Destiny's Choice

 
        
Destiny’s Choice

                           
                  
  
By

                      
Kimberly Hunter

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are

products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to

be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,

organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Destiny’s Choice

Copyright© 2012
Kimberly Hunter

Cover Artist:
Erin Dameron-Hill

Editor:
Kimberly Hunter

                                                
Dedication ~

This is for my fans.
You waited so patiently for Roan’s story. Hope you enjoy his journey as much as I did writing it. Huggles!!

Chapter One
        

Finally able to relax, Roan LeGuer sat bac
k in his favorite leather chair.
H
e
let the sounds of nature outside his cabin serenade his bruised and battered senses
a
s he watched a cheery crackling fire and sipped an excellent apple brandy
. The respite was well deserved and long overdue. He planned to enjoy the downtime to its fullest.

For the past ten months, Roan had traveled to twenty-seven states and four countries. The purpose
s
for such traveling were several. As Alpha of the Lupus, the only
p
ack of wolf shifters in the world,
he was
leader of over a thousand Pack members
. So
it was past time he met with everyone. A
task no
Alpha had accomplished in centuries. It was also a long forgotten and recently
re-
discovered tradition
,
that had the Alpha meeting with his Pack to renew friendships and strengthen the blood bond that tied the Pack together
,
no matter how scattered they were.
It was a
good tradition to Roan’s way of thinking because a strong Pack was a safe Pack.

The other two reasons were quite personal.
Roan’s twin and Beta, Flynn, had found his True
Mate
, Sasha. Their meeting hadn’t been easy. In fact, there had been too many close calls. But
Sasha
had shown just how strong and competent she really was. So much so that
Flynn
wasn’t the only one to fall for her.
Sharing
more than just looks, the brother’s had
enjoyed taking
their fair
amount
of women
together
as well.
However, t
he bond that Flynn and Sasha had was too precious and sacred to be
communal
. Finding ones
True
Mate
was a rare feat
. It was
a bond that very few ever experienced. Only nine of the sixty
Mate
d couples in the Pack were True
Mate
s. Roan couldn’t, in good conscience, act on his feelings.

Flynn and
Sasha were aware of how he felt
, but th
ose feelings
would forever remain unrequited. Being Alpha brought the situation home even harder. He was the leader, the example that others went
by
, not the exception. He was judge and jury when it came to carrying out the Pack’s
l
aws should any be broken or violated. Coming between a
True
Mate
Pair was almost as bad as attacking a human. The offense could mean banishment
,
or execution. Most would choose execution, it was more humane.

His feelings and the law aside, Roan loved his brother and knew how happy he was. Never would Roan interfere or challenge that. Which
brought him to
the third and last reason.
He
hope
d
to
find his own
True
Mate
. Unfortunately, the odds were stacked against him. Oh, there had been hope
at first
, small though it was that he would find her. But halfway through his journey, that hope had started to wither. Now it was completely dead.

Perhaps, o
ne day, many years down the road, his
True
Mate
would be born. For now, he
’d
just have to deal with the loneliness and try to move on. Of course, the first step would be never returning to live at the main house in Montana. He had put the wheels in motion a month after he began his journey
when Sasha announced her pregnancy. Once his niece had been born, most of his belongings had been moved to the cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. Seeing the happy family, a family he may never have, hurt too much. Flynn understood, though it saddened him greatly. The rest of the family wasn’t privy to his real reason for the move, nor did he bother to make up an explanation.
He s
imply told everyone he was moving to the cabin and
he’d visit
when he could. His personal guards, Mikeal
Reynard and
Steven
St. Patrick, were given the choice
to stay with Flynn or
go to North Carolina.
It
wasn’t surprising
that the two decided to follow their Alpha. They were loyal to a fault and had become more than just added muscle
. They were
good friends. Roan didn’t feel quite as alone knowing the two were close by, ensconced in the guest cabin
.

Taking a sip of his brandy, Roan tried to empty his mind and let his thoughts go. But like a hamster in a wheel, they continued to run round and round. He was about to toss back the brandy and pour another just to calm his over active brain when his cell rang. Picking it up, he looked at the number and smiled, tapping the receive button.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed with your
True
Mate
?”

