Page 44 of Rejected Forced Mate
"Stop it," Summer snapped at the Alphas. "You're going to hurt her!"
Noah turned to look at me, his face stricken. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "Sage, what's wrong?" Joe was looking at me with concern.
"I don't..." I was starting to sway on my feet, and it was getting harder to stay conscious. "I'm—"
Noah crossed the distance between us, catching me as my legs buckled. "Sage! Hey, Sage, look at me."
"I don't...know what's..." I mumbled, trying to get the words out, but unable to focus.
"Shit," I distantly heard Joe say, but when my old Alpha tried to come forward, I heard Cal come forward to get in his way.
"We're pausing the negotiations so I can tend to my mate." When Noah spoke, he kept his eyes on me. "Cal, take Joe and his men...fuck, I don't know. Somewhere. An empty pack house. The Council hall. I don't care. We'll continue this later."
If I weren't on the verge of unconsciousness, I would have laughed at the word negotiations. The two Alphas were doing a lot of snarling and posturing, but negotiations weren't exactly on the table. Maybe my sudden illness would give them some time to regroup and act in a sane manner at their next meeting.
Surely by then I would have made my choice.
I clung to Noah, my hands fisted in his shirt like they had been earlier when he kissed me, except this time I was feeling a lot less amorous and a lot more sick. Noah was a warm, steady presence as he carried me back towards the house. His scent and the strong, protective energy that flowed through the bond were the only things keeping me tethered to consciousness.
When we made it back inside, he wasted no time carrying me to my bed and tucking the blankets around me.
"What happened?" He asked, brushing his thumb along my forehead. "What can I do?" "Nothing," I murmured, trying not to fall asleep. "I just need to rest."
He didn't look convinced. "Sage, let me help you. Please."
I tried to smile at him, reaching up to touch his face even as my vision went foggy. I felt terrible, but I didn't want him to worry, either. "Maybe some aspirin, water, and crackers."
"Okay," Noah's eyes darted around the room, like he was looking for anything else that might help. "Water, crackers, and aspirin. Got it."
As soon as he left the room, I closed my eyes. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like longer, and I dozed. A few minutes later, the bed dipped, and Noah was shaking me awake.
"Hey, don't sleep. Not yet. Eat and drink something."
He was right. If I fell asleep without getting some food in my stomach, it would be all the worse when I woke up. So I took the pain meds and the water, and slowly chewed on a cracker. I wasn't hungry, and it tasted like sawdust in my mouth, but I powered through.
Neither of us spoke about the elephant in the room—Joe and his men, residing somewhere in the territory and waiting to confront Noah once more. The fact that the Silvervine Alpha was even willing to step away from the fight was proof that he cared more about me than his own pride.
But the fight wasn't over. Even though the nausea was ebbing away and the lightheadedness was fading, the battle between the Alphas had only been delayed.
"You need to eat more," Noah fretted, "And then sleep. The healer will be by soon."
He had his back turned, so I was free to roll my eyes. I was a shifter. Our immune system was practically impenetrable, and a little stomach bug or migraine wasn't going to kill me. "I'll be fine," I told him.
"No arguing," Noah insisted, "You scared me. You should have just let me handle Joe." "Noah. You and I both know I would have to talk to him. He is...was...my Alpha."
Noah's gaze sharpened, "Is or was, Sage? Because from what I can tell, you're my wife and the Luna of this pack. Whatever pack bonds you had with Joe's pack are broken."
He wasn't wrong. Day after day, I had felt my connection to the Brokenclaw pack grow weaker as my connection to the Silvervine pack grew. And now, with the bonds severed almost completely, I could barely even remember what it felt like to be part of Joe's pack.
But that didn't mean I wanted to give up my ability to choose. What if Noah was wrong, and we didn't work well together in the end? That seemed impossible, with how things had been going, and how close I felt to Noah despite the kidnapping, but there was still that lingering doubt...and that lingering desire to go back to my quiet home and my job as a healer.
"I just didn't think it would be so hard."
Noah frowned and leaned down. His mouth was an inch from mine, and his warm, sweet breath washed over my lips. "I need you," He whispered, and then sealed the confession with a kiss. "I'm not giving you up."
My heart pounded in my chest, and I wanted to tell him that I needed him too, but the words stuck in my throat. Instead, I let him kiss me until my eyelids fluttered shut. It wasn't the
demanding kiss of before, but something sweet and soft. The touch of his lips was brief, but it shook me to my core.
