Page 120 of Wolf Touched

Raffe settled closer into me, and we lay back with his arm anchoring me to him. Mom and Dad launched into stories of my childhood and how I wouldn’t take no for an answer when it came to things I wanted.

For the first time in my life, I felt like maybe everything would work out after all.

Two days later,the rest of our pack, which now included Sedona, Stephanie, and Fane, arrived back at Evergreen Elite University to meet with King Jovian, Queen Tashya, Keagan, Josie, Dave, Priestess Caroline, and Priestess Ednah.

Being back at the university was strange, but it also felt right.

The school was on fall break, so most people were off campus. The eight of us headed into the brick administration building, passing through the evergreen-painted halls to a back office used for board meetings.

A dark wooden, rectangular table took up the center of the room, with seats for up to twenty. Two things struck me as odd. First—Lafayette was there, and second—there were two open spots in the middle of the table. One on Keagan’s right and the other on King Jovian’s left. Queen Tashya sat on his other side.

“Please, come sit here, son.” King Jovian pulled out the thick wooden seat next to him. “We saved these two for you and Skylar.”

Queen Tashya jumped up and ran to Raffe and me, pulling us into a hug. She murmured, “Thank gods, you two are all right. I wished I’d forced my way into coming that night, but your father conveniently left out who he was rushing off to help, wanting to protect me.”

Raffe hugged her back tightly. “It’s okay. I need to learn his ways of doing that so Skylar won’t keep ending up in danger.”

Good luck with that.I cut my eyes to him.Not happening.

I detangled myself, my body slightly aching from her hug, to give them a moment together and sat down in the open spot beside Raffe.

Soon, Raffe took the seat between the king and me, across from Priestess Caroline and Priestess Ednah.

Raffe intertwined our fingers and rubbed his thumb over my wrist. He linked,Babe, I swear, I won’t let anything bad happen. Dad said he wanted to talk to all of us, including you and me.

I smiled tensely at him and nodded. I wasn’t sure if King Jovian still hated me, so I was a little on edge, but this was something we had to do, at least for Raffe. I didn’t want to come between him and his father.

Josie and Dave sat on the opposite side of King Jovian, and the others filled in spots, with Stephanie sitting next to her dad and Sedona taking the spot next to her mom and their mates beside them. Lucy and Fane sat on the end across from Stephanie and Adam.

When we were all settled, Keagan turned on the largescreen on the wall at the end of the table. A female appeared on a live feed.

“Thera, so glad you’re here.” Keagan smiled and introduced each of us, except for Ednah, Stephanie, and Sedona.

The woman pushed her long black hair over her shoulders and smiled. “I’m honored to be chosen to take over for Warin. Hopefully, I can do a better job than him.”

That wouldn’t be hard.

“We wanted to have this meeting before Keagan headed back to Atlanta.” King Jovian placed a hand on the table. “I don’t want to drag this out since my decision is quite simple. My wife and I are stepping down as king and queen and handing the reins over to my son and his mate.”

My jaw dropped. Raffe tilted his head back, and his shock mixed with mine, but he smoothed his expression into a mask of indifference, whereas I couldn’t.

“Really?” Raffe’s hand tightened on mine, and he laughed. “What made you come to that conclusion? Not too long ago, you told me I wasn’t fit to lead and my mate was a liability.”

“Which is why you two should be the leaders.” King Jovian hung his head. “I was stuck in the old ways, and I let fear dictate my decisions. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have—though he did try to protect me in the end—and I didn’t listen to the one person I should’ve respected more than anyone. You and Skylar have proved that I was completely in the wrong and that now it’s time for new leadership to take over. I mean, Skylar did jump in front of the fire to protect me after I’d been so awful to you both.” He turned to Raffe and smiled. “If you and your mate are willing, I’ll submit to you, and you can take over officially.”

Warm hope spread through Raffe and flowed into me.This was the future he’d always planned—taking over and leading his people.

What do you think?Raffe linked and turned to me.

Out of all the possible scenarios, I had never imagined this. Not only was his dad accepting me, but he was also okay with me ruling beside his son. However, there was one problem.I don’t want to lead the same way. I don’t want to hinder the other species, so—

Maybe, at one time, I wouldn’t have agreed with you, but I do now.He turned his back on his dad and took both my hands, his blue eyes glowing brightly.We’ll make decisions together and figure out howwethink our reign should be. You and me. Together. Forever. The way it was always meant to be.

I really like the sound of that.To make a difference, to help the rest of the species, and to allow each person to have a voice sounded better than being a vet. Maybe this was what Fate always had in store for me.Together. Forever. That’s the way I always want it to be.

Raffe stood, turned to his dad, and whispered, “I accept.”

When his dad lowered his eyes, submitting to him, thousands of pack links soared into my chest, and Tashya beamed.

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