Ch. 2 A Compromising Position

Sarah’s POV

“Finnick is fine Sarah!” Seth barked at me whenever I’d ask about his missing best friend. “If he wants to talk, he’ll call. And if he decides there’s anything worth coming back for, he’ll come home.” 

Seth didn’t talk much about Finn after that night and when he did, it was with the same resentful tone. Something told me he’d been in touch with him and knew where he was. But before long, it became clear that he wasn’t coming back. At least not any time soon.

I think my brother felt abandoned by his best friend. I didn’t know what to feel because I didn’t know what Finn and I were before he left . . . more than friends but not quite lovers. How was I supposed to grieve his absence when I didn’t know exactly what I’d lost?

To make matters worse, my best friend Kat started dating the Alpha’s son Jesse around that time, leaving me feeling even more alone. She always tried to include me even if it was just the two of them and not the whole gang. And she was always there to listen if I needed her. But still it was different. I didn’t want to be a third wheel and I knew she and Jesse needed time alone for their relationship to blossom. As for talking about it, what would I say? I didn’t know how to feel let alone how to put it into words. 

Instead, I just avoided it all. I still spent time with Kat and my other friends, but part of me was missing from that day on. Even my wolf missed Finnick.

“I miss Callum.” Sadie would whine frequently, longing for Finnick’s wolf.

“Me too! But maybe it’s for the best. We probably wouldn’t have been his mate anyway” I told her, willing myself to believe it too.  

“Maybe.” She sighed. “Hopefully we’ll find our mate as soon as we turn eighteen!” She tried to sound excited. 

But that day came and went and nothing changed. We still had no mate and no Finn. 

Even so, I tried to make the most of my life. Eventually, Kat convinced me to join her in training with the warriors. I would never be as good a fighter as Kat was. That girl was a natural. But it did make me feel strong and I enjoyed it. 

The one thing I never did was go back out on that trail. It was the one place I couldn’t escape him. The one place that would always be indelibly linked to him in my mind. I could never go there without seeing his smile, hearing his laugh, or remembering the exact color of his eyes, like the bluest sky imaginable. So why did I end up there today?

Finding I had no clear answer to that question, I shook myself out of those thoughts long enough to survey my present surroundings. Surprisingly, I’d made it all the way back home. With a heavy sigh, I hauled myself up the stair to the back porch, intent on looking for my-, well looking for Kyle. I didn’t have to look far. He was sitting on the porch swing with a pouty look on his face, reminding me of a drenched puppy. 

“I don’t have any dry clothes and I didn’t want to go in and drip all over your mom’s carpet.” He offered by way of explanation.

“Come on.” I waved for him to follow me in. “I’ll get you a towel and I’m sure Seth has something that will fit you. He’s spending all his time at the packhouse these days but he left behind a few things.”

“And what then?” He asked with a mischievous grin on his face. “I’m freezing! Will you help warm me up?”

“One step at a time, Romeo.” I laughed, shoving him inside.

Kyle and I had only been dating a few months. We weren’t fated mates, but at twenty-one years old, I was starting to think maybe there was no point in waiting for my mate anymore. 

I told myself that just because I hadn’t found my mate didn’t mean I had to be alone. So when I met Kyle while out with friends at the local bar one night, he asked to buy me a drink and I let him. Maybe it was the alcohol clouding my judgment but I gave him my number and he called me the next day. 

We’d been hanging out ever since and I knew he wanted to take it to the next level, but everytime we got close, something held me back. He was attractive enough. I just needed to stop comparing everyone I met to a certain copper-haired, blue-eyed adonis.

I found Kyle some of my brother’s clothes and left to find something dry to wear for myself. I peeled off my sopping jeans, stepping on them with one foot so I could wrestle my other leg free from the clingy material, nearly tripping in the process. Aggravated at my less than graceful performance, I yanked my dripping t-shirt over my head and flung it across the room. 

After removing my equally damp bra and panties, I quickly towel dried my body and my hair. I was in the mood for comfort so I chose a gray cotton bra and panty set, then pulled on one of Seth’s old faded sweatshirts I’d pirated from his laundry basket a long time ago. I slid on my favorite black sweatpants and went to survey myself in the mirror.

“Not your best work, Sarah.” I muttered to my reflection.

“I think you look beautiful!” My wolf, Sadie, piped up out of nowhere, making me snort.

“You have to say that. I’m a reflection of you.” I countered, rolling my eyes at her. 

Not wanting to leave Kyle alone too long, I shrugged at my baggy clothes and still-damp hair sticking to my face and headed back downstairs. I found him sitting on the edge of the loveseat, leaning forward to warm his hands by the fire. One of the stairs creaked under my weight and his amber eyes snapped up to meet mine, that same evil grin on his face.

“Who needs a fire when I have my own little heater coming to keep me warm.” He teased playfully. 

“And what if your personal heater is broken because she’s frozen too?” I bantered, placing my cold hands on his cheeks to prove my point. Before I could blink, he had pulled me down into his lap and wrapped his arms around me in a crushing hug.

“We’ll just have to find a way to keep each other warm then.” His husky voice was barely above a whisper as he leaned in until his lips brushed against mine.

“I can get on board with that plan.” I breathed out. 

A low growl rumbled through Kyle’s chest as his lips met mine. His kiss was soft and tasted of peppermint, definitely something I could get used to. When his tongue darted out to lick my bottom lip, a request to deepen our kiss, I opened for him willingly. His hand found its way under my sweatshirt, gently caressing my stomach with his thumb. 

I tensed briefly when I felt his fingers slip beneath the waistband of my pants, but I forced myself to relax despite my wolf’s protests.

“You shouldn’t let him touch you! He’s not our mate!” Sadie whined in my head, but I ignored her. 

We’d had this conversation before and it always ended the same way. She would insist we’d meet him soon and I’d argue that I was tired of waiting for something that might never happen. Then she would retreat to the back of my mind in a huff. Now was definitely not the time I wanted to engage in that madness.

Only this time, she didn’t retreat. If anything, she was even more agitated. Kyle had moved us so that he was practically laying on top of me. His hand moved even lower, brushing his fingers ever so lightly over my panties as our tongues continued to tangle together. Sadie paced in my head, whining and growling like she wanted out.

Suddenly, I found myself drowning in the smell of leather and earth and a hint of burnt marshmallow. It was the most masculine scent I’d ever encountered and I wanted to coat myself in it. I briefly wondered where it was coming from, remembering that Kyle smelled like mint and spiced rum, but my mind was too foggy to hold onto that thought for long. 

Seeming not to notice the strange new smell, Kyle laid the full weight of his body against mine, pressing me even deeper into the couch cushions. I was struggling to breathe, needing to come up for air, but before I could push him away, a ferocious roar shook the house so hard I thought the windows would shatter. Kyle pulled away, fear coloring his features, and we both turned our heads to the source of the sound.

 At that moment, as I locked eyes with the man staring back at me with rage radiating from every pore, it all clicked into place. The delicious scent, my wolf’s agitated state, his angry roar. It all made sense.

“Mate!” My wolf and I claimed together.

“Mine!” came his furious growl at the exact same time.