Page 25 of Destined Mate

The two betas also moved into the pack house.

The only good thing Jerome could find in the whole situation was that Elmer had not yet forced the bond with the pack… or with him. And if the pack was unwilling, it might never form.

Unfortunately, Jerome didn’t have that luxury. Elmer could indeed force a mating bite on Jerome and bond them that way, but he couldn’t force a pack bond.

Jerome touched where the mating bite from Li Li used to be. It had disappeared as soon as she had died.

He honestly didn’t know what he was going to do. How was he supposed to live like this? What would happen when the Luna’s Summons rolled around?

Would it even take place now that Elmer had proclaimed himself pack alpha? How did that work? Could those summoned still challenge Elmer? Would they even want to?

Although Jerome wasn’t religious, he prayed to his wolf god, hoping that the vision he’d had of Alpha Wesley was genuine and that he’d save them. It was the only thing preventing Jerome from completely losing his mind.

He flinched when he heard his name bellowed and quickly hurried out of the garden to where Clyde stood.

“Alpha wants to see you.”

“Yes, sir.” Meekly, Jerome followed Clyde into the pack house and into the main office.

Elmer had made himself at home at Li Li’s desk, and the wrongness of him sitting there almost knocked Jerome over. His wolf snarled, but he swallowed the sound.

Jerome stopped at the front of the desk and bowed his head. “You wanted to see me, Alpha?”

“Where are the records? I need to find out the value of this pack—its savings, checking accounts, everything. Would you know where they are? No one else seems to.”

“I do.” Jerome hoped Elmer had not taken his frustration out on other pack members. But he wouldn’t bet on it.

“Bring them to me immediately,” Elmer demanded.

Jerome’s hands trembled slightly as he nodded, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the ground. “Yes, Alpha. I’ll get them for you.”

He turned on his heel and swiftly left the office, his mind racing. He knew, of course, where things were. That had always been Li Li’s job. Now he guessed it would be Elmer’s responsibility. Once more, Jerome’s wolf snarled silently in his head.

He headed toward the administrative building, a small structure behind the pack house that held all the important documents.

As Jerome entered, he could feel the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. He shifted through drawers filled with organized files until he found the ones labeled “Finances.”

Gathering the hefty binders, he paused, feeling a sudden unease. He wasn’t just retrieving these for Alpha Woodhouse to assess their economic stability.

It felt distinctly like he was handing over control of their remaining freedoms. But he didn’t have a choice. He didn’t want to see what that asshole would do if he didn’t get his way.

Jerome took a deep breath and made his way back to the office. Handing over the books, he gazed at the ground. There was no way he wanted to meet the alpha’s penetrating stare. He seemed like the type who would take it as a challenge.

“Good,” Elmer grunted as he took the binders from Jerome’s hands. He began flipping through them with an unsettling eagerness. “Now, leave me. I need to look over these in peace.”

Dismissed, Jerome exited quickly, but not before hearing Elmer mutter something about potential investments and cutbacks. The words made Jerome’s stomach turn. These weren’t just numbers on a page—they represented his pack mates’ livelihoods and security.

Outside again, a crippling helplessness overcame him. The threat was not just from outside. Now it was from within. If Elmer decided there was anything unnecessary or too costly, what would stop him from eliminating it?

Or them?

As Jerome walked through the quiet halls of the pack house, his mind churned with a mixture of fear and anger. He suspected that Elmer’s plans went beyond mere financial cutbacks.

He was afraid that it would be an overhaul of their lives, a potential threat to their very existence as they knew it. The idea that everything they had worked so hard to maintain could be dismantled by one man’s greed was unbearable.

Jerome was utterly exhausted, his mind foggy and sluggish with fatigue. With heavy limbs and a weary sigh, he left the pack house and transformed.

Elmer’s stern command to leave still echoed in his ears, so he did just that. He left. He stumbled through the underbrush, searching until he discovered a dense, comforting thicket of bushes.

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