Page 51 of Rejected Forced Mate
"I didn't want you to die," I whispered, grasping at his torn shirt. "You asshole. You stupid, arrogant Alpha. How is that hard to understand?"
"I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you."
"I hate you."
"You don't," he countered. Damn him, but he was right.
Then, Joe called across the clearing, "Noah! Do you concede?"
I wanted to turn and glare at him, but Noah was holding me too tight. "Concede?" My mate sounded incredulous. "There's no way—"
"Alpha!" A form pushed through the crowd, and I recognized one of the wolves that I had healed from the bear attack. He was out of breath and focused entirely on Noah. "Alpha. There's been an attack on the northern border. The territory had been breached."
Noah released me, but only to snarl and stalk towards Joe. "You! This is all you, isn't it? Some backhanded attempt to distract me—"
Joe laughed in his face. "Listen, pup. That's not my style."
"So you're saying this attack's timing is just a coincidence?" Noah didn't seem at all convinced, but I thought his theory was nuts. Apparently, the battle fog hadn't quite lifted from his brain entirely.
"Noah," I cut in, laying a hand on his shoulder. "That's crazy. Joe isn't sneaky like that. It's not his style."
"She's right," the other Alpha said. "I'm not a fan of tricks."
"Well, I'm not a fan of my pack being attacked!" Noah's voice was raised, his power swelling around him, and the wolves gathered started to look uncomfortable. "If you're not behind this, then come to the border with me—"
He didn't get time to finish before the explosion sounded. It was loud enough to make my ears ring, and I stumbled backwards into Noah, who caught me easily. Debris flew through the air, and the crowd around us scattered, people screaming as they ran.
As the clearing emptied out, I could make out a few things. Three bodies on the ground—one of Joe's men and two of Noah's. And beyond that, a grouping of shadows approaching us, a sneering, dark-haired wolf at the front.
Behind me, Noah froze.
"Hello, old friend," the dark-haired wolf spit, ignoring everyone but Noah. My mate was barely able to speak the name "Dominic."
Chapter 23 - Noah
The fighting goes on, and they realize that the rogues recruited new members just for this invasion, which means they’ve been planning it ahead. Noah figures out that the security breach from before must have been those rogues testing the territory’s limits. Then he feels a strong surge of magic elsewhere. Recognizing it as Sage’s, he goes to find her, thinking the worst and sick to his stomach at the thought of her in danger. Instead, he finds her also battling the rogues with her magic and saving the pack members who made bad comments about her in the beginning. Watching her with her magic at work, he has never seen anyone more fierce or beautiful.)
The world stopped, and for a moment, all I could see was my old friend standing there, the bodies of his former pack members, my wolves, lying at his feet. Dominic looked different, his eyes dead, his skin pale, his face gaunt.
"Hello, old friend."
Those two words sent me back years in the past, to a time when he and I were best friends. But it was a different man standing across from me. Now that we were face-to-face, there was no denying it.
"Dominic," I said his name, the word coming out more like a question than anything.
"Surprised to see me, Alpha?" He spat the title, and his eyes were focused entirely on me. That was good. At least he was leaving the others alone. "It's been a while. Though, probably not as long as you think."
Behind me, I could hear Cal and Sage working to get everyone to safety. Good. I wanted her as far away from the danger as possible.
"I know it was you who attacked me in Brokenclaw territory." There was no use denying it. "You and your outcasts."
"And why were you even following us?" Dominic asked. "You weren't one of our targets until you got in our way."
"I'd come to bring you home," I admitted, no longer caring if it made me sound weak. "I knew you'd fucked up, and that you were running with a violent crowd, but I had to try."
"Because you were my Alpha, and I was embarrassing you?" Dominic's tone was cool, but I knew him well enough to hear the underlying rage within it.
"Because you were my friend."
