Finnick’s POV Sarah was home. Now my wolf’s behavior was beginning to make sense. His mate was close. Sadie, Sarah’s wolf, was drowning in her own despair and Callum could feel her anxiety through their bond. I could only hope this wouldn’t be the fight he was preparing for. “Shit!” Seth’s single word pretty much summed up how I was feeling but it brought me out of my shocked stupor and back to the situation at hand. I blew out an anxious breath and shoved open the jeep door. “Well, I guess this is the moment of truth. I might as well get it over with and go face the music.” I told myself as much as I was telling him. “Um, I’ll hang back and give you two some time to talk. Good luck man.” I felt the sincerity in his tone and knew that he meant it. “Yeah, thanks. I’m going to need it.” I said the last part under my breath but I knew he heard me. My feet dragged with every step I took towards the front door. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t going to go my way a
Sarah’s POV Death. That must have been what happened. I died. Not my body. No, my body lived on, dragging me along with it, breath after painful breath. But my soul was dead. It left me just like Finnick had. Minutes before he walked through the door, my wolf had gone crazy, snarling and growling in my head. But it wasn’t some unseen threat that caused her animosity. No, that was all directed at me. She’d sensed him coming, and knowing I intended to reject him, she’d unleashed her anger on me. It was the same argument we’d had the entire way home from Fair Winds. “We’re NOT rejecting our mate!” Sadie barked at me, making one final attempt to take control when his car pulled into the driveway. But I had been prepared for that and was able to hold her back. “You know we can’t accept him Sadie! He doesn’t respect us and we can’t trust him. He’ll only hurt us again!” I hurled back. “You don’t know that! He wants us! And Callum won’t let him hurt us again!” She countered. “Maybe
Sarah’s POV When I woke up hours later, I was in my room, burrowed under the covers in my bed. Thankfully, I could feel Sadie again, though she was very still in the back of my mind. At least she was still there. Moonlight streamed through the open curtains of my bedroom window and the sight of it pushed my sadness aside long enough to allow my anger to surface. I hated our Moon Goddess for what she’d done to me. I didn’t need the glowing evidence of her constant presence or the reminder of her sick use of authority. How dare she play with people’s lives this way! Finnick and I never had a chance and she knew it before she ever set our bond in motion. What had I ever done to her to deserve such a fate? I wished she’d just stayed out of my life, let me take a chosen mate. I certainly couldn’t have fucked it up any worse than she had for me. Why couldn’t I have just been happy with Kyle, never knowing what a true mate bond felt like? There was no guarantee I’d get a second chance
Sarah’s POV In the end, despite my mom’s constant cajoling, it was a full week before I found the motivation to leave my room. I told myself I was done letting Finnick cross impact my life but the truth was, If it hadn’t been for the pungent smell permeating the space from my refusal to shower, I might have stayed in bed longer. But ultimately, the odor was stronger than even my depression. After a full thirty minutes in the shower to wash away all the layers of dried sweat and tears, I used my last shred of energy to open all the windows and strip the bedding while trying not to gag. Once finished, and thoroughly disgusted with my shameless indulgence in self-pity, I finally left my bedroom. Unfortunately, I didn’t get far before the sound of shouting stopped me in my tracks. “I told you yesterday she doesn’t want to see you!” My dad’s usual bass tone rose a full octave. “Please, Mr. Woods, just let me try to talk to her. Just one chance. That’s all I’m asking for!” Finnick grov
Finnick’s POV “I do love you, Finn!” Sarah’s words reverberated in my head, like a pinball bouncing against the confines of my skull. In light of everything she’d said afterwards, I knew I shouldn’t let that one statement give me so much hope, but I couldn’t help myself. She loved me. That was enough for now, and I would hang onto those words until I could build them into something more. I’d promised to give her space and I meant it. I knew respecting her wishes would be the first step to regaining her trust so I would do my best. I just wasn’t sure how much distance my wolf would allow. Ever since the rejection, he’d been adamant that we keep trying to see her, to convince her to accept us. I doubted I could fight him on it even if I’d wanted to. From the moment of Sarah’s confession, though, Callum had become a whole different animal. Her words settled him, brought him a peace he hadn’t felt since the day he recognized her as his mate. Where he’d been a wild beast, now he was
Sarah’s POV I offered to buy the next round of drinks and took off towards the bar. This whole night had been a mistake and I just needed an excuse to step away for a minute. When Tyler had called to say our old karaoke crew was going out together again I thought, why not? The distraction would be good for me. I was wrong. I was miserable. Between faking a smile all night and drowning my sorrows in alcohol, I hadn’t managed to actually have any fun. I loved being able to see my best friend again and I wanted nothing more than to spill my whole story to her so she could tell me everything would be okay like she always used to do. But I couldn’t. She had her own mate drama right now and I couldn’t burden her with my own problems too. As I stumbled my way to the bar, I let my smile fall for the first time all night. For the next few minutes at least, I could take a break from pretending everything was fine. “Oops! S-, sorry!” I slurred a bit as I apologized to whoever I’d just b
