Chapter 54
“That‘s your real scent,” Savannah whispered, and Bjorn nodded, confirming her guess. He leaned
closer to her, brushing his palm over her cheek. She flinched away, and the motion disgruntled him,
although he tried not to show it.
Her skin felt so smooth to his touch. Like the petals of a most delicate flower. He couldn‘t get enough of
the sensations when he touched her. He hoped that by now, she would say the one and only word he
had longed to hear from her lips for so long. Mate.
“Yes, Savannah. This is my real scent. The one I barely use anymore. I didn‘t even let you smell it the
few times we met, although I knew at once you were mine.” He tried to be patient with her. He knew he
had already overstepped too many boundaries to push her now. She looked so weak, felt so broken...
Maybe he should have left her sister–inw alive as a little constion gift for Savannah. He could
dispose of that woman‘s babyter and pretend it was an ident. That little gift could have made the
transition easier for his mate.
Although he remembered very well how dangerous Riannon Stormhold was. She alone was the sole
reason for his brother‘s demise. That sealed her fate.
Savannah stayed silent, and he took it as a sign of her wishing to know more.
“When I ran in the forest back then, I was going to kill the wolf who witnessed me in lycans‘ territory. This
was what I always did. Kill, destroy and get rid of the body.” He was so calm that Savvy felt beads of
sweat forming on her skin. “If it was anyone else but you, they would be dead. But it was enough for me
to inhale a drop of your scent, and everything
changed. All my ns went to chaos.”
“Didn‘t you call me Kai‘s toy?” she reminded him, and a smile reached his lips. At least she was talking to
him. This was some kind of progress for them. He was sure that, over time, she would give up and
ept him. She simply had to and he couldn‘t wait.
“I was a bit frustrated at first,” he confessed. “I wasn‘t looking for a mate, I didn‘t think I would ever get
another. And it took me a few seconds to realise what was going on. How you affected me. Who you
were to me.”
“And what happened to your first mate?” Savannah asked, ignoring his confession. She looked so pale
that he knew she‘d faint again soon. Now that she was here, there was no rush anymore. He could take
his time with her.
“That‘s a story for another day,” Bjorn dodged that subject. “Today I want to speak about us.” He took her
hands into his again and realised they were cold and limp as if life was slipping out of his mate.
“You think we have a future?” Savannah asked weakly, her eyelids too heavy again. “Of course we do,”
he didn‘t hesitate to respond.
“Good,” the Princess‘ lips curled into a smile, and the bear‘s heart skipped a beat. She had never smiled
at him before. He should have released his true scent long ago just for this
alone. He was about to say something when something changed in her face. That beautiful smile of hers
turned into a sneer as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Very good,” she added, “ because that means I
can hurt you the way you hurt me. Although that‘s unlikely. You hurt me so much that unless I destroy
what you love the most, you will never understand. But even this is good.”
“What are you talking about?” Bjorn released her hands, anger and disappointment burning in his chest.
“I don‘t feel anything,” she stated calmly. “Your real scent doesn‘t awaken anything inside of me. I hate
you just as much as I hated you before you let it out. I don‘t want to say the sacred words to you. You will
never hear them from me!”
He grabbed her shoulders and lifted her up, not really knowing what he wanted to do. Kiss her? Hit her?
Take her? Things were already bad and she looked like she was about to faint anyway.
Why didn‘t she feel it? What happened? Or maybe she was lying to wound him? She must have been
angry with him for killing her family. It was understandable. She was also recovering from her previous
bond breaking. That exhausted her significantly and that poison to weaken her didn‘t seem to be such a
good idea now. If she died, it wouldn‘t change any of his ns. He would still take the North. He already
had. And the West would fall too without a ruler. What had been nned with Castiel was finally
achieved, even though his brother wasn‘t there to see it.
However he didn‘t want her to die. Even if that was what she wanted, he wasn‘t going to grant her this
wish. Time would pass and she would give in to the mate bond. She had to. He did.
