Page 42 of Rejected Forced Mate
I couldn't swallow any more excuses. If she was willing to take up the sword for me when I wasn't around, then Sage sure as hell better be ready to show the same kind of passion when it was just her and me.
"Admit it," I insisted, moving ever closer towards her, "You did it because you care about me." She didn't run, but shook her head. "I did it because someone needed to. That's all."
"Liar," I snapped, and before she could respond, I had her face in my hands and was pressing my mouth against hers. Sage squealed and her body stiffened, and for a second, I thought she was going to push me away. But then her lips were parting for me, and her body went soft and pliant as I backed her up against the door.
There was nothing gentle or hesitant about the kiss. It was all desperation, and I couldn't stop my hands from exploring every inch of her, touching her everywhere. If she wouldn't give me the words of affection, of acceptance that I craved, then I'd take the signs her body gave me instead.
"Noah," She panted the word, arching against me. The sound was like a prayer, and it gave me the courage to keep going.
"You have no idea how much I want you, Sage," I whispered the words against her lips, and her nails rakedthrough my hair, tugging on the strands. I captured her mouth, nipping her lush bottom lip.
Sage fisted two handfuls of my shirt, pulling me closer. It was the first time we'd kissed without the fog of her heat between us, and it was sharper, the emotions more real.
There was no denying how she felt, not with the way she kissed me. She might lie and deflect when my mouth wasn't on hers, but the way she responded to my touch told me the truth. She couldn't hide from me when we were skin-to-skin, and I was never going to let her get away from me again.
Just as her tongue slid along mine, and her clever hands started to work open the buttons of my flannel shirt, there was a pounding on the door I had her pressed against it. Sage squeaked in alarm, jumping back, her hands still holding onto me.
"Noah!" It was Cal. "Are you home? Open up!"
Sage and I parted, her cheeks flushed pink, her chest heaving. I groaned and rested my forehead against hers. "Don't move. I'll be right back."
I answered the door, and Cal rushed in. He looked harried and anxious, his eyes darting everywhere.
"There's a border breach," he announced, "A big one. A group of wolves is trying to get across." "How many?"
Cal grimaced, "Half a dozen."
"Shit." The timing couldn't have been worse, with Sage panting and flushed from my kisses, but it was the first time we had solid evidence that other shifters were trying to break into our
territory instead of just taunting us. We had to put an end to it and finally figure out who the hell was doing it.
Every second mattered, but I instinctively knew that I wouldn't get this moment back with Sage when I returned. I turned to her, "Sage, I—"
Distant once more. I could have screamed out of frustration. "Go," she insisted.
I reached out and brushed my thumb over her cheek, "I'll be back soon, and we're going to finish what we started. Lock the doors."
She didn't answer, but she also didn't look convinced. I stopped myself from kissing her once more, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate it in front of Cal, and then pulled myself away. It was one of the hardest things I'd ever done, leaving her when there was so much left unsettled between us, but duty called.
Maybe it was a mistake, some wolves travelling together that took a wrong turn and wound up in our territory. Maybe there wasn't a real threat...But I wasn't able to convince myself. It likely wasn't a coincidence, not with all the threats and warnings we'd been dealing with.
A man could hope, though.
Once outside, I shifted alongside my Beta and followed him into the forest. Cal led me to the site of the breach, and it was immediately clear that this was something. I shifted back to human form to get a closer look.
There was nothing subtle about it. The traps meant to hold anyone who tripped them were destroyed, and there were multiple sets of footprints. The energy in the area was off, and it put me on edge. This was no accident.
"I've already called in reinforcements," Cal told me quietly as I knelt, examining the tracks. "Do you think we should put guards on the houses with women and pups?"
Before I could answer, a familiar power washed over me, and I was on my feet in a flash. A growl rose in my throat as six men stepped out of the forest, dressed in black and dirty as if they'd travelled a long way to get to my pack.
It wasn't the rogues, so at least the pack was safe. I was the only one who was going to be in danger.
"That won't be necessary," Joe, Alpha of the Brokenclaw pack, said, "We're here for one reason and one reason alone.” His gaze fixed on me, and his lips curled over his teeth. It was the angriest I’d ever seen the other Alpha. “This is how you repay my kindness, Noah? You thought you could take my wolf and there wouldn’t be any consequences?” His voice lowered to a growl, his men fanning out behind him. “Where the hell is Sage?”
Chapter 20 - Sage
It was Summer who told me, pounding on the front door, so out of breath when I answered it that she had her hands braced on her knees. She'd run the entire way from Richard's house to give me the news.
