Filed To Story: Traded To The Lycan King Novel (Colette & Merikh) by MG Wattsons
“That would be me,” she says chipper as she moves over to the window. “You left the window open.” My eyes grow wide and I panic. Am I not supposed to have touched the window? “Oh…I’m sorry,” I say, throwing my blankets off to shut the window for her.
“Why are you apologizing to me? You are the Luna.” She tilts her head, confused, and I squeeze my eyes closed. Right. I’m the Luna. Not the maid who forgot to close a window. Not the lowly servant who gets I am anymore. Or at least…it won’t be who I am.
‘Right.” I sigh. “Is there a reason I shouldn’t have the window open at night?”
“I only mentioned it because my grandma used to say you could catch something if you leave your window open, but then again, grandma was human, so her perceptions are a little different from her life in her world.”
“You’re half human?” I ask, and she chuckles.
“I mean, aren’t we all human with a little beast inside us?” she winks. “Do you have any family around?”
Penny asks as she rushes over to grab the pile of clothes for me and places it on the bed. Then she looks me over with a curious glance and goes back, grabbing fresh underwear and a sports bra. I look down, realizing I’m just sitting in my bra and undies and I tug my blanket to my chest, embarrassed by the way my bones seem to protrude under my malnourished flesh.
“I have no family,” I admit, and she scoffs..
“Lucky for you. I have a twin brother. Heavens, I love him, but sometimes…sometimes I want to wring Percy’s damn n*ck.”
“Percy is your twin?” I ask, my eyes growing wide.
She smiles, bending down to grab my brace from the floor.
“Yep! We are both training to be your gamma.”
“My gamma?” I ask. “I get a gamma?”
“Two, actually.” She gestures to the clothing in a way to urge me to get dressed.
“And…what exactly does a gamma do…?” I ask, feeling a little dumb.
“Well, basically we are your protectors, but we also do whatever you need us to. Alpha Merikh has Beta Hayes, who will always choose him. You have me and Percy.” “Wait…you will always…choose me…?” I ask, confused.
“I mean, yeah, as long as you don’t do dumb shit.” She laughs. “But you don’t appear dumb to me. Now, hurry and get dressed so we can meet Alpha Merikh. I can still get in trouble with him, so let’s not push much.”
Penny leads me away from the training pitch where I can hear the warriors yell and grunts as they spar. I look over my shoulder as it grows more distant and I frown to myself, confused. I know what it sounds li supposed to be training, why the hell are we going the opposite way?
My stomach churns and realization dawns. Maybe Merikh isn’t ready for his pack to meet me yet. Perhaps he fears they will find me weak and unworthy, as I originally thought. Words are empty when there is r sure has done an awful lot of making it feel the opposite.
“So that’s the training arena behind us,” Penny says, as if she can read my mind. “You’ll be in there once your leg heals. It’s really only used for sparring with the uppers.”
“I see,” I mumble, my eyes scanning the surrounding area.
This pack is massive, less concise than I expected. The pack house, which is the only place I’ve actually been, is the closest to the water’s edge, looking over it like a proud parent. The rest of the pack? Nearly well a lot like I’ve stepped into a fairytale village.
“This is what we call Old Town.” She says, spinning with her arms out like it’s a marvel even to her.
“So I assume there is a new town?” I ask, and she laughs.
“We have a more modern section, yes. But this…this is our slice of the past and it’s really our senior pack members’ village. The hustle and bustle of city life is that way.” she points to my right and I can see the way the buildings change and the sea of people.
“And so we are going….?”
“Ah. Yeah. Sorry. We are going to the lake.” She grins.
“The lake?”
“Mmhmm, the first order of business is a gentle walk.”
My brow is already sweating and my leg aching as we walk to the place I’m supposed to start my walk. How damn ironic that the walk there may kill me before I get the chance to start. “Okay.” I try to remain positive. I mean, what kind of training did I expect with a bum leg, really?
I am so focused on my steps and reminding myself that I’ve had worse pain, worked harder when I felt way worse. I can do this.
When we get there, Penny spins to face me. She gives me an awkward fake curtsey with a wink and then flounces off, leaving me behind.
“Wait!” I call after her. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”
She lifts her hands in a shrug as I frown at her back. Am I just supposed to wait here? Or start my walk on my own? This is the first time I am outside in the pack and she expects me to just find my way back to the pack house? If I’m lucky, I will find my way back before dinner.
I groan in frustration before exhaling a huff of air and turning to look at the water.
“Which way would you like to go first?” I hear Merikh say from behind me. I look over my shoulder, a little shocked to see him.
“First?” I squeak out.
The thought of walking much more tires me out. My leg is aching and though I feel stronger than I have in years, but the pain is draining. He chuckles as he comes up to my side.