Caged In

I snap out of my memories and look at Greg,” My parents didn’t know what to do when I wasn't shifting." I sighed," So when they heard that sometimes a woman’s shift can be induced by the mate bond, they found someone I was compatible enough with for them to go through with the ceremony that would bind us together. Evan was the guy they arranged to be my mate. I ran away before the ceremony."

Of course I wasn't going to tell Greg the truth. Why would I ? I didn't trust him nearly enough, and telling him this much was dangerous enough.

" Runaway Bride, huh ?”

I laugh dryly,” Yeah, I guess so.”

“ Sounds a bit similar to someone else I knew.” Greg laughed.

“ Oh, really ? And here I was thinking I was so original.”

Do I feel guilty about lying to Greg ?

Begrudgingly . . . Yes. But only slightly!

Would I lie to him again to make sure he doesn’t find anything else out ?

Abso - fucking - lutely.

” Yeah, their family was a lot to handle.” He smiled," But your family doesn’t seem like the type to do that.”

" No, my family err, how do I say it . . . ” I mumble.

" What ?” He asks.

" The Wilds took me in when I ran off. I ran into their territory without realizing it and they took me in. They may not my biological family, but they are my true family for taking me in so kindly. I love them.” I say.

" Wait, then how did they know you were a werew - ” I glare at him,” Erm . . .” He stutters,” I mean how did they find you ?”

" I still had the smell of werewolves on me from my old pack, they drew assumptions from there.” I mutter.

" So then . . . who are your parents ?” He asks,” I mean biologically.”

I shrug,” They aren’t important.”

" Well they did have you arranged to get married to the Beta of this pack, I just want to know who would do that.” He says.

I laugh,” No, you’re misunderstanding.”

" What exactly am I misunderstanding ?” He asks.

" Evan isn’t the Beta of this pack, he’s part of a different pack close to the royals. He’s here coincidentally, probably checking up on everything and verifying that all of the laws made by the king and Queen are being followed.” I say.

" That idiot is part of - oh god - no way.” Greg states.

" Believe whatever you want, he’s really not a terrible person. He’s actually a childhood friend . . . he’s just not my type.” I state.

" And by that, you mean he’s a werewolf.” Greg murmurs.

I scoff,” No, I don’t care what species the person I like is, what I mean is that Evan is -”

" Lil’ sis !”

I’m suddenly tackled to the ground.

" Heya champ, how’s life ?”

" Sage . . . get off.” I groan,” I’m . . . going to . . . die.”

My older sister huffs and pushes herself off of me,” You’re no fun.”

" Sage!” I hear someone growl,” I told you to avoid doing that, it’s not safe for the -”

I turn around to see a man angrily stomping towards me,” What is that doing here ?”

Sage steps in front of him,” That is my sister and you will leave her alone Henry!”

The man looks between Sage and me before continuing to glare at me,” There is no way you are related to that.”

" Don’t insult me!” I hiss,” Sage let him go, I can take him, any guy who wants to fight a woman for fun is just insecure about something.”

I feel an arm on my shoulder,” Just leave him alone. He thinks you’re human -”

" I am!” I interrupt Greg.

Henry shot me a glare.

Greg sighs,” He’s only being overprotective because his mate is pregnant. Our kind doesn’t take well to humans being in close proximity to our partners. There’s a bad history of humans killing female wolves while they were pregnant to stunt our population growth.”

" Sage, you’re pregnant ?” I ask.

Sage is suddenly embraced by the man and she giggles,” Yeah.”

" For how long ?”

" Well, I met my mate -”

I growl involuntarily, and Sage stops speaking for a moment before coughing awkwardly,” Look, I know you have this thing against mates, but Henry isn’t a bad person. I love him.”

" Is that you talking or the mate bond ?” I ask.

Henry growls at me and Sage holds him back,” Henry don’t. She didn’t mean it like that.”

Oh, I certainly meant it in whichever way pissed Henry off the most.

" Sure.” I offer a tight, condescending smile in Henry's direction,” How did you find him, it’s rare for halfers to have mates, or at least mates that they find in their lifetime.” I mumble.

" He’s not a halfer, I met him by chance when I visited the royal pure blood pack. He’s a castle guard.” She stares adoringly at her mate in a way that made me want to barf.

A castle guard ?

" Greg, you were right, let’s go. They clearly want to be left alone.” I grab his wrist suddenly and turn around,” I’ll talk with you later, when testosterone face has calmed down, Sage!” I wave a hand.

I heard Henry struggle against his mate to try and attack me from behind as I walked away.

" Okay Lucy.” Sage says.

" Lucy ?” I hear confusion in Henry’s voice and I flinch as I open the door and jog inside immediately letting go of Greg’s hand.

Unfortunately Greg feels it necessary to grab my wrist instead and drag me towards his room. I stop halfway down the hall, “No, let go, I don’t need a repeat of last night.”

" Why’d you leave so suddenly ?”

" What do you mean ?” I ask.

" Right after he said he was a castle guard, you got nervous.” Greg says in a suspicious tone of voice.

" The guy is a total annoyance, and I don't particularly like being looked down upon by royal henchmen.” I shrug.

" What is your connection to the royal pure blood pack ?” Greg asks skeptically.

I flinch,” My connection to them ?” I mutter,” I have none. I only know two things about them: I despise their pack and I hate the royal family. They can all go and die for all I care.”

I hear a clap as a stinging sensation overwhelms my cheek.

" Don’t say such things, the majority of them are good people, they keep our kind organized and alive . . . say what you will about the bastard king, but the pack unifies a majority of werewolves. We would go extinct without them.”

I glare at the ground,” Your kind. They only care about your kind.” I pause,” And it’s not like you’re part of the packs that are under the royal’s control. Your pack has made it very clear they want nothing to do with them.”

" That doesn’t change the fact that they keep thousands of werewolves alive and safe.” He pauses,” And stop marginalizing yourself! Don’t try to play the victim here.”

" There are 1000 purebloods, maybe less, and around 400,000 halfers left, and I am rejected by them for reasons beyond my control. They tell me that in a world composed of seven billion humans there is an abundance of people who are supposed to be just like me, and yet, if they knew what my parents were, I would be swiftly rejected by them as well. I have no one on my side.” I stare into his eyes,” So don’t tell me not to play the victim, because I’m not trying to, I'm simply stating facts. Oh, and Greg . . . ”

" Yes.”

I kick Greg’s knee, causing him to fall to the ground before kneeling down and lift his chin up so he looked at me,” Never hit me again, I promise only worse things will happen if you do.” I stand up and walk out of the room.

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