Changing Fate: A Werewolf Romance Read online

  Copyright © 2022 by C.J. Alexis

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  Typewriter Pub, an imprint of Blvnp Incorporated

  A Nevada Corporation

  1887 Whitney Mesa DR #2002

  Henderson, NV 89014

  www.typewriterpub.com/[email protected]

  ISBN: 978-1-64434-200-8

  DISCLAIMER

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While references might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  CHANGING FATE

  C.J. ALEXIS

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  To my momma,

  the first person to read my books and the one who has supported me endlessly

  since the day I told her I wanted to be a writer.

  Trigger Warning

  The following story contains strong language,

  violence, and adult scenes.

  Reader discretion is advised.

  Chapter One

  “Kendall, can you come down here a minute?” Dad called from somewhere downstairs; likely his home office.

  I sighed and rolled off my queen-sized bed, throwing the book I was reading aside. I strolled out of my bedroom and down the stairs. I enhanced my hearing to listen for my Dad. I could hear his and two other heartbeats in his office. No surprises there. I quickly let my hearing go back to normal and strode the rest of the way to his office.

  I opened the door without knocking; not something I would usually do except for when he calls me. I pushed the cherry oak door shut behind me and took in my surroundings. Dad was seated in his desk chair, casually leaned back. I didn’t let his nonchalant body language fool me though; his face was pinched with tension.

  Brody, my oldest brother and future Alpha, stood to the right and slightly behind Dad. His six-foot, four-inch body leaned against the wall parallel to the door, his muscular arms crossed over his chest and a blank look on his face, although I could see a look of hesitance in his eyes that usually wasn’t there.

  My other brother, Matt, was sitting on the couch on the right side of the office. He looked prepared for a fight, which startled me.

  All three men looked eerily similar. They all had the same shade of espresso brown hair and russet eyes. The only real difference between them was that Matt had shoulder length curly hair and a crooked nose while Brody had thinner lips and a wider face. Dad had a few gray hairs peppered in his locks, with lines deepening in the crease of his eyes. All this, and he still didn’t look his real age.

  With the slow aging of werewolves once they reached adulthood, he looked to be more in his late thirties instead of nearly 200. Brody certainly didn’t look twenty years my senior.

  “What’s going on?” I asked apprehensively.

  “Sit down, Kenny,” Dad said, gesturing to one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

  I glared at him for the use of my childhood nickname, but didn’t comment on it. Now wasn’t the time, I could tell.

  As I took a seat, I oddly felt like a child again. Anytime we needed reprimanding as kids, we would have to sit here across from our stern Alpha father. I had spent countless amounts of time here during my teenage years along with my sister, Selena. It felt like I was seventeen again instead of twenty-three.

  I raised an eyebrow at each of the men, waiting for one of them to start.

  My father began, “As you probably know, I’ve been working on earning a seat on the council for some time now.” He paused.

  I was quite aware of this fact. The council was made up of the strongest Alphas of the kingdom. They helped the king to make decisions about werewolf matters. I didn’t completely know what those matters entailed but I did know that they were important, and being asked to join the council was a huge honor.

  Dad had been trying for years to receive an invitation, but to no avail. He was a strong Alpha, there was no doubt about that. However, we didn’t have the largest pack compared to others. Dad had always sort of straddled the line of power. While he was never the most powerful Alpha, he wasn’t the least powerful either.

  The king was very specific about who he added to his council. He had completely disbanded the original council his father and deceased former king had created when he took the throne almost twenty five years ago. He started from scratch, forming his own council that he vetted and trusted. Dad had been trying to make the cut ever since.

  I nodded, and he continued.

  “Well I have received a letter that I am finally being considered. They’ve asked that I send representatives to stay for a few months. I can’t possibly leave the pack that long, so they want me to send someone I trust in my place to try and earn a spot for the pack.”

  “Congratulations, Dad! I’m so happy for you. I know how much this means to you.” I smiled brightly at him, a weight lifting off my shoulders. This wasn’t bad news at all. “Is it going to be Matt? Or is it Brody?” I asked as an afterthought.

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Brody can’t go; he’s needed here. Instead, I’ll be sending Matt. Of course, Kat will be joining him,” he said, referring to Matt’s mate and my best friend since kindergarten. She was also the daughter of the pack’s witch. She was a strong witch in training.

  “I’ll miss you guys.” I looked over at Matt with a frown. He averted his eyes, refusing to make eye contact as he rubbed the back of his neck.

  “That’s the thing, Kendall. You’ll be joining them,” Dad added in a this-isn’t-up-for-discussion tone.

