Racing Destiny (Dirt Track Dogs Book 5) by P. Jameson

other.”
    “ Please ,” he ground out. “Get to the point.”
    “Your wolf won’t recognize her as yours because she doesn’t belong to you. Not yet. She belongs to us . The Elders. Until you claim her, your wolf won’t know.”
    “But he wouldn’t let me claim her.”
    “It’s often a battle of wills. It’s painful. It’s never easy to go to war with yourself. Many Elders remain unmated for this reason.”
    “This is insane. The animal doesn’t know his own mate?”
    Illia tipped her head. “Somewhat. There are signs, and you’ve recognized them. But your wolf is loyal to a fault. He couldn’t bear the idea of betraying his intended. Not even for the female he desired the most. But tell me, how did your wolf react to her leaving?”
    His animal whimpered at the memory, and Diz clutched at the ache in his chest. It was the most painful thing he’d endured.
    “Your animal might not have recognized her as his intended, but he recognizes the sliver of a bond he has for her.”
    Her explanation unlocked something inside him. His animal rumbled deep and sure, tasting her words on the air and realizing their truth.
    “But Dessy, how could she not know? She couldn’t see it in her visions.”
    Illia nodded. “She tried. Desperately. It was sometimes painful to witness. But see, the cats… they have no Elders. She was just as much in the dark as you were. And Elders can’t foresee their own mates. That gift can only be used for others.”
    “Are you telling me she doesn’t know what she is?”
    “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
    “She belongs to the Elders,” Diz scoffed angrily, “but you just left her to muddle through this shit on her own? What kind of people are you?”
    His poor Dessy. She’d been through a fuck-ton of shit and now all this unnecessary hurt. All because of what she was. All because of the role she was to fulfill in the pack.
    “She was never alone,” Illia barked. “I was with her always. When she slept for weeks to heal her body and mind. Through the water, and even in her worst moments. Even when you weren’t.”
    When he wasn’t. Like the night they’d made love. Like the last seven days. Diz took it like a punch in the gut.
    “Tell me how to fix this,” he breathed.
    Illia’s face returned to its expressionless state. “I cannot. I can only tell you what I know, and I do not know how you and Destiny will reconcile. Or even if you will. ”
    Diz grew quiet.
    “If you manage to, you must know your bond will be different than other shifter mates. She cannot heal you, and you cannot heal her. An Elder is often tempted to take fate into their own hands, as I have today. It is a dangerous gamble, and the reason why we have rules to abide by. Why we cannot foresee our mates, heal them, or otherwise interfere in their destiny. Think of it as a fence. These slight… handicaps, shall we call them, keep us from altering our own future and therefore the future of others.”
    That explained why he couldn’t heal Destiny when she was so badly injured.
    “But your bond is not without power. Indeed, it could be one of the strongest I’ve seen… if the two of you will let it happen.”
    “What power?” Maybe if he knew, he could use it to their advantage. Getting Dessy to believe him was going to be a challenge. She was too far convinced she couldn’t be his because their relationship didn’t follow the normal mating pattern.
    Illia eyed him. “If you succeed, you shall see.”
    Diz glared at the woman. Why couldn’t she just tell him?
    “Fine. Don’t tell me. But I will succeed. Even if it takes me a hundred years. You can bet on it.”
    Illia quirked an eyebrow. “The only thing I’d bet on is that it would take you a hundred years. Especially the way you two keep your feelings bottled up, building and building under the pressure, so that when thing get a bit shaken up… they just explode into chaos.” She nodded. “Yes, it should take you