Page 10 of Destined Mate

“That’s true,” Jerome said. “Everything you said is true. But I know what I saw.”

Elder Rodgers rolled his eyes. “You’ve been wrong before.”

“Elder, I am never wrong,” Jerome said quietly. “Never.”

The silence remained unbroken as Jerome met each elder’s gaze. “Sometimes Fate steps in and changes the course of things. Or a person can choose another direction and their path changes.”

“That shouldn’t—” Elder Rodgers began.

“Matter? But it does. What I see are possibilities, but when a choice changes something, I then see an alternative path. Eventually I see an end result. And quite frankly, when I get a vision, it always comes to pass in some form or fashion. Always.”

“We all know this,” Henry added.

“Why didn’t you warn us of the hunters’ attack?” Elder Dillard asked. “If we’d had warning—”

“My visions are not on-demand like some TV network channel,” Jerome snapped. “I wish they were, but they are not. I didn’t foresee the attack until it had practically started, and I have no idea why.”

“So he says,” Elder Rodgers mumbled.

Henry growled at the one who spoke, taking a step toward him.

“No, Henry. Don’t.” Incensed, Jerome glared at Elder Rodgers. “Yes, he’s out of line, but we all know he wanted his omega son mated to Li Li. She chose me instead.”

“She didn’t need to go looking outside the pack for a mate when we had perfectly acceptable omegas here. Omegas who were born to this pack,” Elder Rodgers snapped. “And now she’s gone.”

Jerome stared at the elder. “Was that a threat? You think because Li Li is no longer here that I am unprotected? Don’t be foolish. I come from a formidable pack.”

“Then you should return to them,” Elder Rodgers retorted.

“That’s not happening. This ismypack now, regardless of whether I was born here.Iam the alpha mate.”

Elder Rodgers sneered.

“Of course, nothing is stopping you and your family from leaving,” Jerome pointed out. “So please feel free to do so. Otherwise? Stop using this meeting to take your personal animosity out on me.”

Elder Moore nodded his head. “I agree. Jerome belongs with us, and I do not appreciate your actions against him, Elder Rodgers.”

“I agree,” Elder Dillard said. “You dig up old history that is as deceased as our alpha.”

“That’s foul,” Elder Rodgers gasped.

“As is what you’re doing.” Elder Dillard bared his fangs at the other elder. “Now, can we get back to what really matters, like this rogue and the threat he is to all of us?”

The room calmed somewhat, but the tension had only shifted rather than dissipating. When the elders devolved into arguing again, Henry ended the meeting, which was just as well. They were all grief-stricken and exhausted.

Jerome mainly wanted to warn them about what he had seen, and he’d done so. As they dispersed, Jerome sighed tiredly. He knew that every step they took from now on was critical to their survival.

Walking out into the night, Jerome’s mind raced with possibilities and responsibilities. Somewhere out there in the vast wilderness, Wesley Valentino was unwittingly holding a piece of their fate in his hands. And possibly Jerome’s heart.

A heart that had never known the love of a mate.

A sharp pang of sorrow struck him as he thought of Alpha Li Li. Her wisdom and strength had been the backbone of their pack, her loss an open wound that seemed to throb in the night’s silence.

Mother moon cast a silvery glow across the dense woods surrounding him, and his wolf yearned to run. And that was exactly what he needed—to run for as long and as hard as he could.

He reached the edge of the wooded area, where ancient trees stood. With a heavy heart and a mind swirling with thoughts, Jerome stripped off his clothes beside a large oak, placing them neatly at its base.

He took a deep breath, allowing the scents of the forest to fill his senses and soothe his troubled spirit. Exhaling slowly, he surrendered to the transformation.

---