Page 23 of Rejected Forced Mate
It was her loudest communication yet, but it wasn't one that I wanted to hear. I flinched, but kept my hand pressed flat to the door. "Just let me in so we can talk about this face-to-face. Or you can come out here. We can go on a drive, a run, whatever you need—-"
"There's nothing to talk about!" she snapped, quick and defensive. Too quick. I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.
I closed my eyes, sucking in slow breaths to try to calm myself. Something was off with my mate, but she had made it crystal clear she didn't want my help or my company. There was a knot in my chest that wouldn't go away until I was able to guarantee she was alright with my own two eyes, and I was teetering on the edge of pushing myself into her room or walking away and letting her be.
My home was supposed to be a haven for Sage, a place like she had never had when she had been a part of this pack as a child. Her home, a place she could craft to her liking, and that started with the guest room I had given her. If I barged in, I would be telling her that she had no place of refuge in my home.
But if something really was wrong, and she needed my help...
I tried a different tactic. If the subject of the failed dinner had to be set to the side, then so be it. "Sage...I'm worried about you. Let's talk about anything else, just open the door. I won't ask you about the dinner anymore."
"Why can't you just let me be?"
"Because you're my woman. My mate. I don't want you to feel alone here."
"That's rich, coming from the man who kidnapped me and won't let me leave the property without following me," she snarled. Her tone was sharp and bitter, but underneath that was a tremor, a hitch in her voice that had my instincts on high alert.
"Just tell me what's wrong, wife."
"Go away, husband."
"Open the damn door!"
"No."
"Do it now, Sage."
"I hate you!"
Her words should have stung enough to drive me away, but there was something in her tone that made me pause. A shakiness to her voice. Something I hadn't heard before, and that alarmed me.
I had to get to her. If it made her hate me even more, then that was fine. I wasn't going to be able to rest until I had made sure she was okay.
"I'm not going to fight with you," I warned. "Open the door, or I'm opening it for you." Silence.
I gave her a second. She didn't respond, so I twisted the knob. It was locked. My patience evaporated, and my wolf clawed at the walls of my skin. My shift was right there on theedge of my control, my canines suddenly too large in my mouth. "Sage."
More silence.
I was seconds from breaking the door down, and I knew she wouldn't like that. But my wolf wasn't going to be satisfied until I saw her, so I stepped back and kicked the door. The lock gave in, and the door swung inward.
Sage, from the bed, let out a yelp followed by a whimper so soaked in pain that it made my heart hurt.
My mate was curled in on herself, hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, her porcelain skin hot and flushed. She was breathing like she'd run a marathon, even though she was lying still in bed.
"Sage." I crossed the room in three steps and was at her side. Her body was radiating heat, and the smell of her was everywhere, her usual scent amplified by a thousand. It was thick and rich and made my mouth water. My wolf was going crazy, begging me to strip and claim her.
But Sage was shaking her head, pushing herself up with one hand while keeping the other on her belly. "Are you happy now? You get to see me in pain. Is that what you wanted? Well, here I am! Look your fill!"
She was angry, but it was a hollow anger, something she put up to hide her fear. I knew then that she didn't need any more words from me, not when they would do little to help with whatever was plaguing her. In the back of my mind, in the most primitive part of me, I knew what it was, but the moment I put a name to it, I wasn't going to be able to hold myself back from giving her what she really needed.
So I climbed into the bed with her, even as she tried to shove me away, and pulled her into my arms. Her pain was sointense that I could feel it pulsing down our bond, and she was swelteringly hot in my grasp, but after a moment's push back, Sage relaxed and let her head fall against my shoulder.
"It's okay. I've got you." I pressed my lips to the damp crown of her head. You aren't alone."
Chapter 12 - Sage
I'd had heats before, but nothing like what was hitting me then. It felt like my body was betraying me. Weak and shivery, pain shot across my nerves and made my vision blurry, to the point all I could do was curl up tighter and tighter in the nest of blankets I had made and hope that the waves of pain would ease.
