Traded To The Lycan King

*Merikh POV*

Colette shivers as I set her on the bed, rushing around to grab her dry clothes and a towel. She is catatonic, sitting on the edge, staring out the window. I don't know how to help her, how to comfort her as I wra "Colette," I say, trying to get her to wake up from this shell shock. But she doesn't move, not a damn inch as she stares into a void beyond me. My lycan whines in my head, teetering between anger and worry "Colette," I growl, my voice is louder, more stern as she just stares into nothing, past my head. My fingers tickle along her jawbone, trying to force her to look up at me. She follows my movements, but her eyes at my n*ck and anger rises, boiling over when she turns her head away from me.

"Colette!" I scream, using my alpha voice to command her back to the present. She jumps in fear, a gasp escaping her lips as looks at me completely broken. I have no idea what happened in her head, what le **Merikh," she whimpers, her voice small and cracking with emotion. Shit, I may have been better off with her

being lost in her own head rather than watching her hurt like this.

"What were you thinking?" I ask her, my voice clipped.

"I wasn't-"

"Clearly not. You made me a promise. We had an agreement. We are mates now. You can not escape it. Yet I find you at the border edge, trying to break free of Percy and Penny when they tried to stop you. N My anger is unreasonable and I know I should step back and give her space, but my lycan's intense emotions are melding with mine and the strength of the second chance

mate bond only grows stronger every day I am near her. The draw to her is becoming mind numbing and the thought she would leave me. That she might have wanted to escape me and her promise. Like Laur "I'm sorry," she whispers and I sneer at her, I'm a wreck and feel like I'm losing control as I tear away from her and fly out the door ready to f**king tear Penny and Percy apart for letting her get so far. I stop at the doorjamb,

exhaling sharply.

"Get changed. I will be back." I mutter as I slam out of the room and down the hall.

As expected, I find Percy and Penny in my office waiting for me, along with Hayes. All of them wearing sullen looks on their faces as the door crashes open and I pace to the massive window overlooking the la her.

The very f**king spot I noticed her splashing into the water with that f**king green orb looming over her frantic movements. The thoughts of it have my heckles rising as I growl in my chest and shake my head, t "Where the FUCK were you two?" I hiss, whipping around to face them, figuring concentrating my anger on a source other than Colette might be best.

"She was sleeping," Penny says like it matters.

"Oh, so she is less important to me-to the pack-when she is sleeping?" I grit out. Her eyebrows shoot up in shock and her mouth falls open to retort, but Percy beats her to it. "That's not what she meant," Percy says,

"Shut up, Percy," I shoot him a scowl and he swallows, down casting his eyes. "You have one job. The both of you. What is your f**king job?"

"Protect her." They say in unison, looking at each other before looking back at the ground. It doesn't matter if they are still in training or not. A gamma protects their Luna, and they failed. "Would either of you like to enlighten me on what the HELL happened and how she ended up in the f**king lake being chased by the green, glowing little light?"

"It's my fault," Penny whispers after a tense moment of silence.

"And how, exactly, is it your fault?" I ask, hoping for some damn insight.

"I left her window open...She asked for me to leave it open as she likes to listen to the waves. I know I shouldn't have but-”

are no waves to listen to on the lake late at night with zero wind." I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. Then I freeze, my eyes snapping to Hayes, who looks

the red-eyed wolves on the border make sense." I groan heavily, guilt hammering into me for losing my temper

my part, one that will never happen

says, "Is it another ploy to get to you?

"Both of yo

scrounge up some food and hot tea for her. Penny, make sure she is

another word, and Hayes

you. It's more and I

know shit." I grit out. "They

us as I stare out the window again, my anger slowly

run away, Merikh." Hayes whispers, but I pretend not to hear him. He doesn't understand how much I needed to hear him say those words. It doesn't matter how

say, clearing my

are you still

"What?"

her mind, what horrors she saw? She needs you to comfort her." Hayes says, scoffing at me. "Get your ass out of here a

try to imagine what to say as I make my way to her room. What if she has fallen asleep already? I'll have to wake her up to check on her. Or come back tomorrow. Then again, maybe she is afraid

What if...what if

for me to make it to her room, yet I find myself unable to enter. So instead 1 linger outside her door, looking for the right way to enter before

I observe her shoulders as they drop and her face becomes sullen, lik may not Without

as I need to be near her, so I crawl

look of bewilderment on her face as

why it is so hard

doing...?" she finally asks and I

sure you don't go for

foot of the bed. I pat the mattress with my hand, beckoning her to come crawl in next to me. "We have slept in the

because you didn't

"We are mates."

haven't wanted to sleep in

you get up to sleep walk again, I will feel you move and wake you up

the bed next to me. Staring awkwardly forward as she twiddles her thumb, and we

finally whispers as her voice cracks. "Was any of it real? The things

aches. Hearing the pain in her voice, the way she