Page 19 of Challenged Mate
But a larger part of me couldn’t deny my relief.
I knew it was delaying the inevitable, but I was glad to not have to face the male I’d be forced to mate while fate-bonded to another.
“Asher thinks you need to talk through your thoughts and feelings with someone. He suggested your best friend. Have you reached out to her since you’ve been here?”
“No.” And I didn’t plan on it anytime soon. I didn’t want to speak toanyone.
I didn’t want to call Stephanie to cry about my fate and burden her with my sadness.
I didn’t want to tell Hunter how part of me wished I had agreed to a future mating with him. If I had, maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation.
And I especially didn’t want to hear my father offer another apology about why he did what he did.
Any conversation I had with a member of my pack would not relieve the turmoil inside me.
Through Stephanie’s text messages, I’d gleaned enough to know the pack was safe. Whatever threat the rabid shifters posed seemed to be under control. That was enough for me to maintain my distance from my pack members…formerpack members.
“Okay,” Kayla said, clearly sensing that suggestion was off the table. “What about me? I know we just met, but I've been told I'm a great listener."
“Thank you, Kayla, but I really don’t want to talk about my feelings. Not with anyone.” I offered her a gentle smile to lessen the sting of my rejection.
“Understood.” She moved on without missing a beat. “We’ll keep trying different ways to break your mother’s protection spell. Don’t worry. I’m sure we will figure it out soon.”
I hoped so. Otherwise, things could get complicated.
Aside from that one conversation with Stanley, no one else in the Wilds Pack had tried to speak with me—male or female.
When I brought up the subject to Chase, he had tried to reassure me the pack was wary of outsiders, but I didn’t think that was the reason for their distance.
It was impossible to miss how some of the females watched me with contemplative and assessing stares. It was only a matter of time before one of them challenged me.
I would’ve welcomed their challenges if it would make a difference in my fate as their alpha’s mate. But since it wouldn’t, I needed to be ready to defend myself and earn the pack’s respect. Respect was everything to a shifter, and if I were doomed to live among them the rest of my life, it was something I needed.
My gaze traveled to the play gym on the other side of the pond. A group of four females stood nearby, but their attention wasn’t focused on the children.
“There are a lot of females in your pack,” I noted, keeping my gaze on the women, refusing to be the first to look away.
“Yes,” Kayla replied. “The magic in our bloodlines increases the frequency of female offspring. We’re the more magically gifted sex.”
So, the alpha could have had his pick of any of the numerous, powerful females within his own pack for a mate. He wasn’t like a Northeastern Pack male whose only option was to search outside his own pack for a mate who wasn’t related to him.
Apparently, our mating was truly for the sake of an alliance.
“Are all the females in your pack more powerful than the males, then?”
“No,” Kayla answered, “but we are more naturally attuned to magic, but that is just one factor that influences a sorcerer’s or sorceress’s power.”
“What are the other factors?”
Kayla leaned back and tapped a finger on her thigh. “Other than natural ability, I suppose the next most important factor would be what percentage of your blood is from your magical ancestors versus your shifter ancestors.”
“The more shifter blood, the less powerful you are with magic,” I stated.
“Basically,” Kayla said. “But it also depends on the power level of your magical ancestors. For example, you and I are both fifty-percent shifter and fifty-percent sorceress, but your power’s strength far surpasses mine because of your mother’s gifts. Only the strongest sorceresses are slated to become the Mother Goddess.”
I blinked, shocked Kayla knew that detail about my mother. “Did Asher tell you that?”
“He did,” she admitted. “Don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone else. Asher just thought it would be good for me to know when he heard I was helping you with your magic.”
