An Unwanted Fate

I looked up to see two identical pairs of hazel eyes staring intently at me. “Twins!” Cara , my wolf, squealed in my head. Before I could even let that fact sink in, one of them lunged at me, picking me up, swinging me around and pinning me to the wall with his body.

“MINE!” he growled in my ear as he buried his nose in my hair, inhaling deeply.

“I think what you meant to say was “ours” right brother?”

Katalina (Kat) Connor wanted nothing to do with the Moon Goddess’ most sacred gift, the mate bond. In her experience, nothing good ever came from a mate bond and she was determined never to accept a bond of her own. Instead, she chose to focus on her career as midwife for her pack, and avoid love altogether.

Reegan and Ryan Stone, twin Alphas of the renowned Glass Moon pack, had yet to find their fated mate. At 24, Ryan was ready to search the world for her while Reegan was reluctant to give up his playboy ways and settle down. Knowing they would most likely share a mate, their difference of opinion was driving a wedge between them.

What will happen when Kat and the twins find their futures entwined? And when a mysterious truth about Kat’s wolf is revealed, will she come to accept what she is and fulfill her destiny or will she run from a fate she never wanted?

*Warning: This book is an erotic romance featuring non-incestual polyamory between multiple mates.

Book 1 of the Celtic Wolf Series-Completed

Book 2 A Tangled Fate: Bound By Her Betas-Completed

Book 3- Coming Soon!

Ch. 1 A Father's Pain

Katalina's POV

Twenty-three hours. That’s how long I’d just spent assisting with the labor and delivery of the pack’s newest twins. I’d trained under Dr. Ruben to become the pack midwife for the past three years so I was more than prepared to handle any unforeseen issues. But other than a long labor and the added effort of pushing out more than one baby, everything went smoothly.

I should be exhausted after the all-nighter with no sleep. I’m sure the bone-deep fatigue would hit me as soon as I got anywhere near my bed but right now, I just felt energized. My wolf, Cara, was buzzing with excitement in my head, making me restless. I was going to take advantage of the endorphin-high to walk home and stretch my legs.

“Cara, what is up with you today?” I asked my overly energetic wolf. “I know you love meeting new pups, but you’ve been up all night too. You should be exhausted by now.”

“I don’t know. I can’t explain it.” She hummed in my head. “I just feel like something exciting is going to happen today.”

“Something more exciting than delivering twins? I’m not sure I can handle any more excitement than that today.” I muttered tiredly.

“Meeting our mate and having pups of our own! That would be more exciting!” Cara announced with an enthusiasm I didn’t share.

“Please don’t start that again. I’m too tired to argue about this right now!” I huffed at her.

“Doesn’t need to be an argument.” She grumbled, but let it go and drifted to the back of my mind.

It was the same conversation we’d had at least a thousand times, but no matter how often I reminded her what it was like to lose a mate, shared my painful memories with her, she still never gave up.

I understood where she was coming from. I really did. Witnessing the joy of such momentous occasions as the birth of a child into a loving family was what made the unpredictable and often long hours of being a midwife so worth it. And it was almost enough to make me want that kind of love and family for myself one day. Almost.

Unfortunately though, not everyone appreciated the Goddess-given gift of a fated mate. As far as I was concerned, there were just too many ways it could end badly. Admittedly, it was rare for a fated pair to ever cheat on each other or engage in any behavior that would likely bring their mate pain or damage their bond in any way. But it did happen.

A small fraction of us managed to resist the pull. I hoped to be one of those who found the strength to resist. My stubborn wolf obviously did not agree, even knowing my reasons and having lived through my same pain. But I could be just as stubborn. And in the end, I knew she would see I was right. She just needed time to come to terms with it.

Cara was still excited to find our own destined mate, but I hoped we never would. My past experience with mate bonds had left me broken in ways I never thought I could overcome. I couldn’t take the chance of being hurt again. There just wasn’t enough of me left to survive it.

My mother died when I was sixteen. We still didn’t know what happened. She was fine one day and gone the next. Wolves don’t get sick. We could be killed but even that is rare. Unless an injury was catastrophic, our wolf would heal us. We didn’t die of cancer or heart disease or any other human ailment. For a wolf to die for no apparent reason was unheard of. Dr. Ruben did an autopsy on my mom but couldn’t find a cause of death. He said it must have been some type of rare genetic disorder that went undetected.

That was five years ago and I still mourned her death every single day. But my own grief paled in comparison to that of my father’s. The death of a mate was so devastating that many times, their partner died soon after. Watching my beloved father suffer through that pain and anguish was and still is heartbreaking. I knew he wanted to follow her into the afterlife, but he refused to leave me here alone. So he hung on, and fought through the grief.

I thought the pain of losing my mom and best friend was gut-wrenching. But listening to my strong, reserved father cry himself to sleep every night threatened to rip my heart right out of my chest. He never let me see him break down, but for a long time he wasn’t really present either.

