When Fate Comes Calling

ARIEL

Vivian’s heels click on the linoleum floor as she hurriedly leads me through the hallway.

I stay in stride with her, but Alex and Natalia are struggling to keep up.

As soon as we arrived back at the Royal Pack, we headed straight to the hospital—to Amy.

Several patients eye me hopefully, having no doubt heard the tales of my goddess-like healing abilities.

I wish I could help, but I’ve learned my lesson: I can’t save everyone.

~I just hope I’m not too late to save Amy.~

“Thank God—or rather, the Goddess—that you got back when you did,” Vivian says. “Amy’s condition is getting worse. Marius hasn’t left her side.”

Being raised in the human world, Vivian probably doesn’t know much about the Moon Goddess, but if she’d been through what we just experienced…

Selene would ~surely~ have a new convert.

We burst through the door to Amy’s room and Marius instantly shoots to his feet by her bedside.

“You’re back!” he says, hope rising in his voice. “I never stopped praying that you’d return.”

“Well, the Goddess heard you,” I reply. “She heard you loud and clear. ~Trust me~.”

I stand next to Amy’s bed and place my hands on her chest.

Despite being a bit banged up, she still looks peaceful. But she’s pale as a ghost, and I can barely feel her heartbeat.

~Hang in there, girl.~

Alex and Natalia finally catch up, and stand on the other side of the bed, looking nervous.

I turn to Marius. “Well, don’t stop praying now. I’m going to need every ounce of faith that you have.”

He nods and shuts his eyes, silently praying. Alex, Natalia, and Vivian follow suit, joining hands by the end of the bed.

~Now it’s up to me.~

I close my eyes and clear my mind.

~“Selene, I wanted this gift for a reason—so I could help the ones that I love.”~

~“Please, give me your strength.”~

I feel the power of the Goddess pumping in my veins. Her energy flows through me like a gentle river, but spills out into Amy like an ocean.

A sharp gasp causes my eyelids to flutter open, and I see Amy sitting up, looking shocked.

Marius throws his arms around her and she melts into him.

“I thought you’d never wake up,” he says, his voice strained.

“Come on, Angel. I have way too much to live for to go dying on you,” Amy jokes, trying to mask her own quavering voice. “Who’s going to be the life of the party if I’m six feet under?”

Amy’s gaze connects with mine, and I give her a smile.

I almost expect Amy to say something like, “What took you so long, bitch?” but instead she just mouths “Thank you.” It seems to be all she can muster.

Seeing her in Marius’s arms—alive and well—and so full of love…

~It makes everything I’ve gone through worth it.~

But it also can’t help but remind me that Amy and Marius are ~chosen~ mates.

I glance at Natalia, who’s watching them uncomfortably.

~How many destined mates are out there feeling an intense loss instead of a joyful reunion?~

ALEX

Seeing Amy safe and sound makes my heart swell with happiness.

The love that she shares with Marius…it’s the same kind of love that I have with Ariel.

We met under strange circumstances, but over time our love has grown into something so beautiful—although things still get a ~little~ strange from time to time.

Being mated to a warrior queen with Goddess-given healing powers certainly keeps me on my toes.

I notice Dom standing outside the doorway; something about him seems off.

He’s not wearing his usual goofy grin. Instead, he looks…disturbed.

It suddenly hits me, and I feel sick.

~Dom and Helena are destined mates.~

~Oh Goddess…~

“Excuse me,” I say to Natalia and Vivian, quietly stepping away from them and moving into the hall.

Dom almost looks like a zombie, his posture slouched and his voice monotone.

“It’s gone…like ~poof~…gone,” Dom says, his eyes glazed over. “I…I thought I was dying when it happened.”

I place my hand on Dom’s shoulder, but then I pull him into a hug. “I’m so sorry, man. How is Helena?”

“She hasn’t stopped crying,” Dom replies. “She said…she said…”

Dom’s voice breaks and he can’t continue. I give him time to get his words out.

He looks at me, his eyes filled with pain. “She said that I feel like a stranger now.”

I can’t bear to see my beta like this—defeated, broken down, detached.

I suddenly have the urge to shake him. Or smack him across the face. Anything to wake him the fuck up.

“Dom,” I say sternly. “Does Helena feel like a stranger to you?”

“I…I…don’t know,” he stammers. “It feels different.”

“DOM,” I say even more pointedly. “Do you really feel like your connection with Helena was so flimsy that the only thing holding you together was ~destiny~?”

Dom doesn’t answer, but I can see the light start to return to his eyes.

“Whether you realize it or not, you ~chose~ Helena, destiny be damned. So let me ask you again—is your love really nothing without a destined mating bond?”

Dom stands up straight. “No…I...love her. She’s still as perfect as when I first set eyes on her at the mating weekend.”

“Then go tell her that!” I shout. “Because she’s probably just scared that you don’t still feel the same way about her.”

“I’m a goddess-damned idiot.” Dom turns on his heel and starts running down the hall. “Remind me to thank you later!”

I shake my head as my beta bursts through a pair of swinging doors and almost knocks over a nurse.

~If there’s hope for that nutcase, then maybe there’s hope for other destined mates too.~

NATALIA

“Then go tell her that!” Alex shouts from the hallway. “Because she’s probably just scared that you don’t still feel the same way about her.”

Dom takes off like a rocket, Alex’s words lighting a fuse under his ass.

I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation, and I have to admit… It did a number on me too.

I was so busy worrying that without a destined mating bond, Chuck wouldn’t want me, or that I wouldn’t want him…

But I should’ve been asking myself, ~Has anything really changed without it?~

Fate didn’t bring us together.

