Page 103 of Destined Mate

“Thank gods,” she sighed. “I thought they were taking you to the coronation. Are you and Tina heading home?”

“I’m not with them. I’m with Bodey.”

“Bodey? The guy who broke your heart?”

I flinched. “Yeah, but we figured everything out.”

“Good, but I need you to come home.”

My stomach soured. “Yeah, I can come by later.” Telling my parents and Stevie about Bodey and me in person would be best. “Bodey and I will drop by after the coronation.”

“What? No!” Her voice grew urgent. “I need you herenow. You can’t go to the coronation!”

My head jerked back. I’d never heard her sound like that before. “Stevie, what’s wrong?”

CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT

My throat constricted,and I struggled to swallow. If anything had happened to Stevie, my parents, or even Pearl, I couldn’t live with myself, especially if I hadn’t been there to protect them.

“I’mfine.” Stevie’s emphasis on the last word made me tense even more. She was deflecting, which usually meant she was hiding something from me.

“What about Mom, Dad, and Pearl?” Even though Pearl hated me, she was part of my family. The last thing I wanted was for something bad to happen to any of them.

Stevie huffed. “We’re all okay.”

“Then what’s wrong? Why do I need to go there?” The plastic on the phone popped, startling me. My hand had clutched it so tightly that the plastic was about to break. I hadn’t even noticed.

“Just…after the attack last night, I need you here.” Her words grew louder as if she were holding in a sob.

I loosened my grip, not wanting to snap my phone in the middle of the conversation. Some of my fear ebbed, and the lump in my throat shrank. “Stevie, I swear, I’m okay. I got injured a little, but the priestess from Bodey’s coven healed me almost completely. It’s just a scab this morning.”

She gasped. “You let awitchtouch you? That’s not safe.”

A month ago, if she’d told me a witch had helped her, I would’ve had the same reaction. Our entire pack didn’t trust witches because of Zeke. His bias had made us jaded, and maybe the covens that had been part of our pack were different from the rest. I didn’t know, but Bodey trusted Dina, and after seeing how protective she was of his pack, I had no reason not to trust her either. “She’s nothing like what Zeke painted the others to be.”

She paused. “Callie, I’m worried about you. After watching all the shit you were handed with this pack and the way our family is treated, I need you here. It’s always been you and me, and now I’m sort of alone. I just—” Her breath hitched. “I need to know you’re safe.”

Are you okay?Bodey linked, his concern wafting between us.

Yeah, Stevie is begging me to go there. She’s afraid I’ll get hurt after the attack last night.I wished I could hug her. She’d been my one constant blessing in life and the reason my sanity had survived, even more so than Theo. “I promise I’m safe,” I assured her.

His alarm switched to warmth between us.Tell her the coronation is being held off-site,Bodey linked.Only those attending the coronation are aware of the meeting location, and they found out just minutes ago.

I repeated what he’d told me, wanting to ease her mind. “Between that and the patrols both there and here, we’ll be safe.”

She didn’t respond, and I hated that I wasn’t rushing back to her. The truth was, I wanted to be there for Bodey. When I’d thought he would leave me behind, I’d wanted to pout, even though I understood. Now that I knew hewantedme there, there was no way in hell I wasn’t going. Not only that, but I cared about Samuel and wanted to be part of his big day.

Bodey and Samuel were part of my pack now, and the horrible truth of the matter was that Stevie and my family were clueless that I’d switched packs. That was how out of sync I’d been with my wolf and that pack. It was hard to fathom, given how connected I was with Bodey and our pack.

“You should be here with us, especially if you were injured. I can’t believe Zeke was okay with you going off with those royal advisersagain.”

The water turned off, and I heard Bodey stepping from the shower. Part of me realized he was completely wet and naked in there, but I couldn’t rush Stevie off the phone. “He didn’t have much choice.” Yesterday, that would’ve frightened me, thinking about what I’d be heading back to. But not anymore. I couldn’t be forced to go anywhere with them. “There was a lot going on.”

There was an awkward pause, and I didn’t have to be there to picture the expression on her face. She’d have her brows furrowed in a deep scowl, but that wouldn’t change my mind. In fact, I was certain remaining on the phone with her was only making her more desperate.

“Callie, he broke your heart. It’s not smart to stay with him.”

I sighed. “Don’t tell anyone yet, but I need you to know so you understand. We’re mated now.” Stevie’s words hurt, but they had come from a place of caring. “During our time apart, he realized he wanted me, too…no matter what.”

---