Page 141 of Game of Destiny
‘I know, but I still hate to see you get hurt.’ He placed a kiss on my hair and let me hide in his neck. I was happy when he told me it was over. The head of the council continued his speech. He told us it had been the least bloody game in seventy years. Which was a surprise to me. He ended his speech and another member of the council took his place. She talked about verdicts the council had made, which was interesting. They had been busy and it seemed our pack wasn’t the only one with drama. The verdict that our pack was to remain a pack was read, as was the verification of Finlay’s and my bond. As she ended her speech, the head of the council stood up again.
“With that, my dear brothers and sisters, I declare this year’s game finished. We will see you in ten years. Please leave as soon as possible. We want the peace and quiet back,” he said. We all chuckled and stood up. We were expected to mingle for a while. Finlay made sure we stayed clear of my former pack. We talked to the first and second rank Alphas. They were interested in forming alliances. It would be a good opportunity for our pack, so we exchanged information and promised to get back to them. When we were free to get going, we were all relieved.
‘I will drop you off at the communal building so you can say goodbye to your brother. Sam and I have to fix a couple of thingsat the cabin. When we are done, Sam will go and say goodbye to Medow’s father and I will come and join you,’ Finlay linked.
‘Sounds good. Don’t take too long,’ I said.
‘Never. I will miss you too much. If we say goodbye to your family quickly enough we might have a chance at having the cabin to ourselves. Everyone is planning to be out and saying goodbye. We haven’t tried out the couch yet,’ he told me, kissing me.
‘That all depends on how long you and Sam take,’ I told him, gave him a quick kiss and walked to the room in the communal building where I would meet Elder and Becky. I got a warm hug from Becky and one from Elder. We sat down to talk.
“Everything ready to go home tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yes, thank the goddess! I miss my baby,” Becky told me. I smiled at her.
“Give him an extra hug from me.”
“I will,” she promised.
“We will make sure the two of you get to meet soon,” Elder said. I nodded. I didn’t want to ruin the mood by saying I found it highly unlikely.
“If we are lucky, Cindy will distract James and get him in a better mood,” Becky told us. I could hear the sarcasm in her voice. Elder couldn’t help but make a face.
“I know I should let it go, but I just don’t have it in me to forgive that she tried to come between us,” Becky told Elder and me.
“I took one look at you, and I was a goner. She never stood a chance,” Elder told his mate. They were so cute together I had a hard time not cooing. I missed Finlay and looked at the clock. He should be on his way. I wondered why he hadn’t mindlinked me to let me know. Knowing him, he probably wanted to surprise me. The thought made me smile. It was nice to be close to my brother and Becky, to meet and have a chat, but I had a seriouscase of homesickness. I wanted to get back, to start my new life as mated for real.
“When is that mate of yours coming?” Elder asked. I was just going to reply he would be here any moment when I felt something in my chest. It made my wolf go on high alert. “Amie?” Elder asked. I was too busy trying to figure out why I felt like I did. It hit me like a bucket of cold water. It was the mate bond, Finlay was angry and in distress.
‘Finn, what is happening?’ I mindlinked. I waited.
“Amie, what is wrong?” Becky insisted. I still hadn’t got an answer from Finlay. It was bad, it had to be. He had never not answered me. I stood up from my chair and headed for the door.
“Something’s wrong. I need to go,” was all I said. I didn’t have time to explain. I started running as I mindlinked Sam.
‘Something’s wrong with Finlay. Please tell me you are with him, he isn’t replying to my links.’
‘No, I left the cabin about ten minutes ago. I’m on my way. Don’t go there alone!’ Sam linked back. I didn’t care what he told me. I would not ignore this thing, leave my mate all alone. I took comfort in knowing as long as I felt the anger and pain through the bond, Finlay was still alive.
Chapter 68
Amie
As I sprinted towards the cabin, I heard two roars. One I knew was Finlay’s, the other was unknown to me. I felt my panic spike as I pushed myself to run faster. I didn’t hesitate to yank the door to the cabin open. I had no thought of stopping to think of a plan, or trying to figure out what the smart thing to do was. I thought someone was calling my name, but it wasn’t Finlay, so I ignored it. The scent of Finlay’s blood hit me as soon as I opened the front door. There was another scent as well. James.
“Finlay!” I called out as I ran into the cabin, relying on my nose to tell me where my mate was. It was pointing me in the direction of the living room. I could see traces of destruction on my way there. A side table had been smashed to pieces, the mirror was cracked, blood spattered on the walls. I noticed it, but I didn’t care.
“Amie?” I heard Finlay call back and I felt like sobbing. James growled, it came from the same direction as Finlay’s voice and Finlay’s growl in response was louder and fiercer. I ran into the living room and saw a naked Finlay with blood running downhis chest, standing over James who was splayed out on the floor, also naked. They must have shifted at some point. I didn’t care about him, so I rushed to Finlay. He opened his arms and pulled me in for a hug. I wanted to examine him, make sure he wasn’t seriously hurt, but as soon as I was pulled into him I felt my anxiety lessen. James was moving on the floor, Finlay put his foot on him and growled. His point was clear; stay down.
“James!” Finlay growled again, but stopped halfway through when he registered it was Elder who had spoken. Elder and Becky must have followed me. I glanced over my shoulder to see both of them standing in the doorway. They looked unsure of what to do. Behind them, Sam, Ramses and Jake came rushing in. They stopped at a distance as well. The picture we were giving was enough for them to not venture any closer. I took one more lungful of Finlay’s scent in, confirming he was alive and mostly well, before I pushed away from him.
“You didn’t answer my mindlink,” I said to him in a voice halfway between anger and worry.
“I was busy,” he told me, looking down at James. I did as well and took him in for the first time. James was in worse condition than Finlay. Blood was covering most of his body and he had a swollen eye and split lip. He was looking at me like I was something he had lost and finally found again, his eyes shifted to Finlay and they showed hate. I growled loudly enough for both James and Becky to flinch.
“Hey,” Finlay told me. Rubbing my arm.
“Don’t hey me. I’m still upset with you, scaring me to death. Now let me look at you,” I said. I focused on his chest and could see four deep gashes, claw marks, across it. One of them ran through the bottom corner of his tattoo. That pissed me off even more. That tattoo was meaningful to me, it was a sign of his feelings for me, even before the mate bond. “I am going to killhim,” I spit out and glared at James. He looked shocked. Finlay pulled me into him again.
