The Wolf’s Pretend Bride: Enemies to Lovers Shifter Romance, page 18
Sara laughed at the prospect, smile so brilliant, I wondered how I ever went a day without it. “That poor woman.”
As we pressed our lips together again in a warm embrace, I knew I had found myself a keeper. The woman I hoped to spend the rest of my life with.
Sara was the sunshine I always needed, even if I didn’t always want to admit it.
With her pressed against me, I felt unwaveringly complete.
Chapter 29 - Sara
Being a positive person was something I always prided myself on, but the moment that day arrived, I had never been happier.
The summer solstice arrived even faster than it normally seemed to, and with it came the warm weather and the most anticipated festival of the year.
I watched so many of my friends go through the ceremony with their loved ones, and they all found their fated mates. I always spectated with such happiness and joy for them since I couldn’t get enough of the love they shared. And yet, I never knew if I’d be able to find it for myself.
Once, I thought there was a chance I’d have that connection with Ryan, even if I never felt that life-altering spark. I thought there was a chance it just needed time or that it was delayed somehow. But it never came because he wasn’t the one for me.
After that fell apart, I rejected the idea. I didn’t want to waste my time hoping and dreaming for someone to claim me as their mate. Because of that, I nearly snuffed out the bond that was inside me all along.
I had lost hope, until Griffin and I made our amends.
The relief I felt because of it was impossible to describe. While our start was far from perfect, there was no denying how electrifying that chemistry had always been. It was the very thing that brought us together, fake relationship or not.
Developing real, genuine feelings for Griffin was the last thing I expected to happen, but I couldn’t be more grateful for it.
He grounded me in a way that nobody else could, all while never dimming my shine. He never wanted me to feel overbearing or like a burden. Griffin’s support in everything I did was like a dream come true.
As the sun looked down on us brilliantly while we walked through the festival grounds, I was immediately reminded of the skills competitions, and how Griffin fought for us. How that day changed everything for us.
Hand-in-hand, the two of us moved down the main path and marveled over the decorations, food stands, and the usual bustle. There were families everywhere, lighting up the day with their joy.
I softened at the sight of them, and Griffin gave my hand a supportive squeeze.
“This has always been one of my favorite events in town,” I admitted, smiling from all the hard work my coven sisters put in alongside the shifters.
“How did this ever come to be?” Griffin asked curiously as he looked around. “What sparked it?”
“The summer solstice has always been regarded as a divine day for us witches, and we often feel a swell in our power because of it. The shifters didn’t always need our help discovering their true mate bonds, but with the new fast pace of the world, it can be harder to figure out for many reasons. Me being an example of that,” I explained, more than happy to explain it to him. “Reading their bonds was one of the first ways we worked side by side with the shifters, which started before I was even born. They look to us for our divine abilities, and as a thank you, they would throw the festival.”
“So, it’s a day to celebrate the witches and true bonds?”
I nodded. “And the summer solstice itself. It’s a way for shifters and witches to embrace the peace between us, and to give back to one another. I love the sense of community it brings us.”
“I have to admit, Rose Valley knows how to put on events,” Griffin said, smiling down at me. “I’m looking forward to our own reading.”
My smile grew even bigger at that. “I am too.”
That bond felt secure enough and so full of love that I didn’t have any doubt in my mind about it. Most couples approached the ceremony feeling nervous, but I didn’t need to be.
After how we managed to drift into each other’s lives, it couldn’t be anything other than that bond.
We were both so happy, and we found our balance of sunshine and grumpiness. Even if we both had some learning to do, I was proud of how far we had come. I looked forward to what was ahead even more.
As we ventured onto a new path, we paused the moment a familiar face stopped us. Noah was there, hands in his pockets as he looked between us.
Griffin tensed, and my stomach dropped. But I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze to let him know I was there, and I trusted him. No matter what happened, we would be fine. Noah couldn’t threaten that, regardless of his intentions.
“Sara, Griffin,” Noah began, taking a deep breath. Regret stitched within his features. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for trying to get in between what you two have. It was an honest and innocent crush, and I resented how Griffin caught your attention. With my background in the Black Ops, I’ve been conditioned to try and help whoever I can, even if they aren’t really in danger. I should’ve stopped pursuing you the moment I realized there was something between you two. As a shifter myself, I know how important that bond is.”
Griffin and I were both shocked into silence, and it took everything in my power to not exchange a glance with him.
I never thought the time would come for Noah to apologize but hearing it from him was surprisingly nice. Even if I wasn’t interested in him, I never wanted things to be sour between us. I wanted the best for him, no matter what that meant.
“I respect you both too much to want to get in the way of what you two share. So, I’m sorry for how I acted. I was out of line, but I hope you can find it within yourselves to forgive me,” he continued, earnest in his apology.
Relieved to hear it, my shoulders relaxed, and I offered him a smile. “That’s very considerate of you, Noah. Thank you for approaching us and apologizing.”
