Chapter 5 : You're Not My Mate!

*Henry* "You are out of your mind if you think I'm going to come anywhere near you, much less kiss you!" Henry barked. "I don't know how this happened, or how things got messed up, but you are not my mate!" He continued to pace around and did his best to avoid moving too close to Circe or meeting her eyes. "I know you love Mae, but why are you fighting this so much? You will grow to love me," Circe moved closer to him and ran a finger down his arm. Henry shivered at her touch and felt his muscles cringe away from her. He made a dramatic gesture to pull away from her. "I could never grow to love you. I need to find Mae," Henry snapped his words with a feeling of finality before marching off into the woods. His head felt wild with fear and confusion. Henry could hear Circe calling after him and her jagged footsteps as she threaded into the woods after him. He tried to shut out any sound of her and ignored her pleading for him to come back to her. She kept yelling out that they were mated now, and he had no reason to go after Mae anymore, that Mae was probably happy with her mate, but Henry couldn't believe that. He had to see Mae; he had to talk to her. They needed to figure this whole thing out. Henry stomped through the woods and absentmindedly headed to their secret spot. Something inside him told him that Mae would be waiting. That she would be just as heartbroken and confused as he was. He tried to let go of the wild thoughts and Circe shouting after him, and just focused on his heart being called by Mae's. "She's not your mate! I don't know why you can't just accept this, Henry! Just come back to me so we can join the celebration!" Circe called out. He could tell she was a great distance behind him now. The wolf inside him growled with frustration and anger. Henry picked up his pace and started to run toward the spot, leaving Circe further behind him. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't do anything about their situation until he saw Mae. Until he could hold her, kiss her, and figure out what happened. Why would they be so in love if they weren't meant to be together? Had they offended the Moon Goddess in some way? Why would she take their love away like this? So many questions reeled in Henry's head. He started to feel almost dizzy from all the unknowns spinning around in his mind. Henry ran on, hoping he could outrun this situation. Hoping he could run into the special clearing with Mae, and she'd tell him that there had been a mistake. She was his mate after all. Everything inside of him screamed and called out for Mae. Part of him wanted to run even beyond that. Part of him wanted to grab Mae and run away where no one could stop them from being together. He didn't care if she was his true mate or not. They were mated in his heart, and he couldn't live without her. He wanted to run until their lungs burned and the questions had all poured out of his head. Somewhere no one would recognize them and they could be together in peace. But he knew Mae wouldn't leave her family. They had to figure this out together, here. Henry slowed down as he reached the edge of the clearing. He could already hear Mae in the opening. Her heartbeat was racing faster than normal, and she was sniffling. Clearly, she had been crying. His heart ached for her, the need to comfort her strong. He pushed his way through the trees and pulled her mouth to his. It was wet and hot since they were both angry and on edge. Her tears kept flowing down and intermixing with the taste of her mouth. Henry didn't care. He kept her as close to him as possible and held on until they both needed a break to breathe. "What happened, Henry? You said we would be mated! You said there was no way we wouldn't be. I can't stand the thought of us not being together. Thinking of you mating with someone else, marrying someone else...." Mae's voice started to shake, along with the rest of her body. He could tell she could barely control her tears and heavy breathing. "I know, I know, my love. I can't stand it either. It burns me inside to think of anyone else touching you. There has to be something wrong. Some mistake somewhere. This can't be real," Henry argued. His voice was gruff and revealed how furious he was, but he held her close and tenderly, never squeezing too hard. "When I turned and saw Nathan-" "Nathan?! You mated with Nathan? He's… he's nothing! Barely earning the name of a wolf at all! How can the daughter of an Alpha be mated to someone like him?" Henry barked. He turned quickly to hold Mae and reminded her that it wasn't her he was upset with. "I know! I know! I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I just started crying. I couldn't stand it. I ran here." Mae was starting to