Page 57 of Chosen Destiny

He squeezed my arm, and we climbed out from beneath the deck.

Phil, Carl, and I headed back around the deck to the stairs. Bodey stood at the top with his arms crossed.

I moved to be the first to climb to him, and at the top, I noticed how tense his jaw was. He was hurting, and he was trying to keep the pain from me, but I could still sense it.

I wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug but also supporting his body. He groaned lightly as we pivoted toward the door. I dropped one arm and helped him to the back door just as the front door opened.

As we entered, Prue’s gaze landed on my mate, and when her gaze slid down to his chest, I wanted to scratch her eyes out. But she stopped at his tattoo, and then she met my eyes.

My wolf retreated, relieved that her interest was in our tattoos and not in pursuing my mate. Bodey was sexy as hell, even injured.

“I’ll take the king consort. You three,” she said, glancing at the other three witches, “can pick who you want to help.”

Chest constricting, I inhaled. “Obviously, everyone here needs healing, but several other wolves are heading this way who might need healing too.”

Bodey and I shuffled toward Prue and met her at the couch.

“How many?” she asked.

“Let me find out.” I linked to Samuel, Miles, Jack, and Lucas.How many are badly injured? The witches are here, and we need a count.

Ten are very hurt,Lucas answered.The rest of us have minor injuries, but Callie, five died.

My heart ached. Five out of twenty-five was a huge-ass amount. Even one death was one too many, but five? I was going to be sick. Having Bodey here and needing me was the only thing keeping me together.

I repeated the information, and I heard Katelin sniffle. I noticed how red her eyes were, something I’d missed between caring for Bodey, sleeping, and facing the threat. I hated that her pack had lost so much, and all for my people.

Prue exhaled noisily. “Okay, mend them enough to get them near full strength. We can’t heal them completely with ten other substantially injured wolves on the way.”

Bodey and I sat on the couch as the three other witches went to Michael, Phil, and Carl. They sat at the kitchen table, and the ladies began their healing.

“This shouldn’t hurt at all,” Prue said, bringing my focus back to her.

She placed her hands on my mate’s shoulders and closed her eyes. When her hands glowed white, I knew she was working her magic… literally.

The fated-mate bond between Bodey and me warmed, and a soothing sensation filtered in as her magic began to work.

His pain eased as his body repaired itself, and I enjoyed the warm buzzing sensation as my mate’s injuries mended. The healing power of magic was so different from the power they’d used when prodding me for answers. Their magic seemed to blend with ours, making our bodies and wolves whole instead of trying to peel back layers.

“Thank you,” Michael murmured, causing me to glance at him. His color was better, and he didn’t flinch every time he took a breath.

The younger witch then moved to heal Carl.

Callie, we’re here,Jack answered.We don’t want to alarm you, but we have a problem.

The faint rumble of vehicles grew louder and stopped in front of the house. Jasmine moved toward the door. Someone from her pack must have informed her it was them as well.

Ofcoursethere was a problem. When was there not?

I kept that comment to myself.What’s wrong?

The wolves are too injured to shift back into human form, and it’s daylight. Some of the neighbors are outside.

Shit. The witches would need to use more of their magic to get the injured wolves into the house.

“There,” Prue said and lowered her hands from Bodey. “You should be healed enough.”

Bodey rolled his shoulders and raised his arms. “Thank you so much. I’ll be fully healed in a few hours.” He took my hand, and the jolt between us sprang to life.

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