Gavin (Northern Ohio Shifters #3)

Chapter 23

The July full moon came quickly but Sadie was so very ready to be Gavin’s mate. She’d messaged her mom frequently and had heard back only twice: once to say she hadn’t been able to get approval to come to the mating ceremony, and the other message had left Sadie wondering what the heck was going on in her old pack.

Hi honey. I hope you have a wonderful mating ceremony and are well on the way to building a beautiful life with your mate. Things are rough now since the alpha’s brother came to visit. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to message you going forward but I will do my best. The alpha has decided that he’ll arrange matings for several females in the pack who want to wait for their truemates. Remember Jade? She’s one of the females on the mating chopping block, so to speak. I’m worried for her. The pack gossip has the alpha planning to match her up with a male from another pack who’s…dangerous. I keep thinking you got a new life with our fallen-friend and maybe I should reach out again. I have to run. I love you with all my heart, and I hope to see you again. I’m there in spirit with you. Love, Mom.

Sadie had found the unusually long message from her mom to be disconcerting. She did remember Jade, of course, she was the rebellious daughter of the former second-in-command and a constant source of trouble for her dad because she never wanted to just toe the line and follow the rules, she wanted to follow her heart. Sadie and Jade hadn’t been close as Jade was younger, but Sadie had thought her antics were hilarious.

While Sadie had worried her mom might get involved in something that would get her in trouble with the alpha, there wasn’t anything she could do but hope that she would be okay. And if Jade happened to show up to the fallen-friend , Sadie knew she’d be okay. She’d gotten a whole new life meeting Alli and even though she missed her mom terribly and would keep reaching out no matter how little her mom was able to reach out to her, there was one thing that kept hope alive for her.

Someday, that asshole alpha would be gone and her mom would be free and they could see each other again.

In her Mom’s absence, Alli had happily stepped in as Sadie’s family and she’d loved sharing the day with her fallen angel friend as she prepped for the ceremony with the help of Gavin’s mom, Maya, and several other females, including his sister Aeryn.

She was escorted to her mate by his dad, and the ceremony, which they waited to start until after sunset so that Aeryn’s mate Merrix could attend, was so sweet. The pride was gathered in the backyard of Maya and Midas’s home, and the king of the pride presided over the mating, officially joining her and Gavin as mates and making her a full member of the pride.

When the ceremony was finished, there was a party with tons of food, and then Gavin surprised her by explaining the pride was going to hunt together and she’d finally get to hunt with her mate.

“I’m going to stick around and help watch over the little ones,” Alli said, holding Seraphina. “Have a great hunt.”

Sadie moved to leave when Alli grabbed her hand. “I’d love it if you’d consider me family now, Sadie. Whatever is going on with your mom shouldn’t mean that you don’t feel like you have family of your own. I know Gavin’s family is stepping up for you and I’m so happy for that, but until things change for your mom, you can consider me your big sister if you’d like.”

Sadie’s eyes stung with tears. She hugged Alli. “You’re the best, I’d love that so much, thank you. I always wished I had a sister and now I have you and Aeryn. I feel so blessed.”

Alli nodded. “I’m blessed to have you in my life, Sadie. Now go have a great hunt, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Sadie and Gavin walked off to find some privacy so they could shift. The whole pride was excited for the full moon hunt, and she could already hear the happy growls of the ones who were already on the prowl.

Gavin gave her a tender kiss. “I love you sweet wolf.”

“I love you too, tiger mine.”

“Ready to run with the pride?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

They stripped and shifted, then headed off into the forest to find his sister and parents, and the other members of his family. Tonight she was finally part of a group of shifters who considered her one of them, who didn’t shy away from her because of her fur or consider her a curse or scapegoat for all that went wrong. It was freeing in a way she hadn’t expected.

As the forest blurred around her as she ran by Gavin’s side, she felt a sense of freedom she hadn’t known before. A joyful yip escaped her as they wove through the trees, perfectly in sync like they’d hunted together a thousand full moons before. They were truemates, and their bond ran as deep as their love.

There might be challenges ahead, and they might always be on the lookout for danger because she was unique and their future children might be unique as well, but right now she felt so loved and so safe, because of her mate and her new family.

For all she’d lost when she’d come to Ohio, she’d gained it back in spades and she couldn’t wait to see what the future would bring.

She knew whatever happened next, she had the best male by her side, his strength and love making her feel invincible.

It was a pretty damn great way to feel.

Thank you so much for reading Gavin’s book! I hope you enjoyed hanging out with the tigers of Northern Ohio! The next book will be part of a new trilogy in this world, with three stories featuring the wolves of Northern Ohio! Northern Ohio Shifters Book Four - brICK - is coming July 11th!