After thest time, he swore that If the gods granted him a mate again, he would kill or at least reject her
on the spot to avoid the pain. However, as soon as he met Savannah, he couldn‘t do it. She didn‘t
recognise him, didn‘t try to im him and, although deep inside he knew she was his, he wasn‘t so sure
anymore.
After their first encounter, he found out everything he could about her. He went through all the old reports
after his brother‘s death and realised that she was mated to another. Moreover, that person had been
seeking an audience with him for a while.
He instantly disliked Zack Morgan. Too pretty, too polished, not manly enough to be called an Alpha; yet
Zack had an ego bigger than his own. He started talking about his mate eagerly; sure that she would be
his ticket to being appointed the King of The West when they were done with the current rulers. Little did
that pup know that this was never the n. Castiel would have never given that crown to anyone else.
Bjorn cringed when Zack mentioned his one and only night with Savannah and this was when he
decided that the stupid werewolf would die soon. Just the thought of him touching Savannah enraged
him to the core. Initially, he nned to give him a slow and painful death, starting by cutting off his fingers
one by one and then moving on to other... protruding parts. However, this was when Zack mentioned the
little game he yed with his mate to remind her of him. As long as they had this bond, he could torture
her softly.
Zack could influence her, distract her. And that was something Bjorn needed.
He already knew she was here to join The Luna Trials topete for the Northern Crown. There was no
love lost between her and the king, he was sure of that. Nevertheless, he wanted to take extra
precautions and he couldn‘t do it himself since they hadn‘t had a chance to mate yet. Not to mention how
much work he had on his hands. Taking Savannah out earlier than necessary could unite the two kings
and ruin his ns. So, Zack was the best card in his hand for now.
It all started to bother him more when he found out they were going on a date. At first, he took it calmly.
Dates were normal at the Luna Trials. It was when he realised that Kai was taking her outside of the
castle that the whole thing started to worry him. He had been studying Kai for years and he knew what
that ce meant to him. He would never bring a simple contender there. And when he watched them
both from the opposite mountain, gazing at the city and the stars, he‘d had enough.
He was risking everything each time he met her, but each time only made him more confident that she
was the one for him. She was his second chance mate, and she would feel this too the moment Zack
died. However, things only got worse and worse from there. She wasn‘t thinking of him; she ignored his
gifts and did not kill her annoying mate when she had a chance. All so she didn‘t ruin her chances with
Kai. Bjorn never liked the Lycan King of the North, but he started to hate him with his whole heart after
this. His old rival was getting what he wanted the most. Again.
The desire to get Savvy out early and to im her was almost unbearable, but he knew he had to wait
for the right chance, or all of his work, including his brother‘s legacy, would go to waste. It wasn‘t fear – it
was torture,. But this was all he could do.
It all paid off in the end. All of his enemies were dead, and she was with him now. Except that her eyes
were cold, her lips were pale, and she despised him. He could feel it even without that sneer of hers.
Cruel, beautiful thing! She knew what she was doing to him, and she enjoyed it.
“Maybe you feel nothing now,” he got his face so close to hers that his lips were almost touching hers,
“but your soul will heal, and our bond will snap in its ce. You will take these words back.”
“If I ever feel anything towards you,” she taunted him, almostughing, although her tiny delicate body
was shivering in his arms, “I will reject you. There is no future in which you and I live happily ever after.”
“Then we will live unhappily ever after,” he pulled her closer and whispered a promise into her ear.
“Either way works for me. The rest is up to you!”
He dropped her back to the bed, and she had no strength in her left to fight it. Her eyes closed, and for
the first time, Bjorn worried that he‘d crossed the line with her. He left the room and growled at the maid
who waited outside to tend to him and his bride.
“Get a healer and clean her up! She needs to eat, and she needs detoxifying. The healer will know what
to do!”
“Of course, my King,” the older woman bowed respectfully and left.
Bjorn found himself standing at her door, listening to her breathe and fearing each breath would be her
last until the maid arrived with two younger girls and his trusted healer.
Only then did he decide to leave. His duties couldn‘t wait any longer.
