Filed To Story: Traded To The Lycan King Novel (Colette & Merikh) by MG Wattsons
“Please,” I try to whisper, but my voice breaks.
I can feel him move, a slight cool breeze coming between where his chin was pressed into my hair, but I can’t bring myself to look. I am wrapped in his scent, in the dream of what could be if only we weren’t so broken.
“Please what, Kyra?” he asks. “Are you hurting?”
His voice is still so soft, like he actually cares and doesn’t want to be heard.
“Why are we hiding?” I ask him, trying to lean forward and look around the rock.
“Someone is above us,” He whispers, placing his hand on the side of my head, his body pressing harder into mine. “They can not see us, but if you keep talking, they may hear us.”
I can feel the heat of his breath on my ear, tickling the loose hairs that twirl about my neck and lobe.
Seconds bleed into minutes and the air seems to grow thicker with each breath.
“He is gone,” I murmur, unable to withstand a second more of being this close to him. I shouldn’t crave this or enjoy it. He isn’t the Hayes I knew, and he isn’t someone I can afford to love anymore.
Especially when he can’t feel this bond, the one that draws me in and leaves me vulnerable in every damn way. The second he feels it, I will reject him and we can both be on our way. I just have to hope he doesn’t recognize it during a crucial moment of this mission.
Ever so slowly, he takes a step back, his eyes meeting mine with a fierce look before he takes another step away, leaning to the side and looking up. I watch as he wipes his hands on his jeans and clears his throat.
“We should get back to the others.” He says.
I scrunch my nose and tilt my head, knowing the words he said but not understanding his suggestion.
“Why would we go the wrong way?” I ask him, “Ezrah is that way.”
I point up the cliff side as if he doesn’t know, but clearly the knowledge must have escaped him to suggest we go the opposite way. He nods and rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, I am aware, but we came with a group and we need to have them traveling in the right direction.”
“Or you go back and get them and I will continue on.”
“Over my dead fucking body,” He growls, getting in my face. My eyes grow wide as I take one step away from him.
“This is why I am here,” I remind him, and he shakes his head in disbelief.
“You still need to do things my way.” He says, reaching down and grabbing me by the wrist. “If you are fast, we won’t lose Ezrah’s trail. I suggest we get moving.”
“Unless it rains.” I huff but follow along, breaking into a run when he does. He holds onto my arm for too long, and once we hit the tree line, I shake myself loose.
“It would have to rain really damn hard to wash away a trail so fresh. As an expert tracker, you should know that.” He says, kicking his speed up.
He is right. It would take a rain pretty hard for hours to muddle my ability to follow Ezrah or even locate him now. Hayes weaves through the path I took, ducking under branches and looking back to ensure I am still behind him.
By the time we make it back, Dean, Nisha, and Koda are waiting anxiously. The moment they see Hayes, they seem to relax, breathing easier as their shoulders drop. Dean drags a hand over his face before I feel a heated gazer. When I look to the left, Nisha’s angry eyes meet mine as she tuts and clicks her tongue, looking away.
The moment she opens her mouth for a smartass comment, a loud, earth shattering sound breaks free that makes me jump in alarm. “What the hell.” Koda says, looking at her shocked and she glares at him.
“It wasn’t-“
There is a brief flash before lightning cracks through the air, the buzz of electricity bringing to life the clouds that rumble and, after a moment, release their wrath. I groan, throwing my head back, cold hard drops of water hammering into my heated skin. Then I roll my head over and scowl at Hayes, my eyes harrowing in sheer annoyance.
“Fuck,” He mutters.
“I really hate you right now,” I grumble.
My shoes squelch from the water that fills them. The cold of the mud mixed with the soggy fabric makes me shiver. No amount of running hot could warm me from this icy chill as it settles into my bones. I knew the second Hayes made us go back to the others that we were screwed. Everything on this mission has a way of going sideways.
“Shit, it’s an endless fucking stream of rain,” Dean growls with a shudder, his arms clutched to his chest.
“We should try to wait it out,” Nisha yells, her voice barely audible over the droning sounding of hard, heavy droplets pelting us from the sky.
Hayes drags his hands through his hair, droplets running down his cheeks before he meets my eyes, and a frown grows on his lips. He knows there is no way I will willingly stop. We have already lost so much valuable time and likely important clues. Maybe this explains their lack of finding Ezrah all along. Do they even want to find the guy?
