Page 30 of Make Me

The girls snuggled down for bed, Claire pressed at Bethany’s back and Holly’s hand in her hair, and her lioness let out a sleepy purr. This is what it felt like to be around a true pride. These two women’s unwavering belief and love for Bethany was a tangible thing, and she hadn’t realized how much tension she carried around at her pride until she had stepped foot on coven land. Here, surrounded by her chosen pride, the tension melted away, soothing her lion in a way that she had previously only felt around Cody and Zack.

Her lioness let out a whine that Bethany smothered so it didn’t stir the women sleeping next to her. Her lioness ached for this, and Bethany didn’t know how to give it to her. She was the Alpha Heir. Her mother’s only Heir. She was the only option for her pride. But with each day and each meeting, the position felt more and more like a death sentence. Like a noose that was tightening around her neck. There were good people in the pride who were counting on her to lead, to continue the legacy her mother had created as the first female shifter leader and maybe even make her own changes, but she didn’t want to.

Bethany froze. It was the first time she had admitted to herself, even if only in her thoughts, that she didn’t want to lead the pride.

She shoved that thought away, putting it firmly in the dreams and fantasies box. It didn’t matter what she wanted. It didn’t matter that she found her chosen pride at the Academy or that her lioness had chosen Cody and Zack as mates. That was a fantasy. She didn’t get to have the fantasy. They lived in the real world, and in the real world, that would never be accepted and certainly not from an Alpha Heir. Intermixed matings that fell on opposite sides of the Great War had caused chaos and cost lives. As Alpha Heir, the effects would be multiplied. What if the pack and pride alliance fell apart? How could they pick up the pieces from that? She had people counting on her. Counting on her to bring the change to the pride that was sorely needed. She couldn’t let them down. She had to let go of that fantasy.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

BETHANY

Fingers brushed her wrist, and Bethany jumped. Zack’s face was carefully blank as he took the pile of red silk from her, but there was a sparkle in his eyes that had Bethany guessing it wasn’t an accident.

A hand on her back had her jolting again. Cody leaned past her to dig a pile of gold silk out from the crate of decorations. Bethany usually wasn’t jumpy, but Cody and Zack seemed to be taking every excuse to touch her as they helped hang decorations up for the Summer Solstice party later that evening. It was like the men had heard her thoughts last night and were determined to tempt her into acting on her fantasy.

Ducking her head, she pretended to rifle through the garlands in the box to give her cheeks time to cool off. Her lioness was loving all these stray touches. The big cat was not on board with Bethany ignoring her chosen mates. The cat didn’t understand the politics of the Realm they lived in, and it was up to Bethany to stay strong.

As Zack’s fingers brushed hers again, though, she felt her resolve weaken. Claire’s laughter drew her attention away. She was decorating the doors of the shops in the village, and she and Holly were laughing about something. Desmond, in all his overprotectiveness, had assigned Cody and Zack to be on the ladders and the girls to be on the ground. Bethany had wanted to tease him that they were capable of getting into trouble anywhere, but the shadows in his eyes had her pausing. Desmond looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep last night. She didn’t know if it was because he was worried about Claire or because he’d been separated from her for a night. She snuck a peek at Cody and Zack hanging one of the garlands across the road and bit her lip. What was it like to have someone who worried about you like that?

She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice two witches cutting through the street until they were walking past.

The witch with curly red hair mock-whispered to her friend as they passed under the garland the men were hanging. “Never thought I would see the day when shifters attended a witch festival. It’s just unnatural. I don’t know why Frederick would allow it.”

Bethany swallowed the growl that bubbled up from her lioness. She wanted to snarl at the women. To make them jump and scurry away like the rats they were, but she was on coven land. She couldn’t make a scene, especially not as an Alpha Heir.

Claire’s face darkened, and she stepped towards the women like she was going to give them a piece of her mind.

“Leave it.” Holly caught Claire’s arm gently. “That’s Matilda. She’s still stuck in the past.”

“The far past,” Bethany growled. “She forgets that the shifters fought alongside the witches in the Great War.”

Cody descended the ladder and squeezed Bethany’s shoulder softly. Whether it was to keep her from going after the witch or in comfort, Bethany didn’t know, but she recoiled from the touch. Matilda’s comment was just another reminder that the species didn’t mix. That the Realm would never accept an intermixed relationship, even if they were blessed by the leaders. If someone from the pride had seen Bethany just a few minutes ago acting like a lovesick fool over a few simple touches… She held in a shudder at the thought. No, she needed to let go of the fantasy, if only to protect all three of them. Even if she had to fight the pull for the rest of her life.

“If they did, then why is she so…” Claire struggled to find the word. “Hateful?”

Bethany hid a small grin. Claire was so sweet. She doubted the witch had ever cussed anyone out before.

“Allies is a loose term,” Zack said from up on the ladder. He frowned. “It was definitely born out of necessity rather than a true willingness to work together.”

Claire still looked like she was going to go after Matilda, but she huffed and marched over to the crate and took out a tangled mess of garland. Bethany stepped up next to her to help her untangle it.

“What do you mean?” Claire asked Zack.

“Well, when the Elves started demanding higher prices for their medicinal treatments, the other species knew that they had to band together and refuse to pay those prices until they were lowered. That forced the shifters and witches into a trade alliance,” Zack explained.

“So how did the Fae and Elves become allies, then?” Claire asked, her face screwing up in confusion.

Bethany agreed. This was always the part that felt a little hinky to her.

“That was a surprising development,” Desmond said, “at least according to Father. The two species lived on opposite sides of the Realm, yet when the first attack happened, the Fae came to the Elves’ aid.”

“The Elves attacked first?” Claire asked.

Desmond nodded, but Zack broke in. “Actually, I don’t think that’s true. At least, not according to the Dryad’s journal I was just reading. It was the witches who attacked first in a surprise attack on an Elven village close to the border.”

Desmond frowned. “That’s not what the records say.”

“I think…” Claire stopped untangling the garland, looking around the street to make sure their group was alone. “I think we should maybe consider that everything you’ve been taught about the Great War is wrong.”

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