Traded

*Colette POV

I watch Merikh as he works in his office, his head down and a frown on his lips. He has been like this since the night we kissed in the healing waters. And that was just over two weeks ago.

He snaps at everyone, especially Hayes, the two of them bickering back and forth under their breath as I try to tune them out and not listen. That would be an easy feat, a maid pretending not to hear what they hear, but I’m not a maid like Merikh likes to remind me almost every day. I’m his Luna. So I listen.

“No luck finding the mole yet?” I ask, arching a brow. His eyes snap up, the speck of surprise melting away into an amused smile.

“And here I thought you were so enthralled in your books that you weren’t listening.”

“You enthrall me,” I mutter, chewing the inside of my cheek shyly. He pushes away from his desk, then stands, all the while pinning me with his eyes as he stalks me down like prey. I remain still, like a deer in the forest, unsure of what to do after spotting the wolf.

“I enthrall you, hmm?” He stops at the foot of my comfy chair.

“It’s a fun word, isn’t it?” I smile up at him innocently and I see him fighting back the playfulness he so rarely lets

loose.

“Tell me, what is it about me enthralls you, my little Luna?” he leans forward, his hands coming on either side of my ears, pressing into the back of the chair as his nose dances dangerously close to mine..

It’s already getting harder to breathe in his presence. Just being near him brings me a calm, and a storm rolled into one. The safety net of his aura and the danger of my attraction to him.

I’m falling hard and I have not the damnedest clue how to tell him I am ready for the next step without sounding like a wanton woman. I find myself unable to speak as he closes the distance and brushes his nose over mine.

My mouth runs dry and my eyes flutter closed, begging him to kiss me again like he did when we were in the healing water. Two weeks of pining for that touch, that passion, only to suffocate in this sexual tension that could easily snuff out the sun.

Emergency calls only MO

“I like you, Merikh.” I rasp out and he tilts his head, surprised.

“You…like me?” he asks.

“I do.” Ladmit.

“You mean you feel safe with me,” He says as I watch him with a critical eye.

“No, I mean, I have feelings for you.” I reiterate, and he seems skeptical.

“It’s been three weeks.” He states, and I roll my eyes.

“And for two of those three weeks you have slept next to me, held me when I had a nightmare and have stuck by my side…” I pause. “I don’t want to leave your side.”

He freezes, blinking at me. “You are sure…?”

“Yes,” I chuckle, reaching up, only hesitating for a split second before I cup his cheek. “I’ve lived more in these past three weeks than I ever did in my first twenty–one years.”

“We will announce you to the pack tomorrow.” He murmurs, a smile on his plump lips as he gently brushes them over mine. I gasp, my mouth tumbling open in hopes of a kiss.

“Tomorrow,” I mutter, lost in the warmth of his breath as it teases over my skin.

“And then I will mark you, and make you mine, officially.” He closes the distance, his mouth covering mine in a gentle kiss, much different from the one before. This one is restrained, much more controlled, and I want more from him. The office door flies open and Hayes rushes in.

“Merikh,” he says, out of breath, his eyes looking from me and then back to Merikh in alarm.

“What is it?” Merikh growls, standing.

Silence falls over them. Hayes is doing a whole lot of talking with his eyes and I realize he is resorting to the mindlink. Gone are the whisperings, replaced with a way to hide things from me. I’m not a fan of being left on the outs, but I trust Merikh. If he feels it’s something I should know, he would tell me.

I can feel the anger rolling off him as his skin goosebumps and he cracks his neck, trying to remain in control. Something terrible must have happened for him to lose control like this. I glance at Hayes, who wears a serious