hyperventilate a little, recalling the moment. Henry ran his hands up and down her arms and kissed her forehead. Mae sniffed against his shoulder. "I'm sorry, my love. I'm sorry. But this has to be some sort of mistake. You and I are meant to be together, I just know it." Henry looked up at the moon in a pleading fashion, as if expecting the Goddess herself to come down and explain the situation. As if she'd apologize for the mistake and set things right. "How can this be a mistake? I followed the light and it didn't take me to you. The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes like that..." Mae choked out through several breaths. "I don't know. I don't know how this happened or what went wrong. I just know it's got to be a mistake," Henry grumbled. "I love you, every part of me yearns for you. My heart breaks without you, Mae. We are meant to be together, I just know it." He pulled Mae in closer to him again and tried to calm her wild tears and body shakes. "Or, you know, the more obvious answer, which is you're not," Circe answered from the trees. She stayed on the outside just out of view. Henry and Mae searched around for her, following the sound of her voice. Henry felt the fiery rage building in him again, and his hands instinctively balled into fists. "I told you, Circe, I don't know what happened or what you did to create this outcome, but you are not my mate!" Henry cried out. Mae pulled away a little bit and looked up at him. "Circe? You mated with Circe?" Mae's voice sounded even more hurt if that was possible. Circe appeared out of the trees with a wide grin. Henry felt like his heart was literally breaking in two inside of his chest. His knees were weak watching Mae be in so much pain. "Yes, but I feel nothing for her. I only want you. You know that. I love only you, Mae." Henry tried to reach out and hold Mae again, but she kept herself at arm's length. "I don't want anything to do with her, Mae, please!" "Yet, you have no choice! I am your mate, Henry. It's time you accept that. We do have other rituals and ceremonies to get on to." Circe had lost the sweetness in her tone and now sounded just as angry and aggressive as Henry. "I will never accept that. I love Mae; I only want to be with her," Henry snapped back. "But you can't! Not anymore! You knew you ran the risk of not being mated! Well, it happened! You're with me now, Henry. I don't care what you need to do to be okay with that, but do it," Circe howled. She turned her eyes to Mae, and they narrowed into slits. "And you, I don't ever want to see you around my mate again!" Henry quickly stepped in front of Circe and between the two women. "Do not talk to her like that! She can be near me and around me whenever she wants! She is my true love!" Henry screamed. He felt ready to launch himself at Circe and forcibly remove her from their special spot. "I'm sure this is difficult for you two," Circe started in a dark and sarcastic tone, "but you two together is never going to happen! You are my mate, Henry. I don't want you hanging around her anymore. Her mate is probably waiting for her, wondering where she ran off to, and what he did wrong. How cruel and unfair that you'd punish two innocent people with such pain simply because you can't let go!" Henry's breath became heavy, and it was taking a lot out of him not to attack Circe outright. He knew she was right, and though she was acting very unsympathetic about it, it wasn't her fault. He tried to calm himself down. Henry shot her a daring look before turning back to Mae. "I don't know what we can do tonight. Maybe it is best that for now, you go back to Nathan. But I promise you, I won't stop trying to figure out how to fix this. We are meant to be together," Henry whispered as he kissed her forehead again. Mae did her best to control her tears as she nodded. "Go now, I'll find you soon." Mae turned quickly and walked off in the direction that she had come from. Henry was left standing alone in the circle with Circe again. He couldn't believe that just a few nights ago, he was laying here peacefully and full of hope with Mae in his arms. "Are you ready to accept the truth, lover?" Circe cooed. It took all Henry had not to make a snarky expression back at her. "No, never. I will never accept that Mae is not my mate. But there is nothing I can do about it right now, and it's not fair to you and Nathan to put you through so much unnecessary pain. I will go with you to finish this ceremony, but I will never stop looking for answers and a way to be with Mae." Henry did his best to use the dark, stern tone his father used when commanding his troops like an Alpha. Circe smirked. "I am your mate. It's you and me, lover. You might not accept that now, but soon you'll have no choice."