I would sometimes find him sitting in her favorite chair just staring at her picture. In those moments I knew he was wishing he was with her. Dad had come so far since those dark days. Someone who didn’t know him would probably never guess at the loss he’d suffered. I was not sure his heart would ever be whole again though. Regardless, I decided long ago that I would never give someone the power to leave me suffering that way.

“I lost our mother too, you know.” Cara piped in again. “Even though I was newly born to you, I share all the same memories of her. And I lived through our father’s grief as well. But that doesn’t mean it will happen to us.”

“Maybe not. But that’s not the only reason and you know it!” I growled at her. She was pushing me to think about things I’d rather forget and I was losing my patience.

“Yes. But HE was never meant for us. You should have walked away before he ever had a chance to hurt us.” She snapped at me.

“That’s not fair and you know it!” I bit back.

“Neither is denying me a chance to be with my mate!” She whined.

“That’s it! This conversation is over!” I shoved her to the back of my mind and blocked her out.

Ch. 2 Reality Check

Katalina's POV

If losing my mom and witnessing my dad’s suffering wasn’t enough to make me swear off ever accepting a mate bond, my relationship with Jesse Klein put the nail in that proverbial coffin.

Jesse, or Alpha Klein these days, was just what I needed right when I needed him. His dad was the Alpha and my dad was his Beta so we grew up together since the time we were infants. Gamma Thorn’s kids, Tyler and Larissa, as well as Sarah Woods, the Head Omega’s daughter, rounded out our inseparable little band of troublemakers. On any given day, we could all be found tearing through the pack house together playing tag or hide and seek, creating havoc in the kitchen while making cookies with Sarah’s mom, or engaging in some other mischievous activity.

Jesse, Tyler, Sarah and I were the same age and we all just clicked from day one. Larissa was a couple years younger but she could always be found tagging along with her older brother. We were all best friends. Then as our sixteenth birthdays approached, something changed between Jesse and I. All of a sudden, I was hyper aware of how attractive he was. The way he always ran his hands through his sandy blonde hair or the way his bright green eyes always seemed to sparkle entranced me. And I was constantly fighting myself to keep from running my hands all over the muscles bulging under his tan skin.

From there we started having progressively flirty conversations, until several weeks later when Jesse finally asked me out on a date. It was that first date that sealed my fate. After that, I knew I would never want anyone but Jesse Klein.

For the next four years, he barely left my side. We spent every spare minute together as our love continued to grow. When mom passed away a few months after my birthday, Jesse was there to pick me up. I knew with every fiber of my being that he was the reason I survived my mom’s passing and my father’s living death.

When Jesse turned eighteen a few months before me, he started making plans for our future in earnest. He was convinced that as soon as my birthday arrived, we would finally find out that we were mates officially. We would get married and the whole pack would know I was their future Luna. Unfortunately, we were both in for disappointment.

The morning of my birthday came and as soon as Jesse pulled into my driveway I rushed out to meet him, eager to feel the connection of our mate bond. Instead, it was instantly apparent that the Moon Goddess hadn’t chosen us for each other. Although I had always loved his scent of warm leather and fresh fallen rain, he didn’t smell any stronger to me. And his touch, though still warm and soothing, did not produce the tell-tale sparks of the mate bond.

I started sobbing right there in the driveway. I knew how much Jesse was looking forward to our bond snapping into place that day and I was terrified he would leave me. But he just pulled me into his arms and walked me back into the house, whispering to me the whole way that it didn’t matter. He kept saying over and over, “I’m never leaving you, ever!” I believed him.

As soon as we got inside Jesse sat down, pulling me into his lap and kissing every inch of my face and neck while telling me how much he loved me. I begged him to go ahead and mate and mark me as his chosen mate but he refused, saying he wanted it to be special and not when I was so upset.

I’d hoped that day would come soon but his parents had other plans. The next morning, I went to the pack house early to surprise Jesse with his favorite muffins for breakfast. But as I neared his bedroom, I was the one who ended up surprised.

“That’s not fair! Lot’s of wolves take chosen mates. Why shouldn’t I get to choose who I want to be with?” Jesse shouted at someone.

“Yes, Lot’s of wolves do, but not lots of Alphas.” Jesse’s dad answered tersely. “Alpha’s are stronger with their fated Lunas. It’s your responsibility to do what’s best for this pack!”

“Son, just wait to mate and mark Kat until your twentieth birthday. If you haven’t found your mate by then, we will give your chosen mate our full endorsement with the pack. Just give the Moon Goddess until then to reveal your path. That’s all we ask.” His mother’s voice was soft, gentle. But the message was the same. I did not have their support.

“And if I don’t wait?” Jesse challenged.

“Then we will not sanction your choice. And without it, you know the pack won’t either.” His dad stated with finality.

I could hear footsteps coming my way but I was frozen in place. His parents looked surprised to see me standing in the hall but said nothing. Luna only offered me a weak smile as they both walked by me.

It would be a long two years, but we both knew it would be important to have the full endorsement of the current ranked members. So we waited.

Fast-forward two years. The ceremony inducting Jesse as Alpha was wonderful. The whole pack was there and everyone was so excited to welcome their new leader. I had never been prouder! Tyler took over for my dad as Beta at the same time so it was a double celebration.

