Chapter 203 – The Luna Trials Novel by Marissa Gilbert

Filed To Story: The Perfect Luna by Marissa Gilbert

Hopefully, she would be able to do this next time.

Bjorn’s fingers brushed over her arm. At the same time, His l!ps pressed against her shoulder, making a slow w*et trail of k!sses up to her neck. He grunted as his breathing became ragged, but she gave him no reaction whatsoever. Deep inside of her, Athena was still weak, but she was ready to fight if they had.

“If he gets his thing out,” the wolf hissed in their mind, “we will do the same thing we did to Zack’s heart. No one would want to mate us again, but considering the mates we have been getting, this is probably for the best.”

This gave her strength, although they both knew that the werebear would overpower them easily now, and it was best not to test their chances. After all, revenge was the dish that was best served cold.

Bjorn growled in frustration and disappointment, breathing into her neck. He stopped car*ssing her and simply pulled her closer and tighter in his arms as if he was afraid that someone would take her away from him at any moment.

“Soon,” he promised, whispering into her ear, but that was probably said more to himself than to her.

He held her in his arms without any intention of letting her go, so she had to accept the idea that she would have to sleep like this today. Probably even tomorrow. He couldn’t claim her the way he wanted to, but he was not going to let her forget to whom she belonged to now.

Some part of her was happy she was so weak at this moment, because her eyelids were getting heavier each second, and she had almost drifted off to sleep when she heard the white bear speak.

“You asked me how I lost my eye,” Bjorn said into the darkness, holding his most prized possession tight. “I never tell this to anyone. Only the people who are closest to me know, and now this includes you too.”

She didn’t care. She hoped she would be able to get the second eye out soon, right before delivering the final blow.

It is a long and complicated story.” Bjorn Continued, and she couldn’t tell if he knew she wasn’t sleeping or simply wanted to imagine they had some kind of a connection and were getting closer. “My mother was a beautiful woman with Alpha blood from one of the biggest brown bear packs on the border between the North and the West. She met my father when she turned eighteen, and immediately, the two of them recognised each other as mates.”

He sighed, and Savannah knew that wasn’t the end of the story. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, and she thought that if it went like this, he would suffocate her by the morning, depriving her of her revenge.

“They were very happy. My father was content to be the ruler of the white bears in the North and didn’t think much about rebelling against the lycans. He had everything he ever wanted and did not need anything else. However, one day, different bear clans and packs gathered together to celebrate the Spring Awakening, the holiday of our ancestors. I was about five back then, and remember that everyone was so happy, One of the bear Alphas brought his friend along with him, the then Fox King.”

Bjorn stopped talking and clutched Savannah tightly. For a second there, she was afraid that he would leave bruises on her and would not continue his story. She wanted to listen because she needed all the information he could give her. It could come in handy later.

She felt him k!ssing her hair and sighing as if he was in pain, which evoked no emotions in her. She was numb after everything he had done to her.

If anything, she only desired to hurt him more.

“This is usually a very wild celebration,” he started speaking again, twirling one of her curls around his finger. He wanted to study every inch of her, but this was good enough… for now. “There are a lot of drinks, festivals, dances, banquets, and feasts. It all goes on for a week. That year, when the bears were done celebrating, my father found himself missing his Queen. He searched for her everywhere, but she couldn’t be found. One more person was missing as well. That sly fox. Later my father confronted him, bringing his bear warriors with him to the borders of the foxes’ territory, but the king denied everything. My father left just like that. He didn’t even fight for her.”

For a few good minutes, Bjorn didn’t say a word, and Savannah thought that it was the end of the story. The bear let go of her hair and car*ssed her cheek again.

“Two years later, my mother appeared back in the North with a newborn baby in her arms. She said that she was kidnapped by the Fox King, but my father did not care. He rejected her before my eyes and told her she was now tainted. She cried and begged him to let her and my brother stay, even if he did not want her as his mate anymore. But he did not want to see her at all. She was now an eyesore to him. His warriors threw her out.”

Savannah heard Bjorn svcking in a deep breath before he went on, “I ran after her. I wanted to live with her that day, but she stopped me and told me to go back. She told me l had to get strong and powerful and that once l was ready, I could come back for her and my little brother. She promised that we would be together again, and I believed her.”

He became quiet, and Savvy realised he had never shared this part of the story with anyone else.

She wasn’t even sure that he had shared it with his first mate, whomever she was because it looked like every word was hard for him, painful even. He was only revealing all that because he believed she was asleep or not in a state to understand him.

His hands finally unclenched around her, and he pulled himself away. Savannah was afraid to move, not to give herself away, but she felt him get off the bed and was ready to sigh in relief. However,

Bjorn did not leave the room. He only went for the window and continued his story.

