Page 32 of Forsaking His Mate

“Yeah.”

She turns to the others. “We need to get out of here. The hunters will send other wolves to find these dead ones. We need to be behind the wards when they return.”

I push off the ground, stumbling as I come upright. Tessa slides her shoulder under my armpit and I flinch. Her touching me is almost too much to resist, and I should push her away, but I don’t. I let her hold me up. She’s so small beneath my hulking form, but I don’t feel even a molecule of weakness from her.

We follow the others back toward the sanctuary. All I can focus on is Tessa at my side. The pain I’m in melts away to nothing with her pressed against me. My body itches to push her to the ground and fuck her. I try to focus on anything but her scent surrounding me.

“How did you know where I was?” I ask.

“I had a vision. I got the others, and we rushed to find you.”

The fact she didn’t hesitate fills me with unexpected warmth. She should hate me, but these aren’t the actions of someone who does.

My side aches and I can feel all the little cuts and nicks that cover my skin. I don’t need her support towalk, but I don’t pull myself off her either. I’m fucking furious she put herself in danger.

I grit my teeth together so I don’t lose my shit at her, even though I want to. What the fuck was Hester thinking letting the girls come to me? They could have been taken by those hunters. I could have watched them dragging my mate away and that fucking terrifies me.

My mate…

I try to deny that thought, but I can’t. She is mine, even if I’m not willing to accept her. She’ll always be mine.

Hester glances over her shoulder and I’m not sure if it’s to make sure we’re following or that we’re not killing each other.

I feel the moment we cross the wards. The magic that surrounds our territory is like a comforting safety blanket and I finally let out the tension I’ve been holding on to since Tessa melted out of the trees.

There are lights coming from each cabin and the main house is lit up too. Tessa helps me to my cabin, the other women following.

I shouldn’t have her inside my space, but my resolve is weakening, so I don’t argue when she unhooks herself from under my arm and follows me into the cabin. The other tau wolves remain outside.

Once the door is closed, she leans back against it and I move before I consider my actions. I wrap my fingers around her throat, feeling her pulse fluttering wildly beneath my fingers. “Never fucking do that again,” I snarl at her.

Her eyes harden and she glares at me, daring me to do… what?

“You’re not the boss of me,” she snaps back.

“I’m your mate!” I roar the words. It would make anyone else flinch, but she doesn’t move. She just glares back at me.

“You rejected me, Abel. You don’t get to act like you care now.”

I clench my teeth together to stop the vitriol from spewing from my mouth. I don’t have the right to school her like this, but fuck, I’m going to.

“I do care. We’re linked together, Tessa.”

“You’ve ignored me from the moment you rejected me. I feel empty inside, my heart is hurting because of what you did to me. You don’t get to tell me what I can do.”

She has a point, but I’m so far past reasoning I can’t see it. I release her, putting distance between us. My brain is fuzzy with need, my cock hard as a rock. I rub a hand over my jaw, trying to calm my thrumming heart and focus on the only emotion keeping me sane—anger.

“Those wolves were here for you. They tracked you here. What the fuck do you think they would have done to you if they’d taken you?”

“Probably killed me,” she says, throwing her hands in the air, frustration in the gesture. “What do you want me to do, Abel? Pretend that I didn’t see you getting torn apart in my vision? Just stay in bed and ignore it?”

“No—”

“You don’t get to be the only one making decisions about my future.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, pacing as I try to calm my fury down. “I’m not worth dying over, Tessa. That shit happens again, you don’t come for me. You leave me.”

I watch her throat as she swallows. “I can’t do that. I won’t watch you get hurt.”

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