Page 19 of Rejected Forced Mate
My pack members noticed, too. Not just the ones she was healing, but the nurses who had come to assist in cleaning the wounds and stabilizing everyone while Sage worked. No one said anything out loud, but the standoffish set to their shoulders and the small frowns they were around her fled in the face of her capabilities, and instead changed to a grudging respect. Sage should never have had to prove herself to earn the respect of my pack, but it didn't hurt for them to see what an asset she was to all of us.
When he made it home, I bid Cal goodbye and walked inside with my wife. She said nothing, but I could still feel her power swirling around her and see the slight glow to her hands. I almost asked her why she hadn't relaxed when she shut the door and whipped around to face me.
"Dining room. Sit."
I stopped, confused. "What?"
"I'm not blind, Noah. You need to be healed, too. I wasn't going to force you in front of everyone, but I sure as hell am going to now. Sit."
Looking down at the nasty gash on my arm, three bloody stripes from the bear's claws, I had to admit she wasn't wrong. I'd patched myself up enough to get everyone to safety, but I'd been so distracted I hadn't even bothered to tend to myself or let Sage do so. Apparently, she was done waiting.
I did as she asked, settling into one of the dining room chairs and removing the bloody tape and gauze. "It's not a big deal. You should save your energy."
"You should be a bit nicer to the person about to fix your arm," she retorted, kneeling next to me and reaching for my arm.
Sage's warm, soft fingers grazed my skin, and a shiver raced down my spine. The feeling was so much more intense after seeing her work her magic earlier, and the urge to reach out and touch her back was almost impossible to resist.
She must have felt it, too, because her gaze flitted up to meet mine, and for a moment her expression was uncertain. Then she blinked, and the moment passed, and her magic was seeping into me, knitting flesh back together.
A wave of affection hit me hard as I watched her work, the careful way she held her hands and the small wrinkle of concentration on her brow all but begging me to smooth it away. She'd likely push me away, so instead I complimented her, "You did well today, you know," her eyes shot up to meet mine as I continued, "I'm impressed you managed to stay so calm. Calmer than me, for sure."
It wasn't like I expected her to melt at my feet with a few kind words, but I certainly didn't anticipate the way her expression froze and her words went cold, "Don't."
I frowned, unsure where I had gone wrong. "Don't what?"
"Don't act like I performed some heroic act. It's my sworn duty as a healer to help those in need, even those who have proven in the past to not appreciate it one damn bit."
Clueless as to what she meant, I simply watched her work on my arm until she stood, going to get water to wash the blood away now that she was finished. When she came back, washcloth in hand, I couldn't let her words go any longer. "Sage...we all appreciate what you did. You helped them. Hell, you might have saved Dane's life. You should take credit for that."
She swallowed once, and when she spoke again, her voice cracked with barely contained emotion, "You have no idea how cruel this pack was to me in the past, Noah. You were the future Alpha, the golden boy, and as close as we were, it wasn't like you could be there every second of the day. One time, I found a group of shifter kids, the same age as I was at the time, and one of them had clearly broken his leg falling off his bike. He was in so much pain, and I had only the tiniest bit of magic back then, but I used it to heal him the best I could. I was so sure he'd have been grateful, but his friends immediately started yelling at me. Calling me a freak, telling me not to touch their friend, and then the boy I healed started doing the same after I'd given him what little power I had, and I...I...it showed me exactly how this pack thought of me, even when I tried to help. The only reason it was different tonight is because you were there."
Sage laughed humorlessly, tears in her eyes, but she was speaking so fast I couldn't get a word in edgewise, "And you know what the worst part is? I still don't regret helping thatboy, and I would have helped your wolves tonight even if they screamed at me just like those kids did. It's just a part of me. It's who I am, and it's also why this pack hated me so much. The point is, your pack doesn't appreciate healing, Noah. They appreciate control. The status quo. No magic. No outcasts. No one is different."
The pain in her eyes lingered even after she finished talking, her chest heaving with emotion and the effort she was putting in not to cry. Her words cut deep into me, sharp and unforgiving, and imagining the scenario she described made me feel sick.
I could see her in my mind—Sage as the little girl she used to be, trying her best to help, little hands glowing with her barely understood magic and being sent away in tears, feeling like she had no place in the world. Regret flooded me. I should have been there, I should have stopped the bullying and the hatred before it even had a chance to take hold. We were both just kids, sure, but it wasn't like I didn't know the way the rest of the pack felt about magic users. But I did
nothing, spending my time with Sage and becoming her friend while our peers were treating her like shit.
How did I not see it? Did she just hide it well, or was I just a stupid, ignorant pup that didn't look deep enough into how my friend was feeling to see the hell she was going through? She'd been mine even then, although we both were too young to realize it, and I'd failed her.
"Sage..." my voice came out in a croak. "Fuck. I didn't...I should have protected you."
"Don't you dare," she hissed, throwing the now bloody towel on the table, grief and fury radiating from her, "You weren't there when I needed you, Noah, only when it wasconvenient for you, and then when our mate bond snapped into place, you rejected me! You said horrible things to my face, just like they did. You're no different, except you didn't just break my spirit. You broke my heart, too."
The air seemed to rush out of the room, and I found myself on my feet without even realizing it. My chair tipped backwards and crashed onto the floor, but I didn't care. I took a step forward, and she mirrored the movement, backing away.
"You think that's why I did it? Because I'm just like them, huh? Bullshit!" The words erupted from me like a volcano, my wolf snarling in anger and frustration and grief. The animal was desperate to make her see, make her understand that it wasn't hate driving my actions, but love.
"That's not why I did it, and you know it."
"If it wasn't because you were disgusted by me, then why the fuck would you say those things to me?" She yelled back, her cheeks flushed, "I was going through so much, and I needed you so badly!"
"I had to protect you from my father! What I told you wasn't a lie, Sage. I just didn't expect the mate bond to snap into place when we kissed, and I panicked. Suddenly, you were my mate, and I had to do whatever I could to protect you, even if it meant pushing you away. But the pack isn't like that anymore—"
She held up a hand, "Stop. Just...it's too little too late. Stop."
I knew there was no way she would understand, not right now, but the anger had burned itself out of me, and I was left feeling exhausted and desperate. "Just...I'm sorry. I swear to you, Sage, that nothing like that would ever happen now. I'd never let anyone—"
