Thank you so much for reading to the end! Please read the author's note which follows for information on book 3!
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!
Finnick’s POV My eighteenth birthday. The day wolves everywhere looked forward to and for me, it was finally here. It was the day we could find our fated mate, after all. Mates were a sacred gift from the Moon Goddess and finding them was a blessing. I should’ve been more excited but I just couldn’t find it in me to be. My lack of enthusiasm had nothing to do with not wanting a mate. I did want mine, more than anything. It’s just that, I already knew who I wanted her to be but I also knew it wasn’t possible, at least not today. For the last year, I’d been in love with Sarah Woods. Not that anyone knew that. Not even her. She was my best friend’s little sister, making her strictly off limits. And she was only sixteen, too young to recognize her mate. Seth Woods had been my friend since kindergarten. We met on the first day of school and immediately became inseparable. If we weren’t at school, we could always be found at each other’s houses. Our parents quickly learned it was no
Sarah’s POV Five Years later “Is this supposed to be some kind of romantic experience, like something out of one of those romance novels girls like to read?” My “kind of” boyfriend, Kyle asked, turning around from where he was walking ahead of me to scowl in my direction. “Because I really don’t see the appeal.” He added, as if the look on his face hadn’t told me as much. We had gone out for a walk on one of the trails through the forest surrounding RedWoods territory when a rainstorm hit. Even under the thick canopy of trees, large raindrops snaked their way through to the forest floor, soaking through our t-shirts and jeans. The sun had been shining brightly when we’d set off so we were completely unprepared for a downpour. No jackets, no umbrellas, nothing. As the showers increased in intensity, Kyle’s pace had increased proportionately while mine had remained unaltered. “Ugh! I can’t wait to get back to the house and dry off!” He grumbled under his breath about the way hi
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
Finnick’s POV “Fuck!!” I screamed as I slammed my fist into the steering wheel of my Jeep. After five long years I was going back to the one place I never wanted to be again. I was going home to RedWoods. Back to the place where I would have to face the memories of the one person I wanted to forget. Sarah. She was the reason I stayed away all those years. But despite my absence, my best friend, who also happened to be her brother, always stayed in touch. Seth stuck by me, never letting our friendship fade away as I’d thought it would when I left for reasons I could never share with him. But now, he needed me and I couldn’t let him down. Even if it destroyed me. When Seth had called me a few weeks ago to ask me to come to RedWoods to train him for his tryouts for the Lead Warrior position, I was hesitant to say the least. My sole tactic for surviving life without my mate was maintaining my distance. But I would have to be physically present to train him effectively. There would be
Finnick’s POV Despite the agony it caused, I often let my mind wander back to that night. The night that changed everything, ruined all my carefully made plans to claim my mate. I had been living at the Crimson Moon pack a full year when it happened. It was the place I’d run to all those years ago when I realized I couldn’t stay in RedWoods, near my sixteen-year-old mate. I wanted to continue the warrior training I’d started at Crimson Moon so I asked the Alpha to let me join. When he discovered I was a natural fighter, he encouraged me to enter some of the local competitions. When I won all of those, I started applying for national contests and won those too, leading my new Alpha to take notice. When his Beta retired without an heir, he’d invited me to compete for the role and I did, easily knocking out the competition. I missed Sarah everyday, so all the training and focus I invested in competing and my job as Beta was a good distraction for me. And the frequent travel required
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 i
Sarah’s POV “Hello, little mate.” He said to me as soon as we were alone. His voice was gravelly and his eyes kept flashing between azure blue and pitch black, telling me Callum was trying to say hello. My wolf, Sadie, was jumping around in my head, squealing “Mate!” over and over. I had met Finnick’s wolf when I was younger. After he turned sixteen and Callum awoke, he would shift every chance he got to run around as his beautiful russet-colored wolf. He’d even let me ride on his back a few times. But Sadie hadn’t been with me long before Finn left so our wolves had never formally met. My mind was still trying to catch up to the insanity that comprised the last few minutes of my life, but his wide smile was infectious and I found myself smiling back at him just as brightly. I couldn’t believe that the man I’d loved for the last five years was actually my mate! And he wanted me! At least, I think he did. The possessive way he stormed in here and claimed me, yanked Kyle off me an