Jesse and I planned a short trip for the next weekend when we would finally solidify our chosen bond. To say I was excited was the understatement of the century! We had been through so much together over the last four years and both felt we had earned our happily-ever-after.

Jesse never missed a chance to run his fingers along my neck and whisper to me, “Soon Love, I’m going to put my mark right here for everyone to see and you’ll be mine forever!” That was all I ever wanted. All I needed to finally feel complete.

Unfortunately, the Moon Goddess had other plans. Tyler’s parents were having a party to celebrate his induction as the new Beta. His sister Larissa had also just come home from four years of studying abroad at an all-girls boarding school so it was a dual celebration. As our new Alpha, Jesse had to attend but we wanted to go regardless since Tyler was one of our best friends and the rest of our little gang would be there as well.

As soon as we walked in the front door my whole world fell apart. Jesse immediately froze and his eyes turned black as his wolf, Ares, sniffed the air. He nearly ripped my arm off when he yanked his hand out of mine and pushed through the crowd to get to his mate. He stopped right in front of Larissa and growled, “Mine!”

In the next moment, he had her pushed up against the wall kissing her passionately. The same way he had kissed me just moments before we arrived. I couldn’t move. All I could do was stand there and stare. My heart refused to believe what my eyes were seeing.

I always knew the mate pull was strong, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that four years of our lives, years completely devoted to each other, could be erased instantaneously. So I just stood there, waiting for him to come to his senses and remember me while everyone stared at the scene playing out in front of them.

Thankfully, my best friend Sarah saw what was happening and had the good sense to get me out of there.

“Come with me, Kat. You don’t need to stay here and watch this.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door.

I stumbled along behind her numbly until she shoved me into her car and drove me to her house. The minute she closed the door to her bedroom I fell on her bed and let the floodgates open. I’m not sure how many hours I laid there and cried, but Sarah stayed with me, quietly rubbing my back the whole time.

Once again, a fated mate bond was destroying my life. When my tears finally ran dry, I knew two things unequivocally: 1. I hated the Moon Goddess Selene and her damn “fated mate” bullshit. And 2. I would never, ever allow anyone the opportunity to break my heart again!

In the weeks following that night, Jesse tried several times to see me but I refused every time.

“He’s here again. What should I tell him this time?” Sarah sounded exasperated as she barged through her bedroom door, startling me out of my trance-like state. I turned to face her, staring back blankly.

“Tell him I’m not here. Tell him I’m gone and you don’t know where I went. I don’t care what you say as long as I don’t have to see him.” My voice was flat, unemotional.

I was numb, empty. Jesse had left me standing in the doorway alone and humiliated, not even sparing me a second thought after four years together. Leaving me with nothing. I would not give him one more minute of my time.

Now, a year later, parts of me were still irrevocably broken. My heart may have never fully healed, but I resolved a long time ago to give my all to my career as a midwife and to the important people in my life. Lately, I finally felt like I was getting back to the fun-loving, sassy girl I used to be. I was actually enjoying life again, not just pretending too. I wanted to hang on to that!

As I dragged myself up the stairs to my room, weariness from my long night had finally set in. I thought about fighting through the fatigue, changing into workout clothes and attending a training session with the pack warriors.

Soon after Jesse found his mate, my wolf, Cara, and I had a lot of emotions to work through. Training had been the perfect outlet for my anger and frustration. At first, I could barely make it through a whole session without my muscles turning to jelly. Over time though, I grew stronger and faster.

It had been a year since I started training and I was in the best shape of my life. I was one of the strongest she-wolves in our pack and I could definitely hold my own in a fight. Training was something I did for myself and I was addicted to it.

Ultimately though, I decided to skip it in favor of a nice long nap. As exhausted as I was, I was glad I took the time to walk home and think about my past and what I wanted for my future. It was too easy to see what people like the Andersons had and let it suck me in, making me forget how loving someone gave them the power to crush you. I needed a reality check.

As I laid in bed drifting off to sleep, I thought about how thankful I was that I had never met my fated mate. That kind of love was a fantasy meant for a lucky few. With a renewed resolve to keep my feet firmly planted in reality, I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.

Ch. 3 Something's Missing

Ryan's POV

Today would be one of the most exciting days of my Alpha career. I was about to wrap up a months-long negotiation by finalizing an alliance with one of our neighbor packs, RedWoods. In the four years since I took over as Alpha of Glass Lake (a title I share with my identical twin brother, Reegan), we’ve successfully negotiated several alliances but this was my first solo endeavor.

As the twin with the patient, calm, strategic-minded personality (compared to Reegan’s hot-headed, verbally explosive one), I was the obvious choice to take the lead when tenuous negotiations were required.

“We are the strongest pack in the US with the largest territory and the most skilled warriors. These other packs have nothing to offer us. They just want to take what we have and you know I don’t have the patience for that bullshit.” Reegan had pushed back when I suggested we co-lead the treaty talks.

He had a point. He was not known for being patient, or subtle.