  Just like that, the weight settled back on my shoulders and in my stomach. I felt defiance bubble up inside of me, the Keating family temper coming to play.

  “Are you kidding me?” I gripped the wooden chair handles, my claws extending and puncturing the dense oak. Wouldn’t be the first time.

  “I assure you, I am not kidding,” Dad replied, still calm and collected.

  “You can’t do that. Why the hell do I need to go?” My voice had taken on the shrill tone for when I got angry.

  “I can, in fact, do that. I need you there. I can’t have Selena go, for obvious reasons. That leaves you.”

  I knew Selena couldn’t go. She would just embarrass him. I loved her to death, but she wasn’t exactly reliable. She cared more about partying and finding her next boyfriend than she did helping dad with pack business. It was no secret in our family that he was perpetually disappointed in her.

  “Why aren’t Matt and Kat enough?” I demanded.

  “I need to show the King that I’m serious about this. Sending two of my pups, along with my daughter-in-law and pack witch, will show that. I need as much representation as I can get, and I don’t trust anyone with else with this. Well, aside from Dalton. He’ll be accompanying you as well.”

  I threw my head back and groaned dramatically. I couldn’t stand Dalton. He was the pack’s future Beta, being the current Beta Wes’s son. He was also the pack’s current douche bag. We grew up together and never got along, although he and Selena were somehow best friends.

  “You can’t do this to me, Dad. Please. You know I hate that asshat,” I spat.

  “Language, Kendall,” he warned.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Daddy, please.” I went for a different tactic. I widened my green eyes and blinked a couple of times, feeling them mist over slightly. I pouted my lower lip and put on the saddest look I could muster.

  “That might have worked when you were ten but you’re an adult now. You said you wanted to be more involved with the pack. This is your chance.”

  I dropped the act. “That isn’t what I meant and you know it. I just spent four years in college getting my accounting degree. I didn’t do all that work to go kiss the King’s ass. I did it to help with pack finances and to run your businesses,” I said.
r />   In the werewolf world, Dad was Alpha Jefferson Keating. To the human world, he was businessman and entrepreneur Jefferson Keating. He owned several businesses around the state. It’s how he made his money and how he has kept the pack afloat. He wasn’t short on finances. Our pack was rather wealthy thanks to him and my grandparents.

  I decided after high school that I wanted to be involved somehow. As the youngest of four children, I would never be Alpha but could still help out. Brody and Matt helped Dad run things, but he could always use more help.

  So I had spent the last four years attending the closest university to my home. As I was taking normal accounting classes, Matt and Brody had slowly been teaching me pack business as well. I had just graduated three months ago, and was ready to get more involved. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.

  I wasn’t trying to be difficult, but this wasn’t something I wanted to do. I dealt with numbers; I was a math person. I wasn’t interested in werewolf politics. I knew this would be amazing for our pack, but I felt like I would be more useful elsewhere. I wasn’t privy to all pack business. What good would I do representing us? Look pretty? Show how serious Dad was by sending his little girl? Ugh, gag me.

  “I don’t know anything about pack politics, Dad.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him.

  “You won’t need to. That will be Matt’s job. You just need to show how serious we are about this. Just be respectful and polite. Matt will take care of everything else.”

  “This isn’t right. This wasn’t the plan,” I huffed.

  “I know, Kenny. It will only be for a couple of months. Can you please just do this for me? Then when you get back, you can have whatever job you want.”

  I felt my anger deflating, knowing it wouldn’t get me out of this. Despite him asking just now, I knew there were no ifs, ands, or buts about this. He was my alpha. I couldn’t just say no to him. If I agreed now, I knew he would keep his end of the bargain.

  “Fine, but when I get back, I don’t want to be micro-managed all the time. I want you three to trust me to do my job. I’m college educated now and you three have taught me everything I need to know. I want you to promise me that.”

  He thought it over for a second, then finally looked back at me.

  “Fine. You have a deal.”

  “Good.” I nodded back. “When do we leave?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  My irritation spiked again. I quickly stood and made my leave before my Keating temper took over again.

  ***

  “It won’t be so bad,” Kat said, lounging on my bed. She looked like the picture of relaxation. Her cat like green eyes were filled with amusement and her full lips pulled up in the corners from trying to suppress a grin.

  “Yes, it absolutely will,” I muttered.

  I walked to my closet again and picked out another arm full of clothes to fold into my suitcase. Kat was apparently already packed and ready to go. She seemed completely fine with going. I knew it was only because she got to be with Matt.

