Page 20 of Fated Wolf's Destiny

He sits, stretching his legs out in front of him, his movements casual but calculated. “Quiet out here,” he says after a moment, his gaze flicking to the woods.

“For now,” I reply, my tone sharper than I intend.

Lucas raises an eyebrow, his smile faint but genuine. “Trouble in paradise?”

“Something like that,” I mutter, taking a sip of my coffee.

There’s a beat of silence, and then he says, “You look like you’re either about to explode or implode. Which one is it going to be?”

I snort, but the sound holds no humor. “That obvious, huh?”

“Only if you’re paying attention,” he says lightly. “And I tend to pay attention.”

I glance at him, his profile sharp against the fading light. There’s a warmth to Lucas that puts me at ease, a stark contrast to Ryder’s perpetual icy demeanor. I debate staying silent, but the words bubble up before I can stop them.

“I’ve been thinking about my grandmother,” I say quietly, staring into my coffee.

Lucas doesn’t interrupt, just shifts slightly, his focus settling fully on me.

“I didn’t know much about my grandparents growing up,” I continue, my voice tight. “But the more I learn, the more I realize I didn’t know anything. Did you know my grandmother was a member of the Nightshade Pack?”

“Yes. Ryder is alpha. I’m his beta.”

“So that means he’s in charge and you’re?”

“His second-in-command.”

I nod. It seems like Lucas is going to be straight with me. I just need to figure out what questions to ask. “Did they really make her choose between my grandfather and your people?”

“Regretfully true,” Lucas admits.

“Why?”

“Lots of reasons—tradition, a belief that bonding with a human would taint the bloodline, fear that your grandfather would betray us…”

“Did he know?” I ask.

“I don’t know for sure, but my guess is he did. But unless she initiated the change…”

“The change?”

He nods. “Yes, when a shifter takes someone to mate, it is customary for them to inflict a claiming bite, which initiates a change in the non-shifter’s DNA, causing them to become a shifter as well. The thing is that it is not to be done without the non-shifter’s consent. I don’t know why she didn’t bite him as it’s said they loved each other more than anything.”

“Why wouldn’t she do it then?”

“Not sure. Often we men—shifter and human alike—don’t like the idea that we are being claimed. The antiquated tradition in the Nightshade Pack is that men do the claiming and women are claimed. Sometimes those not born as shifters are often looked down on. Her family and the pack turned their backs on her and never spoke of her again.”

“Then maybe she was better off without them,” I say angrily.

“Maybe.” Lucas exhales softly, his gaze dropping to the ground. “It wasn’t fair,” he says after a moment. “What happened to your grandmother. It wasn’t right.”

“Then why did it happen?” I demand, my voice rising despite myself. “Why would the pack just turn their backs on my grandmother because of some outdated rule? Sounds pretty self-serving and bigoted to me.”

Lucas flinches, but he doesn’t bristle like I expect. Instead, he looks at me, his expression soft but serious. “It happened a long time ago. Had Ryder been alpha, he would never have allowed it. He’d have told the Elders to go fuck themselves. Kind of like he did when they wanted him to run you off.”

His honesty catches me off guard, deflating some of the anger simmering in my chest. “He didn’t need their orders to do that. He seems perfectly happy trying to intimidate me all on his own.”

“The Elders don’t order Ryder. They may try, but he shuts that shit down pretty fast. They are there only to advise. Youdon’t understand him—not that he’s made it easy for you. He wants you safe. There’s a lot going on and he figured you were safer back in Seattle.”

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