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“Because I deserve all the good things that are coming my way.” It felt strange saying that, but it was true. I deserved happiness and respect. I even deserved love.
Tyler wasn’t a mistake. He was a lesson.
Alec was my reward.
“You do,” Malcom agreed. “And as soon as we win the throne for our line, I’m going to help you take down that pack of yours.”
“We’re going to take them down, but I don’t want to be the Alpha of Wolf Creek,” I said.
Malcom stopped walking. “You don’t have to challenge me for the throne. I will gladly pass it off to you if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t want that,” I said with a laugh. “The only place I’ve ever been where I felt like I was home was at camp with you, Sheila, Alec, and all the others.”
Spencer stopped walking and turned back to us. “It sounds like you found your pack.”
“I did. Malcom didn’t.” I looked at my brother, understanding him a little better than I had before. “You kept your bags packed. You never shared your story. You never fully belonged. You’re meant for something else. Something greater.”
“I don’t know about something greater,” he said with a grin. “If we’re being honest, I’ve been more at peace these last few days than I have my whole life.”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind that you’ll take the royal role. I’m going to get rid of Ace and I’m going to free Wolf Creek, but I’m not staying there when it’s all done. I’m going home.”
“What about Alec?” he asked.
“Did you know he has a mark?” I asked.
“We shifted together a hundred times. Of course I saw his mark,” Malcom said.
I looked over at Spencer. “Why would we both have a mark?”
“Because you were marked for each other,” he said. “Two halves of the same whole, remember? Nobody talks about it, but when an alpha finds their true mate, they both wear the mark.”
“I thought women couldn’t get a mark,” I said. “How do they even know the male is the one who should rule if they both have one?”
“They don’t,” Spencer said. “They follow old-fashioned thinking and keep too many secrets.”
“That’s an understatement,” I said. “We weren’t even allowed to shift until we were nineteen in Wolf Creek.”
“That place is more backward than most packs,” Spencer said.
“And I thought witches were bad,” Star said. “At least our covens don’t care what you have between your legs.”
“Witches and shifters have a long history of conflict, but I made a lot of friends with witches during my exile. I think it’s time for things to change between us after I take the throne,” Spencer said.
I wasn’t really listening because I couldn’t get the concept of dual marks out of my mind. Was it that same way for true mates for protectors too? Getting a mark from the goddess was rare, and so was finding your true mate. I wondered how often a mated pair like me and Alec happened. Plus, there was the mind-blowing fact that we’d both been fated to someone else when we got our marks. The fates really did work in strange ways.
“My mom doesn’t have a mark,” I said, suddenly. “Do you or does your brother? Do kings get marks?”
“Sometimes. I don’t, and neither does Chris. Our father had a mark, as did our mother. My grandfather didn’t and he ruled for sixty years. We aren’t chosen for the job by the Moon Goddess. It’s passed down to us and as long as nobody challenges us, we maintain it.”
“Sounds like a weak system,” I said.
“Perhaps. But shifters like tradition. Only a member of the royal bloodline can throw down an official challenge. It takes a lot more for another line to attempt to take the crown.” Spencer shrugged. “It happens every so often, but it’s rarely effective.”
“That’s some fine print, old man,” Malcom said.
“You’ll be fine,” Spencer said. “Usually the challenger is all ego.”
“That doesn’t make your current bid to challenge the king sound all that impressive,” I warned.
