened to Colette. Penny was a top warrior and loyal. She would not go out without a fight, which means if she is indeed gone, then Colette is in some serious shit.
Lycans are damn near impossible to kill, and even some methods we can come back from. Not always, but occasionally, we have been known to be revived when once believed to be dead.
“Leandra,” I say, needing a distraction to keep myself from going fucking crazy and killing my way to my mate,
“Yes?” she asks.
“How long were you held in that mind prison?” I ask, moving in the front seat to look at her. Her blue eyes meet mine, hesitation in her demeanor before she sighs and presses her head back into the headrest with a shrug.
“Honestly?” she sighs. “I don’t really know.”
“How can you not know?” Hayes asks with a skeptic snort.
“It’s not as simple as falling asleep and waking up,” she snaps. “I turned eighteen and then it’s just little snippets of my life where I was actually me.”
My brows pull together, my mind whirring with thoughts. Percy was himself for the majority of the time, and even when he wasn’t, he was able to fight it. Why was it so different for Leandra, and what negative effects will there be with her now being set free and not knowing what she has done with her life for years?
“And how old are you now?” Hayes asks, his tone lighter, more gentle as he meets her self conscious gaze.
“Based on the year, I’m twenty.” She whispers and Hayes‘ face grows pale.
Two years. She was controlled for two years. “And I don’t remember ever being in my lycan form until…” She pauses, clearing her throat.
“Until what?” I ask her and she looks down at her lap, wringing her hands out.
“Until I met Hayes. When the mate bond kicked in, it was like I was thrown out of a haunted room. Like seeing the sun for the first time.” She whispers. Then she snaps her head up. “Not that you are all that amazing. But the mate bond has a mind of its own.”
“Right. Happy to know I’m not that amazing,” Hayes grumbles. “We are here.”
“Percy,” I say, reaching back and hitting his leg. He jolts up, his eyes red and puffy from all the tears he has cried before he looks out the window.
“Are we sure this is where they are at?” He asks with his hoarse voice.
I fling the seat buckle off, and shove the door open, jumping out and slamming the door closed as the others follow suit.
“They left from this point, so we will start here.” I tell him. “It’s the best option we have at the moment.”
“Okay.” he nods. “Running in lycan form?”
I smirk. “Hell yeah we are. No faster way to travel on foot.”
“Everyone ready?” I ask, looking around. Hayes nods, taking his shirt off and Percy follows suit. But I notice Leandra looking nervous as she stares at the ground. “Leandra?”