Page 54 of His Wild Mate

I wasn't a tracker, so I couldn't be certain the scent I picked up was his. And my wolf was too worked up and agitated for me to be worth a damn when it came to tracking. He was far more interested in returning to our mate and ensuring she was safe.

Resigned to his wishes, I turned back and ran full speed back to the house. I jumped onto the porch, clearing the steps, and shifted back to my skin as I opened the back door and rushed inside.

“Paige? Sweetheart?” I called out to let her know I was back as I headed straight for the bedroom.

When I found her cowering and shaking in the back of my closet, the edge of my vision turned red.

She shifted and ran to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and holding me tight. My hands hung uselessly by my side only further angering me.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered.

“Sorry? What on Earth do you have to be sorry for?”

“I shouldn’t have tried to leave.”

My heart plummeted and my mouth went dry at her words. Slowly, I took a step back, and she let me go as she hung her head in shame.

“Leave?”

She nodded and wiped a tear away as it slid down her cheek.

“Without even telling me goodbye?”

“I thought it would be easier this way.”

“Paige, you're my mate. You can't just leave. We've already begun to bond. I can feel it. Do you have any idea how miserable we'd both be with an unresolved bond if you just left without at least breaking it first? Why? What did I do wrong?”

“What? Nothing. Emmett, you've been wonderful, but it's time for me to move on.”

“Just like that? You can pack up and move on as if nothing happened between us?”

“Trust me. It's for the best.”

“Why now?”

“I'm no longer in heat. My cycle ended. I have about three weeks before it returns. I need to get as far away from here as possible and find a safe place to hole up for next month.”

I sat down on the bed, unable to believe what she was saying.

“You're safe here. I will protect you.”

She frowned and another tear escaped, leaving a wet trail down her cheek. I desperately wanted to reach out and wipe it away. She'd called herself cursed, but the biggest curse of all was Thomas's Alpha order forbidding me to touch her.

“It's not safe for me to live in a Pack. What happens when Thomas's order wears off? You saw how they come after me. There are too many of them. I had hoped that maybe finding you would change things, but it hasn't. There's someone out there still trying to get to me. He came back today. I saw him as I wasleaving. He was watching me from the woods in his wolf form this time. But I'm not in heat right now, Emmett. I'm not in heat and he's still coming for me. That's never happened before. No one pays me any attention when I'm not in heat. So why is he? And why are you?”

I was shocked by all she said.

“Why am I paying attention to you? Paige, you're my mate. I'm going to want you and want to be with you every day of your life, regardless of whether you are or are not in heat. Can't you understand that? It's not the same for me as those other men because you are mine.”

She looked at me without saying a word. For a moment, I thought she didn't believe me. Then she closed the gap between us and kissed me. Her hands fisted in my hair, and I desperately wished I could touch her. Instead, I kissed her back fervently.

We were both naked, having been in our wolf forms. I couldn't lift her in my arms and carry her to the bed and that frustrated me.

“Bed, now,” I growled between kisses.

She followed my lead as I started backing up. When the back of my legs hit the edge, I stopped. Paige smiled and pushed me back as I quickly scooted into place. She climbed up on top of me.

We laid there kissing for quite some time until she abruptly halted.

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