Chapter 11 : Promise Me, Mae

*Henry* Henry walked out the door and left Circe alone in the office. He moved over to Mae and Samuel and leaned into Samuel. Mae's cousin looked at him curiously. "Um… she wants to talk to you?" Henry mumbled. Samuel took a deep breath and exchanged a curious glance with Mae before making his way toward the office. Henry felt momentarily intrigued about whatever was going on. He seemed to be the only one not in on it. Mae and Henry watched Samuel until he disappeared into the darkened room. Henry then instantly turned and pulled Mae's mouth onto his. He kissed her deeply and passionately. All he wanted was to whisk her away upstairs and never let her go. He tried to memorize the feeling of her lips and savor the taste of her mouth, but wasn't certain when, or if, he'd ever be able to do this again. Mae pulled away before he was ready and looked down with a sorrowful expression. She kept her hands on his hips and didn't push away from him, but Henry could see the tears forming in her eyes. It was hurting her to be with him like this now but also hurting her not to. He knew the feeling. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I don't mean to make things more difficult." Henry's voice came out in sort of a grunt, and he tried to stifle his physical attractions for her. Mae shook her head. "It's okay. I understand. I still want you badly. I feel so bad for Nathan, I've hardly been able to look at him, much less celebrate or plan a wedding. I can't focus on the thought of marrying him," Mae answered. Picturing Mae marrying anyone but him made Henry cringe inside with rage. He did his best to keep those feelings away from her though, knowing that would only make her feel worse, and he didn't want to be the cause of any more pain. "I feel the same way. Circe keeps pushing for a wedding, but it makes me sick to think of any woman walking down that aisle as my bride who isn't you," Henry replied. He reached up and wiped a small tear away before lifting her chin to look at him. "We are going to figure this out, you and me." Despite all the anger and chaos Henry was feeling, he still did feel certain of that. "Are we?" Mae questioned. For just a moment, a strange expression crossed her face, and she glanced quickly into the other room. Before Henry had a chance to process anything, the look had faded and turned back to an expression of melancholy. "Yes, I promise. What if we…" Henry paused and looked around, making sure no one was close enough to hear. He pulled her closer to the wall away from the door to the office. "What if we just left for a while?" "What? You mean like run away?" Mae questioned. She looked up at him with a wildness in her eyes that he had never seen before. The intensity of it sent shivers of desire through him, and it took all he had not to reach down and kiss her again. He tightened his grip on her hips, pulling her clothes across her backside. Mae didn't fight him and leaned in closer to him. "Yes, I mean like running away. I can't think of another way for us to be together, and I don't know how much I can handle being apart. Please tell me you feel the same," Henry answered. He reached one hand up and pushed her dark curls back behind her ear. "Of course, I do. It's killing me not to be with you, not to see you. It took hours of convincing from Samuel for my father to let me come with him today." "So? Let's do it, please. Maybe our families will realize there's nothing they can do to keep us apart and let us be together." Henry's words came out louder and in more of a rush than he had intended, but after several weeks of not seeing or hearing from Mae at all, it was all he could do not to run away with her right in the moment. Henry cocked his head in confusion as Mae offered him a weak smile. "Actually, my father thinks we should get married anyway. He's beyond furious that we didn't match and wants us to marry anyway to keep the union we had planned intact," Mae admitted. Henry felt something inside of him jump with delight, and he couldn't hold back any longer. He reached down and kissed Mae again, pulling her closer to him and running his hands over her body. Everything in him craved her, and he could feel himself rising at the thought of her skin pressed against his. Mae didn't resist. She let him touch her and kiss her, but soon, he tasted the salty mixture of her tears in their kiss. Henry pulled away to notice she did not seem as excited by this news as he did. "Mae, what's wrong? Why isn't this great news? Your father wants us to marry? We can be together without leaving our families on the brink of war. I'm sure I can convince my father...." Henry ducked down, trying to catch her eyes as Mae kept lowering her head. "I don't think I can.... Please, Henry, please trust me, I want nothing more than to marry you right now. I want to be with you and know that you're my mate more than I've ever wanted anything. But I can't go against the Moon Goddess," Mae responded. Again, she glanced curiously at the office door, as if she knew a secret answer that Henry did not. He glanced back as well but could barely make out the outline of Circe, sitting in a chair and looking at Samuel. "What do you mean?" Henry questioned, turning his attention back to Mae. "Henry, I don't think I could be with you unless I knew the Moon Goddess was in our favor. My father betrayed the orders of the Goddess once, and I'm certain that my mother's death was the punishment. If we go against our chosen mates and marry anyway, who knows what kinds of other disasters that might bring on our packs? The Goddess doesn't take lightly to wolves who don't follow her commands...." The tears fell heavier now. Mae started to gasp for breath between her light sobs. Henry felt like his heart was being torn in half listening to the horrifying sound of Mae's pain. He had honestly not thought about the Moon Goddess or what kind of wrath they might invoke if they married anyway. Most of him didn't care, and he wanted to marry Mae, damn the consequences. He looked at Mae's worried face and understood but couldn't force himself to feel the same. "I understand, Mae. I don't want to bring any more trouble to our packs than necessary. It just seems like we are screwed either way. We follow our matches, stay away from each other, and our packs likely go to war, or we marry anyway, be together, and risk the wrath of the Moon Goddess. If we are damned either way, why not choose the way that allows us to be together?" He already knew what Mae would say, but he felt he had to push and try. "Henry, please… war would be horrific and deivsating to both our packs, but who knows what worse damage the Moon Goddess is capable of? We might bring in something even more terrible." Mae's eyes looked lost in the imagination of the nightmares that could befall them if they disobeyed their highest power. "I know, I know you're right." Henry's tone was back to frustrated and hopeless. He didn't know what to do or how to fix this. He looked at Mae and pulled her in close to him. He couldn't stand her being in so much pain, and he couldn't stand not being with her at all. "I just don't know what to do, I can't stand being without you." "I know, I know, and I'm so sorry. Please know how much I love you, I want you. I want to be with you so badly," Mae muffled into Henry's shoulder. He brushed her soft hair back and kissed the top of her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You're right, it would be too risky to go against the Moon Goddess. We'll have to find another solution. But like I said, I promise we are going to figure this out," Henry grunted. Mae nuzzled into his shoulder and continued her soft sobs. At that moment, Henry wanted nothing more than to find a way to the Sky Plane to sit the Goddess down and talk with her. He knew in his heart of hearts something had to be wrong, and only she would have the answers. Perhaps his mother knew of a better way to actually commune with the Moon Goddess. He would ask her tonight. With all the anger and frustration battling inside of Henry, he knew one thing strong and clear: despite what any mating ritual had said, he was meant to be with Mae. "Please, promise me one thing," Henry started. Mae pulled away and looked up at him, waiting. "Promise me you won't give up on us. I'm sure if you reject your father about marrying me anyway, he'll push for you to marry Nathan quickly, but please, give me some time. I'm going to figure this out and fix it, Mae, I promise." Mae smiled weakly and nodded. "I promise I'll never give up on us, and I'll hold out as long as I can. I hope you're right, Henry. I hope we can find a solution. I don't know what I'd do if I had to try to live without you forever," Mae whispered, getting choked up again. "That won't happen, Mae." Henry leaned down again and kissed her lightly. Much to his surprise, Mae threw her arms around him and pulled him into her. Her kiss was intense, and he never wanted to let her go. Much sooner than he was ready, she pulled away. "You better go before I can't walk away from you," Henry muttered. He balled his hands into fists and tried to resist all his senses calling out for Mae. She nodded, doing her best to control her tears. He wiped them away before turning on his heel and heading back into the office.