Page 30 of Moon Destiny

BROOKE

I was grateful I made it back to my room without seeing anyone. I could sense other people in the house, sort of like a tingling on my skin. Which was weird. Add it to the list.

It was growing dark outside but I didn’t flip on the lights as I sank onto the edge of the bed. Hugh’s book was on the nightstand where I’d left it. The shopping bags Julia had brought were huddled on the floor. In the chaos of the shooting and its aftermath, I’d forgotten all about her nasty comments.

But now they rushed back, her menacing tone fresh in my memory.

“You’re weak. The rogues are out for blood and you’re the last thing this pack needs.”

Something clicked in my head—and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it before. Even if I’d had no connection to Alex whatsoever, Hugh still wouldn’t want me as a mate. He was an alpha. A leader. There were only twelve packs in the entire country and based on what I’d read and seen, the twelve alphas in charge of them wielded absolute power. With rogues attacking the Pacific Pack, a turned human for a mate would be a liability. I was never going to be as strong as a natural-born werewolf. Did I care? No. But everyone else seemed to care a lot.

Why should Hugh be any different?

Not everyone cares, a little voice murmured. Dylan didn’t care. Or if he did, he was great at hiding it. But Julia hadn’t even tried to conceal her animosity. Tanner and the other enforcers had been polite, but I could still feel the pressure of all those eyes on me when I’d stepped onto the patio with Hugh.

If werewolves were truly prepared to wait centuries for their perfect mate, how disappointed he must have been when he realized fate had stuck him with a human. I’d believed his objections centered around my relationship with Alex, but maybe that wasn’t the problem. Maybe he simply wanted a mate worthy of him, and it could never be me. Clearly, fate had messed up. It had gotten things all wrong, matching two people who didn’t belong together. We didn’t even really know each other. The rejection ceremony would free us both from a bad situation.

So why did I feel kind of…bad about it?

Slowly, I stood and went to the bathroom, where I finally turned on a light.

My face in the mirror was the same one I’d been staring at for the last twenty-seven years. My eyes were normal, with no hint of a glow.

Ordinary.

Human.

Hugh had saved my life—and saddled himself with an unwanted mate in the process. Worse, I reminded him of Alex. His abrupt coldness downstairs was glaring confirmation of that. No wonder he was pushing for me to shift tomorrow. He wanted to sever ties as soon as possible.

Which was fine. Really. I had every reason to want the same. I had a whole life waiting for me. A career I’d worked hard for. An apartment I loved. And…

I frowned at my reflection. There were other things. I was just too damn tired to think of them right now.

“The way you’re feeling… I feel it, too.”

Hugh hadn’t lied when he said that. Just as I could sense other wolves, I could tell he’d told the truth. It wasn’t a scent—not quite. But it was something similar, like the way a burst of winter air has a bite to it. The draw between us was real, even if neither of us wanted it. The problem was, we had to work together to make the problem go away. That meant spending tomorrow with Hugh. It meant fighting my body’s reaction to him while I transformed into a freaking wolf. Easy, right?

“I am so fucked,” I whispered to the mirror. Part of me wished he hadn’t told me that turned wolves sometimes struggled to shift. God, that would be humiliating. What if I got stuck in some kind of in-between state?

I left the bathroom as I banished the mental image of me writhing on the ground while Hugh and the whole pack watched. I found a nightgown in the shopping bags and yanked the tags off. Tomorrow was the first step on my path to going home. I was going to ace my first shift, wait for the full moon, and then tell Hugh Dalton no thanks to being his mate. He’d do the same, and we could both return to our regular lives.

Even better, the desire I felt in his presence would finally go away. It would be a welcome relief.

It was too early for bed, but I slipped under the sheets anyway. Now that I knew Hugh’s true reason for rejecting me, the morning couldn’t come fast enough. I closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep. I felt better already.

The little voice in my head tried to whisper something else—a question I’d stopped myself from asking Hugh downstairs.

I ignored it.

But as I began to drift into unconsciousness, it whispered a little bit louder.

What happens if fate was right all along?

CHAPTER TWELVE

BROOKE

In middle school, my stomach had clenched every time the gym teacher announced we were doing the “presidential fitness test.” Even as a kid, the name had sounded odd and strangely intimidating. But the truly intimidating part—the part that had made my stomach twist into knots—was the one-mile run. Everyone assumed I’d be a good runner because I was tall, which was…not the case. I hated everything about running. The dry throat. The burning in my lungs. The plodding around the track for no reason at all. The exasperated stares of my inevitably disappointed gym teacher.

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