“But this is a chance to see through something dad started when he was a young Alpha. It would make him so happy if we could form an alliance with Ian’s pack.” I’d countered, hoping the chance to please our father would soften him.

Ian was dad’s best friend and the beta at RedWoods. I knew this alliance meant a lot to them. I thought maybe it would mean something to Reegan too, but no such luck.

“We’re the Alphas now, Ryan.” He’d argued. “It’s our decisions the pack will scrutinize now, not dad’s. We have to be smart about who we align ourselves with.”

Recognizing a lost cause when I saw one, I decided to move forward on my own. I was definitely the more nostalgic between the two of us. Continuing our father’s legacy was important to me.

“That’s fine.” I told him, smirking victoriously. “But I will be far too busy with negotiations to focus on this year’s Forest Preservation Summit. I’ll need you to attend and give our presentation this year.”

“Fuck!” He cursed in defeat. “Maybe I-”

“Oh no!” I cut him off. “You made your position clear. I wouldn’t dream of testing your patience with something as tedious as inter-pack relations. Enjoy the summit!”

I walked away laughing at his pissed off expression, knowing he got the short end of that proverbial stick.

Now, six months later, I was on my way to finalize our agreement with RedWoods while Reegan was stuck at a boring summit. I was probably enjoying the thought of his misery a little too much. Though, when it was all said and done, Reegan would go back to his exciting, carefree lifestyle and I would be the one feeling lonely and bored. The success of this treaty would be a notch in my Alpha belt, but I also had to admit the work I had put into it had been a good distraction.

Despite the many perks of the position I enjoyed, my life was beginning to feel hollow. On the surface, it would seem I had everything going for me: Ryan Stone, twenty-four years old, devastatingly handsome (or so I’ve been told), ridiculously wealthy, and co-Alpha of the Glass Lake Pack.

I didn’t mean to be vain, but I was well aware that the combination of my wealth, status, and good looks could get me just about anything I wanted from whomever I wanted it from. It was a perk Reegan had no shame in exploiting.

“Come to the bar with me and Zayne! Let loose and live a little!” My twin would hound me every weekend.

“I would rather eat silver than watch you drink yourself stupid and pimp yourself out to all the slutty she-wolves clamoring for a title. You should be ashamed of yourself for guilting our Beta into going along.” I pretended to gag at the thought.

Reegan would just roll his eyes at me, call me a prude or something like it, and go on his way. After a while, he just quit asking. At first I was relieved, but lately I’d been thinking it might be better than always being alone.

Despite our differences, having a twin was pretty great! We had a built-in best friend since the day we were born and our bond was unbreakable. I would never want to do life without him, even if he irritated the hell out of me sometimes.

I’d tried talking to Reegan several times over the last few weeks about the growing feeling of emptiness I was experiencing, but his response was always the same,

“Ryan, you worry too much. Let it go and relax for a change.” He’d admonished me. Not exactly helpful.

Maybe he was right, but I just couldn’t seem to let it go. The truth was, I’d been feeling lonely lately and I really wanted to find my mate. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

Twenty-four was old for any wolf, but especially an Alpha, to be unmated. We could find our mates at eighteen and most had found each other by twenty at the oldest. My wolf, Teague, was getting more and more restless with every passing year.

Wolves mated for life and mated pairs were always stronger together, a fact that was even more important for an Alpha wolf. An Alpha was meant to have his Luna. She would bring physical, mental and emotional strength to her partner. Our wolves would be larger and stronger with our mate by our side. An Alpha/Luna pair were a force to be reckoned with and were meant to help their pack thrive.

“We need to look for our mate.” Teague, my wolf, would whine in my head frequently.

“I know, buddy. But you know Reegan isn’t ready. If we end up sharing a mate and he doesn’t want her, it will destroy all of us.” I reminded him.

“Rikkon wants our mate.” Teague scoffed at my excuse. Rikkon was Reegan’s wolf and Teague was convinced he would be able to sway my brother when we did finally find her.

My brother and I were attractive guys, both 6’3 with chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes. We were both strong warriors who trained regularly, leading to bodies of rock-solid muscle. The combination of our status as Alphas and our good looks meant we never lacked female company if we wanted it. Reegan always wanted it.

And that was the problem. As long as he was convinced he was happy living his current lifestyle, he wouldn’t entertain the idea of looking for our mate. Unfortunately, there was no indication he would be changing his mind any time soon.

On the contrary, he kept systematically screwing his way through the female population. I swore that shit was going to come back to bite him someday soon. He was going to get caught with some poor guy’s mate and end up in a challenge to the death. He’d win, but that wouldn’t save his reputation or his conscience.

I’ll admit I was no saint either but unlike him, I could count my intimate relationships on one hand. I never dated anyone longer than a couple months. I didn’t want to risk falling for someone who wasn’t my mate, or letting them fall for me. I’d seen it happen before and it never ended well.

At the same time, I could never quite bring myself to go for the casual one-night stand. Reegan already cornered that market anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I craved sex as much as the next guy. I was a wolf after all. But lately any type of romantic relationship with someone who wasn’t my mate just didn’t interest me like it used to.

