Page 16 of Chosen Destiny

She hung up and placed the phone into her back pocket.

Michael asked what I already knew. “What did they say?”

That was the thing about this group—they’d never had the odds consistently stacked against them, so they needed confirmation.

Jasmine smiled sadly. “Russell had hoped to bring a hundred wolves here to help us get Bodey back, but King Sutton didn’t approve.”

There it was, the answer I’d heard in her voice.

“He said he didn’t want to get involved until he could see that our region had a chance to win.” She rubbed her hands together. “If Queen Kel manages to take over this region, the last thing he wants is for her to attack them in retribution.”

I couldn’t blame him.

“Yeah, but she’ll pivot to the Midwest territory eventually. She’ll take them over too, if her goal is world domination.” Lucas shook his head.

Jack rolled his eyes. “And he acts like I’m the dramatic one.”

“At least they considered helping.” I needed to give them credit for that.

“Great.” Samuel sighed. “We need to figure out something. I refuse to be like Miles and let Callie hand herself over.”

“Man, that’s not what I said.” Miles glowered, and his neck corded. “You can’t stop her from doing that if she decides that’s her only option.”

Great, we were fighting among ourselves again, which was probably part of Kel’s plan. She had us right where she wanted us, and I hated her for it.

“Stop arguing and let me finish,” Jasmine snapped. “I got my brother into this, and I’m with Dad. We’ll find a way to get Bodey back without Callie handing herself over, and if you’d stop bickering for a second, we wouldn’t keep having the same conversation over and over again.” Her eyes glowed as her wolf surged forward.

Her wolf was the weakest in this room, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t take a stand. Guilt was clearly driving both her and her wolf.

Silence descended, and I could feel the shock coursing through the royal advisors. Michael smiled proudly.

Samuel waved a hand. “Please, continue. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I thought you were done.”

Her gaze met mine. “Though King Sutton didn’t agree to send his region’s one hundred strongest shifters, he said he wouldn’t stop Russell from bringing people from his territory here if the alpha decided he should help.”

My heart lurched. The king was smart. He didn’t want a ton of shifters coming from all over the Midwest and sparking rumors that they were allying with us, but he wouldn’t prevent us from getting aid he hadn’t directly authorized. It was a strategic decision. If Queen Kel confronted him, he could tell her without lying that he hadn’t sent his shifters to help us. It was plausible deniability while helping us.

Hope expanded again in my chest, causing discomfort. They had to be bringing people here, or Jasmine wouldn’t have been so forceful with Samuel. “What did Russell say?”

“It’s not a huge number, but he’s coordinating fifty of his strongest fighters to come here.” Jasmine blew out a breath. “It’s not a lot—”

My body felt as light as a feather. “It’s more than I could have expected or hoped for.” My dad had been right. King Sutton was a smart leader who had compassion for more than his own shifters. If he wasn’t concerned about our well-being, he would’ve told Russell he couldn’t help. But I wasn’t foolish. There was also self-interest in his decision. “He knows if we’re overtaken, he’ll be her next target.”

Michael nodded. “I suspect the same thing, but if the roles were reversed, I’d recommend the same strategy.”

That was fair. His people were his priority. “When are they coming? The queen said she’ll want to meet in two days.” The thought of being away from Bodey for that long and knowing he’d endure more pain damn near had me falling apart, but I had to be strong for both of us. Maybe there was a chance we could come out of this together. Now that we had help coming, I couldn’t stop hope from spreading through every thought.

“They’re contacting the shifters through the evening and plan on leaving sometime tomorrow.” Jasmine wrung her hands again. “We also need a strategy. They don’t want Queen Kel to see a bunch of cars with Minnesota license plates coming in, so they might stay off-site. I’m thinking I’ll stay with them so I can link with you, Samuel, and Dad.”

“That’s an excellent plan.” I smiled at her. If Jasmine hadn’t ignored her parents’ wishes and come home, we wouldn’t have extra people coming to our aid. Even if they only brought twenty-five, it would give us a fighting edge. I’d take anyone they had to offer.

“In the meantime, we need to settle things here.” Carl winced. “Like informing Lynerd of Sybil’s death.”

My heart sank. “You’re right.” I bit my bottom lip. “We need to take Sybil’s body back to her coven, and Zeke needs to travel there with us.”

Dan’s brows rose. “Why take Zeke with us? I thought you wanted him dead or imprisoned.”

“Oh, I do.” There was one more important thing I had to do, not only for Oregon but to right the wrongs of my parents. I needed to talk to Lynerd and make things right. “He’ll be locked up before long. But I want to get back to Lynerd’s territory before it gets dark. And I’m hoping everyone will go with me.”

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