Page 80 of Fated to the Lone Shifter
Marcus cries out behind us, body jerking as the shift claws deeper.
Then I hear it.
A howl.
Low. Triumphant. Familiar.
Bode.
I grip the edge of the bed. My claws nearly punch through the mattress.
That sound…I know what it means. I know.
I look at Tori. She knows too.
The bond has been made.
He’s marked her.
My body goes cold. I’ve failed her.
And not just because I’m not there to protect her. I hesitate. I wait. I trust that she’ll be safe. I believe Bode might have some twisted sense of restraint.
I’m wrong.
In wolf clans, it’s not uncommon for a female to choose the stronger male. It’s written in the bones. Survival of the fittest. The strongest wolf gets the mate, gets the power, gets the legacy.
Growing up, I hear the snide comments about my mother. A strong alpha female who chose a kind-hearted beta. They mock her for it. Call her soft. Call her weak. They say she wastes her power.
But what I remember most isn’t weakness.
It’s love.
The way my mom and dad laugh together in the kitchen. The way he holds her hand like it’s the most precious thing in the world. The way he holds me when I cry.
Love is loyalty. Love is strength. Love is what I feel for Sera.
And Bode can never fake that.
Like Tori said, he can try to mark her. But he’ll never have her.
Not really.
I start pacing, jaw tight, fists clenched. My thoughts spin faster than I can hold onto.
Despite what Sera’s reports say, despite the colored maps and perfect alibis, I know the truth deep down.
Bode is behind the fires.
He has the money. The access. The connections.
And the motive.
He disappears the same year my parents are murdered. Their bodies burned beyond recognition in a fire too surgical, too deliberate. I always suspect it’s no accident.
Now I know.
Maybe they tried to stop him. Maybe they knew too much.
