Her Royal Mate

Chapter Ten

Hunter



I'm such a damn i***t! Why did I ever listen to Taz? Obviously, his for sure plan didn't work at all. All I've managed to do is make Saige so pissed off at me that she probably never wanted to see me again. I should have known the plan wouldn't work. Saige isn't like most female wolves I've met.

Let's skip back to yesterday. I talked to another buddy of mine, Taz. He was more like a family friend, but we've been semi-close since we were kids. Taz probably gets lucky more than I do, but he has also tried the one-girl thing multiple times. He didn't have commitment issues like I did after what my ex did to me. I decided to ask his opinion on what I should do. He suggested one of the worst things I've ever heard but told me it works every time. What did I know? I thought I could at least give it a shot. When Saige gave me an evil look in class after I started talking to the pretty blonde, I figured the plan was working. I had everything planned up, even with making Lauren late, so Saige would have no other choice but to head up to her room where I would be waiting.

When I knew I couldn't get Saige off my mind, I decided I wanted her. Sure, I wanted her before, but that was purely physical. There was something inside me begging me to claim her for mine forever. I didn't want another wolf touching her or even loving her. I wanted to be able to give her everything she needed. Maybe she was my mate after all. So, after she avoided talking to me, I spoke to Taz. I got the advice and then asked him to stall Lauren in class. After my last class was over, I rushed up the stairs where I had planned for the blonde to meet me. Right on time, she showed up, batting her eyelashes at me. Throwing Saige's roommate in was just because I could. I thought if I was already going this far, I might as well add two.

While we were in the room together, waiting for Saige to show up, they couldn't even get me hard. It was embarrassing. I've never been in a room with two beautiful wolves without one of them turning me on. Now that I've tasted Saige, no other woman would do it for me. She was it for me. It wasn't until she walked into her bedroom and saw me naked with those two women that I began to get hard. Just her presence alone seemed to affect me in ways I've never had happen before.

But I just had to take Taz's advice to be mean to her and threaten to kick her out. Not just that, I f****d some other wolf in front of her. I'm an i***t. Not just an i***t, but a super i***t! The second she slammed that door, I rushed to put my clothes back on. The two women were upset, but I didn't care about them.

By the time I was dressed and racing after Saige, I had lost track of her scent. Here I am now sitting in my dorm, going over in my head why I listened to Taz in the first place. He screwed everything up for me! No, that's not true. I couldn't blame this on him. I knew it was a bad idea, but I went along with it anyway, desperate for it to work.

It was four in the morning before Max stubbled through the door with a heavy scent of liquor all over him, but something else. Lauren. I would recognize that scent anywhere. I smelt it almost every time I was around Saige. But it wasn't just Lauren's scent that I got. It was Saige's too.

I stood up and slammed him against my wall, marking that grin right off his face. "What the f**k were you doing around Saige tonight and not showing up until four in the morning?"

Max looked at me with a straight face, then busted out laughing. "Wait. Did you think that I did something with Saige? Hell no, man. I wouldn't do you like that. My sights have always been on Lauren, and I happened to get a taste tonight. They were at Benny's."

"Benny's? I thought Saige never went to bars."

"She didn't before you did what you did. Lauren thought she needed a night out, away from all the stress and to finally do something fun. That's why I came back here so I could tell you what happened. It's bad, man. So, Lauren and I hit it off, thanks to Saige. Lauren took me upstairs to one of the rooms, but instead of taking advantage of her, we made out heavily. When we came back downstairs about thirty minutes later, Saige was dancing with some guy. He was a pretty built guy too, Hunter. I didn't think anything of it at first but thought I would watch them just in case. They laughed all night, and it seemed like Saige was enjoying herself. I thought you should know."

I couldn't even control the rage pulsating through my body. Before I could even stop it, my claws were out, slashing up the walls in my room to shreds. It looked like something straight out of a horror film.

Max knew better than to try and stop me, but I bet he was no longer drunk. He just stood there in the shadows of my room, watching as I became unhinged. I couldn't blame anyone but myself. I did this. I did this to Saige. She would have never gone out and found another werewolf if it wasn't for me.

Finally, after finding the strength to calm myself, I quickly turned back to Max. "What do I do? You know I can't just let her go and pretend I never met her. She is mine, Max! Mine!"

"Hold up now. That kind of thinking is what got you in this predicament in the first place. She isn't your property, Hunter unless you plan to mate with her. A woman, whether they are a werewolf, fairy, or witch, wants someone to treat them good. They want to feel like they are important and not a piece of property. We are territorial by nature, but that doesn't mean we have to be assholes about it. Take me, for example. I'm highly territorial of Lauren, but I can't show that because it will only scare her off. I want her to see me for more than a jealous asshole, and the only way to do that is to treat her the way she deserves to be treated."