Teague wanted nothing to do with it either. Without our mate, he was getting anxious and maybe a little depressed. As soon as I got close to any woman, I heard him howling in my head and saying, “It’s not her. Make her go away.” Then he whimpered and whined until I found a way to let her down easy and move on.

Maybe Reegan had the right idea to not press the issue, but I couldn’t be as unconcerned as he was any more. Although, to be honest, I thought his lack of enthusiasm was more deep-seated than he let on. As Identical twins, Reegan and I had shared many things but women had never been one of them.

Wolves were possessive by nature. When that wolf was an Alpha, multiply that possessiveness by a hundred. For a single Alpha wolf, or even fraternal twins, that wouldn’t be a deterrent.

But Reegan and I were identical twins, two halves of one soul. A fated mate was the Moon Goddess’s gift of your soul-mate. One soul mated to another soul for all eternity. Since my brother and I share a soul, it was entirely possible we would share a mate as well. Which brought us back to the possessiveness issue.

Reegan did NOT want to share. Admittedly, I wasn’t too stoked about the idea myself at first. But the more I thought about it, I really did believe that if the Moon Goddess designed it that way, the sharing piece would come naturally.

Of course there would be bumps in the road, but nothing we couldn’t work out. I just wished I could get Reegan to talk to me about it long enough to convince him. So far, it was a conversation he wasn’t interested in having.

All I knew for sure was I was lonely in a way that couldn’t be fixed by superficial relationships anymore. I needed “Her.” I needed “The One” to feel completely whole. I wanted to feel the sparks from our bond when we touched. I wanted the soul-deep connection my parents had. I wanted to hold her in my arms and know it was forever.

As I pulled into the drive of the RedWoods Beta’s house, I resolved to have a serious conversation with my brother when I got home. I was going to make him listen to me if I had to chain him to a chair. In the meantime, I would keep hoping for a miracle, that the Moon Goddess would just throw my mate into my path. If I just happened upon her, Reegan couldn’t be upset. Could he?

Ch. 4 Mate!

Ryan's POV

As I pulled into the drive of the RedWoods Beta’s house, I wondered about the man I would be meeting with. Ian Connor and my dad had been best friends for most of their lives. Despite belonging to separate packs, they had attended the same private school growing up. As a future Alpha and Beta they immediately clicked, bonding over the responsibilities of their ranks as well as their shared Irish heritage.

Fortunately for them, our pack territories bordered each other so they were able to stay in touch over the years. Our families never spent much time together but Ian would come by the pack house to see dad fairly often. As a kid, I found him a little scary. He was a huge guy and always wore a serious expression. I remembered thinking he could easily crush me with one hand. He was a man of few words but when he did talk to Reegan or me, he was friendly enough.

I was sad to hear his wife passed away a few years ago now. One day my dad seemed really down. When I asked him what was bothering him, he told me about Ian’s wife and what a devastating thing it was for a wolf to lose a mate. He mentioned they had a daughter too and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. I couldn’t imagine ever losing my own mother.

As I approached the front door to Ian’s home, I wondered what kind of man he was now after all life had thrown at him. I hoped he had been able to overcome his grief and find happiness again, for his sake and his daughter’s.

When I first heard that Alpha Klein and his current Beta had conflicting meetings and would need his former Beta to step in for him today, I was admittedly a bit disappointed. I was anxious to make a personal connection with him. We had spoken on the phone many times, and even had several video conferences. This meeting was really just a formality to drop off the alliance contract. All the details had been ironed out. Alpha Klein would just need his legal team to review it and sign off.

Still, I wanted to look him in the eye and shake his hand. It was a lot harder for a man to change his mind once you’d done that. This alliance was as beneficial to RedWoods as it was to Glass Lake so I didn’t expect him to back out at the last minute but I wouldn’t truly rest easy until the ink was dry.

Dad had been super excited to hear I would be seeing Ian and was anxious for me to pass along his request that they meet for a round of golf soon. I supposed if a delayed in-person meeting for me meant an opportunity to make the old folks happy, I would gladly comply.

I rang the doorbell and took in my surroundings while I waited for someone to answer. Ian no longer lived in the pack house, but in a stone cottage on the outskirts of town. The house was close enough to town to be walking distance but just far enough out that the forest crept up along the back and sides of the property. Ivy vines snaked their way up the stone walls and colorful flowers lined the walkway and front porch. It was an idyllic setting, like something out of a fairytale and I had to wonder if it had been his wife’s vision or his daughter’s. I was guessing it wasn’t based on male inspiration.

I didn’t have too long to wonder about landscape design before Ian himself came to let me in. I had even less time to contemplate the man in front of me because as soon as he opened the door I was hit by the most delicious scent I’d ever encountered. It smelled like the sweetest honey and the most fragrant wildflowers. I was instantly intoxicated. Teague was going crazy in my head, trying to come forward. It felt like he was clawing at my brain.

