Chapter Seventeen
“Are you nervous?” Matt asked as they waited for the officiant to perform their ceremony. She’d been called away by a coworker but would return momentarily.
Sage smiled at him. “Not at all.” She caressed his cheek.
“We already have forever. This is just paperwork.” Unlike the fancy planned wedding to Preston, she genuinely looked forward to marrying Matt.
There were no flowers, no band, no glamourous gown.
But she had everything she wanted or needed: Matt.
They’d done some quick shopping yesterday as both of them had only brought casual clothing on this trip.
Matt wore a white collared shirt and black pants.
Her simple white midi dress in no way resembled the overly frilly gown Preston’s mother had encouraged her to purchase.
She’d happily sold that monstrosity to a secondhand store.
Matt turned his head and kissed the inside of her wrist. “You’re amazing.”
“You guys are so cute,” Missy cooed, absentmindedly lowering the tablet used to stream the ceremony to her parents to gaze dreamily at them.
“Let me hold the tablet, Melisandre,” Rick said, seizing the device from his mate. “You just watch, baby.”
“Melisandre?” Sage asked with a frown.
“That’s my real name,” Missy answered with a dismissive wave. “Only Rick calls me that.”
“Huh.” That was unexpected. “I thought your name was Melissa.”
“Nope.”
“That’s a lovely name.”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Rick said. “I’m the only one who gets to call her Melisandre.”
Missy rolled her eyes but didn’t seem genuinely upset. “So possessive,” she said without heat.
The officiant breezed back into the room. “All set?”
“Yes,” Sage and Matt eagerly concurred, making everyone laugh.
The ceremony was short and without frills.
They exchanged plain gold bands purchased at a mass retailer.
Due to the impromptu nature of their marriage, they didn’t have the opportunity to write their own vows.
But that didn’t take any of the joy away from the moment when they were pronounced man and wife.
Missy and her parents applauded as she and Matt exchanged a mostly chaste kiss. “I love you,” Sage whispered as they parted.
“I love you, too.”
“Let us take you to lunch,” Missy offered.
Matt shook his head. He cast a fleeting glance at the tablet that Rick continued to hold upright. “Um, we have plans.” His cheeks flushed with embarrassment and Sage thought it was adorable. “Um, just walk and a romantic dinner,” Matt finished in a rush.
Rick grinned. “Sounds great.” He thrust the tablet at Sage. “Why don’t you say goodbye to your parents?”
Taking the tablet, she smiled at her parents. “Bye, Mom and Dad. I’ll message you guys tomorrow.”
“Bye, sweetheart,” Mom said. They both waved. Her dad reached forward and the screen went blank.
Sage took Matt’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“In no way do I know my way around these woods the way the locals do,” Matt said as he took her hand and guided her down a steep portion of the trail leading deeper into the woods behind Missy’s house. “I’ve explored this area a little and I’ve found some spots that I think you’ll like.”
“Glad we stopped to change clothes,” Sage said as she almost twisted her ankle on a pinecone. If she’d still been wearing the pumps she got married in, she would have been plucking pine needles off her palms. Her hiking boots provided more ankle support.
Sliding his arm around her waist, he drew her to his side and kissed her temple. “You’re sexy either way.” The land dropped off sharply beneath a boulder. Matt jumped down, landing gracefully. Then gripping her waist, he lifted her and deposited her at his side.
“How much farther?” she asked after they’d been walking for what felt like thirty minutes. She was completely lost so she hoped Matt could find his way back. But he could probably use their scents to find the house.
She’d noticed some enhancement of her hearing and a greater sense of smell acquired due to Matt’s bite, so far, her experience with being a werewolf mainly entailed an increased craving for meat. The changes were so minor, she wondered if she weren’t simply imagining it.
“It’s right…around…” He led them around a line of trees. “…here.” He stopped at an overlook. A vast valley lay before them. The view was stunning.
“Wow. It’s amazing,” she breathed out.
“It’s even more amazing at sunrise.”
She grinned at him. “I’ll take your word for it. I’m hoping that my weekday mornings will be occupied with work.”
“Heard anything back yet?”
“I haven’t checked since this morning. Been kind of busy getting married.”
“I’m sure you’ll hear from them soon. They’d be foolish not to hire you.”
She smiled at him. “Course, you’re not biased at all.”
“Definitely not.”
Sage laughed. Leaning her head against his shoulder, she took a deep breath and absorbed the view in front of them. “I didn’t bring my phone,” she lamented. “I can’t take a picture.”