Flynn’s deep chuckle came across the line. “I should, but your niece was hungry. And quite vocal about it”

“I’m surprised you were able to get to her first.”

Flynn snorted. “It was a near thing, let me tell you.”

“I bet.” Roan laughed softly. “Angel still helping out?”

“Yeah, but not for long.”

A note of joy was heard in Flynn’s voice. “Oh, why not?”

“Because she’ll have her own to take care of soon.”

A wide smile stretched Roan’s lips. “That’s great news, brother. Tell her I said congratulations. She and Seth deserve it.”

“Well, that’s not all.” Flynn paused. “She’s having twins.”

That caused Roan to blink and pause a moment himself. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. The heartbeats are faint, but I did the sonogram myself. She’s having twins.”

“Good Lord, there hasn’t been a set born since Wade and Wyatt. And that was, what, about ten years after us?”

“Close to that, yeah.”

Shaking his head, Roan couldn’t help but laugh
. “Angel never could do anything by halves.”

An answering laugh followed through the line. “You got that right. Mom is ecstatic and Sasha, of course, has already started planning the baby shower. It’s still a little too soon to know what the babies sexes will be, not that that has stopped her. Or mom for that matter.”

“I can imagine.” Roan grinned. Their mother was in granny heaven when her granddaughter had been born. She was probably in orbit now with two more grandchildren on the way.

“Got a call from Gabe last night.”

“How did he sound?” Roan was a bit apprehensive. Gabe didn’t exactly leave on good terms.

“Now that he’s had plenty of time to cool down and really think
;
the anger is gone at least.” A deep sigh sounded over the line. “Time will tell if he gets over what he sees as everyone ganging up on him.”

“Christ
.
” Roan groaned.

After learning of her pregnancy, Sasha had serious thoughts about the babe being raised around her
True
Mate
and what the repercussions would be.
She didn’t like where her thoughts went to.
Since
no one had ever heard about an occasion where a Lupus met their
True
Mate
before or shortly after they were born, it was an unknown situation no one had any clue how to deal with. Well, with the exception of Sasha. She wanted her daughter to experience life without having her
True
Mate
and all that entailed hanging over her head. It wouldn’t be fair to her
a
nd the woman she would become.
Then there was the fact
that the female chose when the
couple had their First Mating. No way did she want her teenage daughter, with all her raging hormones, initiating
her First Mating with an adult Lupus. It was beyond wrong. So
her
solution? Gabe would have to leave. For how long was up in the
air. However
,
Sasha wanted her daughter to be in her mid twenty’s at the least. Gabe didn’t exactly agree with it, but after Roan and Flynn gave it thoughtful consideration, they agreed with Sasha. Of course, after Sasha threatened to rip Gabe’s balls off if he didn’t leave, he really had no choice. One didn’t come between a Lupa and her child.
Gabe was understandably upset about it, but what else could
he do? So
,
now he was in Japan. O
n the other side of the world
, he was
with the Japanese Pack, working at the local university in the IT department.

“I know.
But he’ll have the next two decades to get over it. And we did agree to keep him up to date with e-mails and pictures of Tala. That’ll have to keep him satisfied for the time being.”

“If not, I’ll have another talk with him.” Roan hoped it didn’t come to that, but his niece and her well being came first.
I
f he kept giving too much attitude about it, Roan was sure that Sasha would stop any and all communications about Tala.
It would be Gabe’s own fault if that happened and Roan would have nothing to say about it. He may be the Alpha, but Tala was Sasha’s child. Her word was law
in this matter
.

“That’s not all the news I have
. Seems we may have a lead on the Alpha Torque.”

Roan sat up quickly, his heart starting to pick up. “
Who and where
?”

“
Some obscenely wealthy
private collector in Maine. The IRS got him for tax evasion, so he’s having to sell off some of his precious
collection.”
The
sneer
in Flynn’s tone was heavy
. “Seth’s had dealings with the guy before, so he’s already left to meet with him and authenticate the piece. I’ll know for sure in the morning.”