Chapter 30: Chapter Twenty-Nine

SAVANNAH

Tears streamed down my face as Dax stepped protectively in front of me, his back to me and his face confronting Hansel. The sight of them together sent a shiver of dread down my spine.

Hansel had been a constant, unsettling presence throughout the day, watching me dress, his gaze undressing me. His eyes followed my every move, putting me on edge.

When he moved up the time of the ceremony, my hope of being rescued dwindled. I was terrified of being bitten by Hansel, of being claimed by him.

I didn’t want his mark on me, and the thought of shifting for the first time with him instead of Daxton filled me with dread. As silly as it might sound, I wanted my first shift to be special, to be with my mate, not some arrogant jerk.

But as I stood behind Daxton, watching Hansel’s calm demeanor morph into something savage, fear consumed me. “Daxton,” I whispered, “they warned me about him. He’s royal.”

I didn’t fully understand what that meant, but judging by the maid’s reaction, it implied he was powerful. I loved Dax, and I’d seen him kill a lycan at the party, but I didn’t know if he could stand against a royal lycan.

“I don’t give a shit if he’s the highest ranking lycan on the planet, Savannah, I’m going to rip his throat out.”

Hansel’s deep chuckle echoed in the room. “You should listen to Sweet Savannah, Daxton. You’re not going to kill me, and you’re not leaving with my queen.”

Daxton’s body began to tremble, and my attempts to soothe him with my touch only seemed to intensify it.

Hansel hadn’t moved from his spot in the room, but his eyes held a dangerous promise. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

“I’m guessing the lycan that I invited into the kingdom last night has something to do with you getting over the wall,” he said. “It’s my own fault.” He shrugged. “I’m just too kind.”

~Too kind.~ I snorted, drawing Hansel’s attention. “You don’t think I’ve been kind to you, Savannah? I’ve treated you like a queen since you’ve been here.”

“Don’t talk to her,” Daxton said, pushing me back toward the railing. I guessed he wanted me to jump, but we both knew I hadn’t come into my wolf yet, and I didn’t know if I ever would at this point.

That was a long three-story drop that I didn’t know if I could survive. Hansel cleared his throat casually.

“Savannah, we both know how this is going to end, and it’s not going to end with him. Come on over now before I have to kill him and everyone else he brought with him.”

“Daxton,” I whispered.

He reached back, keeping his gaze forward, but one hand wrapped around my wrist. The intense stare down rooted me to the spot and forced me to take deep breaths.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around me from behind, the scent of lycan filling the air. Before I could comprehend what was happening, I was lifted and tossed over the balcony’s edge.

My scream was swallowed by the wind as it carried me swiftly toward the ground, my hair whipping around me like a wild storm.

My body spun in a complete circle, landing me on my feet with the same set of arms still around me.

Panic surged through me, and I began to kick and scream, praying this lycan wouldn’t take me into the woods and kill me for betraying their king.

“Calm down, Savannah,” a deep voice said.

I froze, watching as Daxton jumped from the ledge and landed several feet in front of me, his gaze flickering golden, and my body relaxed.

Surprisingly, Hansel didn’t follow, which made me wonder where he was going and what he had planned for us.

Slowly, I turned to see my dad standing behind me, his windblown hair a dark ebony that matched my own. It was different seeing him in the light of day, compared to the night before.

His gaze moved over me like he was trying to memorize every detail. “Do you know who I am?”

Daxton stepped up behind me, his presence comforting and warm as his hands gripped my elbows. He must have sensed my anxiety, because it immediately calmed me.

“I think so,” I whispered.

Liam nodded. “We need to move. I can hear him signaling his guards, what’s left of them, and I’m sure he’s ready to shift and kill us all.”

Daxton wrapped his arm around my waist and began to pull me out of sight, but I had so many questions.

“Can you kill him?” I asked Liam as he jogged alongside us.

He sighed heavily. “I’m not sure. I was once a highly ranked lycan, but I’ve never tried to kill another lycan before. Only…”

“Wolves?” I finished for him.

Liam ignored me and pointed toward a guard tower to the far left of the castle. The distant sounds of fighting reached my ears, and I feared the people Dax had brought with him were being slaughtered.

Liam raced up the staircase to the tower, with me on his heels, when I felt Daxton’s touch leave my body. I looked back to see him being pulled down the steps by a lycan.

“No!” I screamed.

I stumbled down the steps, landing on my hands and knees on the grass, seeing what had grabbed Daxton, and it sucked the life from me.

It had to be the lycan king by the size of it. This lycan wasn’t just any lycan, it was a lycan on steroids. His red gaze felt like acid burning into me, and the length of his fangs made my insides quake.

The thought of those fangs sinking into my neck was unimaginable. The pain, the commitment, the sheer terror of it all was overwhelming.

Daxton, struggling to regain his footing, shifted. Liam’s arms enveloped me, pulling me to a standing position. He tried to guide me to safety, but I planted my feet firmly on the ground.

“We have to help him. We have to save him!” I cried out, my voice echoing in the night. “Where are the others?”

The lycan king lashed out, striking Daxton across the face. Blood sprayed from the wound, painting the ground beneath them.