“Sometimes it’s best to just enjoy the moment.” He kissed the top of her head.
“It’s amazing that this should be here so close to people and homes but hidden—like a secret paradise.”
He took her hand and tugged her away. “There’s another spot a short distance from here that—” His steps faltered almost as soon as they began. Matt tipped his head back and sniffed the air. Sage did the same, but she didn’t smell anything that she hadn’t before. Just pine trees and dirt.
Matt drew her in front of him. He gripped her shoulders. “Run back to the house,” he ordered urgently.
She shook her head, burgeoning alarm making her heart gallop. “I-I can’t find my way back. What is it? Why—”
He pointed. “Run that way as fast as you can. Don’t worry about getting lost. I’ll find you.” He gave her a quick kiss. “Now, go!” He turned her in the direction from which they’d come and gave her a gentle shove to get her moving.
She’d barely taken a few steps when she heard the pounding of feet impacting the forest floor. When she would have turned back to look, Matt yelled, “Go!”
Running wasn’t her thing. Finding a cozy nook with perfect lighting for reading was where she excelled.
But she’d seen her share of scary movies.
So, she ran. She didn’t look back and risk running headfirst into a tree.
She jumped over small obstacles and circled others.
Above all, she did not twist her ankle on nonexistent shit and fall to the ground like an idiot.
Fear for Matt twisted her gut. She trusted his instincts and his judgement.
If he told her to run, she would. Her blood drummed so loudly in her ears, she couldn’t hear much aside from rushing wind and the sound of her own feet.
She didn’t know if she was being pursued.
Matt had told her to return to the house, so she had to try to make it there.
Mostly though, she worried about Matt. She began to brokenly pant prayers for him. “Please…please, let him be okay,” she whispered. They’d just begun. This could not be the end. It just would not!
The added fear of becoming helplessly lost crept up on her. Though they might have passed this way, nothing looked familiar. The trees didn’t appear to be thinning. Trees, trees, and more trees filled her vision.
She paused for just a second to get her bearings and to take a deep breath. There was a stitch in her side. She was library book lifting, walking, and occasional stairs fit—not running through mountainous territory in hiking boots fit.
Gulping air, she didn’t hear them approaching until it was too late. Something hit her in the back, sending her crashing onto the forest floor.
***
A wolf with a reddish coat burst out of the trees.
Tugging his shirt over his head, Matt stepped into her path.
He cast a quick glance behind him. A relieved huff left him as Sage disappeared from sight.
Though a human couldn’t outrun a wolf in either speed or stamina, Sage wouldn’t need to because he would protect her.
The wolf lifted its head and sniffed the air. Then it growled.
“You may as well shift, Meredith. It’s just you and me.”
She shifted with an ease and fluidity that he had yet to achieve. Smiling, she rose and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Hello, mate.” Her hands fell to her hips in a pose meant to be alluring. He was unmoved.
He ground his teeth together. “I am not your mate. Why are you back here, Meredith? You know the consequences.”
“I won’t let anyone keep us apart. Not the Stone Alpha.” She sauntered closer. “Not my brother or my uncle.”
Matt’s eyes narrowed. “Where are Patrick and Mack? They were supposed to take you home.”
Her eyes took on a faint hellish hue. She scowled. “As I said, I can’t allow anyone to keep us apart. They said they would help me, but they lied.”
A chill raced down his spine. “What did you do, Meredith?” Though he knew her to be dangerous and a threat to himself and especially to Sage, he never imagined that she would harm her own family.
“Nothing that didn’t have to be done.” She reached out to touch him, but he caught her wrist before she made contact.
“Listen to yourself. I’m not your mate. Think about what you’re doing.”
She sniffed him and growled viciously. “Where is she, Matt? I can smell her all over you.”
His hand tightened around her wrist. “I will never allow you to hurt my mate.”
“You might as well tell me. I will find her. And then I will get rid of her for you.”
“I will kill you first,” he said through gritted teeth.
Her eyes narrowed and she growled. “She’s poisoned you against me. Don’t worry. You won’t mourn her long.”
“Meredith—”
She shifted. The sudden change from skin to fur allowed her to slip from his grasp.
She fell to the forest floor and sprinted away.
Cursing, he tore off the remainder of his clothing and shifted into his wolf form faster than he ever had before.
He could only pray that he’d given Sage enough time to put some distance between them.