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“She’s my best friend.”
“I don’t like this one bit,” her dad, Lee said. She could picture him frowning, his brow furrowed and his gray eyes shining with worry. “It seems very foolish.”
“Duke understands and I wouldn’t do something like this without telling you. I wanted you to know that I’m not just doing this to protect Demi, but because I feel like deep down I need to.”
There was a long pause. Then her dad said, “If you’re sure. And you’ll be safe?”
“Yes, I’m sure. And yes, Duke is sending some males with us.”
Lee blew out a breath. “Then okay. Just be careful. Very careful.”
“I will, Dad.”
“Please keep us informed. And for goodness’ sake, be careful.”
“I will, Mom, I promise.” When the goodbyes were said, she ended the call and sighed. Then her phone buzzed with a message from Duke.
Benecio will meet you at the park where we met last night. I’m sending Vale and Reign with you. They know where to go.
Thank you, she texted back.
Be careful. He’s dangerous.
I will.
Twenty minutes later, China was on the way to her destiny, feeling like she was on some kind of mythic quest. If she were a heroine in a romance novel, she’d be the knight-in-shining-armor, not the damsel in distress. Unless Benecio tried to kill her, and then she might need some rescuing. She’d learned how to defend herself in school. It was something that all females were taught in both their shifts and human forms. But she’d never had to put those moves into practice, aside from punching a human once who had gotten handsy at the bar.
Abbie drove and China sat in the front seat; Vale and Reign in the back. China was stressed out, and the closer she got to the park, the more worried she became. What was waiting for her at the park? What was she going to see when she got there? What would he do?
* * *
Abbie stopped the car in the park’s lot and turned off the engine.
“I’m going to scout,” Reign said.
Vale got out as well, but stayed close to the car.
China saw Benecio and a handful of males with him.
Abbie cleared her throat. “Just because I saw you and him in a vision it doesn’t mean that you need to see him. We can still leave.”
“We already called the meeting, though.” China didn’t think that canceling the meeting with Benecio was a good idea. He was an asshole and crazy to boot, which was not a good combination. “Crap.”
“We don’t have to do this. It’s magic, not science.”
With a shudder, China straightened and stared out the window. Benecio was sitting on a concrete bench with a pissed off look on his face, and all the males with him looked disgruntled.
“My destiny is out there, though.” How often had she thought of the word lately? It was on repeat in her brain.
“It is. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t forge another path. Destiny can be changed because of free will. If you don’t go through with meeting Benecio, then your destiny will change paths.”
“And he’ll want to fight Demi’s mates for her. I can’t allow that, not when I could maybe do something about it. I feel like I have to be here.”
There was a knock on China’s window and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Vale leaned down as China lowered it.
“You almost gave me a heart attack,” she said.
“Sorry. They’re getting anxious. We should either get this over with or leave.”
