Page 69 of Destined Mate

My heart clenched as I lifted the phone with shaking hands. Part of me hoped I would find a message from Bodey.

But there were only messages from Stevie and Mom.

An intense stabbing sensation hurt my chest, right where my heart was. By now, Zeke would have told the other advisers about the attack. There was no question about that since it involved the Southeast territories attempting to take over our lands. Bodey had been so determined to protect me, and now he wasn’t even texting to check on me.

My insignificance to him was too much. For the first time in my life, someone had made me feel important and valued, and for him to treat me like I didn’t exist a mere two days later was more than I could stand.

Unable to respond to my family’s texts and knowing Zeke and Theo would be keeping them informed, I pulled up my music, looked for the perfect song, and settled on “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith. But when I hit play and tried to get lost in the music, all I could see was Bodey on the back deck, playing his guitar for me. An ache cut through my chest worse than anything before, and I turned the music off and tossed my phone on the bed.

Theonething that had always given me solace didn’t anymore.

Heaviness pressed on my chest, making it hard to breathe as tears leaked from my eyes like a faucet. The throbbing was so severe that I would have rather had claws slash into my legs again than experience this.

The hollowness I’d lived with my entire life was now an endless void.

I got into the bed, curled up in the fetal position on my good side, and prayed for sleep to take me.

* * *

Shattering glass stirred me awake.I’d fallen asleep after tossing and turning half the night. The past two and a half days had looked exactly the same. I stayed in my room while Tina hovered around the house, cleaning and keeping an eye on me. I’d started streaming TV shows since music was too painful, but my mind kept circling back to Bodey.

“Tina, my gods,” Zeke growled. “Clean that up.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mom,” Theo replied. “I’ll get it since you’re cooking the eggs and sausage.”

Not wanting to eat another plain biscuit, I threw off the covers and got out of bed. At this point, I would take being around Zeke and Tina to have a reprieve from thoughts of Bodey.

Stevie had visited me the past two nights and brought some of my clothes. Today, I was able to stand without any discomfort, which meant I was almost healed.

Theo had let me know they’d kept questioning the wolf shifter in the basement, but he wasn’t giving up any information other than that Queen Kel had sent him here.

I dressed in jeans and a thin baby-blue sweater and brushed my hair. Then I hurried into the kitchen, not wanting Zeke to come hunting for me. Anytime I left my room, Tina and Zeke materialized out of thin air.

The smell of bacon and eggs met my nose, and my stomach panged. I’d been carb-loading the past few days since carbs were easy to digest, but I needed something more substantial.

When I strolled into the kitchen, Theo was throwing away pieces of a broken plate. He smiled. “Hey, you. It’s nice to see you up this morning.”

I smiled back without hesitation. He’d been my rock, like usual, over the past few days. Though things had gotten strange between us, ever since the wolf attack, he’d gone back to being the friend I so desperately needed.

He’d sat next to me in my bed and watched war movies with me. We’d shared popcorn until close to midnight, when he’d slip away to his house next door to sleep, never making a move. The strangeness between us was gone now that he wasn’t trying to date me.

“You should be in bed.” Zeke shook his head. “We need you healed.”

“Nothing hurts anymore.” I moved my shirt to show him that my wound was scabbed over. “And Tina removed the stitches yesterday.”

“She’s fine,” Tina added as she carried over two plates full of eggs and sausage. The biscuits were already in the center of the table.

“Want some coffee?” Theo asked as he headed to the coffeepot.

That sounded like heaven. “Yes, please.”

I tried to be patient and wait for them to get food and sit before I dug in, but I felt famished.

“Grab me a cup, too,” Zeke said as he filled his plate.

I forced myself to wait until he was done, then swooped in, snagging two biscuits and filling them both up with eggs and sausage. As I took a large bite, Theo took the seat beside me and placed a cup of coffee in front of me.

He snickered. “Hungry?”

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