Traded To The Lycan King

Ezrah brought her here? I wonder as I whirl around, searching the trees and shoreline for the messenger who is always everywhere, always in everyone's business.

Caspian stands with Zale, the two of them carrying my enormous lycan mate up onto a less sandy part of the beach. Ezrah will have to wait. Right now, I need to be sure Merikh will be okay.

I rush toward them, sliding a glance back at Lauren as she tries to creep out, only to hiss and cry harder. Serves the evil vampire right for everything she has done and continues to do.

Strange how easy it was to defeat her when everything is all said and done, though. I sort of expected more, certainly something more than the sobbing mess cowering under a rock.

"How is he?" I call out, Calvin humming as he moves efficiently from wound to wound, seemingly more interested in one from the next.

My nails find themselves trapped between the nervous pressure of my teeth as I nibble on them, my anxious nerves only growing bigger with every passing bout of silence.

"Calvin," I growl out. He snaps his surprised eyes up to me, blinking as if he hadn't even noticed I arrived.

"I am assessing him," He says back, but his eyes are telling me more than his lips.

Vampire bites are meant to kill. That's the whole point of them. To feed or to create a new vampire toy. But what happens to a lycan king who is bitten? Not fed upon and not intended to create? Does he live? Does he suffer?

These are the questions plaguing my mind that no one seems able to answer right now, right when I need them. My mom moves close to me, entwining my hand in hers as she tugs me close, and I rest my head on her shoulder. It is incredibly strange how quickly the mother-daughter bond came back.

Though I sort of attribute that to the fact that all this time in the water has helped me remember a lot from my past. Not everything, but enough of my life with her and even Caspian before I was hunted.

Also, trauma bonding is a real thing, and that definitely happened with mom on more than one occasion, so there is that.

"He will be okay," she assures me with a gentle smile.

"We do not know that," Zale says bluntly and I glare at him as he frowns and shrugs.

"I am only speaking the truth."

"Yeah well maybe don't?" My mom snaps at him.

Caspian comes up to my other side, sighing heavily as he avoids looking at my mother.

“He should have known better than to attempt to fight her." Caspian murmurs and my mom scoffs, shaking her head.

"Dad has a point," I tell her.

She chooses not to respond, only maintaining a forward-looking gaze as if she is biting her tongue. It is clear that she has much to say, but either refuses to in front of dad or she doesn't want me to know. Either are not acceptable reasons.

"I want you to explain everything all over again." I say, turning to face her.

“Lauren showed up." She sighs. "She said she was sent for—”

"Gah!" Merikh screams and shoves Calvin away.

Calvin grunts as he tumbles backward onto his ass. He scrambles to stand, reaching out to grab Merikh who tries to stand, only to sway on his feet. I am next to him in a second, my hands gripping his fevered body as I look at Calvin expectantly.NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.

"Lauren..." Merikh slurs the word, his eyes unfocused as he tries to scan the area, pulling me as close as he can to his body.

"We know," I whisper, reaching up to hold his face still so he can focus on me. “I know, it's okay."

The look on his face breaks me as his frantic fear drips away to a look of sheer pain. I see the flecks of green in his iris' not his normal shade of emerald but the same distorted rotten green that lived in Lauren's eyes. The rot, the kind that will eat away at him, making him someone unrecognizable.

"Calvin," I whisper, my voice breaking as I say his name and he bumbles over to me. "What do you need to do to save him?"

"Nothing to do but wait and see who wins this," He says, sounding forlorn.

"I refuse to wait and see." I growl at him, unable to control the rage brewing in my chest. "What can I do?" I hiss.

"I-i-l don't know." He says, looking distraught. "I am sorry Luna, but I just...this is out of my realm of healing."

I fight back the tears, giving Merikh a

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fake smile as look up into his eyes. It is like he is drunk, unable to focus and remain steady as he grins a brilliantly handsome smile. The fool thinks he is going to flirt with me. In this state?

"Hey Merikh," I say, struggling to keep the quiver from my voice. "I am going to have you sit here for just a minute, okay?"

"Where are you going?" he asks, growing clingy and nervous. I press pull his head down to meet mine and nuzzle my nose against his, taking a deep inhale of his scent.

"I just need to talk to my dad for a minute." I whisper, and he groans in annoyance.

"You are always speaking time with him and not me," he pouts. "I miss my little luna."

I grin to myself, "And I miss you, too. I promise it will only be a little bit."

"Fine," he groans, rolling his eyes.

I ease him to the ground and rush over to my parents, dragging them aside and looking them in the eyes.

"Tell me there is something water can do to heal him, or maybe cleanse his blood?" I ask, placing both hands on my head as the air grows thin, making it harder to breathe.

The panic attack is coming, the one where I become a sobbing mess and am of no use to anyone. Merikh is the stable one, the one who holds me when I break down or just break in general.

“That's not how a vampire bite works, sweetheart." Caspian says with a frown.

"Could it hurt to try?" my mom asks and he frowns.

"Colette is not strong enough to even attempt something like that."

She scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"I wasn't referring to her. I am referring to you Caspian."

He arches a brow and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Oh, so we are on speaking terms again?" he asks, and she narrows her eyes.

"This is my Alpha, my daughter's mate. I will speak to who I need to and ask for favors when I choose for their sake," she snaps out, and he stares at her, stone faced and unmoving.

"I may be of service." Ezrah says sauntering over to us, his hands in his pockets as he looks like he glides across the sand.

"I want nothing from you but explanations.” I hiss my lycan, coming forward and making my words morph into a command rather than a basic statement.

"And what should I explain?" He asks, looking confused.

"I am a messenger. I delivered the message via way of the person I was told to bring." He protests.

"You brought a fucking fox into a henhouse, Ezrah. Either you are working for them or you are a coward and I can't decide which one you are yet." I scream at him.

"Go the fuck away." I growl and he exhales.

"He can help him." Caspian says gently.

"Bullshit." I grit out.

"You either let me try or you wait for him to die. You don't have to trust my motives, but trust I will help him." Ezrah says, and I groan in anger. "Fine." I mutter, clinging to Merikh's hand. "Hurry up."