I ~chose~ to go find him.

Fate didn’t determine my feelings for him either.

I fell in ~love~ with him.

And he needs to know that.

***

I run down the palace corridor, toward my room.

~I’m just going to grab my things and go.~

Xavi is still with my parents, and I want nothing more than to hold him right now. But it’s better to go to the Crescent Moon Pack alone.

Xavi was already rejected by his own father. I couldn’t bear it if Chuck…

~No, don’t think that way.~

~Chuck isn’t Xavier.~

I don’t know if Chuck will accept me, or reject me…

But I don’t want another second to go by without knowing.

I fling open the door to my bedroom, and my heart immediately stops.

An involuntary gasp escapes my lips.

Because sitting on my bed is…

“Chuck,” I murmur. “What are you—”

He stands up and strides across the room in what feels like a single step. Within an instant, he scoops me into his burly arms.

“I came as soon as I felt our mating bond break,” he says, his lips hovering just inches from mine. “I never should have left in the first place.”

I thought our broken bond would drive him further away, but instead it brought him back to me.

“You…you waited for me?” I stammer.

“I’ll always wait for you. As long as you need.”

My heart feels full as I stare into his eyes. Destined or not, I have so much love for this man.

“I want to be with you,” I say. “Even if Fate, or my mom, doesn’t want us together.”

Chuck lets out a deep, robust laugh. “Is your mom higher than Fate on the totem pole?”

“She’s scarier than Fate,” I say. “And I’ve stared that foul spider-bitch in all eight of her beady eyes.”

Chuck presses his lips against mine, and I savor the sweet taste of his tongue as it lightly pushes into my mouth.

When he finally pulls away, he smiles, and his normally intense eyes crinkle with joy.

“I want to be with you too.”

Chuck sets me down on the bed, and I grab his collar, pulling him down onto me.

“Then no more waiting,” I say. “You’ve waited for me long enough.”

I lower the sleeve of my shirt, exposing my bare shoulder—but not the one that Xavier marked.

Chuck nods and opens his mouth, his sharp canines extending from his gums.

He strips off his T-shirt and leans down, hovering over my shoulder.

His tongue teases my skin, testing it before he takes a bite.

A moment later, I feel his teeth sink deep into my flesh.

It’s not painful; it’s the complete opposite.

Pure pleasure.

My mate has finally marked me.

Xavier’s mark looks like an ugly scar to me, but Chuck’s mark makes me proud.

~I’m his.~

And now it’s time to show him he’s mine.

My wolf takes over. She’s the wild one.

And she’s ready to stake her claim.

I grab Chuck by the back of his neck and pull myself up, biting into his shoulder and marking him.

I’m way less gentle than he was with me.

He groans in ecstasy when I pull away, leaving behind a large mark.

His hands tangle in my hair as he holds me close to his body. I happily snuggle into his chest.

I’ve never felt more at home than in this moment.

Now, we’re not just mates.

We’re ~chosen~ mates.

ARIEL

Alex holds my hand as he walks me to the warrior barracks. I feel relaxed in a way that I haven’t felt for a ~very~ long time.

Xavier is gone for good.

Fate has been reborn.

New destined mating bonds will form, despite the old ones breaking.

“What are you thinking about?” Alex asks as we stop in front of the barracks.

“The future,” I say. “I’m cautiously optimistic.”

Alex laughs and kisses me on the forehead. “I told you things would get back to normal.”

“Once I’m sparring with the squad in the arena, that will be true,” I say, punching him affectionately in the shoulder.

“Go easy on them,” Alex says, grinning. “You just won a duel with Fate. It’s not exactly a fair fight.”

“I’ll try my best to hold back.”

Alex lifts my chin and plants a soft kiss on my lips. When he pulls away, he shoots me a grin. “That one was for good luck…not that you’ll need it.”

I give his hand one last squeeze before I head into the barracks.

***

As I finish suiting up in my sparring gear, Steve passes me in the locker room.

“Back to the grind already?” he asks. “No healing duty?”

“You know it. I’m dying to get back to the warriors,” I say, stretching my arms above my head. “These hands won’t be doing any healing today, I can promise you that.”

“Well, we have a few new recruits out there,” he says, giving me a wink. “Maybe one of them will finally be able to find your weak point.”

I laugh and pat him on the back as I head to the arena. “Not a chance on the Goddess’s green earth.”

I dust my hands with some chalk and walk to the center of the ring, eager to see these new recruits.

There are several men with their backs turned to me, talking near the bleachers.

“If anyone wants to spar, I’m itching to kick some ass!” I shout, hoping to entice one of them into a fight.

“I’ll take you up on that,” a confident voice says from behind me.

I turn around, ready to see what young pup is cocky enough to step into the ring with me, but—

I’m paralyzed in shock when our gazes meet.

His irises are a vibrant amber color, and a horizontal scar runs across his left eye.

A pulsing energy courses through my body.

An unmistakable feeling of longing.

A heat between my legs.

A white-hot fire that burns with desire.

My inner wolf howls in both confusion and arousal.

I’ve felt this way only once before—with Xavier, my destined mate.

Which means…

~Oh my Goddess, it can’t be…~

“Holy shit,” he says, dropping his sword to the ground. “You’re my…”

I want to look away, but my wolf won’t let me. Our gazes remain locked in place.

His eyes are all I see. Everything else is a blur.

I thought I’d outrun Fate, but fuck was I wrong.

She just came calling…

And she gave me a ~new~ destined mate.

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