He nodded in acknowledgment, then faced Griffin and seemed to await whatever judgment would be dished out.
I couldn’t help but wonder what Griffin had to say.
Even if we had gone over everything between the two of us, and we were both on the same page, Griffin never expressed what he would say to Noah if he had the chance. I knew he wasn’t the biggest fan of his, but I didn’t know the extent of it.
“It takes a lot of guts to say what you just did, so thank you,” Griffin said, pulling a small smile at Noah’s evident surprise and relief. He reached out to shake his hand. “No hard feelings?”
At the realization, Noah nodded and shook his hand. “No hard feelings.”
I never expected anything of the sort to happen, but it instilled a new sense of ease within me. With that loose end tied, I felt like we could completely move on from what happened between the three of us.
It was a nice feeling.
“Enjoy the festival. I’ll see you two around,” Noah said with a small wave.
“You too!” I said, to which he continued past us and into the festival.
“Hell must be freezing over,” Griffin murmured to me with an amused expression.
“Let it,” I said gently, rubbing my thumb against the back of his hand. “I think that was a good sign for today.”
“I do too.”
The exchange made me think back to Rowan’s effort to find peace between our two groups, and I knew it had to be working.
“Sara, Griffin!”
We both perked up at our names, and Willow appeared before us with a divine smile on her face, lips painted a soft pink. Her white dress billowed around her, and she looked just as ethereal as she normally did during the summer solstice festival.
“Are you two ready for the ceremony?” she asked, glancing between us with that knowing smile.
I could only imagine how much she was celebrating on the inside since her struggle to get me and Griffin to see eye-to-eye finally paid off. She only ever wanted me to get along with him, but it seemed to run much deeper than any of us could’ve known.
While I didn’t feel nervous before, confronting it made my stomach flip with anticipation as I glanced at Griffin.
His reassuring smile was all I needed to gather my courage.
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Excellent,” Willow said, giving us a full smile as she waved us on. “Follow me!”
Not willing to wait any longer, the two of us went in tow through the festival. When we emerged to the meadow, we followed the path of beautiful ornaments and flowers, hand in hand.
Even if I had seen the festival many times myself, I was in complete awe. I was finally able to see it from a different perspective. One I always wanted to see, even if I didn’t know it at the time.
Before long, we came upon my coven sisters as they stood in a half circle, waiting for us with their white dresses that matched Willow’s. They all smiled at me, seemingly just as excited as I was. It was always a joyous time for one of our own to be switched into matches of their own.
As we approached the inside of the circle, nestled within the old trees, the girls closed in around us with their white candles.
“Alright, you know how this works,” Willow said, raising her arms at her sides as she took a deep breath in. She flashed me another grin. “Please take hands, and we will begin.”
As Willow began chanting and collecting her magic within herself, our coven sisters joined in with their humming to create a beautiful melody.
Griffin gave me a hesitant look, but I reassured him with another gentle squeeze. He let go of a deep breath and followed my lead by closing his eyes.
I wanted him to know that no matter what happened, we would always have each other. We had no reason to believe we weren’t mates.
“As suspected,” Willow murmured, to which we both looked back at her. That magic returned inside her chest, and the elder witch’s smile grew. “You two are divinely fated mates chosen by the Goddess. Congratulations.”
My heart swelled with overwhelming happiness at the news. Griffin’s smile mirrored my own, and that tether between us flooded with tender warmth.
“Congrats!” the girls shouted, all grinning ear-to-ear for us.
Cora could hardly contain herself from her place in the circle as she put a hand over her mouth and squirmed at how wonderful it all was.
I felt so unbelievably full of love and gratitude for everyone in my life—especially those so openly excited for me. I was lucky to have them, and the wonderful man next to me. There was no part of it I would ever change.
There wasn’t anything else I could ask for.
“Enjoy the festival as our newest match,” Willow said, looking like the supportive big sister most of our coven sisters saw her as. “You two deserve it.”
“Thank you!” I called back to them as we moved out of the circle and headed toward the meadow.
There was a round of cheering from behind us as we began walking together, and both completely overjoyed.
While my heart was wild with excitement and anticipation, Griffin’s presence helped level me out and to feel more connected to the present.
When we reached the rolling hills that overlooked the woods surrounding town, Griffin stopped and pulled me closer by the hand. With a gentle smile, he looked down at me with his imposing height. Although, he didn’t seem as intimidating as he once did.
His hands fell to my waist as he brought me into him, feeling like the biggest comfort in the world.
“I never thought I’d find myself in a town like Rose Valley, undergoing sacred ceremonies by witches, and bound to one at that,” he began, sweeping a lock of my hair out of my face.
“And I never thought I’d agree to fake date my next-door neighbor, only to fall in love with him, and find out we’re fated mates,” I said, smirking at how insane it all sounded. Even so, it was our reality.
