Page 30 of Forsaking His Mate

With great resolve, I push my hands off the wall and step away from her.

Ash fills my gut as I watch her face fall.

“Okay,” she says softly and I hear the hurt in that word.

Moving from the wall, she heads for the door. My feet move a step, but I don’t chase after her. I watch her until she disappears into her cabin, then I leave and make my way to the house.

I find Hester and Roux sitting at the table. Apryle is at the sink rinsing the dishes and gives me a dark glare that I ignore.

That girl has always had an attitude, but since Tessa arrived, she’s been directing it at me.

“Are you hungry?” Roux asks, always the peacekeeper. “There’s enough left for you to have a plate.”

I nod and sit at the table while she pushes a plate full of food in front of me.

“Dinner is at six,” Apryle says, her words biting. “It’s eight.”

I don’t say anything to her.

What does she want from me? She knows why I’m not at the house while Tessa is. Tonight proved to me I can’t be around her without wanting to claim her, and that’s dangerous.

“You can’t avoid her forever,” Hester says.

I ignore her and keep chewing my food. I barely taste it.

Roux leans over the table and places a gentle hand on my arm. “If you tell her about the moon sickness—”

“I’m not mating with her.”

I can’t stop myself from snarling, and it’s not because of Roux’s words but because my wolf is pissed at me. He wants me to do what she is suggesting.

I chew in silence for a few moments; the only sounds are my fork scraping off the plate and the water sloshing as Apryle washes the dishes.

I hate that this conversation is happening. I’d rather ignore the issue entirely, or as much as I can considering she’s a constant, yet thankfully, faint presence in my mind.

“The full moon is in three days,” I say eventually.

A pang of pain goes through me at that thought.

As it gets closer, it feels like my skin is itching. I want this to be over fast, but I know it won’t be.

“We’ll have everything ready,” Hester assures me.

I shovel the last mouthful of food into my mouth. “Good. Thanks for dinner.”

I leave the kitchen and as soon as I’m outside, I push my wolf to the forefront.

My bones snap and break as my body changes and grows fangs and fur. It takes less than five seconds for the change to take place, and the pain I used to feel at shifting no longer exists.

As my wolf, I can scent Tessa, but I force myself into the trees that surround the sanctuary. It takes all my focus and strength not to give in my animal instincts, but I manage it, barely.

Using the moon to guide my path, I run through the woods, my paws padding against the leaf-covered ground, putting as much distance between me and Tessa as I can.

She infuses every thought in my mind as I run that I nearly miss a dangerous scent.

I stop in my tracks, kicking up dirt under my paws. My snout goes to the ground and I suck in a noseful of smells.

The hairs on the back of my neck rise and I bare my teeth. There are wolves in these woods. Close by, too.

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