Traded

Chapter 41

*Colette*

“Will you be okay?” Merikh asks me, his voice low as his eyes stare into mine. I cross my arms over my chest, trying to show the indifference I don’t feel.

“Of course I will be.” I tell him, pointing over to Penny. “I have Penny to keep me safe and entertained.”

“What has he not been entertaining enough for you?” Hayes asks, slapping his brother’s shoulders, laughing. His laughing ceases when he notices Merikh and I exchanging a look of irritation and he puts his hands up, taking two steps back. “Noted, you both need to get laid.” he grins before turning and walking out the door.

“If you want, I can stay and we can-

“I’m fine, Merikh,” I mumble. “Truly. I have Penny and if I’m being honest, I could really use some girl time.”

He nods, looking at Hayes and then back at me with an unreadable expression.

“I won’t be gone long,” he mutters, slipping out the door. He leaves it open, probably hoping I will watch him walk away, but I have better things to do than stare at him as he walks away, But I know I’m kidding myself thinking I won’t stare at him til he disappears into Hayes‘ room with him.

It feels weird, watching Merikh as he walks away with Hayes, taking him to his room just down the hall. It doesn’t matter if he will be gone for seconds or hours. I am used to his presence yet again. But with Penny being here, he now feels safe, giving me a little more space. At least, for now, that is.

“Sooo,” Penny smirks at me as she walks over to the couch and plops into the plush cushions, making a dramatic show of how comfortable it is. Her eyes roll to the back of her head as she pretends to faint from comfort and I chuckle, walking around the side and taking my seat.

“So what?” I ask, arching a brow. “It sounds like you

something.”

She bites her lip and grabs a blanket.

are waiting for something from me or waiting to tell me

“Now that I have seen Perc, I can fully focus on you and the mess of your love life.”

I roll my eyes, a scoff tumbling from me.

“What makes you think it’s a mess?” I ask her, but I know she has a fine tuned intuition. She chooses not to answer as she gives me a knowing glare and I cover my face in embarrassment.

“I thought everything was better,” I whine, uncovering my face. “He finally let me explain the thing with Grady and he realized I was telling him the truth. But…”

Her face falls from excitement to disappointment.

“But what?”

“He has been lying to me.” I whisper, frowning.

“Okay…but like…I know this sounds bad, but what kind of lie are we talking about here? Like he told you he is a vegan, but you caught him eating a burger or…?” She asks, looking entirely invested.

“Like, he introduced me to my biological father and told me I’m a hybrid but also hybrids are illegal so everyone is going to want to kill me so now he has to mark me…

Penny’s mouth falls open and she blinks, pressing back into the couch cushions with a whistling exhale. She seems to process as I watch the switch of emotions go through her face. She sits up, opening her mouth like she is about to speak, then she tilts her head, thinking better before plopping back again, her shoulders slumping.

“Well, damn.” She finally works out, her eyes meeting mine as she frowns.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I mutter.

“So he didn’t just screw up, he like…fucked up sideways and upside down.”

I chuckle, relishing her tiny humor slips that make it feel like it’s not as serious as we both know it is. Merikh has put me in a strange pickle indeed.

“Yep,” I say, popping the ‘p‘ with my lips as silence falls over us.

“So like…how does that work…Also, who is your dad? But like…how did Alpha know?” She says, her brain. catching up with the words I told her finally. “There is a lot to unpack here.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, abandonment issues, never feeling like I fit in, my uncle and cousin hating me and raising met

like a freaking maid.”

“How are you doing?” She asks, pushing forward and moving closer to me.

“I really…don’t know.” I shrug. “One minute, I think I’m okay with it. The next I feel like the rug is being yanked out from me all over again.”

“I can’t even imagine…” Penny says softly, reaching out to pat my folded hands that rest in my lap.

“My mother and father were mates. And they loved each other and wanted to make it work…but someone found out. I guess I grew up with them until I was ten. I apparently knew him as my dad and living with my mom near the water.”

“Water…?” she asks, then it’s like something clicks in her brain and she makes an ‘oh‘ face.

“Yeah. Ever met a siren?” I tease her, and she shakes her head.

“Nope, never been to the ocean.” She shrugs. Eyes wide and filled with excitement.

“Well, Hey!” I give her a tight smile and she grins. “Now you have met a half siren.”

