Found: A Sage Hollins Novel

CHAPTER SEVEN

I missed her. A month had passed and she was still refusing my company. Her mother would not share any information with me besides that this is not the life that Sage wants. Doesn't she understand there is no option? She would fall sick in the coming weeks, bed ridden...my stomach was churning. 

And oh, how I missed her. How could I possibly miss somebody so much? Someone I've barely had conversation with? Even in my dreams...it was all physical. But I wanted to know her mind, her every thought, hope and desire. I wanted to know her. 

I had had girlfriends before, I'd shared my bed before. But I never felt this pull. Perhaps that was simply because they were not my mates. Was it possible that the desires I was feeling were only because of the bond? 

"So, has she said anything yet?" Lor checked in on me every day, disappointed every day that I still had no update. 

"No...I dropped my cell phone number off with  Maggie yesterday. I asked her to please give it to Sage...told her that if she wants to call me, I'll answer any questions she has." 

"Really?" he said, blandly. 

I c****d an eyebrow at him, "Yes, really. What else am I supposed to do?" 

"I don't know dude, but you've gotta try harder than that. She's not only killing herself, she's killing you too. And trust me, none of us want another 500 years of King Robert and his wench, Wren."

"Obviously, Lor. But I don't want to force this on her either...she never knew of her fae blood...this is a whole new world for her. It's overwhelming, I can imagine."

He scoffed, "Yeah, well the fate of our entire kingdom is a little bit overwhelming too."

I rolled my eyes, "Look, I'm doing the best I can. I want her to...I want her to want me." 

"Newsflash, Reid, that might never happen. And if it doesn't, you might just have to take the situation into your own hands."

I knew that Lor didn't understand what he was saying, but rage burned within me.

"I will never do that. I will die before I ever put my mate through the same hell my father and grandfather put my mother through." 

He stepped back, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't think through what I was saying. Of course that is not what I meant. But you need to make her understand."

                                                                            SAGE

I missed him. It had been a month and I had been refusing to see him. The desire to be near him was crippling, but I fought it every day. My mother helped, telling him to leave every day when he showed up. Telling him that I couldn't do this...I didn't want this life. Even when my dreams were telling me otherwise, I knew I wasn't some Queen. I was just an average eighteen year old girl, who loved books more than anything. 

And yet, I looked forward to sleep. Because I got to see his beautiful face. I could pretend I was really there, being held and caressed by him. My Reid...

But he wasn't my Reid. The dreams were a figment of my imagination, and he was still just as good as a perfect stranger. A persistent stranger...some people might call it a stalker. But I knew he was just worried...I could feel it. It seemed wild but I could truly feel his energy. My mother had dug out all of her old texts from before she abandoned the Kingdom. I read everything she had on the mate bond. So I knew that Reid was terrified. 

Mom had also started teaching me about my heritage, our kind and our abilities. As far as she knew, I was the first of my kind. A human/fae hybrid. Most faeries never had the desire to leave the Kingdom, and there was usually never any attraction to humans. But when she met my father, it was undeniable. Her love for him was enough to pick up and leave her entire life behind. 

So she wasn't really sure what I was capable of...she taught me that different fae have different elemental gifts. Her family tended to the earth, the land. That's why they were farmers. It made it easier for them to fit into the human world while still providing for their people. There were water fae, who protected the lakes, rivers and oceans. Air fae who maintained the winds. Then there were the royals. They held a number of abilities- maintaining the earth's temperatures and regulating the seasons. Anyone in the royal family and amongst the royal court were capable of these tremendous gifts. But the Queen? She could do everything. 

But if I changed my mind, decided to throw out all my worries and fears, and married Reid- would I be able to do those things? I was only half-faery. The first of my kind...

I found myself out on the front porch, a glass of lemonade in hand. It was a brisk spring night, the wind howling. I wondered what fae family was responsible for that? I shook my head- a month prior my biggest concern had been finding time to study for Algebra without my dad distracting me. I had no idea of the magical world around me, believing it only existed between the pages of my beloved books. 

I felt the annoying tears starting to stream down my cheeks as I grew frustrated. Why ME? Why couldn't I just continue with my boring, happy life?! I was happy, I was free. But now, I was stuck with this curse! 

"Why are you crying?" I heard his voice before I saw him. Reid stepped out of the shadows into the light from the street post. 

"Reid...you scared me..." I wiped my face quickly. "I-I'm not, I'm fine."

"There is no need to hide your feelings, Sage. I can sense your vibrations. Just as you can sense mine."

I felt the frustration return. How was a girl supposed to pretend to be fine if the universe smacked someone right in her path that can feel her every emotion?! 

"Now you're angry, did I say something wrong?" he looked puzzled. 

I slapped my face into my hands, "Why are you here? Didn't my mother already tell you to go home twice today?" 

I was almost never rude, but I didn't know how else to mask the fact that something deep, deep inside of me had been hoping he would appear. 

"She did...but I thought I would try one more time. Sage...please. I need to talk to you." he was pleading. 

"Why? My mother already told me everything about the mate bond, she told me about the fae, she told me about your parents, and she told me that we will find another way."

"Another way...? And what options have you found?" I could tell he was being sarcastic.

"None, if you must know. But I'm the one who will die anyway, so what's it matter to you? You don't even know me. You're only here because this stupid mate bond is making you think that you have to be."

