Page 95 of Chosen Destiny

I didn’t doubt it one bit.And I love you even more.And now I wanted to let him stew on everything we’d discussed.

I leaned forward and turned on the music, flipping through the stations until I landed on “Wolves” by Selena Gomez, letting the words speak to us both.

* * *

Not an hour later,the former advisors, Russell, King Sutton, Edward, Theo, Jasmine, Dina, Chelsea, Bodey, and I, were standing in front of the two houses that Russell had rented.

Forty of the wolf shifters would stay in human form, including everyone in our immediate group. Russell handed each of us two rifles, a belt with two holders, and a dagger. We needed a way to protect ourselves, and a decent chunk of us needed to head indoors to find Kel. She wouldn’t leave her secure position to join the fight.

As he handed King Sutton his weapons, Russell flinched. He didn’t like his king being here, but I had to give it to King Sutton and Edward. They’d insisted on coming, which made me like them even more.

“Your Majesty, maybe you and Edward should stay here.” Russell hung on to the dagger a little longer while King Sutton put on the belt. “You two haven’t trained like the rest of us.”

“I have a strong wolf.” King Sutton fastened the belt. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I know how to fire a weapon.”

“I want to see that bitch when we take her down.” Edward pumped his dagger in the air.

King Sutton glowered at his son while Jack cackled. “Fuck yeah. We’ll both be there.”

Even though I loved their enthusiasm, I took no pleasure in what was about to happen. Lives would be lost on both sides, and that would be a tragedy.

“We’ll stay in the front with the shifters leading the way.” Chelsea glanced at the sky, a thin, whimsical cloud hiding half the moon. “If we sense magic, we’ll need to take the spell down before anyone passes through it.”

That was the thing: none of the shifters had gotten close to the house due to the range of the drone.

It was nearing three in the morning, and we needed to move before dawn came too close. Russell had found two sizable cabins in the mountains, and with the cool air in March, no humans should be out.

I glanced around at the one hundred of us standing outside. Miles’s men were next to Bodey’s uncle Reggie’s, and the Midwest wolves had gathered together. The witches were different, all of them mingling and talking as if they’d known each other for years. From what I had remembered, the witches got together annually, so they probably knew each other well.

“We need to take cover in the woods.” Bodey took my hand, urging me forward. “If someone does stumble upon us, we’ll look strange like this.”

“Especially with all the guns and daggers,” Samuel added, gesturing to our weapons.

“I’ll lead with nine of the men who came with us,” Russell said. “And our last ten will stay in the back.”

Chelsea nodded. “Some witches will too, in case they attack from the rear.”

She was now doing the talking, taking charge, and leading them instead of Dina.

The four advisors flanked Bodey and me. Part of me wanted to protest, but I swallowed it down. They wanted to make sure their king and queen remained unharmed, and I couldn’t blame them, but I’d be prepared to attack when the time came.

Samuel stood next to me with Miles beside him, near the edge of his pack, while Jack and Lucas took Bodey’s other side.

Where do you want us?Reggie linked to Bodey and me as we spread out to begin our attack.

Stay in the center near Jasmine, please.Bodey hadn’t shot Theo any more looks, but that didn’t mean he fully trusted Theo yet. Trust had to be earned.

I’ll watch her with my life,Reggie vowed, his sincerity palpable even without a bond.

Following Russell’s men, our group headed out. Chelsea and Dina were front and center with the ten shifters, Russell at Dina’s side. Dina kept her chin high and moved forward. I was grateful she’d come. Even without magic, she was an incredible resource for our side.

The Jeffrey pines didn’t give us much coverage, but as we moved deeper into the woods, firs began filling in the gaps, keeping us hidden from view. The terrain was different from back home, the ground drier and desertlike instead of wet mulch, but our group powered on.

Two miles from Kel’s estate, Dina let out a loud gasp and rammed into Russell, causing him to fall back into Jack.

“What the fuck?” Jack rasped, but Dina lifted a hand as she squatted close to where Russell had almost stepped.

Chelsea’s eyes widened. “Is that what I think it is?”

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