“Waiting it out is the difference between a quick mission or two years of wandering aimlessly.” I yell over the noise. Marcos’ eyes widen in shock, but Hayes doesn’t seem phased by my comment. “I have no intention of resting or losing what little trail we have left.”
I pick up my speed, moving faster as Nisha falls behind with Koda at her side.
“Kyra,” I hear my name being called, but I can’t in good conscience slow down. If they can not keep up, then they will have to find me on their own later.
“Kyra!” I hear Hayes roar loudly, and yet all it does is cement my stubbornness as I keep moving. His hand clutches at my elbow as he whirls me around. Hayes’ lips purse together, droplets raining over them as he huffs out an exasperated breath, spraying the water away as he pinches the bridge of his nose with his free hand.
“It’s gone already,” he finally says. “I fucked up by heading back. I can admit that. But slogging around in a fucking rain storm isn’t going to get you anything but wet and more lost.”
I yank my arm free, my pride and anger swelling in my chest. He knows nothing about my abilities. All he has done is severely undervalue what I can do, admittedly things have been off to a rough start, but that isn’t entirely my fault. I trusted too easily when I should have known better that the worst kind of enemy is the one who knew you.
“Right now, I am trying to cling to whatever closeness we have to him.” I throw my hands up, “Of course all the clues and trail are gone. Ezrah is traveling with an egg. One, he must keep warm at all costs, Hayes. That means he is not moving, he is hunkered down, keeping warm and staying somewhere dry.”
He scoffs, shaking his head.
“I’m calling it. We have passed the furthest point you were at earlier. It is time to find shelter and wait this out.” He demands.
“You are not my alpha, and as luck would have it, you are not my beta either. So you may find the others shelter, and sing cute songs around a fire and cuddle. I am doing my job.” I snap, turning to run away from him. His hand wraps around my elbow again and he yanks hard, pulling me around and into his hard chest.
I can only help my eyes carry the anger I feel about him manhandling and demanding I follow his stupid orders. Orders that will mean I am stuck here with him for longer and I need to be rid of him and this fucking bond I used to beg for.
“My priority is everyone’s safety.” He says, glaring down at me.
“Well, I relieve you of that priority.” I say, looking up at him as he growls in his chest.
I can feel the way it vibrates in his vast chest that is pressed against me. My body shivers, the warmth of his body reminding me just how cold the rain actually is. Damn my traitorous involuntary movements that only help convince him he is in the right.
“Enough of this back-and-forth shit, Kyra. I am not here to bicker with you. Merikh asked you to do this but with my permission you were allowed to join us. I take others’ safety fucking seriously. I will not fail another person the way I failed her ever again.”
The bitter resentment and hurtful words sit at the tip of my tongue, which I bite down so hard the twang of blood colors my mouth. What I want is to make him mad enough he lets me go, but something tells me he won’t be dropping this issue anytime soon. What a drastic change from the time he left me for the fucking dragons, drugged and alone.
“The second the rain lets up, even a little, I am gone to track. Is that understood?” I sneer at him, and he arches a brow down at me.
“Weird. It sounds like you were asking permission all while you were telling me what you were doing.”
I roll my eyes, stepping away from him.
“Yes, well, I listen to orders to the best of my ability. Doesn’t mean I have good hearing, though.”
We walk back in silence, not really sure which way we are headed in, until I catch a whiff of smoke and a little glimmer of light. To my left, sheltered in a corner over a massive overhang, sits a small rundown cabin.
I scrunch my nose at it as we move closer. Tyler had a love for the human world’s horror movies. They weren’t really something I liked at all, but of the few I watched, I am fairly certain this is a scene from one.
Hayes lets out a bird call and I smirk, amused. The guy couldn’t so much as whistle when we were growing up. Now he is tweeting like a bird. A similar sound comes back, and I watch his shoulders roll back as he motions for me to move forward.
“A bird’s call?” I scoff as we step onto the leaking porch. “In a rainstorm? Really inconspicuous,”
“Unless someone is closer than they should be, they couldn’t hear it over the rain, and considering Ezrah is a Fae and not a lycan or werewolf, human” he gives me a tight velnes!
hearing is as shitty as a basic like we are battling and he won. I respond with a solid eye roll, and he shakes his head as he pushes the door open.
Heat wraps around me and there is no hiding the shiver that runs through me at the relief of the warmth. Marcos moves over, looking Hayes over, who whispers and points in my direction. Marcos then grabs a warm blanket that had been hanging near the fire and hands it to me.