Page 11 of Fae Divided
“Sarah, what’s wrong?” Samuel asked from the office entrance, rushing to her side.
“I’m fine.” She straightened, smiling brightly while suppressing a shiver. Her brother didn’t buy the act for a second.
“You’re not fine,” he said through gritted teeth, raking a hand through already messy blond hair. The angry aroma wafting off her brother stung her nose. “Why do females insist on saying they are fine when they’re obviously not?”
“What other female is lying to you about her health?” Sarah asked, true humor making her lips twitch. The first genuine bit of lightness she’d felt in weeks.
The arrival on the island of a petite, human female, whom her handsome brother was seen bringing excessive amounts of food, had spread like wildfire throughout the pack. The overt display of Ferwyn mating behavior meant Samuel had found a potential Ca’anam. At least, Sarah hoped so.
Her brother had sacrificed his entire life for their people, becoming beta of the Memphis pack before reaching his majority. Then the tragic death of their mother drove their sire to surrender to the Glaofin after his truemate’s loss. Wandering the rest of his days in wolf form and relinquishing his previous role of Alpha to a still young Samuel. The unexpected promotion to Commander of the Guard by the queen a mere decade after her brother took leadership of the Walker Pack forced him to claim the position of Clan príoh. A role Samuel never truly desired but had to assume to uphold the royal appointment within a hierarchal shifter society.
Her life was blessed, but at the first bump in the road—okay, maybe it was more like a mountain—she was folding like a flimsy deck of cards. Where was her backbone?
Sarah had decades of happiness with her Ca’anam. They had a son and a chance for future pups. She ran a successful business, and her mate was a respected warrior. What did her brother have for himself? His concern for her was adding to the substantial burden Samuel bore on his stalwart shoulders. Her reason for dragging herself to the club that night would only add to the load.
When had she become so selfish?
Squeezing him hard around the waist, Sarah dropped to her knees in grateful submission to her Alpha, resting her cheek against his thigh and allowing the tears to come.
“I’m going to beat the bastard to a pulp for hurting you like this,” Samuel said, opening the connection every Alpha had with his pack, sending his love and strength along the web-like bond pulsating between them.
“James is coming for me,” she whispered. “Please don’t worry. Everything is going to be—”
“Fine. I know.” His large hand stroked the top of her head. Her long hair was unbound because that’s how James liked it.
Shit.She was a mess.
Well, she was sick of being coddled. She was the daughter of an Alpha. The sister of a Clan príoh and the proud Ca’anam of James fucking Reed. It was time to stop feeling sorry for herself. Past time.
“I need you to promise me something,” she said, swearing the petition was the final burden she’d place on her overtaxed brother. “Don’t break the bond with James.”
“I will never leave you to suffer alone,” he said, whispering the last as if her doubt wounded him physically. “How could you ever think that I would?”
“I know you wouldn’t want to,” she said, rubbing her damp cheek against his pant leg in apology. “But by Ferwyn law, you should have broken the bond when James lost the challenge for the pack.”
“What’s the point of being the príoh of one of the strongest Clans in the country if I can’t bend the rules a bit?”
“A bit?” Sarah’s laugh was soft. He wasn’t bending the rules; he was shattering them for her. For Noah. And yes, even for James—his friend. “I love you, baby brother.”
“And I love you—” Samuel’s muscles stiffened as a distinctly feminine, quiet hiss came from the direction of the doorway. And then he was gone, leaving Sarah kneeling alone on the floor with only the pine of Samuel’s wolf scent thickening the air.
Chapter 6
So,thatwasAbby.
Sarah pushed through the crowd, distracted by thoughts of the petite blonde who was twisting Samuel’s wolf into knots. The male pheromones swirling around the pack Alpha when he introduced Abby, the queen’s new PA, were uncomfortable in the extreme, and she’d scrambled to leave them alone. It was still Sarah’s brother whose mating instincts were in overdrive after all.
Making it to the outer edges of the club where the mob was the thinnest, Sarah moved quickly toward the exit. She had achieved her objective in coming to Chess by securing Samuel’s promise. Now she needed to find James, done waiting for him to return on his own.
“Sarah!” The masculine call was loud enough to be heard over the latest song blasting through Chess’ sound system, even with earplugs. “Wait up.”
She halted at the next empty table, anxious to remove herself from the heavy traffic flowing from the bars to the dance floor. Her clanmate, Tohopka Blackwater, joined her a moment later.
A pair of black cargoes and matching t-shirt hugged the older male’s broad frame. The Guard member’s uniform had been tweaked to conform to the club’s dress code; no one entered the bar’s premises sporting any color other than black, white, or a combination of the two. A tiny logo on his sleeve with the lettersESCstitched in pale thread was the only indication the handsome Ferwyn wasn’t advertising for a hook-up—or if he’d been human, a Dádhe Feeder contract—which was the implicit message with the omission of white.
“Hey, Hop,” Sarah said, turning away to avoid the gruff shifter’s immediate head to toe perusal.
“You’re pale. And too skinny,” he grumbled, the creases near the corners of his storm-colored eyes deepening in a scowl. “Hear from James?”
