Page 42 of Chosen Destiny

“Not here.Where’s Bodey?” My voice came out rough, but I didn’t give a damn. I needed to see himnow.

“That’s not how this works.” Kel smoothed a hand down her beige silk dress, which draped her body and wrapped low in the front, revealing her ink—a simple small moon right under her collarbone. Like the last time we met, her feet were bare. They were submerged in the water, but I could see the crimson paint on her toes. It matched the nail of the finger she pointed at me. “You’re early. You were to come later. How did you get here so quickly?”

“We knew you’d want to meet in Nevada, so we were already traveling in this direction.” I shrugged. “Is that a problem? You’re here, and I want my matenow.”

She chuckled. “You aren’t in a position to make demands.”

I felt the others step closer behind me.

“Actually, isn’t that why we’re meeting?” Jack strolled to my left side and rolled his shoulders. “You demanded that we come here, and we obliged. It’s your turn to keep the peace.”

Sneering, she tilted her head, observing him. “This isn’t about peace. This is about domination. You don’t have any leverage over me, and I have the one thing your littlequeenwants more than anything in this world—her mate.”

“Eh.” Jack scrunched his face. “I’m pretty sure her desire to kill you is just as strong. You know, with you being a narcissistic bitch and all. I know it might be hard to understand, but nobody here likes you. You choking right now and floundering like a fish out of water would make us happier than a buffet of tacos, which is really saying something. I love me some tacos.”

Lucas linked,Man, shut up. Don’t make me smack you in front of her.

I didn’t know why, but having Jack act like his normal jovial self helped me control my panic. My breathing was still fast, but it wasn’t as harsh. Although, no matter how many times I searched the woods, I couldn’t catch a glimpse of my mate, which wassuperproblematic.

The queen smiled and almost purred, “I really like him. Maybe I should include him in the swap? He and I could have a lot of fun.”

Jack’s nose wrinkled and he took a step back. “Imma have to pass.”

My patience snapped. “Where’s Bodey?”

Kel’s brows lifted, but she nodded. “Fine. But they can’t take him back until you hand yourself over to me.”

Callie—Samuel started.

I didn’t have the patience to listen to him. “After last time, I don’t trust you.”

“Why not?” She smirked, knowing the answer. “I vowed I wouldn’t hurt anyone there that day, and I kept my word.”

I crossed my arms, ignoring the cold. “You attacked two of my packs before everyone who was with me got back to our vehicles. So, although you technically followed through on your word, you implied something different. To me, that’s lying.”

She grabbed her skirt and swirled it around her, allowing the end pieces to trail in the water and darken. “That was an error on your part. But I promise that today, there’s no play on words. No one in your territory or here will be injured today as long as you hand yourself over.”

“And Bodey?” I asked, listening to her words.

“He’ll be allowed to go home and recover.” She nodded.

Miles stiffened, flanking me on my other side. “You know none of us approve of Caroline handing herself over, but if she does, then we’re going to do an even trade with no funny business. You will hand Bodey over to us at the same time Caroline surrenders. It’s not happening any other way.”

“You aren’t the leader, so I don’t need your blessing,” Kel snarled.

“Maybe not.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but I was searching the tree line for my mate again. “But I agree with Miles. It happens simultaneously or not at all. You just promised nothing would happen while we were here, so unless you want your people and mine to learn they can’t trust you, that’s how this will go.”

Her nostrils flared, but she nodded. “Fine.” Her gray eyes glowed eerily as she linked with her pack.

Someone from the middle of the group moved, and I watched as the person bent down. He lifted a body and threw it over his arm.

That has to be Bodey,Michael linked, his breath ragged. He wanted his son back almost as badly as I needed my mate.

Make sure Michael doesn’t do anything rash,Phil linked to Miles and me.He’s been more worried about Bodey than he’s let on.

I couldn’t focus on his words. Every cell was urging me to race toward my mate, but that would only cause problems.

Carl connected with Jack and me,Callie, you need to inform Jasmine that the trade’s about to go down.

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