Chapter 28

Seeing the annoyed expression on Zeke’s face, Charlie knew that this meeting would not be a happy one.  Already, she was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the way her people were staring at her.  Did they know that she had killed another?  There were those of them of her kind that could see the blood of victims on the murderer.  Was one of them judging her as she stood there in front of them all?

Shaking her head, she attempted a small smile, and got nothing in return.  Who would have thought there would be so many to greet them to begin with?  She did not think she would have to deal with the disappointed looks until they were deep in the forest, where her home was.  Her head sagged down in defeat.  Would this still be her home if she chose it to be?  With the way they were looking at her now, the answer was no.

“Enough,” Zeke growled.

Her head snapped up when she heard how close his voice was, and when she saw him standing directly in front of her, a real smile flew onto her lips.  She hadn’t heard him move, and she would bet money on the fact that no one else had heard him move either.  She couldn’t let him fight her battles for her though.  Taking a step around him, she wasn’t too surprised when his hand snapped out to grab hers, effectively stopping her from moving further away.

“I can do this myself.”

He smiled over at her, and his smile seemed lighter, almost as if he didn’t have the weight of the world on his shoulders.  “I know,” he said in a clear voice, “but why would you want to do it by yourself when you have me?”

Gasps through the crowd sounded as Charlie blinked at him.  It was a simple sentence, but to her people, it was more like a public announcement that they were together.  If the way Zeke’s smile widened was anything to go by, Charlie had a feeling that the man knew exactly what he had done.  Turning away from him, she could feel her face flush red as the expressions of disappointment turned into acceptance, anger, and a few that looked remarkably like envy. 

“You do not understand,” Charlie started.

“My daughter has been destined to mate with this man since she was a babe.  You all know this,” her mother interrupted.  She looked back and winked at Charlie and Zeke.  “If you did not, it was clear when he visited that he was the right one.  Sure, we worried that he would be too brutal for our Charlie, but what does he do at this exact moment?  He protects her from your harshness.”

Some of the shifters looked down in shame, while others kept staring at them.  Charlie did not know what was going on, didn’t know what her mother was saying, but if it would keep them safe, she didn’t care what her mother said. 

“Our pacts have been given to us at birth,” Ryder said, taking a step forward.  “Some have been fortunate enough to love the ones they were arranged for, while others have learned to like them.”   A few laughs flew from the crowd.  Even at a time as this, her brother could make at least a few people laugh.  “Will you judge my sister because of who she was meant to be with?  Would you stand by and watch your destined mate die when you had the means to deal with the threat?”  Some of them shook their heads, and Charlie knew they were the younger shifters, the ones that weren’t so set in their ways.  “I wouldn’t,” Ryder continued.  “If I had the chance, I would kill them, make sure they could never cause any harm to my loved ones again.  Will you judge me for my future actions?”

“No!” someone shouted from the crowd.  Charlie followed the voice and smiled when she saw the woman urging other’s around her to yell out the same word as she.

“You know her,” Zeke whispered in her ear.

Charlie turned, making her nose brush across his chin as he pulled away from her.  “She’s my brother’s future mate.  Neither of them are ready to settle down with children yet, but they are best friends.”

“I give them a month.”

She let out a laugh.  “Try a month ago.  They think we don’t know, but the two of them are more than friends.”

Zeke shook his head at her before tugging her closer.  His hand dropped from hers only to wrap around her.  “What is your mother talking about?”

“My mother, I don’t know, but my brother is speaking of our ways.  No violence is one that everyone seems to know, but what we do not tell others is that we have what you would call arranged marriages.”

He froze beside her.  “Who are you arranged to mating?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted, a flush covering her face again.  “My mother would only tell me that our joining was important.  Anything else, I’ll have to wait to find out.”

“And if you didn’t want the arranged mating?”

“It’s how I was raised, Zeke.  I’m not turning my back on my people because I don’t want to mate with the man.  I can’t do that; you wouldn’t do that.”

He hugged her tighter to his side.  “It’s different now,” he mumbled.

Turning towards him, she glanced up.  “How is it different?”

“Before when I thought of returning home, I thought of sneaking out in the middle of the night, taking nothing with me.  Now,” he let out a breath, “now, I always see you as the only thing I take.”

She turned her face away from him to keep herself from asking what had changed.  It didn’t matter, because her presence in his life would cause his death.  She didn’t care about her pact.  To be honest, if she thought Zeke would be safe, she would tell them all to go to hell and leave with him now.  With his life in danger though, she would never risk it.  How would she live with herself knowing that she was the reason why he died to begin with?

“It’s too late.”

“It’s not too late,” he mumbled before freezing.  A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.  “Wait until you hear what your mother has to say.  If it is too late then, I’ll leave you alone; if not, come home with me.”

She started to shake her head at him before stopping.  “You read her mind?” He nodded, making her blink at him.  “How?” she questioned.  “How can you read her when you’re touching me?”

“It’s something that I learned,” he whispered.  “If I don’t touch your skin, I can push past your barrier just enough to read others.”

“That’s amazing.”

His arm dropped from around her as he nodded.  “Yes,” he said with a shrug, “it is.”  He began walking away, leaving her standing there in a small state of shock. 

“Where are you going?” she yelled out.

“There,” he said, pointing to the edge of the crowd.

She followed his finger and stopped on the woman he was pointing too.  Charlie frowned.  The woman was beautiful, and the smile on her face was warm.  Worse, Charlie knew her and actually liked her.  What was Zeke doing walking towards her with that smile on his face that he reserved for those he cared for?

“You can’t kill someone with your eyes, dear.  That power is exclusively for our Queen.”

Charlie let out a huff, while keeping her eyes on the two of them.  “Can Ally really do that?”

“Once she harnesses her powers,” her mother answered before chuckling.  “Stop trying to change the subject, and quit glaring at Sara.”

“I don’t trust her,” Charlie growled as Zeke grabbed the woman’s hand and pulled her from sight.  “I don’t trust her at all.”

“Do you trust him, Charlie?”

Charlie turned towards her mother, a small frown on her face.  “Of course I do.”

“Good,” her mother mumbled, while patting Charlie on the arm.  “Good.  Trust is the base to all relationships.”

“We don’t have a relationship, Mom, and we never will.”

Her mother let out a sigh.  “If you don’t try, Charlie, then you’re right. You’ll never have a relationship with the man that you love; you’ll never be happy.  You have to fight for the things you love.”

“I thought we don’t fight,” Charlie mumbled.

“If you care enough about something,” her mom said with a smile, “you have to fight.”

Charlie nodded but did not say another word.  Her mother was right.  If Charlie wanted to be with Zeke, she was going to have to fight for him.  She was going to have to prove Destiny wrong.  Them being together wouldn’t harm anyone.  Now all she had to do was prove that to Zeke.