Page 70 of Chosen Destiny

Mom and Pearl chose to stay with Theo, Tina, Charles, and Trevor, which made me cringe. She didn’t want to stay with Bodey, Jack, Samuel, Stevie, and me. I suspected she didn’t want to see us with our mates after losing hers of thirty years.

The royal advisors spent all day contacting the alphas and coming up with plans to protect their packs. The witches reinforced their spells more often, and more wolves ran the perimeter. Weaker packs were instructed to relocate temporarily to a stronger pack so they could work together. Before we knew it, it was close to midnight, and we all crawled into bed.

After some time, a loud howl filled the air, and a pack member linked to Bodey, Samuel, and me,There’s something strange going on out here.

I rolled away from Bodey toward the clock on the nightstand. It was two a.m.

My heart thundered, though I tried to keep calm.What do you mean?

There’s some sort of…But he stopped, and his link cooled as if he’d lost consciousness.

CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE

All fatigue evaporatedfrom my body. Before I could do anything, the links of the other twenty wolves on patrols cooled. I tossed the covers off as Bodey stumbled out of bed.

We frantically gathered our pajamas, which we’d scattered all over the floor as we’d unclothed each other earlier. Something we should’ve maybe rectified before falling asleep, but Kel and her constant threats had been the furthest thing from my mind.

Simon, get another thirty wolves and check the perimeter,Samuel commanded, keeping Bodey and me in the conversation.Thirty of our strongest.

We need to inform Dina of what’s going on,Bodey linked to me.She’s the priestess and part of the coven assigned to protect us. She might know what to do and how we can protect ourselves. Queen Kel has made it no secret that she doesn’t mind using human weapons as well as witches’ magic.He picked up his cell phone from the nightstand, readying to make the call.

Good plan.I pulled on my flannel pajama bottoms, then yanked my fuchsia shirt on and down over the waistline.I’ll join the thirty running the perimeter.I needed to get out there and see what was happening.

Bodey frowned and lowered the phone.That wouldn’t be wise. If this is Kel, which it likely is, you’re their target. If anything, I should—

I burst into laughter; the noise was so bitter that my throat ached.Youjustgot back from a three-day stint where you were beaten, starved, and tortured. The last person who should go is you. You’ve only just healed.

Tossing the phone onto the bed, he stalked toward me. His irises darkened to a midnight blue as he gripped my arms.

My wolf soared inside me, upset and ready to stand our ground. The emotions swirling from him were so damn volatile that it was hard to latch on to just one.

His determination finally pulled to the forefront.If you go out there, I’m going with you.His fingers remained firmly on me but nowhere close to the point of hurting me. His eyes glowed faintly as our wolves communicated with each other.She took me to get to you. Everything she does revolves around you.

My chest tightened, and I hated that he had a point.How many more people are going to get hurt in my name?

As many as it fucking takes.His hand slid up my arm to my neck, supporting my head so our eyes remained locked.If she gets you, she’ll hurt far more than a handful of people. It’ll be every person who defies her, including all the people you love.

I sucked in a breath, not having expected the bluntness, but every word was pure truth. That was something Samuel would have said, while Bodey usually protected me from that kind of pain. He had a point, and it even broke through to my wolf as her anger receded from a boil to a simmer.Don’t sugarcoat it or anything.

You wanted me to stand beside you as king consort, and that’s what I’m doing,he linked as he kissed my lips softly.And I will protect you, which, fortunately for me, isn’t a conflict of interest since it also benefits our people. I’ll do all I can to reinforce how important it is to keep you safe.

Then you need to include yourself in that protection because I damn near fell apart while you were her captive.The agony of our separation still hit me so strongly that my eyes burned.If something else happened to you…I trailed off, not even willing to link the words to him.

That’s why I’m calling Dina and we’re staying put until we have a better idea of what’s going on.He turned, snatched the phone off the bed, and typed out a message.

I exhaled. He was right. They probably wanted me to run out there. I hadn’t been thinking logically. My entire life, the only person I’d had to depend on was myself. The thought of other people running around out there on my behalf while I stayed safe in a house didn’t sit right. “It’s hard standing still and doing nothing.”

“Babe, it’s the same for me.” His expression softened. “I want to be out there too, and sometimes staying still is the hardest decision to make, even if it protects the most people. Strong wolves inherently want to be in the fight.” He mashed his lips together as his irises lightened back to their normal color. “I’m willing to do anything to keep you safe because I’m selfish enough not to want to lose you either.”

Any anger I felt washed away as my heart expanded almost uncomfortably. He was struggling just like me, and his love was the only thing keeping him here. If he could do it for me, I could do the same for him.

His phone dinged, and the corners of his mouth tipped downward again.

My stomach ached. “What’s wrong?”

“Dina’s on her way here.” He grabbed my hand and led me through the bedroom doorway.

At Stevie and Jack’s room, Bodey banged on the door, and Stevie yelped.

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