Fate Mate

Chapter 32

"Jeez!" Dylan complained from the back seat, where he had been forced to share oxygen with our hybrid captive. "Guys, she's starting to wake up!"

"Hit her with another round of sedatives," Sophia suggested, not once looking up from her cellphone.

Nolan's blue eyes flashed in the rearview mirror, taking a moment to gauge the situation. "No, don't give her another shot. We need her to be strong enough to shift when we reach the Golden Walkers."

"And how much longer will that be?" Dylan's voice rose an octave in fear.

We had crossed over the Golden Walkers' borders almost twenty minutes ago, and, although no wolves ran out to meet our SUV, they had to know that we were here. I figured a scout had reported our arrival to Sehan and the pack now congregated at the house to greet us... Whether that greeting would be friendly, I had no clue.

"Ten minutes, give or take," Raegan announced, glancing at the half-folded paper map that sat in his lap.

He was right. In ten minutes, we would reach the pack house that I had grown up in. My knee bobbed incessantly up and down, and I caught myself nibbling at my fingernails more times than I could count. I'd imagined this moment so many times since leaving on the night of the Summer Solstice, and I desperately wished that I could tell Nolan to turn around. I didn't want to go through with the plan. I wanted to go back to the Black Lupis Pack to continue ignoring all of my problems.

Of course, if I said this out loud, I knew that I would have to endure endless mockery at the hands of Dylan, so I stayed silent and stared out the car window. Landmarks and memories of my childhood came flashing through the glass: the Cherry Tree Grove that Lizzie and I played in as kids, the birdhouse that I'd helped Jeremy build when I was five, the park bench where Jesse Waters had tried to kiss me after our first date.

We passed the Golden Walkers' training grounds, where a dozen werewolves stood like statues, hackles raised, as we drove by.

Dylan scoffed at the sight and started to smack-talk about his ability to beat any Golden Walker in a fight, which earned a chuckle from Sophia and Raegan. But Nolan's blue eyes locked on mine in the rearview mirror, concern clouding his piercing orbs. I gave him my best smile, a half-hearted attempt to conceal the nerves that chewed relentlessly at my stomach.

Our SUV pulled directly to the front of the Southern-Style mansion, where at least two dozen wolves stood waiting for our arrival. A select few Golden Walkers stood in their human form, including Alpha Sehan, my father, Jeremy. Not a single one of them smiled at the sight of our car rumbling to a halt in front of their pack house.

"Who is that? Clinging to Alpha Sehan like a leech?" Sophia grumbled, narrowing her eyes through the tinted glass at the blonde bombshell that stood with her arm looped through Alpha Sehan's.

"Is that...?" Nolan pondered aloud, and I blanched.

"Oh, Moon Goddess, it's Savannah!" I couldn't mask the distaste that leaked into my words as I slowly unbuckled.

Dylan clamored forward, as if to get a better look at the beautiful blonde. "You mean Broken Valley Pack Beauty Queen, Savannah?"

None of us bothered to answer him. There was no doubt about it: The beautiful blonde Alpha's daughter had somehow managed to claw her way into the Golden Walkers Pack. And, judging by the way she held onto Sehan's arm, she'd wasted no time in securing her place as Luna.

My nose crinkled in disgust. Sehan is old enough to be her father!

I must not have been the only one displaying an adverse expression, for Nolan looked back into the backseat and reminded us to be on our best behavior. "I don't think Sehan would take kindly to our insulting his new Luna..."