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
Zayne’s POV I was in a surprisingly good mood today. So much so that I felt nothing but joy for my best friends as we celebrated their final days as bachelors, drinking fine whiskey, enjoying perfectly cooked steaks, and reminiscing together with some of the other guys from our pack at one of our favorite restaurants. Despite still not having found my mate, I wasn’t envious like I thought I might be. Despite being happy for my best friends and Alphas, I still wasn’t sure exactly what had changed. A few months ago, I had gone along on a trip to RedWoods pack to search for my mate while the guy’s and Kat were there on business. When I’d come away disappointed yet again, I’d become severely depressed. It was becoming difficult to even do my job as Beta. I just didn’t want to get out of bed anymore. But then, I’d had a talk with Kat, our future Luna, and she’d encouraged me not to give up. I’d told her I was thinking of just taking a chosen mate and she made me promise not to. She’d enc
*Warning: This chapter contains mature content of a sexual nature. Sarah’s POV Zayne was staring at me with a stunned look on his face, not speaking and not moving. I was still wrapped in his arms. He hadn’t let me go and stepped away from me. But he hadn’t responded to my declaration either. Maybe he hadn’t heard me correctly. “Zayne, will you please mark me?” I tried again. “I know it’s fast so if you want to wait I totally understand but like you said, you’ve already waited a long time and we’ve already accepted each other so I just think, why wait?” I was rambling but I couldn’t help myself. I felt like the Moon Goddess was giving me another chance to be happy and I didn’t want to let it slip away. Part of me could hardly believe it was real. Did this mean Finnick finally accepted the rejection? I thought I would feel it if that happened but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was in so much pain already that I just didn’t notice when he decided to let go. It tugged at my heart a li
*Warning: This chapter contains mature content of a sexual nature. Sarah’s POV “Sarah, I need to tell you something.” Zayne said nervously. Now it was my turn to be afraid as a jolt of fear shot through me. What could he possibly need to tell me so badly he would interrupt sex for it? I just hoped he didn’t hurt me the way Finnick had. “O-, okay.” Was all I could say. “It’s just . . . Fuck, this is embarrassing.” He grumbled to himself as his words trailed off. “You’re scaring me, Zayne. Please just tell me.” I pleaded before I lost my mind drawing my own conclusions. “I’m a virgin!” He blurted out. I was so shocked, I couldn’t respond immediately. He actually waited for his mate, for me? I couldn’t believe it! While I fought to find the words to express how happy I was, he started talking again. “It’s just, I know you had a mate before me so you may have certain expectations and I don’t want you to be disappointed.” He confessed. “Zayne, we weren’t together that way.” I ad
Zayne’s POV Joy radiated through every fiber of my being as I stared down at my beautiful mate while she slept. We had been marked and mated for a full week and every day was better than the last. I knew finding one’s mate was a wolf’s greatest gift from the Moon Goddess and I had yearned for mine for the longest time. But never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined someone as amazing as Sarah or the feeling of pure bliss she brought to every aspect of my life. She was sheer perfection! I still couldn’t believe some idiot had cheated on her! We still hadn’t discussed all the details that led her to reject him but it could wait. For the time being, I just wanted to enjoy getting to know my mate and spend time with her. Every day I learned something new about her that proved more and more she was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside. My mind drifted back to the day we met. I found it astonishing that after all those years of searching, I found her in my own back
Finnick’s POV “Fucking piece of shit!” I groused to myself, pulling the car over to the side of the road to change the flat tire. Nothing had gone my way from the moment I woke up this morning. First one of our trainers hadn’t shown up for his shift so I had to step in to lead warrior training. Then, patrol spotted rogues prowling our borders so I had to run all the way to the edge of our territory to check on the situation. Not to mention the pile of paperwork on my desk that needed to be addressed today. Now, I was running late for the Glass Lake Alpha’s mating ceremony and my fucking pack SUV I borrowed was not cooperating. Not that I should be surprised by any of that. Nothing had really gone right for me since the day I left RedWoods five years ago. And things had definitely gone downhill in the three months since I’d last seen Sarah. It took everything I had just to get out of bed everyday. I hadn’t given up on her. Not even close! But after that night I brought her home f
Finnick’s POV “Finnick, what are you doing here?” Sarah demanded, but I couldn’t form the words to respond. I was too busy staring at the gorgeous man with the beautiful ice blue eyes and well-muscled physique begging to be explored who was standing beside her. It wasn’t that I was no longer interested in Sarah. She was still my mate and I loved her as much as I ever did. It was just that I was too stunned by my connection with the fucking Adonis next to her to process anything else. “Mate!” He and his wolf howled back. “Wh-, What?” Sarah mumbled, finally noticing the way we were looking at each other and registering the connection between us. Her voice was filled with shock, confusion, and pain. It was the hurt in her tone that finally broke the trance I was in, my wolf insisting we check on our other mate. I still couldn’t wrap my head around having two mates but I would worry about that later. Right now, Sarah needed comfort and I would do whatever I could to give it to h
Finnick’s POV I let Sarah’s scent guide me all the way through a maze to the center of the rose garden. Despite the fragrant flowers, now that I was more in tune with the smell of her and Zayne combined, she was easy to find. She was sitting on a bench with her back to me, holding her head in her hands. I could tell she knew I was there by the way her back straightened and her muscles tensed the moment she caught my scent.It still hurt that she had that reaction to me. “Are you done fucking my mate already?” She spit out bitterly. “Did you mark each other too?” “Of course I didn’t fuck him, Sarah.” I said gently, letting out a sigh as I went to sit beside her. “We just talked. And Zayne loves you. I don’t think he would even consider letting me mark him without talking to you first.” “But you would, wouldn’t you?” She accused. “Even if you knew it would devastate me, you would still mark him because you’re selfish!” “Sarah, I’m not going to tell you we won’t mark each other if