Sarah’s POV I tipped my head up to find Finn’s eyes burning into me. His gaze was so intense, I wanted to look away, but I was spellbound, held in place by some unseen force. And then his mouth was on mine, crashing into me with such ferocity, my knees would have buckled if his body wasn’t holding me in place. He didn’t wait for me to grant him entrance, demanding it instead. I moaned into his mouth as our tongues tangled together, relishing his marshmallowy taste, just like he smelled. My hands slid under his shirt, tracing the lines of his rippling abs. His hands were busy squeezing my ass. Every taste, every touch felt amazing but it wasn’t enough. He was stoking a fire in me and he was the only one who could put it out. We broke apart for air but Finn’s lips never left me, kissing and nipping his way down my neck to my collar bone. I wrapped one leg around his waist, grinding against his rock hard length as he slipped my dress strap from my shoulder and released my aching tit
Sarah’s POV “Rise and shine!” My mother chirped in her usual cheerful manner as she threw open the curtains covering my bedroom window. “Aach! Are you trying to blind me?” I complained, the streams of sunlight stabbing my eyes like a hot poker. It was bad enough my head felt like it was going to pound out of my skull. The last thing I needed was to go from blurred vision to none at all. “Listen, young lady,” my mother’s tone quickly morphed from syrupy to stern, a particular talent of hers, “if it weren’t for me coming in here to pull your lazy behind out of bed, you would be late for your best friend’s bridal shower. Besides, it’s hardly my fault you chose to tie one on last night and wake up with a hangover, again!” “Tie one on? Really mom, who even says that anymore?” I teased, rolling my eyes playfully at her before being reminded that even that small action hurt. She was right though. I knew I needed to be on the road to Glass Lake pack early this morning. I was heading
To all my lovely readers, Thank you so much for the love and loyalty you've shown the Celtic Wolf series so far! I am so thankful to each and every one of you for sharing this journey with me! I will be taking a little time to do some more writing and editing on book 3 before I begin publishing but it will be coming soon! The final book in the series will follow Dillon and Zoe's story. It will begin a little earlier in the timeline from where book 2 ended, taking us to the currrent time and beyond, culminating in the final showdown between the wolves, Light and Dark Fae. Stay tuned to find out what fate has in store for Dillon and Zoe, and all wolf kind! Much love to you all, Cara Update: The title for book 3 is A Cruel Fate: Her Gamma's Regret. I plan to begin publishing in early July. Hope you will all join me for the final book in the series!
(Four Months Later) Sarah’s POV “Aaagh! I can’t do this anymore!” I cried, falling back into Zayne’s arms, totally spent. “Yes, you can, princess! You’re almost there.” he encouraged, brushing my hair back out of my face and wiping the sweat off my forehead. “You’ve got this, kitten. Just keep thinking about holding our pup in your arms.” Finn added. “Why is it taking so long? Kat pushed out two babies in less than an hour.” I complained at the unfairness of my situation. “My babies were smaller because there were two of them, sweetie.” Kat explained. “”But I had to do this part twice and it hurt like a bitch both times if that makes you feel any better.” “It doesn’t!” I pouted. “I’m so tired. And Sadie is pacing in my mind, worried about the pup. It’s too much!” Finn pressed his forehead to mine. “Callum and Triton will calm Sadie. Just try to relax until the next contraction.” I’d gone into labor nearly twelve hours ago and our stubborn little pup was still refusing to
Sarah’s POV Reaching the exit of the goddess forsaken prison we were being held in was easier than expected. The arrogance of the Dark Fae in thinking themselves too superior to wolves, even gifted wolves, to even consider we might be capable of such a thing made our work that much easier. Only three creatures stood in our way as we ran through the barren corridors and Kat easily took them down. It was only once we actually made it outside that the real obstacles appeared. Nearly running smack into the back of the colossal Dark Fae army could have easily ended our bid for freedom. Miraculously, Kat was able to create an invisible wall of air between us and them, Zoe and I bouncing off of it and falling back on our assess. Still, we somehow went unnoticed. The Moon Goddess was definitely with us. Kat quickly helped me to my feet and we both lifted Zoe from the ground. My sister-in-law was shaking so violently, she could barely force her legs to move. Kat was already heading for cover