I sighed, fully calm now. "You're telling me that I need to be sweet to Saige to try and win her back? Like flowers, chocolate, and s**t?"

Now he was laughing at me on purpose. "Sure, but just more than that. Ask her out, just the two of you. Tell her that you would like to explain things to her. Being sweet is also about opening yourself to her. Tell Saige that you feel this connection with her that you haven't with anyone else since your ex." I let out a warning growl. "Don't get grumpy with me. It's the truth. If you don't tell her how you feel, she will just find some other wolf that will, like the guy at the bar."

Why didn't I just go to Max first? Taz was an asshole. "Alright, man. Thanks. I'll go see her right now."

Max laughed again, placing his hands on my shoulders to stop me. "I think you should let her get some sleep first."

"But I can't sleep. I need to do this now while it's fresh on my mind."

"Okay, but she isn't going to like you waking her up for that sort of thing."

After twenty minutes of trying to talk myself out of waiting, I finally showed up at her door. I didn't knock only because I knew she wouldn't let me in even if I did. Luckily for me, the door was unlocked. I slipped right inside, finding Saige passed out on the floor. She had placed a blanket on the floor in front of the television to sleep. I pushed off my shoes silently and walked over to her, slipping under the covers beside her. Saige instantly turned over, making me suck in a breath. I thought I had woken her, but she was still snoring lightly. Saige placed her head on my shoulder and let out what seemed like a sigh of relief. It didn't take me long of running my hands through her hair before I fell asleep too.

I was woken up by someone screaming in my ear. When my eyes fluttered open, Saige was standing right in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest and anger in her eyes.

"What the hell, Hunter? You can't just come into my dorm in the middle of the night and cuddle with me, especially after what you did!"

After standing up, I tried to reach out to her, but she stepped back. "My intention was to come over here to try and explain. I f****d up, Saige. I want to show you that I know I messed up. Those other wolves aren't what I want. It's you. It's been you since I first caught your scent. I know that nothing will make up for what I did, but I was stupid enough to follow the advice of someone I thought was a friend. After you walked out of my room, I was so distraught when I couldn't find you. Weeks went by without seeing you, which was torture. It got to the point where I couldn't even sleep anymore. When I did sleep, I dreamt of you. Long story short, I went to a friend who has luck with female werewolves. He was the one that suggested doing what I did. It wasn't until I did it that I realized how stupid it was."

By the time I was done talking, Saige was crying. I hated myself for making her cry like that. The wolf buried inside me wanted to mark her right then and there, ensuring that I would never make her feel like this again. However, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wouldn't mark this wolf without her permission. I'm an asshole, but I never take something that hasn't been offered to me.

"It still doesn't make it right, Hunter. You hurt me, and I'll never be able to forgive you for that."

"You can forgive me. I know you can. It will take time, but I'm not giving up because I want you. Saige, please believe me. I don't beg, so this should be a huge indication of how serious I am about you. I've never felt this way about anyone before. You drive me crazy, make me do and say s**t I don't mean all the time."

She snarled at me, and those eyes started glowing again. "You only want me because of my body. The second that you take my virginity, you will leave. I know how it works. The only man that will love me is my mate."

"Exactly! I think that I could be your mate, Saige. I know you don't see it anymore, but I still do. Please give me another chance. I promise that I won't let you down."

I could see the decision weighing heavily on her mind. She was mad at me. Okay, that's fine as long as she would give me another chance. "I can't, Hunter. What you did is unforgivable."

Now I was desperate, giving her details I knew she didn't want to hear but needed to. "I never finished with them. The second you left, I rushed to get my clothes on and raced after you but lost your scent. I couldn't even get hard before you walked into the room. You may not want to hear that, but it's the truth. You are the only one that does it for me. When I'm not with you, you're all I think about."

"Get out."

"What?"

With tear-filled eyes, she repeated herself. "Please, Hunter. Get out. I can't do this right now. I know you were just honest with me, but I need to be honest with you too. Yes, I have something for you. I don't know what it is, but I can't forgive you just like that. I also have a date tonight that I want to go well. If you happen to be my mate, that's one thing, but there is no way for me to know that for sure if all you do is hurt me. I owe it to myself to see if this guy can be my real mate."

My entire body shook in anger, but getting mad right now wouldn't solve anything. "Okay, Saige. If you need space, I can give you that."

I walked toward her door, glancing back at her one more time. She didn't know this, but there was no way in hell that I was giving her space. I'm following her to meet with her date tonight to ensure it goes terribly. That's the one thing that I have going for me right now. One way or another, I'll make her see that she cares about me too.