Page 38 of Make Me

“Only a fool believes what people in power say without question.” Bryson clasped a hand on his shoulder. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we didn’t have the full story. And if your friend is at the center of it, she’ll need all the help she can get.”

Cody nodded, shocked at his dad’s easy agreement. If only he could get him to agree that Bethany and Zack were his mates that easily. He opened his mouth to say something, but Bryson cut him off.

“Anyway, we have dinner at the house tonight. Your mom has invited some guests.”

Cody held in his groan as he nodded. Great. Maybe he could get his mom to agree to no more dinners. He had already found his mates and had no intention of letting them go. Memories of the Summer Solstice weekend flashed through his mind, and his cheeks heated. He turned away from his dad and headed out of the training arena. His wolf growled softly as he remembered how Bethany had felt in between them. His hellcat had sheathed her claws for a short time. But then she’d thrown the walls back up between them. Cody didn’t blame her reaction to their shared moment with how intermixed pairings were treated in her pride, but he was determined to show her it was worth the risk, anyway.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

BETHANY

Age 21

A few weeks after the summer solstice

Bethany stifled a yawn, ignoring the look her mother shot her from across the table. She was still struggling to catch up with sleep from their adventure a few weeks ago. She and Cody had gotten back to the shifter territory late the night after the Solstice. They were supposed to have been back in the afternoon, but Claire had a knack for getting into trouble and had ended up getting herself kidnapped by her new Notus familiar. Malcolm had ended up finding her wandering with the Notus near the Fae lands. By the time she got back to the manor, and they talked about everything they learned, it had been late afternoon.

She didn’t really care that her mom was pissed, though. If what they had talked about a few weeks ago was true, the leaders of the Realm had been lying to the people for the last twenty years, and Bethany didn’t know if her mom was among them. Did she know the truth? Or had she been told the lie? Did she believe the lie? How many deaths in the Great War could have been prevented? Bethany’s grandparents had died in the Great War long before Bethany had ever met them. Could their deaths have been prevented? What other rulings had the Council enacted that were based on lies?

Rustling around her drew her attention back to the room. People were getting up and leaving. Perfect. She slipped out between two of her mom’s betas, pretending she didn’t hear her mom call out her name. She wouldn’t ignore her forever, but she needed to get her head on straight before she confronted her. And she didn’t need to sit in another meeting. It wasn’t like her mom took her opinions seriously, anyway.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even see the group in front of her until it was too late to avoid them. She looked up, barely hiding her groan at Alonzo’s smug grin.

“Beth.” Alonzo’s smooth tone sounded like nails raking down her sides.

He was the epitome of a male tiger. Tall and lithe with smooth golden muscles. His blond hair was short with reddish streaks in it, and his blue eyes shone with an elitist malevolence that made Bethany want to hurl. Cats had reputations of being snobs, and Alonzo definitely leaned into the reputation.

“Alonzo,” she said, her teeth clenched in a too-tight smile. She looked over her shoulder at the meeting hall. She was too close to it to risk causing a scene. Her mother was probably watching her from her office window.

“I heard you went on a little field trip a few weekends ago.” Alonzo said, his lips curled into a sneer. “To visit a witches’ coven.”

“It’s important to cultivate allies,” Bethany said tightly.

“You think the witches would ever ally themselves with shifters? With you?” Alonzo laughed with his friends, as if the idea was preposterous. And maybe it was to them. The witches and shifters had never gotten along well, but why did that mean that could never change?

But Alonzo was stuck in his beliefs. Well, more like his father’s beliefs and his father before him. That was the problem with this Realm. Too damned focused on bloodlines and power.

He would never listen to logic, so she went a different route. She smiled sweetly up at him, too much teeth in her smile to be genuine, but she didn’t care.

“What do you mean?” she asked, pretending she didn’t understand.

There was no way Alonzo was going to explain and risk insulting her. His father would have his head. Not because he insulted Bethany, but because he risked his chance at being her consort.

“I…” It was extremely satisfying to watch Alonzo falter and stammer as he tried to figure out how to respond. “You’re just too good for them, Bethie,” he told her with what she was sure he considered a charming grin.

“Mmmm” she hummed non-committedly, but he grinned like he’d won gold. “Well, I have to get going. Enjoy your day.”

She politely brushed by them and kept her pace steady but quick as she walked away. She didn’t dare risk a look back. Alonzo would take it as encouragement to follow her. Even as it was, she hoped he was too flustered to try to follow her.

Once she was out of sight of the meeting house, she slipped between two houses and darted into the woods. She and Cody hadn’t really had a chance to talk when they got home last night through the portal onto the neutral ground. When they arrived, Deltas from the pride and pack were waiting to escort them home. Hopefully, he had been able to slip away, and even if he hadn’t, she could enjoy the serenity of their spot.

Bethany frowned when she arrived at their spot and it was empty. Her lioness stretched restlessly beneath her skin, and Bethany decided to let her out. She touched her neck, the shifting charm laid against her chest. Right next to it was the golden paw print charm that Cody had gotten her for her eighteenth birthday. With the mate pull between them intensifying, Bethany had taken to wearing it more regularly to reassure her lioness that she had a piece of Cody with them. Her cat was insistent that a bite would be more effective, but so far, she had managed to keep her in check.

She slipped into her lioness form, the shift feeling as natural as breathing. It hadn’t always been like that. But her mom’s strict training growing up was finally good for something. Although she had hated every moment of it, the bond between her and her lioness had grown stronger. It was the only way she had been able to control her cat when it came to the mate bond. Her cat wanted to hunt Cody down and claim him as hers, and not just Cody. Her cat wanted Zack, too. She was a greedy bitch like that, driven by feelings and instinct. It was up to Bethany to make sure she kept her in check.

She stretched her paws out in front of her, kneading the ground with her claws as she shook out her coat. It had been too long since she’d last shifted. Sunlight shone through the trees, and she lazily batted at a leaf as it floated by in the wind. Her lioness perked up, her ears twitching as she heard something approach. She hoped it wasn’t Alonzo. Her lioness was more dominant than his tiger, but Alonzo didn’t recognize that. He was always trying to dominate her, and every time she embarrassed him by shutting him down, he just doubled down on his efforts.

She crouched as she caught a flash of grey fur. When the wolf padded into view, though, she relaxed, and her lioness padded to greet him. Cody’s wolf was large, even for a wolf shifter, standing almost a foot taller than her lioness. His soft grey coat was streaked with brown, giving him an almost brindle appearance. Large yellow eyes looked down on her as she approached. Before she could control herself, her lioness rubbed against Cody’s wolf, scent-marking him in a way that would have Bethany blushing if she was in human form. Cody’s wolf just rumbled with approval and licked her ear. Her cat sneezed at him, and his tongue lolled out at her. If he was in human form, she was sure Cody would be laughing.

---