Page 110 of Chosen Destiny

Turning around, I saw Kel with a bullet wound between her eyes. She’d fallen backward again, but this time, she stared blankly at the ceiling.

The prisoner stood and threw his head back, whining as if in mourning.

I blinked, unsure what had happened. Lynerd had ripped Oregon away to follow Kel, but now he’d killed her to protect me. He’d stabbed Kel in the arm instead of killing Bodey. Something wasn’t adding up.

Agony coursed through me, and in another second, Bodey was sitting beside me, his arms wrapped around me.

They’ve stopped fighting us,Reggie linked with Bodey and me.They’re standing around, looking confused.

They felt the loss of their alpha.

Uh… did you take out Queen Kel?Jasmine’s voice popped into a link with Bodey, Samuel, Theo, and me.Some of her wolves just turned and ran back the way they came.

One by one, more people checked in, saying the same thing.

With Kel no longer in charge, the wolves weren’t sure what to do.

The world spun, and for a second, I thought it was from relief. Then my head became too heavy to hold up on my own.So tired,I linked to Bodey.

He tensed beside me, and as the edges of my vision darkened, he murmured, “Callie, hang on. I need to see your eyes.”

Whispers hissed in my ears. My head pounded, and I slowly opened my eyes to find I was on a couch. I raised my head and grew dizzy, but nothing like before. I was still in wolf form.

“Hey, take it easy,” Bodey said softly as he appeared beside me. The couch dipped where he sat, and he placed a hand on my head and scratched behind an ear. “You lost a lot of blood. Chelsea healed your wounds, but we want to make sure you stay comfortable and heal.”

This time, I lifted my head slowly and saw Chelsea, King Sutton, Lynerd, and some man I didn’t know sitting at a square kitchen table across from me.

Where are we?The last thing I remembered was Kel dying and the enemy running away.And why is Lynerd here?

We’re in one of the two houses Russell rented.Bodey smiled and kissed the top of my head.We came here so you could heal while the rest of us cleaned up. Callie, Lynerd joined Kel’s pack to get close to her and help us take her down. He even made sure that none of the Oregon pack was on her property in case of an attack and that the enemy wolves didn’t find us as we approached Kel’s home. He’s the one who killed her.

I exhaled, trying to process what he’d told me.

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to forgive Lynerd, and I could feel Bodey’s conflict too. At least we weren’t under threat this minute.

I sat up, remembering all the deaths.I should help our people.

Right now, it’s more important that you shift and join the conversation. Theo, Reggie and the royal advisors are supervising the burials, along with some of the Southwest wolves. You’re needed here to make a truce between all the territories.

Truce? My head fogged, and I shook it gently to clear it.Why are the Southwest wolves involved?

Because their new king is here and wants to make things right between us.Bodey nodded at the table and the stranger sitting there.

The very stranger who was staring at me with a neutral expression.

You were right to free him. He was Kel’s mate and the rightful king of the Southwest. He tried to attack me only because of their mate bond, but he holds no ill will toward us. Even though he’s grieving their lost connection, part of him is glad she’s gone after the hell she put him through.Bodey mashed his lips together.She drugged him one night and locked him in that prison. He’s been there for the past fifteen years.

My heart ached. What type of person could do that to their mate? Even in death, Kel still stunned me.

“Is she awake?” a male voice asked from a phone sitting in the center of the table.

“Just now.” King Sutton smiled sadly at me. “She’s still in wolf form.”

“I’m surprised she’s awake already,” an older woman’s voice said from the speaker. “I wouldn’t be able to recover so quickly even with my royal coven’s help.”

I swallowed.Who is that? And what happened to Kel’s coven?

King Henry from the Carolinas and Queen Mary from Alaska.Bodey reached down and lifted my fuchsia duffel bag.Let me help you so you can shift into human form and be part of the discussions. King Adam needs to go back to Kel’s mansion and take control of the Southwest territory, and he wants the agreement in place before he does. Dina and Chelsea are handling the witches. Kel had taken several husbands of the coven hostage, so they were forced to do their bidding. That’s all getting resolved now.

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