Filed To Story: Traded To The Lycan King Novel (Colette & Merikh) by MG Wattsons
I wrestle with the thought of keeping Kyra along with us, hating it. But then I think about her alone in these woods, like she had been, and blazing anger comes flowing through my veins. No, as mult I hate to admit it, I want Kyra Safe. And out here, the safest place is with us. Which means she willbe staying.
“Fuck,” I grunt. “Damn it. I hate when you use logic on me.”
“Yeah, well, you used to be the logical one,” he teases, slapping me on the side of the arm. “Now let’s get something to eat. Nisha was going to make stew on the fire,”
“Fine,” I mutter, following along with him.
We walk in silence, the glow of the fire coming closer and each step making me more nervous than the last. Being near Kyra is confusing and upsetting. I have missed bet and yet, I can’t figure out how to act around her anymore. Would it be so awful to be her friend again, not like we were, but in the way that I am close with Nisha or Dean? It might not be terrible.
The sound of groaning breaks my train of thought and I freeze, looking forward to see Kyra on her belly behind the flame. Her back arches up with Marcos on top of her, and his face contorts with effort. She lets out a moan, her eyes sliding closed before she falls forward, heaving, and then a soft chuckle.
“Heavens,” she murmurs.
“Fuck yes,” He says with a satisfied grin, wiping sweat from his brow.
Everything inside of me grows cold, as if I can not move, can not breathe.
“Yeah? That feels good?” Marcos asks, chuckling as he stands up, the first obscuring my view of them as they lay on the other side. “Now, spin over. I want to see all of you.”
Rage consumes me, my eyes seeing red as I lunge forward, a roar breaking from my lips as I tackle Marcos through the fire, my fist colliding with his perfectly angular face.
*Kyra*
“What the hell?” I mutter, rushing to my feet, slipping my arm back in the holes of my shirt before tugging it over my stomach with a wince. My shoulder is still sore from where Marcos had to dig into my skin to get a grip on what I assume was a massive splinter.
My eyes grow wide when I see Hayes on top of Marcos, his hand hammering into his face as Marcos tries to protect himself. Dean is on them yanking at Hayes while the woman with us checks on Marcos. I feel caught in the middle, unable to figure what to do or feel in the moment. What the hell just happened?
“Hayes!” Dean screams into his face as he struggles to hold him back. “What the fuck has gotten in to you?”
“Is he okay?” I ask, my voice trembling as I look at Marcos’ already bruised eye and sliced lip.
“Nothing that a few hours won’t fix,” Marcos gives me a grin before turning an angry scowl to Hayes. “Mind explaining what the hell that was that for?”
“Don’t play dumb, Marcos,” Hayes hisses, his lip curling in disgust as he looks down at Marcos like he is dirt under his shoe. It is clear this has nothing to do with me. The way the two scowl at one another makes it seem like this is an issue they deal with often. Even if Marcos looks as confused as I feel.
“You don’t think you could have at least waited to jump him,” I scoff, dusting the front of my pants off, annoyed.
Marcos didn’t have the time to finish looking at my injuries and my ribs are killing me still. All I want is to move without having every part of me ache and sting. It might have been nice if Marcos could give me something like some ointment for the pain.
“What, you weren’t finished yet?” He spits the words at me like I am disgusting and my nose scrunches in complete bewilderment. Is Hayes not the one who told me to get checked out? Is he not the one who stormed off and left Marcos to take care of me? What the hell am I missing here? Why is his anger suddenly pointed at me?
“Uh, well, not really.” I say, looking over at Marcos, who seems as lost as me. “What the hell is going on?”
“Wow,” Hayes scoffs, finally shoving Dean away from him as he takes a step back. “I expect a lot of things from you, but dense and easy were not on that list.”
My mouth falls open, and I snort a half laugh.
“He got the thing out of my shoulder, but my ribs are still hurting, so he told me to turn over so he could get a closer look.” I defend myself, not sure why I feel the need to explain anything, but for some reason, I do.