Zayne’s POV As we pulled away from Glass Lake territory, an entire cavalcade of vehicles trailed behind us, all filled with our best fighters. But knowing what the Dark Fae could do, I wasn’t sure it would be enough. At most, a wolf attack would provide a distraction, but that distraction could mean the difference between success and failure. Guilt slithered through my veins at the thought we were leading them like lambs to a slaughter. “How many Light Fae do you think will come?” I asked Finn for the hundredth time, my leg bouncing nervously and bumping into his. “Enough, I hope.” Finn answered vaguely, placing a steadying hand on my knee. Finn slid his hand into mine, lacing our fingers together. It was comforting to feel his warm body pressed into my side and his strong hand gripping mine. But even so, the fear and uncertainty passing back and forth between us through the bond was like an elephant on my chest, crushing me. My free hand slipped inside my jacket pocket, feelin
Sarah’s POV I woke with a start and immediately missed the coolness of the stone my face had been pressed against. My stomach roiled and bile burned in my throat. I tried to breathe through my nose but it didn’t help and before I knew it, dry heaves wracked my body. I tried to brush my hair out of my face but the motion produced a loud clanking sound and a searing pain in my wrists as my arms were yanked back. It was then I realized I was sitting on a dirt floor, my arms bound in silver and chained to the wall. Suddenly it all came rushing back. Attempting to clear the grogginess, I shook my head but that only made the nausea return. I rested my cheek against the cool stone wall and waited for the churning in my gut to subside. And while I waited, I tried to make sense of my surroundings. Where the fuck was I? I had no idea how far we’d run when the Dark Fae found us. And we’d covered our scent so wherever we were, no one would be able to track us here. We were just going to h
Finn’s POV Hours passed while we ran in circles, chasing scents that had somehow ceased to exist. Zayne and I felt nothing through the bond. No fear, no pain. It was as if our mate had disappeared completely, along with her scent. Dillon and Zoe had not sealed their bond so he couldn’t tell, but the Alphas said their connection with Kat felt the same. Simply empty. None of us wanted to admit defeat but it was painfully clear we were getting nowhere. Finally Reegan and Ryan suggested we return to the packhouse to regroup and gather reinforcements. The rest of us reluctantly agreed, having no better options. “We are too far to reach the pack through mindlink, but I will call Elder Alma on our way home and ask her to contact the Fae Queen. Maybe she will know how we can find them.” Ryan offered up what seemed to be our only remaining option. Reegan nodded curtly, acknowledging his brother, but otherwise he hadn’t spoken a word in the last hour. I knew he was trying to maintain the o
A few hours earlier at the Karaoke Lounge Reegan’s POV I loved listening to Kat sing. I could still remember that first night I’d heard her beautiful voice. I was already desperately in love with her at the time but hearing her sing only enchanted me further. I’d even dreamed about the day she would sing to our children and now that dream had come true. When the emcee called her on stage, indicating it was her turn to perform, I knew what had already been a good night so far was about to get even better. Ryan and I both watched in awe as she picked up the mic and sung the first few lines in that sexy, sultry voice of hers. I stole a glance at the rest of our table to find they were all equally entranced. But as the song went on, I became more and more distracted. My eyes never left my gorgeous Luna but my mind drifted. My gut twisted nervously as the feeling that I was missing something kept growing stronger. I tried to shake it off, determined not to ruin the evening for my brothe
Sarah’s POV I quickly pushed through the door behind me and walked around the back of the building until I came to another door. As I predicted, Kat came bursting through it, nearly bowling me over in her haste. “Fuck!” She cried out when she slammed into me. “Sorry!” “What for?” My voice was hard, perturbed that she hadn’t let me in on her plan. “Are you sorry for nearly running me over or for trying to leave without me?” Before she could answer, footsteps were heard running up behind us. I turned, my claws out to attack our intruder. “Damn it Zoe! You scared the shit out of me!” I growled when she came into view. “I was ready to rip you apart. What are you doing here?” “The better question is, what are the two of you doing here?” She crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. “It doesn’t matter, Zoe. You have to go back. Both of you do.” Kat growled at us. “You might not know it yet, but the Moon Goddess chose me as your Gamma Female. So whether you like it or not, where my
Sarah’s POV I couldn’t shake the nausea that had settled in my gut like an unwelcome houseguest. I was excited for a night out with my mates and our friends but the feeling that something bad would happen just wouldn’t leave me alone. Maybe I really did have PTSD. After the last attack, maybe I was no longer capable of believing we could celebrate together without the Dark Fae coming along to destroy our happiness. No matter what, I wouldn’t let my apprehension show on my face. We deserved an opportunity to let loose and have fun. I wasn’t about to ruin that for everyone else, especially Kat. If anyone had earned a reprieve, it was her. Determined to have a good time, I shoved all negativity aside and focused on perfecting my make-up. I hadn’t been getting much sleep or eating much lately and it was beginning to show on my face. My skin looked pale and my eyes looked tired and drawn. I had my work cut out for me. But no matter how hard I tried to divert my attention, the nausea