Page 42 of Destined Mate

“Yeah, they’re great.” He kicked at a pebble on the road. “And Bodey, well, he was born to be the alpha. I wasn’t. I was born to be the spare, so none of this should be happening to me.”

“The spare?” I clenched a hand. I hated how little I knew about our leaders, and after spending time here, I was certain Zeke had kept me and the wider pack ignorant on purpose. If we’d learned what the advisers and king believed, not all of us would agree with his leadership.

“I had a sister.” His lips pressed together, and we descended into silence.

Giving him a moment to collect his thoughts, I turned my focus to the surrounding neighborhood. A few people were out in their yards, and they smiled and waved as we passed by. There were no kids around, but they’d be arriving home from school soon. I noted an older man tending to his garden and a mom outside with her toddler playing chase, a game wolf shifter children especially enjoyed.

“I don’t really remember my family,” he said after several minutes of silence. “I’ve seen only a handful of pictures because most were destroyed in the fire that claimed their lives.”

Once again, we were similar. I didn’t remember my family, either, just flashes of things I couldn’t put into focus. Everyone believed I couldn’t remember because I was blocking out trauma. “Were you somewhere else?”

“No, I was in my room. It was late at night, and my father asked Michael to return to the mansion.” He wrapped his arms around his body as if the memory were horrible. “When Michael arrived, the house was in flames.”

My stomach revolted and my mind conjured the image of flames. “Wouldn’t they have informed someone of a fire?”

“It was a gas leak that exploded from the fireplace in my father’s study. My mother and my sister were apparently in there because when Michael raced to the wing that my sister and I lived in, she wasn’t in her room, but I was in my crib. Michael grabbed me and linked with his pack to call the fire department. There were no other survivors.”

My heart ached for him worse than my ribs were protesting from how long we’d been walking. “Wait. Sister? That still would have made you king since she was female, so you weren’t really the spare.” Shifter society was archaic that way. Zeke had made it clear that no one would follow a female.

“Not true. Michael told me she was already being groomed to lead. Dad and Mom had every intention of naming her the next ruler, and from what Michael said, her wolf was one of the strongest he’d ever encountered.” Samuel’s face was lined with pain. “Even better, she had a heart of gold. Everyone knew she’d be the type of leader needed to bring peace back to the scattered territories.”

I swallowed hard. I hated that he’d been left alone and that this young girl with a bright future had died along with the king and queen. But Fate had a way of making things work out, so Samuel was meant to be king. “What do you mean ‘unite the territories’? Aren’t we all separate? Or is it just Zeke’s?”

“From what I’ve heard, Zeke was close to my parents back then. He wasn’t as ornery as he is now, but that wasn’t what I meant.” He spread his arms. “The other four territories are scattered through the United States—Southwest, Midwest, Alaska, and the small pack out in North Carolina. Between humans expanding and the packs battling over limited turf, we all retreated within ourselves and haven’t been helping one another.”

Wow. I almost felt sorry for the little girl. To know at such a young age that her parents and the alphas had been counting on her to unite all the wolf shifters would have been harder to live up to than just trying to take care of your own area. Now Samuel faced this daunting task—and without his family. I shivered.

“Hey, let’s turn around and head back,” he said gently, his eyes on me. “We probably went too far.”

The end of the neighborhood was ahead of us. This was my first time walking so far since I’d been injured, and my ribs were throbbing. I’d gotten lost in our conversation and pushed myself too hard. I nodded, and we turned around, heading back to the house.

“If it’s any consolation, I think you’ll be an amazing king.” I patted his arm. “Usually, the people who don’t want it are the exact people who should be in power.”

He chuckled. “Maybe. I still think Bodey is a great leader. He’s stringent about the rules and has true convictions about what’s right and wrong. It’s sort of intimidating, especially when he became alpha and he and I moved into the house next door. I thought he’d relax more once he wasn’t under the constant eye of his parents, but if anything, he’s even more put together.”

“Why did you move in with him instead of staying at Janet and Michael’s? Not that you aren’t over there all the time, anyway,” I teased.

He shrugged. “They gave me a choice, but Bodey and I were close, and he was the alpha. It seemed right that I stayed with him and helped strengthen his role—though he didn’t need the extra help. Everyone loves him. The ones who don’t fear him. If you become his enemy, he’s nothing like the person we know. He’s cold and ruthless.”

I’d already seen that each time he’d talked with Zeke and Theo, but as soon as he looked at me, his softer side bled through.

“Enough about me.” Samuel karate-chopped the air. “Let’s talk about you.”

And we did, the entire way back. I told him the short version of my life story, including how my pack saw me, how Theo and Stevie were my only salvation, and how I was desperate to get the hell out, but Zeke kept holding me back. I’d never been so honest with someone before, but it felt right with him—not because I expected him to take care of my problems but because I felt an almost familial connection with him. Maybe because, in a way, we’d been raised with similar struggles.

When we reached the house, Bodey was already in the kitchen, along with the three other advisers and what must be their parents.

They looked at us with hard expressions.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

Something was wrong.My pulse pounded in my ears. I glanced at Samuel, a little annoyed he hadn’t warned me that something was amiss, but I found his brows furrowed and realized no one had linked with him.

“What’s going on?” Samuel asked as he scanned the group standing around the island. “What are all of you doing here?”

Bodey looked at me and then at Samuel. “I’m glad the two of you were almost back. I was about to get the Jeep and pick you up.” He introduced me to everyone, and it was easy to see who was related.

But this wasn’t the time for pleasantries. “It’s nice to meet all of you.” I turned to Bodey. “But why were you going to pick us up?” I examined his face. His expression seemed stretched tight. Looking around, I found every person wearing a similar expression.

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