  They had been together since she turned eighteen and were still disgustingly in love. I knew it was the mate bond, but it still grossed me out sometimes. Matt, being five years older than us, knew Kat was his mate when she was just a kid. He never acted on it until she was of age, acting more as a protective older sibling when we were younger. That wasn’t unusual. Since werewolve’s aging slowed drastically, it was normal to have big age gaps. Hell, my Dad was almost twenty years older than my Mom.

  Kat, now that she was marked and mated, would age as a werewolf. A witch’s lifespan was a lot like a human’s, unless they were mated. Then they start aging like a werewolf. It was a blessing in disguise I suppose; now my best friend would age the same as me and not die when I still looked thirty.

  “Maybe not. Keep an open mind, Kendall. You might actually like it there.”

  Always the voice of reason. She had kept me out of a lot of bad situations. As a witch, her intuition was never wrong. I had still managed to find trouble, but I’m sure I avoided the worst of it because of her. When I wasn’t being stubborn at least.

  “I don’t need to keep an open mind. I know this’ll suck.”

  Before she could say anything else, the door to my bedroom burst open and Selena stormed in, glaring daggers at me. I rolled my eyes at her.

  “You b*tch,” she spat.

  “What now?” I glared back at her, not in the mood.

  I couldn’t exactly kick her out. This was her room too. We had lived in the same bedroom since I was born. One of us could have moved into Brody’s bedroom once he moved out, but we just never did. We had lived together for so long, it just didn’t feel right.

  As much as I hated her sometimes, the thought of not bickering with her every morning made me sad. A pang went through me at the thought of being away from her for two months. I would actually miss her.

  “What now? You get to go stay at Castle Cahill for two months, that’s freaking what. Why the hell do you get to go and I don’t?” she demanded to know. She crossed her arms over her chest, much like I had in Dad’s office.

  “Maybe if you weren’t such an embarrassment, Dad could trust you to go.” I raised a mocking eyebrow at her.

  “She’s got you there,” Kat added, chuckling.

  “You two are both b*tches.”

  We just laughed at her. Kat and Selena bickered too, but it was all in good taste since they were friends as well. Kat was our sister. Maybe not our blood sister, but she was a part of the family. She would be even if she and Matt weren’t mates. Kat, Selena, and I had grown up together. We may have fought a lot, but at the end of the day we loved each other and had each other’s backs.

  “Maybe so, but at least no one has to worry about us jumping the King,” Kat told her, grinning widely.

  “I am so going to enjoy a break from you two,” Selena muttered as she walked past me. She threw herself on her queen-sized bed on the other end of the room.

  Her side of the room was messy, but I couldn’t really criticize her for it; mine was just as cluttered. Maybe that’s why we could tolerate sharing a room together. Clothes were strewn across the room, some of it hers and some of it mine. Both of our beds were messy and wrinkled. Dust covered our entertainment center and bookshelf. Our bathroom didn’t look much better; it was clean, but very disorganized.

  “That’s mine,” she said with a growl. She was looking at the tank top I was folding.

  “Um, no it’s not. You just take whatever clothes I own whenever you please,” I argued back.

  “Yes, it is. And you wear my clothes all the time too.”

  “No, I don’t. Your fat ass stretches everything out so I can’t wear it.”

  “It’s not fat, sweetheart. It’s called having curves and not looking like a twelve-year-old boy.”

  “Oh really?” I drawled, throwing the tank top in my bag anyways. “Is that why Grandma gave you that dieting cookbook?”

  Kat snickered and Selena growled.

  “You know she only gave me that because I said I was going to start eating healthy,” she defended herself.

  I didn’t really feel bad about insulting her. This was the type of relationship we had; we were b*tches to each other. We could give as much as we could take since neither of us were overly sensitive. The one thing we had done for each other was give each other thick skin. She knew she wasn’t really fat, just like I knew I didn’t look like a pre-pubescent male.

  “You sure you can’t leave tonight?” she whined.

  Our bickering continued back and forth for a while. It helped take my mind off the next few months. Eventually, she went downstairs to help Mom cook.

  She was the one who helped do stuff around the house. She didn’t like school, even though she was smart, so she didn’t go to college after high school. She didn’t get a job either. Selena wasn’t really made for a real job; she was too rebellious and had authority issues.

  She and Dad butted heads a lot because of it, although he let her get away with a lot. Because of her lack of schooling and employment, our parents agreed to keep supporting her so long as she helped out around the house and Mom with her Luna duties. She did it since it was really her only option until she could find her mate. Lord help the poor guy when she did find him. She was going to be a handful.