Chapter 35: Chapter Thirty-Four

DAX

~“Kill the bastard,”~ my wolf demanded, a primal urge coursing through me.

I yearned to end him, to watch the life drain from his eyes for the way he had violated my mate. But the decision wasn’t mine to make. Savannah had suffered more at his hands than I had, and I would always give my luna the choice of how to deal with those who wronged her.

Even with Trent’s trembling form before us, I could feel the piercing gaze of the lycans. Their eyes were like hot needles against my skin. They wanted Savannah as their queen, and though it was unexpected, it wasn’t entirely surprising.

She had, after all, killed their king.

A flurry of questions whirled in my mind. Did they expect her to rule their kingdom? Would they accept me as her mate?

“What’s your name?” Savannah asked the lycan who had led us into the woods.

“Wesley,” he replied, his head dipping slightly in respect.

Savannah swallowed hard, her gaze flicking to mine. I felt my heart stutter in my chest. I couldn’t decipher her expression, but I sensed a surge of pride within her.

~Did she want this? Did she want to be their queen?~

“I don’t know what to say, Wesley. I thought… I thought you all would despise me for killing your king. Now you’re bringing me ~gifts~, although I wouldn’t exactly call this one anything but an asshole. But that’s beside the point. What does all this mean?”

Wesley glanced back at the group of lycans. “We despised Hansel. When you killed him, you set us free. Now,” he said, taking a small step forward, his dark eyes glinting in the rising sun, “we need someone to take his place. And who better than the one who toppled him?”

Savannah let out a shaky sigh and turned to look at me. Questions flickered across her face, likely mirroring my own. “I don’t know…”

The sound of pounding feet and a growing growl echoed from our right. The lycans tensed, and so did I, as a pack of wolves circled us.

Braxton’s wolf stood at the forefront. Upon noticing us, he shifted, confusion etched on his face. “What’s going on here?” He glanced at Trent, who hadn’t dared to move, and surveyed the scene.

Wesley’s canines lengthened, and his eyes glowed red, daring Braxton to challenge him.

Savannah stepped forward, confronting the alphas with her chin held high. “They are here for me. This is a private conversation.”

One of the alphas pawed the ground, and I felt my senses heighten. “Everything is under control,” I said, stepping in front of her.

The alphas shifted one by one, until they all stared at us with hardened faces. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Dax,” Braxton said, raising his hand to the alphas behind him. “You can’t have all these lycans here, son. You understand that, right? The guard was put up to keep them out.”

“Well, it’s not doing such a good job, is it?” Savannah retorted, folding her arms over her chest. “They came for me. I’ll leave with them, and we won’t have any problems.”

My wolf howled in agony. He didn’t want Savannah to leave. “I’ll go with you,” I said.

Braxton grabbed my arm. “Dax. You’ve missed a lot of school. You’re so close to graduation. You don’t need to leave with her.”

“I go where my luna goes.”

Kayden stepped forward from the pack, his gaze shifting over the lycans and then to Trent. “They brought you your ex-boyfriend… ~wait~. Why did they bring him? And why aren’t they attacking the girl who slaughtered their king?”

Realization dawned on Braxton. “They want her as their queen.” He turned to face me. “And that means she can’t be your luna, Daxton.”

Savannah looked out over the lycans. “I ~am~ his luna,” she hissed at Braxton. “Why are you even worried about it?”

I sensed her anger rising, but I understood it.

“Because the Legion Pack is also my pack, Savannah. I love Daxton like a son, and I don’t want him to lose his mate. You have to turn this down or lose your spot as luna. You can’t be the lycan queen and the luna of the Legion Pack. Those are two different species…”

“Stop!” she shouted.

Braxton flinched at her outburst. “I’m just trying to help you understand.”

She didn’t respond. She looked out at the lycans and gestured toward the wall. “We can talk on the other side then.” She marched through the lycans, who followed her obediently.

I watched as she scaled the wall with ease, maneuvering through the barbed wire and jumping down on the other side.

I moved to follow her, but Braxton stopped me.

“Listen, I know she’s your mate, but how do you think this is going to turn out? ~Huh~? We understand why you asked for our help, and most of us understand, but what happens now? She goes to rule over the lycan kingdom, while you graduate and become alpha? How will it work out? You’ve marked each other.”

“Don’t worry about it, Braxton. She’s mine to worry about, not yours.”

I jogged toward the wall and climbed it. I slipped between the wires and landed among the lycans. Savannah stood in the center, Trent before her, his eyes pleading as he looked up at her.

~“I hope she kills him,”~ my wolf growled within me.

