Page 85 of Chosen Destiny

“I felt the same about your family. That conversation has always stuck with me. Over the years, I saw what he’d noticed back then. No matter what happened, Kel isolated herself from the other territories. We didn’t hear a damn thing from her until three years ago.”

It was a whole lot of information to take in, and I wasn’t sure if I was awake enough to have this conversation. I yawned and covered my mouth, trying not to let King Sutton hear. I wasn’t bored, just exhausted.

Bodey snickered.Let me go get you a cup of coffee.

I grabbed his arm, and he stilled.I don’t want you to go. I want you to hear the entire conversation.

He tapped my forehead gently and winked,Then open up our connection. I’ll be able to hear everything. I’ll be back in a few minutes.He kissed my nose and crawled out of our bed.

All brain cells misfired as I stared at his naked ass, and when he bent down and snatched his pajama bottoms off the floor, a bit of drool puddled in the corner of my mouth. I wasn’t sure if this level of attraction was normal between mates, but I hoped it never changed.

“Caroline?” King Sutton asked.

My face flamed. Even though he had no idea what had captured my attention, he still knew I wasn’t engaged. I forced my eyes away from my mate’s now-covered bottom and stared up at the ceiling. “Yeah, sorry. I’m just processing everything.”

Thank gods he wasn’t here to smell the lie.

It didn’t help that Bodey had a huge smirk on his face as he opened our bedroom door and sauntered into the hallway. He knew exactly what had distracted me.

Yanking at the tether of our bond, I opened myself more to my mate, similar to when we’d orgasm together and our souls merged. I could feel him opening up to me as well, our warmth blending.

I racked my brain to get on track. “What happened three years ago?” I wanted to pat myself on the back for remembering the last thing he’d referenced.

“She visited my territory, asking questions and wanting to see certain places. She was scoping out the area, and when I confronted her, she didn’t deny it. I had Russell escort her out. We didn’t need a wolf war—our human population is dense. I kept waiting for her to come back, but we learned she’d attacked your territory. I foolishly thought we were safe, knowing that seventeen years without a royal had made the Northwest vulnerable.”

And he didn’t think to help us?Bodey linked, his anger warming my blood.

Our connection was working, and Bodey’s question was fair, so I asked it.

King Sutton sighed. “I thought about it, but I feared another royal making overtures might make the advisors and Samuel uneasy. I didn’t want to give the perception that I wanted to take over your territory.”

“Or give her the illusion you were trying to move in before she could.” If he wanted to be allies, he needed to be honest. That was the only way things would work between us.

“That too. If war breaks out in this area—and I now fear war is imminent—there is no way even thousands of witches could control that exposure. We need to take the fight to her.”

I liked the sound of that. “I don’t know where she lives.”

“We have that information here. It’s been passed down by previous generations.”

Information I no longer had access to because my father’s study had been destroyed. The gifts of Zeke’s betrayal just kept coming. “How do I know I can trust you?” My father had, but he had also planned to put Lynerd in charge. I’d corrected the latter, and here I was without Oregon. I didn’t want to put my faith in my dad’s gut based on the person King Sutton had been seventeen years ago.

“Good question,” he said with approval. “And one I fear you won’t have an answer to until we meet. I’m hoping you’re up for a visitor or three.”

My brows furrowed. “You want to come here?” Out of every scenario, I’d imagined he’d want to meet halfway or have us come there.

“I hate to ask my mate and my son to come with me, but after what happened tonight, I don’t want to part with them. You could have someone pick us up from the airport.”

Bodey?I didn’t know the right answer. Sutton coming here would give him access to more information on us, but at least we wouldn’t be going into his territory, where we could be captured far more easily.What do you think?

Tell him to come. We don’t have to bring him to our home if we get a bad vibe. We can take him somewhere else.

Good point. “Okay. When do you want to visit?”

“There’s a flight leaving within a few hours. We can be there by this evening.”

Okay, he moved fast. “Today?” I squeaked.

“If we’re going to attack Kel, time is of the essence. We need to be ready to strike before her wolves regroup and come up with a new plan. Twenty of my strongest wolves have already left for California. They’ll scope out Kel’s house while I meet with you and the king consort.”

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