Fate Will Have It

XV

Kenzie Hope

That night I couldn't find sleep. I was both conflicted and missing my mate. The latter was an obvious reason that had kept me up for as long as I had left. The first, though, was a new development that I couldn't quiet wrap my head around.

I had a family besides Brady and they wanted to meet me. Jordan was a great man and a leader, he was obviously raised by a great mother. My father was a great man. The person who raised them both had to be decent, right?

If I saw my grandfather, he would offer me his title. I was the only blood left to take his kingdom. Jordan had refused him and Brady was too young. From the sounds of it, he didn't have the time to wait for Brady to be able to accept the fate. It was up to me to take the throne or let everything go to hell.

Great.

I went downstairs to the kitchen counter and pulled up a stool. The manila folder sat there, taunting me to open it and, well, I couldn't help myself.

On the top was a napkin with a rough family tree drawing. It was obviously informal as there was a wine stain in the corner of it. The handwriting was chicken scratch and there were question marks and circles all around various names. Although, it did hold the same information that I was just told. Jordan, according the napkin, was my cousin.

Under that was, what I assumed to be, a family photo. There were three people, two parents and a child, standing in front of a waterfall. They looked happy, genuinely happy, not just picture ready happy. The little boy was maybe one and he looked up at his mother with striking blue eyes, they were the same eyes Brady had. The back of the photo read Richard, Susan, and baby David in quick cursive handwriting.

Digging further into the folder was another picture. This time there were just two kids, one boy and one girl. The boy was maybe 10 while the girl couldn't have been over 6. They were holding hands and while the boy with the striking blue eyes looked right at the camera with a bright smile, the girl looked up at the boy with a giggle on her face. Her hair cascaded into light brown ringlets all the way down to her hips and her face was littered with beautiful freckles. The back read David and Lauren in soft print letters.

There were more pictures, but most of them were just Richard Hope, my grandfather, and those were the only two with my dad in them. I placed the pictures to the side, putting extra care into the one of my dad and Lauren, who I assumed to be Jordan's mom.

The rest of the folder was just formal documents; copies of birth certificates, my dad's formal exilement, the list of heirs to the titles, etc. It was basically all pointless until I got to the back. That is where I found the real stuff.

There were letters, maybe ten of them, all addressed to Jordan, as they made their plea to him.

"Mr. Jordan Dean,

I hope you regard my letter and it finds you in good health. As you have probably hear, our Alpha Hope is not in good shape and you are the heir to the title. I understand the responsibility that it would hold on you, but without you, Beta Maxwell will take over and then, eventually, his son. They are both evil men who kill for fun. I am begging you, Mr. Dean, please save us..."

The letters went on and on, all begging for Jordan to save them. Some of them were longer and some of them were shorter, but they all told a heart-wrenching stories of the evil Beta Maxwell.

I felt tears run down my face as I read the last one. Beta Maxwell had tortured this woman for spilling water when he tripped her, then, when her mate defended her, he locked him and her two children up. She hasn't seen them for two years now and if it weren't for the mate bond, she wouldn't know he was alive.