Griffin glanced between my eyes and my lips, and something moved through his gaze. “Say it again.”
“Say what?” I whispered.
“That you love me. Say it again.”
My heart thrummed in my chest, and I knew I’d never get over that feeling.
“I love you.”
Griffin smiled as his thumb brushed against my cheek. “I love you too.”
Our lips connected in a searing kiss, and I could hardly breathe because of how much I cared for him. From how important he was to me.
Chapter 30 - Sara
We had been a flurry of activity since the sun came up, loading the last of my things onto the moving truck.
We even enlisted the help of a few other very capable shifters who practically ran our boxes into the new house.
While busy, the day had been overwhelmingly emotional too.
The two houses that started it all; the place where we fought and made up more than once. The properties we bickered over, now available for someone else to begin their own story on.
It was time to say goodbye to it and to welcome ourselves into the new one.
While the rooms looked mostly empty aside from the boxes waiting to be unpacked, Griffin and I moved through the house to get another look before we had the chance to really make our mark on it.
We couldn’t wipe the happy smiles from our faces all the while.
The house was bigger to accommodate our growing needs, and it represented a new start for us. A place to step off from and to leave the past behind us.
While there was nothing wrong with our old houses, the new one felt so perfect. It was beautiful, and I was beyond excited to get started.
Our friends had scarcely left by the time we started unpacking. From morning to evening, we did our best to get done as much as we could.
Since most of our focus had been on the lower level, we neglected the top floor—our bedroom in particular.
When our exhaustion got the better of us, we made our way up there and both flopped onto the unmade bed. We didn’t even know where our sheets or blankets were, and neither of us could be bothered to care.
My feet were sore and my whole body was begging for a break. It had been a long day, and we both deserved the rest.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” I murmured, looking up at the ceiling with a grin. My cheeks hurt from all the smiling.
“Our first place together,” Griffin hummed, eyes bright with his enthusiasm about it.
“It’s perfect.”
“Especially when this little one arrives,” he added, turning over enough to reach an arm out. He rubbed the small swell of my belly fondly. “We’ll need all the room we can get.”
Giggling at the thought, I soaked in the warmth from his palm, grateful for his unwavering support and commitment to our baby before they had even arrived. “This house will be so full of love; we won’t even recognize the place from how it is now.”
“I never thought I’d be this excited to become a father, but it’s time,” he commented, letting his thumb brush soft circles over my bump. “I’m not getting any younger.”
“I’m sure you’ll have no problem keeping up with him.”
Griffin cocked a brow in my direction. “Him, huh? How do you know?”
I shrugged. “I just have a feeling. Plus, I’ve been getting better at divination.”
He chuckled at that. “I’m glad to hear it. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, I can’t wait to meet them.”
Warmed all over by the thought, there was no holding back my pure, uninterrupted happiness.
“I will warn you, though,” he began, taking on a slightly more serious air. “Prepare yourself for how overbearing my mother will be at the baby shower. And probably every event after that too.”
“Don’t complain too much, that’s our future babysitter you’re talking about.”
Griffin chuckled at that, then rolled over until he was above me, arms at either side of my head. He took me in completely, looking pleased by what he saw. “You know how they say the sleepless nights are ahead of us and all that, so why don’t we take advantage of the alone time we have left?”
Grinning up at him, there was no ignoring how that suggestion immediately burned through me and put me in the right mood.
Seeing him above me so perfectly, almost caging me against the bed, my belly warmed. Just looking at him was enough to turn me on.
Before he could say anything else, I broke the space between us and pressed my lips against his.
Griffin returned the gesture, deepening the kiss with everything he had to give. Our mouths moved in perfect unison as if we were two halves of one perfectly cohesive being.
That fire moved through me as it always did, blazing in its wake. The taste of him lit that excitement within me, and I didn’t have the mind to ignore it.
Reaching up, I ran my fingers through his dark locks, pulling a deep sigh from him. He hummed into the kiss, growing more eager as he pressed further into me.
Despite how exhausted I felt before, it all seemed to melt away at his kiss. At the way we moved so efficiently together.
That tether between us felt tight with anticipation, begging, and pleading to be nourished. There was no shortage of love or affection through that bond, and I was fully prepared to yield to it.
Griffin moved his hips against mine, letting me feel that arousal of his. Furious and in need of release. That alone was enough to send heat between my legs.
The kiss burned all the while we moved against each other, growing needier with each passing moment. I couldn’t stop my hands from running through his hair, moving down his back, and gripping his tight muscles every chance I could.
Wasting no time, he reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. It was discarded at once, and he luckily didn’t have one on at all. He fussed with my joggers next, and my fingers were busy working him out of his jeans.
We were a mess of limbs, lips, and clothes as each article was discarded, and we were left completely bare.
That lack of material between us made my head spin the moment he leaned back into me a pressed a heated kiss against my lips. I felt all of him against me, teasing me with small movements of his hips.
