Filed To Story: Traded To The Lycan King Novel (Colette & Merikh) by MG Wattsons
“Don’t be such a baby,” she says with a teasing lilt in her tone.
“You are boiling me alive.” I grimace and she presses her bare, wet chest to mine.
The stinging stops, my body tingling with the sensation of our bond, and I bite my lips, trying to force the moan away. The mate bond can do so much for a couple. From expediting healing, down to a dopamine hit.
“Let me help you,” she whispers, as she steps around me, grabbing a bar of soap.
Her arms wrap around me from behind, her hands dragging up and down my check and stock with the soap before she presses a gentle kiss on my shoulder and slides around my front. She proceeds to scrub my entire torso and shoulders before setting the bar aside and moving me fully into the spray of water.
“Only washing my upper half?” I tease her and she again grows shy and shrugs. I sense her hesitation, her worry about what to do, how to please me or start without looking like a fool, and I chuckle. “Turn, I will wash your hair.”
“But I was washing you.” She insists, and I grab the soap.
“And you did wonderfully. Now, allow me to return the favor.” I tell her as I lather my hands up.
I scrub her scalp, making her moan with pleasure as she closes her eyes. I scrub her body with a loofah, making sure to cover every inch of her, my hands following along behind for good measure. Her eyes are on mine the moment I touch her collarbone, not once looking away from me.
I glide over her skin, dropping sweet kisses along the way until I reach her waist. She waits for me to decide what to do as I drag it over her perky cheeks, pressing her just a touch closer to me.
She gasps when I press into her soft stomach, but she doesn’t seem shocked in the slightest. Then I spin her around and hold her close to me, cradling her as the water washes away the suds.
I itch to do so many things for her. The options are endless and the access open, but I promised to remain a gentleman. So begrudgingly, I will remain just that. Her head falls back onto my shoulder, her eyes closed.
“Do you think this could be our last pleasant moment together?” She whispers and I give her a squeeze, hating the thought process.
“Not a chance in hell.” I whisper, pressing my lips to her cheek.
“How can you be so sure?” She asks. “I mean, they have trolls on their side.”
She makes a solid point, but what she doesn’t get is that trolls don’t exist, especially not troll shifters. Which means those trolls, they are just someone being used by magic, like the red-eyed wolves.
“What happened when you brought that water down on us?” I ask her, and I see the side of her little frown.
“I’m not really sure.” She whispers.
“You washed away the magic spell.” I tell her. “And what happened to the so-called trolls?”
“They turned into humans.”
“Exactly.”
“Wait…so they were just spelled? The area didn’t allow you to transform, but it gave them the ability to.” She whispers as she unravels it all. “But why water?” I mean, it could just have easily rained and would it have worked to wash it away? Not to mention the trolls weren’t instantly transformed.”
I sigh, not sure how to answer that question as it’s been one on my mind too. Why was the spell so easily dispersed? Then I remember that the person behind this all was talking to her, saying things through the troll before she got rid of them.
“What was the troll saying to you?” I ask her and she frowns up at me.
“The princess has some skill…” she murmurs, her eyes zoning out for a moment before she blinks herself back.
My stomach sinks, and I tuck her into me closer. They knew who she was, that she was a hybrid and Caspian’s daughter, but I have long wondered what took them so long to come after her. Why wait for her to be with me? Surely attacking her in her old pack would have been easier. Instead they attacked me, us.
“They wanted to see if I was truly a hybrid.” She whispers, coming to the same realization as I have.
“And they want to see what kind of power you have.” I finish for her and she shivers despite the hot water hammering over us.
“Now that they know…what will they do with me?” She whispers and I spin her to face me, reaching out and shutting off the water before I grab a fluffy towel and wrap it around her.
“They have to get you first, Colette. And that will be over my dead body.”
I hold Colette’s hand as we stop outside the double doors leading to the meeting room, I can feel her nerves through the mate bond, the fear she has for whatever is on the other side of the thick oak door. If things go like I think they will, she is about to be exposed, but hopefully that will come after we are back on the council.
“Are you ready for this?” I whisper, and she nods, biting her lip. I reach out, my hand at the nape of her neck as I pull her close, kissing the top of her head. Then I pull away, meeting her eyes as she looks up at me.
“I’m a little nervous.” She admits,
“There is no need to feel nervous, my little luna. Even if things don’t go how we hope, we will figure out another way to keep you and all of our kind safe.” I promise her. A small smile plays across her delicate lips.
“I trust you,” she whispers, and I feel my heart stutter. She trusts me. My hand reaches out, cupping her cheek as I stroke my thumb over her soft skin.
“And I trust you.” I tell her, forcing every ounce of that sincerity through the mate bond so she can feel it. Since Lauren, I have trusted very few people. Only those I have known for years and the one I trusted the most shares my blood. But this is different. Colette has done nothing but prove herself when she never should have had to.
I trust her. With my pack, my life, with my heart.
She smiles softly, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to my lips before she turns and pushes the door open.
Caspian sits at the head table. Pouring himself a glass of water. Florence and Johannes bicker in the corner, and Brent sits looking exhausted next to Elm. I notice two empty seats, watching them closely as I look at Elm, who gives me a courteous nod.