“MATE!” Teague and I said together. I didn’t even realize I had shoved past Ian and started following the scent deeper into the house until I felt him grip the collar of my shirt and yank me back. I turned on him and growled, my eyes flashing silver as my wolf instinctively prepared to fight anyone who would try to keep us from our mate.

Ian didn’t flinch. He kept a tight grip on me and stared me down. I had to fight hard to push Teague to the back of my mind but thankfully, I was able to hang on to the shred of sanity that told me it would not be a good idea to maul my mate’s father and my dad’s best friend. Once he saw that I was back in control, Ian gently forced me into the nearest chair.

“Let’s take care of business first. Then we will have a little chat about my daughter,” he stated in a tone that brooked no argument.

I nodded in agreement, still too drunk on her scent to form words. Ian must have realized he was going to have to steer the conversation when he cleared his throat and I still didn’t respond.

“I understand you have some paperwork for me. Something to do with some big alliance between our packs,” he said somewhat facetiously.

That got my attention. I might not have been an eloquent speaker at the moment but I had worked too hard on this deal to drop the ball now.

“Uh, yes sir. I have the contract right here,” I managed to say as I handed it over. “I’m sorry Alpha Klein was unable to join us today but the contract reflects the details just as we discussed. Signing should just be a formality at this point.” There, that was a bit more articulate. Teague was still pacing in my head so it was a challenge to focus on the conversation.

“I’m not privy to any of the details but if your dad is happy with it then it must be mutually beneficial.” Ian offered. “I’m glad you and our Alpha were able to come to an agreement. Raphe and I always hoped an alliance between our packs would happen in our lifetime. I’m happy to be able to step in and take this meeting to wrap up something your dad and I started all those years ago.”

Ian had a small smile on his face and a nostalgic, far-off look in his eye. He was still a tall man with a massive build but the small part of my brain I could spare at the moment registered the change in him. He was a shell of the man I remembered from my childhood. I briefly wondered what memories he was seeing in his mind’s eye at that moment. Just as soon as that thought occurred to me, Teague was wrestling for my attention again. It was like he was chanting a mantra in my head.

“We need to see mate now! Go find her! She’s ours and we need to protect her. Make sure she’s okay!” He kept repeating it over and over again between growling, whimpering, and whining.

Every few minutes he would try to push forward again to take over and I would have to focus all my energy on shoving him to the back of my mind. I felt my claws coming out and looked down to see I was gripping the chair so tightly my knuckles were white. I retracted my claws and looked up to see Ian watching me carefully, probably hoping I wasn’t about to shred the armrests of his chair.

“I can see you won’t be capable of a coherent conversation until you see her and in the interest of preserving my furniture, I’ll take you to see her now on one condition . . .” he said as he pinned me with his best “don’t test me” look.

“I’ll do anything you want! My wolf and I just need to see her and make sure she’s okay,” I cut him off before he could tell me his condition.

“She’s in her father’s house! Why the hell wouldn’t she be okay? What do you think could possibly be wrong with her?” he boomed, leaning forward to get in my face.

“No! I . . . That’s not what I meant! Please Beta Connor,” I pleaded. “Surely you remember what it was like when you found your mate. My wolf is driving me crazy! He keeps pacing in my head and whining that he needs to see her. I need to see her too. I promise I will calm down once I do!”

“I do remember what it was like. Absolute best day of my life besides my wedding day and the birth of our daughter. That’s the only reason I’m willing to let you anywhere near her right now.”

“I totally understand and-“

“Shut up for a minute boy and listen to me!” he growled, effectively cutting me off. He served his pack as their Beta but he must have some Alpha lineage because the command in his tone was unmistakable. “Katalina worked all night last night. She just came home to get some sleep for a few hours before she has to get up and go back to work. I will take you upstairs and open her door so you can look in and see her. You WILL NOT cross the threshold of her room and you WILL NOT make a sound of any kind that could wake her up! If you so much as whisper or step on a creaky floor board, I will throw you out of this house and you will not see her the rest of the day. Am I understood?”

“Yes sir! Absolutely!” I said confidently. I would do anything he asked for one brief glimpse of this woman.

As I followed Ian through the house and up the stairs I could hear Teague whispering her name over and over again in my head.

“Katalina. Katalina, so beautiful,” he said.

I had to agree with him. I had never heard a more beautiful name in my life. And her smell! The closer we got to her room, the stronger her scent grew. My mouth was watering so much I’m surprised I didn’t start drooling all over myself. For the rest of my life, honey and wildflowers would by far be my favorite scent. But as strong as her smell was in the hall outside her room, nothing could have prepared me for the moment Ian opened her door. The beautiful fragrance hit me like a ton of bricks. My brain was so clouded by it I couldn’t even focus on her sleeping form.

Once the fog cleared, I immediately fixed my eyes on her face and a gasp escaped from my lips. I could feel her father’s glare burning into me but he didn’t pull me away so I resolved to rein in my labored breathing while I continued to stare.

She was laying on her side facing the doorway. She was cocooned in blankets up to her shoulders but I could tell from her outline that she was petite. Her long, curly blond hair was fanned out around her and the longest lashes I’d ever seen fluttered over the creamy white skin of her flawless face. Her full, pouty pink lips were turned up into a small smile, like she was having a happy dream.

