Page 47 of Rejected Forced Mate
Joe's lip curled, "Listen, pup, you have no idea what you're asking."
Noah growled, and the sound was feral. "I'm not fucking around, Joe. She's my mate. You don't get to just waltz in here and demand she come back. She's mine, and she's staying with me."
"You want this to come to blows just to avoid letting her make her own decision?" Joe was at the end of his patience, "Fine. Tell me when and where, and we'll finish this. Once and for all."
Noah looked ready to kill him, and I was afraid he'd attack him right there. The guards around him were all tense, watching their Alpha carefully, but it didn't seem like any of them would stop him if he started swinging.
"Tonight. Dusk. The clearing in the back of here," Noah spat, "We'll settle this there." "Fine. See you at dusk."
"Fine."
The two Alphas stared each other down, and it seemed like neither of them wanted to be the first to look away. Well, they could figure that out amongst themselves. I had to get some air, or I was going to pass out on the floor. I was so overcome that I could barely breathe, my chest ridiculously tight as I shoved through the small crowd and out the front door of the Council house.
Cal was there, his back against the wall and hands shoved in his pockets.. He frowned at me, but didn't say anything, and I didn't want to speak. Instead, I went straight past him and into the woods.
"Sage!"
I could hear Noah calling for me, but I wasn't going to stop. I broke into a run, and then shifted, tearing through the woods on four legs, the wind whipping through my fur, theforest floor rough on my paws.I was done with Alpha posturing, done with men thinking they were going to tell me my fate as if I wasn't standing right there in front of them, a whole person capable of choosing for myself.
If they wanted to kill each other, fine. But their blood wasn't going to be on my hands.
Chapter 21 - Noah
I don't know what Sage thought she was doing when she fled directly back to the house we shared, as if I wouldn't follow hot on her heels. Maybe that had been the plan all along, and I had just fallen for it. She wanted me away from Joe, and to halt the inevitable fight that was brewing, so she dangled the only bait that I would jump for—herself.
She was sitting on the guest room bed when I found her, half-heartedly packing clothes, her eyes obviously wet from tears. Sage didn't even bother to look up when I entered, as if our confrontation was inevitable and she couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge me.
If she wanted me to take the lead, fine, I'd do it. My mate had made it clear that she wasn't concerned with me or what I wanted for our future, but that didn't mean I was finished with her.
I didn't waste time pulling punches, either. "You went behind my back, knowing how much shit I've got on my plate. All you cared about was getting an audience with Joe and begging him to get you out of here, right? Away from me?"
"I didn't beg," she snapped, "The offer was there, so I took it."
"But why?" As much as I tried to control my voice, it still came out anguished. "I thought things were different. I thought you were settling in, making this your home...accepting me as your mate."
"You tainted everything from the very beginning by kidnapping me." Sage was trying to keep her voice angry, but I could tell she was just as tired as I was. "I can't build a life on a lie, Noah.'
"What part of this has been a lie?"
"...I don't know," she admitted after a beat, "You forced so much on me—leaving my pack, marrying you right away—that things are so screwed up in my head I can make heads or tails of them. All I know is that coming here wasn't my choice. You made it for me."
"I made that call for us, Sage. Not just myself. I wasn't letting you slip away again. Not when fate all but handed you to me."
She finally looked up at me from her seat on the bed, and her dark, honey eyes were bright with tears, "I just want to go home."
When she didn't try to run, I sat next to her, moving slowly so I didn't spook her. "You are home."
Her lips parted like she wanted to speak, but Sage couldn't find the words, so I pushed forward, "And what about your heat, Sage? Now that I've helped you through one, your body is going to need me next time. Trying to get through it without your mate once you've spent your heat with them is suicide, and you're insane if you think I'm going to let you put yourself in harm's way like that."
Her expression went softer for a heartbeat, but the thrill at the thought of getting through to her was dashed when it hardened again. "That's my burden to bear, Noah. Not yours."
"Look inside yourself, at how strong our bond is, at how deeply we're connected, and tell me again how what happens to you isn't my burden, mate."
That shut her up, her jaw snapping closed, and she didn't have any argument for that point. While I wanted to get through to her so damned badly, I didn't take joy in making her close inon herself. I wanted this thing to be a conversation so she could understand why letting her leave with Joe was never an option. Why, I would kill to keep her near me.
I dragged a hand down my face, feeling the weight of five years pressing down on me. "Fucking fine, Sage. If you that determined to push, let me put it all on the table for you. I didn't say all that shit when our mate bond snapped into place because I didn't want you. I've always, always wanted you. I will die wanting you!"
She stiffened like she was bracing for impact, totally caught off guard.