She giggles. “I feel pretty damn special, not going to lie.”

“But also, they live in the ocean usually, but they can live in fresh water if they need to.”

“You don’t think there are any in the lake at home, do you?” She asks, nervously.

I let out a bark of laughter and shake

my head.

“They would have to have permission to ever enter the water. Permission granted by the alpha and I don’t think Merikh would agree to that,” I tell her and she nods in understanding.

“Ah, I see.” she pauses. “So…like…what does all of this mean for you?”

“Well, Merikh is going to have to mark me in order to keep me alive…IF we can even get on the board.”

She rubs her temples, squeezing her eyes shut.

“I have never had so many questions in my head in my entire life.” She mumbles.

Emergency calls only + W

“Well, for starters. Yes, I’m okay with him marking me. Yes, we have already…um…consummated the mating, just without the mark.”

Her mouth falls open, and she pretends hits me as if I was saving the biggest secret for last.

“Okay, Luna, don’t hold back. Tell me all about it.”

My cheeks heat as I blush. “It was…nice.” I admit, feeling a little shy.

“And you guys have been going at it since?” she asks hopefully. “You know Lycan needs an heir and all that, so it’s just a normal, not creepy, question.” She winks jokingly.

“We have not…done it since that one time.” I clear my throat and she winces for me.

#5

“You found out after, didn’t you?” She asks softly and I nod my head yes. “I can’t speak ill of him, but know that I’m on your side and if you need me to, I can arrange for his food to taste like shit one night. Then blame the

staff,”

A laugh breaks from my lips as I press back into the couch, thinking about how hilarious that thought is.

“That does sound amusing, but I think my coldness to him has been doing the trick just fine.”

“Do you think you will forgive him?” She asks after a few minutes of silence.

I sigh, trying to figure out how to answer it. It’s something I have thought hard about every spare moment my mind is able to wander.

No matter what I do I am stuck with Merikh, as a mate, and as a Luna and I refuse to let my people down the way everyone seems to have let me down my entire life. But does being stuck with him mean I should make it easier. by just…forgiving him?

“Eventually,” I frown. “I know it sounds weak, but to him I was a pawn, a means to an end for the suffering of our kind. In a way, I understand the logic, no matter how flawed it was.”

“Plus, he reconnected you with your dad.” She adds, and I nod.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“And my dad, Caspian, seems genuinely loving. Like he cares about me and wants to make amends.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I mean really, at the end of the day, he did what he had to do for our people, and in the process gave me a part of my family back that I didn’t even know I was missing.” It’s not easy to admit, but I do.

My heart twisting at all the memories I have already created with the man I lost so much time with.

“Luna…” Penny says softly. I can see it in her eyes that she is going to urge me to forgive Merikh and let him in. And It’s not like I don’t want to. I would love to forget that he betrayed my trust, multiple times even after I have done nothing but prove my loyalty to him. “Promise me you won’t just forgive him.”

I blink at her, then I stick my index fingers in my ears, twisting them like there may be something stuck inside the canal. Something that is forcing me to hear things.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I think I may have missed what you just said.” I say and she sighs.

“Alpha fucked up.” She exhales. “Your relationship, the unsteady ground it is on, affects us all. We need a unified front, yes. But we deserve a Luna and Alpha who understand actions have consequences.”

“So you think I shouldn’t forgive him, then?” I ask, hating that thought. Not that I have thought much about forgiving him. He screwed up. He needs to atone for it. But… My traitorous heart doesn’t realize that Merikh lied to us. It doesn’t care that he placed us in a heap of danger. Or that he has a valid reason. Damn it.

T

“No, that’s not what I am saying at all. You need to be a unified front. What I am saying is…. make him grovel. Then make up.”

“Groveling does indeed sound nice.” I admit. Then she smirks..

“Mark each other first, then have him grovel. It might help if you can feel his sincerity.” She winks at me and I chuckle, just as the door opens and none other than the topic of conversation walks in.

“What are you two discussing?” He asks, looking between Penny and me like we are plotting his death. I shrug. and Penny grins before mirroring my movements.

“Just girl talk.” She grins and he frowns.

“Why does that feel like it’s bad for me?”

“Well, it’s definitely not good for you.” I mutter, a tilt to my lips and he arches a brow like he is egging me on. Oh the ways this man is going to have to suck up will be fun.