So many words flowed through my mind as I took her in- Beautiful, Dazzling, Exquisite, Gorgeous, Goddess. None of them adequately described my mate. She hadn’t yet spoken a word and already I knew I wanted her forever. There was no question Teague wanted her too. He was howling with joy in my head. And I’m sure my eyes were flashing from hazel to silver as he fought to come out to see her through his own eyes.

Then, just when I had fully decided to stand here quietly watching her sleep until she woke up, Ian grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I started to pull back but he must have anticipated it because he yanked even harder and I had no choice but to follow. If there was any hope at all I could talk to her when she woke up, I did not want to give him a reason to throw me out!

“Now, let’s go have that chat I promised you. Then we’ll see if you get to stay long enough to meet her when she wakes up.” He chuckled to himself as he said the words, almost as if he was enjoying making me squirm.

Ian led me to a small sitting room at the back of the house. The whole back wall was made of glass, affording an amazing view of the surrounding forest. Streaks of sunlight were shining through the trees, highlighting the field of wildflowers in the backyard.

Those flowers reminded me of my beautiful angel sleeping upstairs and how intoxicating her scent was, making me wish I was back upstairs in her room with her. Once he was fairly certain I wasn’t going to bolt from the room as soon as he turned his back, Ian left but returned minutes later with two glasses of whiskey. He must have thought I was going to need some liquid courage for this “talk” which had me really worried.

What was he going to tell me about her that he thought required alcohol? My hands were trembling, making the ice clink around in the glass. Meanwhile, Teague was begging me to go back to our mate.

“We need Mate! We won’t wake her up, just hold her while she sleeps!” he whined.

“We can’t do that! Do you want her dad to throw us out? Now be quiet so I can concentrate on the conversation. You might want to listen too. He’s going to tell us about her,” I tried reasoning with him. It must have worked because he shut up and stopped pushing forward. We both tried to relax, wanting to learn whatever we could about the woman we hoped would be ours forever.

Ch. 5 Too Complicated

Ryan's POV

A few hours had passed since my conversation with Katalina’s father (or Kat as I had come to realize was the nickname everyone called her). I was currently pacing back and forth through the Connors’ backyard, wearing a path through a patch of wildflowers right on the forest’s edge. After listening to everything Ian had to say, my head was spinning and I felt like the walls were closing in on me. I had to get some air.

That was nearly two hours ago and I still hadn’t been able to sort through the chaos in my brain. Teague wasn’t helping matters. He felt a connection to Kat’s wolf and had no doubt that she would want him. All he cared about was getting to her. I, on the other hand, had to consider the human side of things. And I had come to learn that it was infinitely more complicated than I could have imagined.

Ian handed me a glass of whiskey and sat in the chair directly across from me. He opened his mouth to speak then suddenly stopped, a horrified look spreading across his face.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Is Katalina okay? Did something happen?” I poured out as fear gripped me.

“No, no! She’s fine! I just remembered something. You have an identical twin brother, don’t you?” His facial expression changed to a deep scowl at that revelation.

“Yes, sir, I do. His name is Reegan. Judging from the look on your face, you don’t seem too happy about that. Is there some kind of problem with my twin brother?” I asked, not really sure I wanted to hear the answer. Reegan could be a bit of a wild card. What if he had done something stupid and Kat’s dad had heard about it? He might find me guilty by association.

“It’s not a problem for me, son. But it may well be a problem for you. I remember a conversation I had with your dad a few years ago. He was worried about the possibility of you and your brother sharing a mate since you were identical twins. Something about starting out as one fertilized egg that split in two creating two people with the same DNA and one shared soul. If that’s true, then your mate bond is between the three of you, not just two. That makes things a whole lot more complicated and my Kat does not handle complicated very well,” he stated matter-of-factly.

I dropped my head in my hands and sighed. I knew I would have to deal with that issue eventually. I was just hoping to put it off as long as possible.

“You’re right. It is very possible that Reegan is Kat’s mate as well. We won’t know for sure until they meet. I was hoping to build a connection with her on my own first and then ease into that topic.”

“She’s your mate and I respect the fact that it’s your right to handle this however you see fit. But as her father, I know her better than you do so I feel compelled to offer you some advice. Don’t keep this from her and let her be blindsided by it later. She’ll see it as manipulation and have a hard time forgiving you for it. Let me explain why.”

Ian went on to tell me all about Kat’s past, her emotional wounds and why she blamed the mate bond. He explained the way his grief at the loss of his mate had impacted her as much if not more than her own grief at the loss of her mother. I thought of my own parents and could easily see how watching one of them suffer that way might change my perspective on the mate bond.

And if that weren’t enough, he went on to tell me how she had given her heart, and four years of her life to a man, only to have it all ripped away in a heartbeat when he found his fated mate. To make matters worse, that man was no other than Alpha Jesse Klein.

