Page 67 of Eclipsed Heart

Bodey’s disgust surged through our bond.But she wouldn’t hesitate to kill you after you submit to her.

I glanced out the window, staring at the trees and dirt that flashed by as Bodey navigated the road. I rubbed my temples.Then why go after Bodey and Samuel? You’d think she’d know that if she killed them, I wouldn’t ever forgive her.

That’s probably the point. She doesn’t care about you forgiving her.Samuel paused.She wants to break you. If you lose your mate and your brother—the only other royal who could replace you—you’d be left with nothing. She intends to take everything from you so you can’t function.

She’d mentioned that I couldn't see the bigger picture, and I hadn’t. But Samuel had.

Pack links began to disappear from my chest, and pain cracked through me, causing me to double over. Five warm spots vanished almost at once.

“Callie, what’s wrong?” Bodey glanced at me from the corner of his eye, slowing down the vehicle.

“People in our territory are dying.” I rubbed my chest as the warmth of another two faded slowly. My vision blurred as I took a shaky breath. Coldness began engulfing my chest as if I were soaking in ice water.

Bodey’s face strained as his wolf fought forward. “I feel it now that you mention it, but I’m not as connected with them as you are. You’ll be impacted more than me.”

A tear trailed down my cheek, another one falling right after. I hated sitting here in a car and being unable to do anything. I felt extremely helpless. I’d made the wrong call. I should’ve known she had something up her sleeve, but once again, I was reminded how unprepared I was to rule.

Placing a hand on my arm, Bodey drove faster. “We’re going to get there, and we’ll help them.”

I leaned my head back as the chill seemed to drag me under. I hoped that we would get there in time to save our people.

* * *

The GPS’sautomated voice told us to turn on a back road, and I noticed we were five minutes away from the pack neighborhood. Bodey had gotten us here in twenty-three minutes.

Bodey and I talked with Zeke, keeping him informed of our progress while we kept the advisors, Samuel, and the dads updated on the pack links. Zeke was still two hours away from Lynerd, but he’d been checking in, and they were holding their own. The other pack Zeke had sent to aid them was thirty minutes out, so they’d arrive before him.

During the drive here, at least twenty more wolves had passed, and though my skin was warm, everything inside me froze as I tried to acclimate to the continued changes to the number of links in my chest.

I dropped the phone in my lap and rubbed my legs. I was eager to get there and fight, but I also didn’t want to because of Bodey and the risk Queen Kel posed to him and my brother.

“Hey, it's gonna be okay.” Bodey squeezed my upper thigh. “We'll get there and help the pack. Then we’ll figure out the next step together.”

Gods, I loved the sound of that. Hope flared in my chest, warming it temporarily. I had to temper that emotion fast. “I don't know if we can,” I whispered, knowing that he’d hear me.

I turned toward him, taking in his sharp cheekbones and full lips. His shirt clung to his muscles, and I took a moment to really look at him. Who knew if this was the last time we would be together like this? If the queen was intent on killing him, and she’d already planned these attacks, who was to say that she wouldn’t make his death a reality?

If I’d thought my chest was cold before, the mere thought of Bodey dying shattered my heart. The pain was overwhelming. Gasping, I sucked in air, filling my lungs.

His head snapped my way.Babe, what’s wrong? Did something happen?

A sob broke through.I can’t imagine my life without you. She wants you dead. I don’t know if racing to help them is the right answer with you and Samuel in tow.

Warmth spread through our bond as he pushed the sensation toward me. “I need you to hear me, so I’m saying this out loud. I have no intention of dying or leaving you behind. She wants you dead too, and I plan to be here to make sure thatneverhappens. If you want me to stay on the sidelines, then that goes for you as well.”

My wolf snarled. These were my people. Even if I wasn’t the most competent leader, I sure as hell wasn’t going to stay safe and let them all get hurt. I had to protect them…it was my duty. “I can’t—” I flinched, knowing that had been his point all along.

“And neither can I, especially if you’re in danger,” he said, taking my hand and interlacing our fingers. “We’re in this together. Always and forever.”

He pushed his love toward me, the sensation eddying through my chest, relieving some of the coldness. It didn’t take away the pain of the people we’d lost, but there was a promise of the future in it. I nodded. “Always and forever.”

I would go anywhere with him, even into death if necessary, as long as the two of us were together.

“We’re here,” he said, forcing my eyes away from his face and forward once more.

We were blowing past thicker firs, which meant we were at a lower elevation, and several small one-story homes came into view. They appeared to have been built many years ago, and just like all the other pack neighborhoods I’d seen, each house had a backyard that connected to the woods.

At first glance, it didn’t appear as if anything was happening. It was close to ten, and most houses had lights on inside.

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