Destined for Disaster ✔️

Chapter 7

Julie trailed after Ellis into his office and set herself down on a chair opposite his desk. She had pulled herself together, or at least enough to give Ellis that impression. He took a seat behind his desk and leant back, draping one leg over the other.

He regarded Julie quietly for a moment, and in turn she regarded him. They had been friends for years, ever since Julie had come to Midnight Moon, some six years ago, but there were things about which they had never seen eye to eye. When Ellis got something in his head, he would not relinquish the thought. Like right now. There was a determination in his pale eyes telling her that whatever direction this conversation was going to take, she wasn't going to like it. It didn't help he was as large and imposing as he was, and had the authority that came naturally to every alpha. It made it very hard to disagree with him, and even harder to voice her opposition.

"You know I just want what is best for you and Austin, don't you?" he said. "I don't want to put my foot down, but I just know Austin will come to regret his decision to reject her."

"Why?" she asked. She felt a lump rise in her throat and scolded herself for it. "Am I not good enough?"

His expression softened and a sigh slipped from his lips. "That's not the reason."

She sucked in a slow breath. When she raised her eyes back to his, caution had seeped into her gaze. "Are you talking to me as my alpha or as my friend?"

"Would it make a difference?"

"Yes. If you're my alpha, I will sit here and nod. If you're my friend, I will tell you that you're hurting me." She could tell he didn't like her remark. It was somewhat of an eternal struggle to him: when to pull rank and when to let go. He wanted it to make no difference, but it did.

"I'm both," he said.

She inclined her head, nodding slightly. "Permission to speak frankly, then?"

He allowed it with a gesture of his hand.

"Why do you think that some criminal will be better suited to Austin than me? We have so much in common; we are great for each other. We were best friends long before we ever became lovers. Our relationship is healthy and to be honest I have never understood why you are so against it."

He ran a hand through his dark hair and shifted slightly forwards, resting his folded hands on his desk. "It is different for you than it is for him," he said. "You've had a fated mate. There is no reason to believe you will ever get another one, so it makes sense for you to look for a chosen mate. Austin is different. He's never had a mate before, and I worry – and have always worried – that his relationship with you would get in the way of him accepting his fated mate when the time came. And now it has."

"It wouldn't be the first time someone rejected their fated mate in favour of a chosen one. Why would that be so wrong?"

"It's an affront to the Goddess. She has predestined this mate for him. Choosing you is like saying he knows better than the Goddess. It's heresy."

She wanted to tell him that he was too radical sometimes, but at that point she was rather sure he was talking to her as her alpha, and so she swallowed the words.

"You don't know when their bond was forged," she said instead. "People change. Just because they were perfect for each other once doesn't mean that's still the case. You know Austin. If this woman really is a violent criminal, then she's not going to be right for him. He's a straight arrow. How is he supposed to accept someone so morally opposed to himself?"

"Perhaps," Ellis said. "How will he ever know, though, if he rejects her before he even finds out her name?"

He had a point there and Julie stayed silent.