“I trained hard. I learned everything there was to learn.” He was looking somewhere deep into the night, the moonlight illuminating his silver hair and strong perfect features, making them visible in the darkness. “I was a good heir to my father, but it was never enough for him. After the insult, he finally became ambitious and decided to destroy the foxes and claim their territories. He had a big grand plan on how to do it, but the Lycan King of the North ordered him to stop and blocked his every move to avoid the war. This was when he appeared in our lives for the first time… The Serpent.”

Savannah was afraid to move even an inch because Bjorn still hadn’t left room. He stopped his narration, and a part of her was worried he would get back into bed with her. That was something she wanted to avoid at whatever cost.

“That man, The Serpent, quickly became my father’s most trusted advisor. My father was obsessed with the idea of destroying the Fox king, and he was wasting all our resources on that, despite order from the lycans to avoid any confrontations. He ignored them, of course, and soon we found ourselves fighting on two fronts. The lycans did not like being contradicted.”

He turned back to look at the moon shining brightly over the northern mountains.

“was growing up in the middle of all this, training fiercely, knowing the reality I would have to live in. But most importantly, I couldn’t forget my Mother’s words about becoming strong and powerful and bringing her back.

Considering what my father was, wanted to have the only other family I had left, so I did everything possible for it to happen. When I was around fourteen, I thought I was ready. As an heir, I had people loyal to me, and I took them with me when I went on the mission of retrieving my Mother from the foxes.

I already knew by then that the Fox King had gotten her back and punished her severely for escaping. She was his queen and his obsession, but she didn’t have a happy life with him.

I found a house for her to live in for when I would bring her back. I knew my father would never accept her as his mate again. He did not marry again, but he had many mistresses to replace the need for his lost mate. Their bond was already long broken.

It was a small but comfortable cabin in the woods on one of the northern borders, and I was sure I could keep her safe there. Maybe even with my brother if she wanted to take him with her like the last time. It all played out very nicely in my head, but, of course, the reality was different.

I watched the foxes for quite some time before I became daring enough to go into their territory one night to try and retrieve my mother. Now I think I was foolish thinking it would be so easy to outfox the foxes. I got to her bedroom, and she was terrified to see me.

She hadn’t seen me for years, but she didn’t even give me a hug because she knew that every second could cost me my life. She told me to run, but I refused to do so without her. This was when Castiel walked in on us with a broken l!p, probably seeking some comfort from her. He didn’t even know who I was back then, but Mother begged him not to tell anyone he saw me, and he swore on the spot.”

The white bear inhaled sharply and went back to his sleeping princess. Savannah felt the mattress dipping as he sat beside her and ran his fingers through her silky hair. It seemed he couldn’t stop touching her the moment he got close. Luckily, she still felt nothing. which was bringing her some relief. Whatever he felt, whatever he was thinking, she did not share his beliefs. He was no mate of hers.

“Mother tried to make me leave before it was too late, but I was stubborn. I worked so hard for this and didn’t want it all to go to waste. I told them about the house and that I would keep them safe there until I got the bear crown.

And that once I did, I would give them the life they deserve.

Castiel asked Mother if we could really go. He was around seven back then and ready to leave his father in an instant and without hesitation.” Bjorn’s voice broke, and he took his hands out of her hair, running his palm over his tired lace and pausing when his lingers touched his missing eye.

“They tried to hide me in the adjacent room, and my mother sent Castiel back to his chambers right before her fox husband arrived, but he-he didn’t buy the trick and found me within seconds, Foxes and their scent abilities… You can’t hide from them. Funnily enough, I thought I could still take him. Moreover, I almost did. I fought him and almost won. Almost-”

Savvy dared to take a little peek at what was going on and saw Bjorn sitting next to her with his eyes closed. He looked as exhausted as she was, and for a mere second, she… considered trying to K*ll him now when his guard was so low.

“We would hardly succeed,” Athena cooled her down, disappointment washing over them both.

Bjorn’s head snapped in her direction, and she barely managed to close her eyes in time. Savannah still had no idea if he knew she wasn’t sleeping and was sharing his sad story just to get it out, or maybe it was his tactic to make her see him as a human after everything he had done.

She wasn’t impressed so far. This wasn’t enough. Nothing would ever be enough to make her forget Kai, Gideon, Riannon and Kyle’s deaths. As well as all the others.

They dragged me to the dungeons and chained me in bronze-coated chains to weaken me,” Bjorn went on, trying to suppress the rising emotions inside him. “Then they starved me for a few days to ensure they had me in the condition they wanted me. And then… the t*ortur*es began.

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