“When I get back, she‘d better look much healthier than now!” He barked at the group. “If she gets
worse, heads will roll. Maybe yours, or maybe your friends and family. We‘ll see.
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No one responded this time, and they all bowed to him in silence. This was just how he preferred it. They
knew what the stakes were now.
Gideon held Riannon close as they both looked at the mes destroying the Royal Northern Castle. It
was a sad sight, and he wasn‘t sure what to do next. They had just been majorly outyed by that
werebear. His sister was gone, and he knew very well where to look for her, but nothing looked good
now.
He and Kai never managed to be good friends. For the past few weeks, he thought that it might be
possible, but now he would never find out. However, that uneasy feeling in his chest made him regret so
much. They both were ves to their pride, and this was the result. Kai was dead, Savannah was taken,
Riannon and the baby survived by a miracle. So many warriors were ughtered. The taste of defeat
was new to him, and he didn‘t like it.
Ria wasn‘t saying a word, tears streaming down her face silently at the sight before them. Gideon took a
look around and saw the Northern Princess not too far away, helping Evelyn, who was sobbing since
they did not find Petra. Brigit and Astrid were missing too, and they had no idea what happened to any of
them. They could have been taken together with Savvy or... they could have been the ones who
poisoned them.
However, that also meant that one of them was still on their side. If that wasn‘t the case, they would have
been all dead. That was Bjorn‘s n.
His memories of the night were cloudy, but he was proud of his little sister. No matter what, she managed
to kill her mate before she was overpowered by the bears. He saw Zack‘s body and his heart on the floor
covered with dirt. Savvy‘s scent was all around it, and he had no doubts she was the one who did this.
She ripped the traitor‘s heart just like he taught her. Even knowing it would hurt her.
His heart clenched at the thought of her, how she was suffering now after everything she went through.
He would get her back, he would do anything to save her, but...he couldn‘t bring her chosen mate back.
That wasn‘t something in his power, and Savannah, of all people, deserved to be loved the way Kai had
loved her. Gideon may not have liked the guy, but he couldn‘t deny that what they had was real… and
beautiful. It was what he and Riannon had. It was what Reid and Maya had. Kai would have made her
happy... They would have led the North together...
And now all that was left was Elene. He had forgiven her, and she did seem to grow up, but the girl
wasn‘t born to rule. Y?t she was Kai’s sole heir now. He nced at her and
sighed, realising she hadpletely broken again. L held her in his arms while Zara stood nearby
and watched the princess sob.
“It‘s a disaster,” he muttered. “Not really,” Riannon said quietly, and he looked at his wife.
“What do you mean?” Gideon knew one thing very well – everything his wife said had to be listened to
carefully. The Moon Goddess‘s blessing was working in mysterious ways, and often Ria knew things no
one else could know. She had her dreams, her visions, and sometimes she simply sensed events
everyone else ignored. It was her gift given to her after rebirth. They were still figuring out how that all
worked, but no word of hers was ever. ignored.
“Something is happening there,” she whispered, looking at the mes in the windows. “Something big.
Important. Divine.”
“Should I go inside and look for survivors?” he asked.
“I don‘t think so,” she shook her head. “Onyx only senses one, and he wille out on his own.”
The moment she said that all the mes instantly died down as if they were suffocated by a force bigger
than all of them. The air grew colder, and Gideon could see his breath turning into steam.
Everyone around them got quiet and looked toward the castle. What they were seeing was impossible.
The firefighters hadn‘t arrived yet, and such a massive fire couldn‘t just disappear on its own.
It was now so dark that they could only see, thanks to their beasts‘ night visions.
Instinctively, Gideon wanted to ce Riannon behind his back. Something was getting closer. He could
sense it and the hairs on the back of his neck rose.
A loud and powerful growl sounded, echoing through the empty castle. Then, sounds of calm, confident
footsteps reached their ears.
And then they saw him... First, the creature‘s eyes gleamed in the darkness, and then he slowly walked
into the moonlight, making all of the survivors part their lips at what they saw...