"Did you forget the part where I will die too?"

"After you knock some girl up and produce an heir. You could put that off for literally hundreds of years." I rolled my eyes. 

"No, I will become very ill, right along side you. Then after an heir is born I will die. But I will be sick, up until the moment I succumb to death. And for your information, I'm not here because the mate bond is forcing me to..."

I peeked up over my eyelashes; he was staring intently at me. 

"Then for what? To tell me that if I don't go with you, you'll make me? Just like your father did to your mother?" 

That hurt him. He took a step back, the blood draining from his cheeks. 

"What do you know of my parents?"

"My mother worked for Larissa for years before we were born. Your mother swore to never give your father an heir...and yet, here you are." At this point, I knew I was being cruel. I couldn't explain it, but I couldn't stop it. I needed to distract myself from the urge to run to him.

"I was a product of r**e, Sage. My father assaulted my mother to get what he wanted. And once she was removed from the throne after her 500 year reign, he exiled her from the Kingdom. I watched my father beat and abuse my mother my entire life. And then he ripped her away from me when I was 16." I saw his eyes well up as he gritted his teeth. I had  gone too far.

"I'm sorry, Reid...I didn't know." my voice had gone soft. 

His eyes were burning, and I felt the heat surging in my core. I stepped closer and gave into the primitive instinct. I wrapped him into my arms, finally closing the distance between us. I felt his shock as his arms slowly reached around and held me back. 

"Sage...I just want to know you...I want the chance to make it real..." he was crying now, "You keep fighting this, and I understand. I know you don't want to jump into something with somebody you just met...but I feel something, and I cannot deny it. This is torture."

I pulled back enough to look up at him, "But how will we ever know it's real? There's a magical bond that we had no part in. That will always affect our feelings..."

"Will it?" he sniffled, and rested his forehead on mine. The gesture was so sweet, I thought I would melt into a puddle.

I sighed, "What do you mean? Of course it will."

"But it didn't. My mother and father were mated, they were married for five hundred years, Sage. They hated each other, more than anything. The mate bond did nothing to affect their feelings, the attraction was never there. Yet I knew from the moment I saw you that I wanted to know everything about you. To share everything with you." he spoke so quickly, probably eager to finally have the chance to speak to me.

He was right, but that didn't change the fact that I didn't want to be a Queen. 

"And what about our age, Reid? I'm not even finished with high school...I don't want to be the leader of an entire species." 

I could feel his energy changing, warming.

"Sage, I promise, we will figure that out." his fingers were up by my ears now, curling into my hair. 

My breath was getting ragged, "We?"

"Yes...yes, please." his whispered tones drew my mind back to my dreamscape...the dream where I'm begging him to make love to me. I couldn't explain the feelings that were suddenly surging through me- He stepped closer as he felt my desire coursing through my veins. 

My eyes fluttered as I struggled to think, "I just...I need to...I-"

Unable to stop myself I rolled my face upwards and met his lips on mine. I pushed up on my tippy toes to deepen the kiss. His lips were soft and warm, his body firm with arousal. I felt a flitter of glee race through me and suddenly I felt the weight of the world fall off of my shoulders. His fingers tangled into my hair as he pulled me as close to him as he could.

This was it, everything I never knew I needed. His hands sliding over me, his lips pressed so hard against mine I could see stars. His hand slipped up under my blouse and found my breast, throwing me over the edge.

"Mmmmmm" I moaned, parting my lips to let his tongue dip inside. This was better than any dream, and as far as first kisses go...nothing could beat it. 

His hands grew more impatient as they began to drift over other parts of my body. 

"Please, Sage?" he voice was coarse with seduction, "Please let me take you somewhere...I need you...from the moment we first touched, I knew..." he was planting kisses all over my mouth, my neck, my chest, "I need to have you, to be with you...I am completely," kiss, "and entirely," kiss, "yours." He cupped my butt and lifted me up against the side of the house, into the safety of the shadows. 

I let out a harsh breath as he slid my shirt upward and my breast made it's way into his mouth. "Ooooh, Reid.." my mind was a tornado of every  thought and feeling I had ever had. Never in my life had I known so much pleasure. And he was willing to keep giving it to me, even if it meant right here in front of my house. I had never been kissed before, never had s*x before and suddenly I was doing things I never even imagined...three feet from my front door. 

I wanted to not care, I wanted to let him take me right next to the flower beds, to smell the sweet aroma of the rose buds and peonies as I gave myself up to him...but something within me said that that deserved to be more special. Something within me told me there was an eternity to find sneaky places to tear each other apart. 

So as he made his way back to my mouth, and he pressed his erection against me, showing me his need, I made up my mind. I slid my hand down against it, shocked by how much more that simple act could make me ache for him. His icy blue eyes rolled back as I snuck my hand past the fabric of his jeans and stroked him. I was surprised by myself, but I felt empowered. This gorgeous, stunning man wanted me, and by the feeling of what was in my hand...he wanted me bad. 

He whimpered, "Please...please?!" 

I stroked him faster, and began brushing the skin of his neck with my lips. His breath was coming in weak pants, and his eyes were fluttering beneath my touch. Ever so slowly, I pulled my hand up out of his pants and suckled his ear lobe ever so lightly between my teeth before whispering, 

"Oh no, baby, not yet..."