~“I don’t think she will,”~ I responded, trying to keep my tone even. ~“Savannah isn’t the type to hurt people.”~

I could almost feel my wolf rolling his eyes at my words, but I chose not to respond to his silent scoff. Instead, I stepped into the clearing with her, my gaze falling on Trent’s face. I had to fight off the urge to smack him.

“What are you going to do with the human, quee—”

Savannah held up a finger, cutting him off. “Stop calling me queen. It’s weird. I’m just Savannah. And I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have questions about the Kingdom,” she said, her gaze sweeping over the gathered crowd.

“I’m mated to Daxton Allaire from the Legion Pack, as you all know, and I don’t want to lose my place by his side.”

“But you could be queen and not have to answer to anyone,” Wesley pointed out.

“I’m aware of that,” she replied. “But the submissive side of me wants to live under Daxton. I love him. He’s my mate. You understand that, don’t you? You all have mates.”

Wesley shifted uncomfortably. “Not all of us have the same connection as wolves, so we don’t see why you wouldn’t want to rule.”

His words sent a chill down my spine. The lycans didn’t respect mates. Not that any of them could take Savannah or would dare to after anointing her as their queen.

Savannah fidgeted with her fingers, and I felt a wave of emotion from her. Pity. She pitied the lycans for not having connections with their mates. She seemed almost hopeful that she could change them.

“Well, I have things I need to do today. I’m assuming you can manage a while without an answer, right?”

Wesley nodded. “Yes. We’ve been cleaning up the Kingdom and getting it ready for you.”

Savannah swallowed nervously. “I’ll let you know soon what I plan to do.”

Wesley bowed, and Savannah awkwardly waved at them. “Wait a minute,” Wesley said. “What about your gift?”

Trent cowered down onto his butt and clutched the dirt beneath his palms. His clothing was torn, and he wore an LSU T-shirt, which meant he was still living it up at college after what he did to Savannah.

Unable to stop myself, I backhanded him, watching as he hit the ground with a thud. That had been a long time coming, after the party when I decided not to hit him.

The corner of Savannah’s mouth twitched into a small smile. “Take him to the Kingdom. Leave him there until I figure out my plan.”

“No!” Trent cried out. “Please don’t let them take me, Savannah. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry about Hansel.”

Savannah rolled her eyes, and Wesley wrapped his palm around Trent’s mouth. “You’re getting on her nerves. Now get up and come on.”

Wesley dragged Trent away from us, disappearing with the entire group of lycans into the woods, leaving Savannah and I in silence.

Savannah’s fingertips brushed against my hand, and I looked down at her. “I’m not leaving you.”

I chuckled. “I know good and damn well you aren’t. Let’s go back to campus so we can talk. The alphas left.”

As the sun rose over the courtyard, bathing the Gothic university in a warm glow, Savannah and I walked back to her room in silence. Students were already rushing off to class, bringing the campus to life.

Savannah halted when we reached the front steps of the Luna House, her gaze zeroed in on Jaka standing in the foyer. Her tiny frame looked frail, but her bruises had healed nicely.

Savannah dropped my hand and wrapped her arms around Jaka. “I’m so sorry,” Jaka whispered.

“Don’t be,” Savannah said, pulling back to look at her. “You were blindsided.”

Jaka made eye contact with me. “Thank you for taking me to the nurse.”

I nodded. “Of course.”

Jaka swiped her finger underneath her eye, catching a tear. “I have to run to class, but I wanted to see you and tell you I was sorry.”

Savannah nodded. “Come by later and we can catch up.”

“I will,” Jaka said, rushing down the steps toward her class. Savannah walked toward her room without looking back, her body stiff but her heart racing.

Once her door shut behind me, she turned and pressed her face into my chest. It seemed she put on a mask in front of the others and tore it off when around me.

I felt her confusion, and her sadness as tears soaked my T-shirt. “I don’t know what to do.”

I picked her up and carried her to the bed, sitting her down on my lap. “Savannah,” I said, tucking a brown lock of hair behind her ear. “Calm down, okay? We’re going to figure it all out.”

“I know, I just can’t imagine us not being together. And you’re leaving after graduation, and I’m going to be here alone.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” I mumbled, rubbing my thumb down the center of her lip. “I don’t want to leave you either.”

Savannah searched my eyes. “Come with me to the Lycan Kingdom this weekend,” she whispered. “Let’s get caught up with our classes this week and go.

I need to figure out what to do with Trent, and I need to ask my dad something. If I’m a queen or a luna, I need to start making hard decisions. So, are you coming?”

I cleared my throat. “I’ll go wherever you need me.”

She closed her eyes and smiled. “I’m going to hold you to that, Alpha.”

Something told me she would.