Hayes freezes, his eyes darting around as he takes a step closer to me. He almost looks frantic, as if he might not be able to breathe if he doesn’t ask me what is on his mind. It’s strange to see him look like he might care or at the very least need something from me.
“What was he doing to you? Just now,” he whispers, his voice demanding, all the while sounding desperate. My brows furrow as I swallow, unsure how to feel about his closeness.
“I just fucking told you. He was tearing a massive splinter from my shoulder, then he was going to put ointment on my ribs…” I say the words slowly, watching how his face changes from anger to relief, then straight to embarrassment. Then, in the blink of an eye, he goes void. All emotions gone and hidden as he clears his throat and stands up straighter.
“Get some sleep.” He mutters before he turns to walk off.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Marcos bellows after him, but Hayes continues to walk. “Does someone want to explain that to me?”
“From our angle it looked like you were…” Dean pauses, then clears his throat. “It looked like the two of you were “
“It looked like you were fucking.” The woman says, dropping onto a log next to the fire and sending me a wink. “Can’t say it didn’t look hot, because it got me feeling some type of way. Not angry, but something.”
“Wait, so it looked like Marcos was having sex with me? And Hayes got pissed off?” I ask. Truth be told, I am not sure if I’m more upset about his reaction or the insinuation. I just let people take me randomly in the middle of the woods with others around.
“He has a strict no sleeping with crew members policy.” Marcos says standing up and gingerly touching his face. “But damn, I got hit, and I didn’t even break the rules.”
“Someone should go talk to him.” Dean says, looking around.
Marcos snorts as he settles in next to the fire.
“Sure as shit won’t be me,” he mumbles.
“Nisha?” Dean asks, and the woman rolls her eyes.
“What? Because I’m a female, you think I want to talk with the grump? No, thank you. He will walk it off and come back later like nothing happened. We all know Hayes. He explodes and asks questions later.” She waves her hand in the air like it’s no big deal, but by looking at Dean, I can tell it’s a huge deal.
“I’ll talk to him.” I exhale, my stomach twisting sharply as Dean gives me a look, then nods.
“Probably best it’s you.” He says.
“What? Because of our history?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“No, because he owes you an apology.” He shrugs and Marcos roars in laughter.
“He owes me one too, but I’m not going after him.” He says, then he looks at me. “You are better off just letting him cool off and come back later.”
I consider it for a second, but then I realize I don’t want Hayes coming back here acting like nothing happened. He owes me not one, but two apologies now. And I am damn crazy enough to chase him down and demand them.
I chase after him, the irony of this moment not slipping my mind as the last memory I have with him resurfaces.
I remember the way Hayes stood in front of me, his smile fading away as my heart beat out of my chest, fear replacing the excitement.
“I love you, Hayes.” I say, my voice cracking as he takes a hesitant step away from me. “And I know you love me, too.”
“Kyra,” He whispers my name, his face falling as he looks away shaking his head. “Why?”
My brows knit together, perplexed by the question.
“What do you mean, why? I love you because of who you are. Every morning, all I can think about is seeing you smile and being near you. You make me feel safe, Hayes. You are my home.”
“Stop it. Just…stop it Kyra. You don’t know what you are talking about.” He grits out.
My stomach drops, my mouth dry as I realize what is happening.
“I do.” I croak. “I am in love with you, I will always be in love with—”
His lips smash into mine, and my world spins on its axis. My heart soars and my body ignites as I wrap my arms around his neck, holding him closer, my lips working against his in a selfish need. But then he tears away and pushes me back, wiping his lips.
“See,” He says. “There is nothing there, no spark, nothing.”
“Nothing,” I repeat, blinking as my heart shatters at our feet and I stumble away from him a step.
“Nothing. You know I want my mate. I want that spark and the mate bond. Choosing you would…it would be like choosing a knock off brand.”
“Why are you being so mean?” I whisper, struggling to catch my breath.
“Because you ruined everything Kyra!” He roars as he takes a step away and then spins on his heels, leaving me in the woods, under the moon alone.