Ch. 5 Caught Off Guard

Finnick’s POV

As I entered RedWoods Territory, I pushed all the anguish I was feeling aside, determined to mentally prepare for what lay ahead. By the time my jeep rolled to a stop in the Woods’ driveway, I felt as ready as I was going to be. I took a few deep breaths, reveling in the clean air before I had to enter her home and try not to drown in her intoxicating vanilla and spice scent. I steeled myself for that onslaught and headed for the front door.

The closer I got to the entrance, the more restless my wolf became. I’d expected it though. Even knowing she wasn’t here, just being in her home and surrounded by her lingering scent was bound to set him off. I did my best to ignore him. Seth told me he would be on border patrol duty and wouldn’t be home until later so I should just let myself in. I tried the knob and as I’d anticipated, it was open. The Woods family never locked their door. 

As soon as I crossed the threshold I knew something wasn’t right. Sarah’s scent crashed into me like an oncoming train, nearly knocking me off my feet. It shouldn’t have been that strong if she wasn’t home. What took me a heartbeat longer to register were the additional scents mixing with hers. One belonged to another wolf I didn’t recognize, a male wolf. But the other was a scent that as her mate, I would never mistake. Her arousal. She was here. She was with someone. And she was turned on.

Callum immediately took control, catching me off guard and taking over before I could stop him.  Someone besides us had their hands on our mate and he was pissed! Following her scent, he moved us at wolf speed in her direction. His rapid but silent footsteps carried us to the living room and nothing could have prepared me for what I found there or the extreme response it provoked from me and my wolf. 

A red haze colored my vision as I looked down at the sight of my mate, lying underneath a man who had his tongue in her mouth and his hand down her pants. She was moaning for him and the sound of him giving her pleasure was all it took for me to lose every shred of control I might have had.

“Mine!” My wolf and I roared together. It was a furious claim that nearly brought the house down around us. They broke apart and Sarah turned to look at me, confusion written all over her beautiful face as she stared at me with those gorgeous green eyes. 

“What the fuck?” The asshole on top of her managed to speak but made no move to get off of her. In less than a second I was across the room, yanking him up by his shirt.

“Get your fucking filthy paws off my mate, fucker!” I growled in his face, still dangling him in my grasp.

“Finnick?” Sarah said my name like she wasn’t sure it was me, causing a stabbing pain to shoot through my chest. “Please put Kyle down. Don’t hurt him.”

So the fucker’s name was Kyle. And she was protecting him which made him way too happy, a gloating grin spreading across his face. But her defense of another wolf only fueled Callum’s rage, so instead of letting him go I gripped him tighter and growled in his face. 

“Fuck putting him down. Tell my why I shouldn’t break his fucking neck for touching what belongs to me.” I snarled. 

“She’s not your property!” The asshole barked at me.

“Maybe not, but she’s nothing to you! She’s my mate! Mine!” I was about two seconds from snapping his spine. 

“Seems to me like you’re too late.” He taunted. “She already chose me. So why don’t you put me down like the lady asked, turn around, and leave.”

My shoulders heaved as I prepared to launch him across the room but before I could follow through, I felt Sarah’s soft hand on my arm, sending soothing tingles through me, instantly calming me.

“Please, Finn. Put him down so we can talk.” She urged. 

I turned to look into her eyes for a moment, feeling the tether of the mate bond stretching between us. The pleading look in her eyes was all it took for me to release my hold on him. I couldn’t be blamed if I’d forgotten I was holding him a few feet off the ground and he fell to the floor in a heap when I let him go. She didn’t specify that I had to set him down gently. 

She hurried over to help him up and it took all my restraint not to pull her away from him. I couldn’t stand to see them touching but I knew I needed to back off before someone got hurt.

“I’m fine!” The fucker barked, brushing her offered hand away and making me growl at his rude treatment of her. Even if I was glad he wasn’t touching her I wasn’t going to stand for him being mean to her. 

“I’m sorry, Kyle but I think you should go. Finnick and I need to talk.” She was sending him away, choosing me, and that made my heart soar.

“Sarah, please!” He begged. “We’re good together. You know we are. Just because he’s your fated mate doesn’t mean he’s right for you. I mean, the guy walks in here like he owns the place and you obviously recognized him so where’s he been for the last five years? All this time you’ve been waiting and he decides to show up now, when you’ve finally decided to move on. Doesn’t something about that feel wrong to you?’

He was practically groveling and I was seconds away from throwing him out the front door myself if he didn’t leave soon. I was still reeling from walking in on the two of them making out and hearing him say they were good together was more than my dwindling sanity could tolerate. 

As much as I hated to think about it, I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d already had her, had what was mine. The possibility had me clenching my fists in anger, ready to destroy the asshole all over again.

“Kyle, I know this is hard, but he’s my mate. Surely you don’t expect me to turn my back on that without even having a conversation with him. Please don’t make me ask you again.” Sarah held her ground, making me proud of her.

“Fine. I’ll give you a chance to talk. But please don’t make any decisions tonight.” He pleaded some more. “Let’s talk tomorrow, okay? Just give me a chance to fight for you too.”

A barely perceptible nod was her only response but it must have been enough for him because he sighed deeply, then turned and walked away. With him gone, I could finally take a moment to really look at her and what I saw made my breath catch in my throat. The last five years had changed her and all for the better.

I’d always found Sarah beautiful, but now she was ethereal. Her fiery red hair was long and glossy, falling in soft waves to just below her shoulder blades. Her green eyes sparkled like the jewels they resembled, even brighter than I remembered them. She didn’t have an ounce of make-up on and she didn’t need it. A natural flush colored her cheeks and her porcelain skin practically glowed.

She was wearing a worn-out pair of sweatpants and an old sweatshirt I was fairly certain had once belonged to her brother. But even the baggy attire couldn’t hide her body from me. Seth had told me she’d started training with the pack warriors and the effects were evident. She’d always been thin, the years of training had made her lean but shapely. I could tell by the way the loose material clung to her that her thighs were toned and her ass was rounded and firm. I couldn’t wait to see her with much fewer clothes on. 

Neither of us said a word, just stood there staring at each other lost to the mate pull. I wanted to be angry at her for letting another man touch her intimately. She smelled like him and it was making my wolf angry. He wanted me to take her right there on the living room floor but I shoved him back, reminding him we had no right to be mad considering our own circumstances. 

All of these thoughts flitted through my brain until the sound of the front door clicking shut broke the spell. 

“Hello, little mate.” I said, flashing her my brightest smile.