Daxton either didn’t notice or chose to ignore it, retaliating by sinking his teeth into the king’s arm, tearing a chunk of flesh away.

Liam shook his head, his grip on me tightening. “I promised Daxton I’d get you to safety before anything else…”

Of course Daxton wanted me safe, but I wanted him alive. This was all my fault. My father’s lycan heritage, the hybrid queen the king sought—it all traced back to me.

I didn’t even fully understand what being a hybrid queen meant, and frankly, I didn’t care. I just wanted to return to the Legion Pack and learn how to be Daxton’s luna.

Liam tried to pull me further into the guard tower, but I clung to the doorframe, resisting his efforts.

“No,” I sobbed, my heart shattering as Hansel seized Daxton’s front leg and yanked, eliciting a pained howl.

“Savannah, I promised,” Liam insisted, pulling harder, but I wouldn’t budge.

“I don’t care. I’m your daughter, not him. Please, save him,” I pleaded.

Another figure emerged from the shadows, and I recognized him instantly. It was Luther, the lycan from the football game.

He bore a striking resemblance to Trent, with blond hair and icy blue eyes. His smug grin ignited a spark of anger within me. Liam let out a heavy sigh.

“Stay behind me, stay in the doorway,” he instructed, his gaze fixed on Luther, who showed no intention of approaching us. He was after Daxton, and my wolf whimpered in response to his transformation.

Daxton bared his teeth, but he was outnumbered. The two lycans circled him, and none of the scenarios playing out in my mind ended in our favor.

I wanted to shift, I wanted to help.

~“Please shift,”~ I pleaded internally.

~“I can’t! Part of me is missing!”~ my wolf wailed. I could feel her anguish echoing within me.

“Liam,” I whispered, but he was already moving towards the trio. “Liam!” I screamed.

He turned to look at me, his eyes questioning. “Can any lycan bite me?”

His confusion was evident, and he flinched as Daxton’s pained yelp echoed behind him. I couldn’t bear to look, knowing they were torturing him, making him suffer.

“What are you talking about…”

“Can any lycan bite me and change me?”

Understanding dawned on Liam’s face.

“Hypothetically, yes,” he admitted. “Are you asking me to mark you?”

I rose to my feet, my legs trembling beneath me, and met his gaze. “Being a hybrid makes me strong, right?”

Liam didn’t respond.

“I want to save my mate now. Time is running out, and unless you think you can take them on, then bite me.”

Liam shook his head.

“I’m not asking you to mate with me!” I shouted. “I just need my lycan to come out. I need to save my mate. Please, I know you know what it feels like to lose someone you love. Imagine losing your mate.”

Emotion flickered across his rugged face, the first I’d seen of it. He stepped forward, his hand cradling my neck.

“This isn’t going to feel good, and because we’re related, there won’t be any kind of sexual tie to us. They did this in the old times, to mark the females in their packs, so other lycans wouldn’t mount them.”

I didn’t care about his history lesson, or any potential consequences. I just wanted to save Daxton. His pained yelp echoed through the night, and I could sense his fear. “Do it,” I begged.

Liam frowned, but leaned down and swiftly sank his fangs into my neck. My scream pierced the night, and pain radiated through me like bolts of lightning.

A roar echoed through the air, and I knew without looking that it was the lycan king. The fighting ceased, but the haze of pain clouded my senses.

Liam was ripped away from me, and I found myself staring into the lycan king’s furious gaze. He was no longer in his lycan form, standing naked before me.

“Why did you do this!” he roared.

But everything was fading. I could vaguely make out Daxton and Luther battling in the distance, but I couldn’t muster the strength to move towards them.

~“What’s happening?”~ my wolf asked, her voice filled with confusion. ~“Something is happening!”~ Her howl echoed within me, and I could feel my blood pumping wildly in my veins as Hansel searched my gaze, trying to make sense of what was happening.

But it was too late. I felt a surge of power coursing through me, and I effortlessly pushed him aside, hearing the sound of his shoulder popping out of place as he fell.

“You bitch,” he hissed, standing up and sliding his shoulder back into place. “You think you can beat me?” he yelled.

Daxton’s shadow fell over me, but I didn’t look his way. My wolf howled loudly, and I felt my body lurch forward, drawing me to my hands and knees.

The sound of my bones cracking echoed in my ears, and pain seared through me. I was shifting, and it felt like my body was being torn in two.

“Baby,” Daxton murmured from beside me.

With a scream, my body convulsed, pitching me onto the ground. My fingers clawed at the grass, heels digging into the earth as if trying to anchor myself. It was as if someone had flicked a switch, and my body had transformed in one fluid, swift motion.

Suddenly, I felt... immense. My breath came in heavy gasps, and my vision was sharper than I could have ever imagined. It was as if I had been thrust into a new world, one where my senses were amplified and power coursed through my veins.

Off to the side, the Lycan king stood frozen, his eyes wide with shock. I had no doubt that my own mirrored his surprise.

~“Kill him,”~ my wolf commanded. But her voice was different—more confident, more resolute. It was her, but not as I knew her. Even her presence felt foreign, unfamiliar.

My gaze locked onto Hansel, who stood before me with eyes wide with fear. “Don’t mind if I do,” I responded, my voice steady and sure.