I could only shake my head at the irony that it was the same man I had worked so hard to build a partnership with these past few months. And the jealousy coursing through me at the thought of her ever loving someone else was nauseating. I knew it was irrational, but my wolf and I wanted all her firsts. The thought of his hands on her had us seeing red!

More than any of that, my heart ached for her. I felt a profound sadness that I had not been the one to support her through the loss of her mother. If it had been me instead of Jesse, I would never have left her for someone else the way he had, leaving her to suffer all over again.

My sadness morphed into anger at that thought. My wolf and I wanted to tear Alpha Klein to shreds for hurting our mate that way. Just as quickly as my anger flared, it burned out again. Because the truth was, I couldn’t change the past. I didn’t know her then and there was nothing I could do to erase the pain she’d endured. That thought left me feeling helpless, but not completely hopeless.

I had always believed the Moon Goddess had a plan, some grand design perfectly orchestrated to ensure her children ended up exactly where they belonged. I had to hold on to that belief now. I had to trust that Kat and I, and maybe even Reegan, would end up together.

I would do everything in my power to make that a reality. And if it turned out she was fated to both of us, I would make sure Reegan did everything in his power too. I had only seen her face but I already knew I couldn’t accept anything less than a future with Kat by my side.

I still had a lot to contemplate and I had no clear idea of how to proceed. The only thing I knew for sure was I wanted my mate. So, before anything else could happen, we had to meet and have an actual conversation.

I turned around to walk back to the house, determined to wait patiently for her to wake up. I made my way back to the sitting room we had occupied earlier and found Ian still sitting in the same chair, reading the paper and sipping some hot tea, looking like the picture of tranquility. It irked me a little that he could be so calm while I felt like I could crawl out of my skin.

I took the seat across from him again and tried to relax, picking up a book left sitting nearby. I heard him lower his paper and could feel him looking at me but I didn’t look up. I didn’t think I could handle any more conversation right now. No sooner had I flipped to page one and started to read when I heard footsteps in the room above us. Kat’s room.

She was awake! Teague heard it too and lurched forward in my head, sharing my consciousness. Together we jumped out of the chair and started running upstairs. I could hear Ian running behind me but he was going to have to move a lot faster if he intended to stop me this time! When I reached Kat’s bedroom door I didn’t even stop to knock, bursting right in before her father could intervene. My eyes immediately found her and the sight stopped me in my tracks.

Fuck! I definitely should have knocked! But I couldn’t bring myself to be too sorry for happening on the scene in front of me. Kat was bent over the side of her bed, reaching to pull up the blankets on the other side. I had an unobstructed view of her perfectly round, firm ass. She had on tight little boy short underwear that did nothing to cover it. The position also showed off her lean, toned legs.

The sight of her like that, combined with her scent had me instantly hard. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to shred those little panties and bury myself in her completely. My wolf was totally on board with that plan, begging me to mate and mark her right then and there. I quickly reined in my lustful thoughts. Being caught standing there with a hard-on would not make a great first impression.

Of course she straightened as soon as she registered my presence. I knew the second my scent hit her because she stiffened and took a deep breath like she was steeling herself for something. When she turned to face me, my world stopped spinning.

I already knew she was beautiful, having watched her sleeping. But nothing could compare to seeing her like this, standing there looking at me with her huge blue eyes blown wide. Cornflower blue was my new favorite color.

She had the most adorable look on her face, her full bottom lip caught between her teeth and a little crease on her forehead like she was concentrating really hard on something. Now that she was upright, I could see how long her hair was, falling in waves like golden spun silk almost to her waist. Her tiny cropped tank top hugged her curves outlining her full, round breasts and exposing her flat, toned tummy. I had been right about her being petite. She couldn’t be more than five foot three. She was perfect from head to toe and I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms.

“Mine!” Teague and I said together as I started to step towards her. But I wasn’t quick enough. Her father had come up behind me and once again, yanked me out into the hall.

“Katalina, get dressed mo leanbh,“ he said, reverting to Irish, just like my own father often did. “We’ll wait for you in the hall. Once you’re decent I’ll make a proper introduction.”

He was obviously less than thrilled about me ogling his half-naked daughter. Teague and I were too amped up to give much thought to Ian Connor at the moment though. There was only one Connor we had any interest in and she was once again on the other side of her bedroom door, out of our reach.

We wanted to hold our mate, letting her scent surround and soothe us. I knew one of my hazel eyes was fully silver as my wolf shared control with me. It was the only way I could keep him from fully taking over. So we paced the hallway, anxiously waiting for her to come out and completely ignoring Ian’s aggravation.

Finally, after a few short minutes that seemed like hours, she opened her door and stepped out. I had paced my way to the far end of the hallway so I immediately turned, making a beeline for her. I realized I hadn’t even told her my name yet so I introduced myself as I headed towards her.

“Hi Kat! I’m Ryan Stone, your mate,” I told her excitedly.

I was bound and determined to get my arms around her this time and nothing was going to stop me . . . until she did. I was within arm’s reach of her when she put her hands up palms forward stopping me from coming any closer.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” she whispered with a sad look on her face. Then she turned and ran out of the house, taking my heart with her.