Chapter 4

Hannah

Luna smacked her hand over his mouth before he could finish accepting my rejection.

"You finish that sentence I will put you in the ground myself. By doing that, you are proving everything she just said about you." Luna says with a firm glare. Micah nods a little and she removes her hand, still watching him closely.

"I won't say it." Micah says annoyed and runs his hand through his hair. I watch the movement, my eyes trailing his hand. Micah sees my gaze and smirks at me. That pisses me off and I return my gaze to Alpha.

"Hannah, I'm not saying you're wrong," Alpha says making Micah growl at him. Alpha snarls back and Micah wilts under his firm glare. "But if there is any chance of him changing, it's you. A mate brings out the best in a person, especially an Alpha. You can be the change you say is needed. That's an opportunity if you ask me." He says and I smile at him.

"That sounds pretty and all, Alpha, but I'm not about to hinge my future and my happiness on the hope that I can bring out the good in my mate. And it's not fair to ask me to." I say matter of factly and Micah scoffs from the corner.

"What does any of this matter anyway? I already rejected him. It's not like I can just take it back." I practically shout and Luna clears her throat.

"Well, actually, if you mark him it would restore your bond. It would be your way of accepting him." She says and I sigh while Micah let's out a frustrated snarl.

"You don't want me either, Micah. Why don't you just admit it?" I ask him and he rolls his eyes.

"Who says I don't want you? I've always wanted a mate. Yeah I didn't expect it to be you, but I'm at least willing to try." He says shrugging and I scoff at him.

"Yeah, you're not the one who's been tormented for the last five years so it's easy for you to say." I say irritably and my mom cuts in.

"We don't seem to be making much headway. Maybe we should take a break for today." Micah groans and I glare at him.

"Hannah, can I talk to you? In private?" He asks and I shrug.

"Fine."

I follow him out of the office and up the stairs and into a room. As soon as I step inside, I'm engulfed in his scent. It's not as strong or as enticing since I broke the bond, but it still smells damn good. I discreetly take little sniffs as he closes the door behind us. He comes up behind me and pulls my hair over my shoulder, unapologetically taking in lung fulls of my scent.

"God damn you smell good, baby." He murmurs and I pull away from him.

"That's just the mate bond talking." I say and he grunts in response.

"Nah. You've always smelled good." He answers taking another step towards me and sniffing. I can see his tense body visibly relax before he sits on his bed.

"I think you know what I'm going to say." He says leaning back on his headboard.

"You're going to accept my rejection?" I ask and he smirks before chuckling lightly.

"No. I'm going to say we should try to at least get along." He says with confidence and I roll my eyes.

"Why don't you just accept that you don't want me and we can both move on?" I ask stubbornly and he growls a little.

"I do want you. You're smart and hot what else could I want?" He asks, smirking at me.

"You didn't like me yesterday. The only thing that's changed now is the mate bond. That's not enough to build a relationship on." I point out and he rolls his eyes at me.

"I've always liked you." He says shyly but I scoff at him.

"You had a shitty way of showing it." I murmur sitting down in a chair across from him. He sighs heavily and runs his hand through his hair again and I get the strange urge to do the same thing. Maybe the mate bond isn't totally severed, just muted in a way.

"If I told you the truth you'd say that it's stupid." He says and I shrug.

"Probably. Hit me with it anyway. What do you have to lose?" I ask and his eyes bore into mine and he nods slightly.

"I was jealous. Plain and simple. My parents love you. They always talk about how smart you are, how funny and kind. How good you'll be for the pack. I felt like they would have rather had you as a kid than me." He says, avoiding eye contact with me. I sigh heavily and rub my temples.

I'm too young for stress headaches.

"Micah. It's not stupid. How you handled it was wrong, though. You should have talked to your parents. Tell them how you feel instead of treating me like shit." I say and he nods in agreement.

"I know. I figured that out before graduation but by that point I figured it wouldn't matter if I tried to make amends anyway. I figured you'd never forgive me. I never imagined we'd be mates." He implores. I nod in understanding and stand to leave.

"Where are you going?" He asks, scrambling to his feet. I look at him with confusion and point towards the door.

"Home. I have a lot to think about." I say and head for the door. He grabs my wrist to keep me from leaving and I look at him confused.

"Can't you think here?" He asks desperately and I am super confused by his behavior.

"What is going on, Micah?" I ask and he shivers when I say his name. That makes me realize he's still feeling the mate bond full force.

"I just... want to be near you." He admits, obviously embarrassed by his confession. I sigh and sit back down in the chair.

"I'm not staying here. I'm not going to sleep with you, or next to you. I'm not going to be all lovey dovey and snuggle. Think of it as your punishment for the way you've treated me for five years." I say harshly and he nods enthusiastically.

"That's fine. I totally deserve that. But... you won't make me suffer for five years will you?" He asks and I smirk as I look away contemplating.

"That's not a terrible idea." I say and he slides off the bed onto his knees in front of me. He rests his forehead on my lap and curls his hands around my legs.

"Please Hannah. Don't torture me. I know you can't feel it, but the idea of not being close to you is fucking killing me. My wolf is constantly trying to take over so he can mark you. We want you. We know you are everything we need in a Luna and we are sorry. Just... please. Give us a chance." He begs, lifting his face to look at me. They are filled with tears and I can't stop the shock on my face. Never in my life did I think Micah Grey would be on his knees begging me for forgiveness.

I almost don't like it.

Almost.

"Just relax, Micah." I say running my fingers through his hair. He leans in to my touch and I miss the sparks I felt briefly before.

Not enough to forgive this guy for being such an ass though. That's for damn sure.

"Let's just take things one day at a time." I murmur quietly and he seems to calm under my touch.

"What will the pack think?" I ask and he looks up at me with furrowed brows.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"You've single handedly destroyed my reputation. What will the pack think about having a whore for a Luna?" I ask and he growls at me.

"Don't call yourself that." He snarls out and I narrow my eyes at him.

"I didn't. You did." I say pointedly and his face falls before he tucks it back into my lap. He moves his arms around my waist and I let him, hoping some contact now will keep him from throwing a fit when I go to leave.

"I'm so sorry. I'll never forgive myself." He murmurs and I rub the back of his neck gently trying to soothe him. His emotions are throwing me the fuck off.

"Being sorry doesn't matter now, but we have to be cognizant of how this will look." I say and he sighs again.

"I'll kill anyone who says anything bad about you." He says firmly and I can't help but giggle. He looks up at me in awe and watches me.

"Do that again." He says.

"Do what?"

"Laugh. It was beautiful." He says, shaking me a little.

"I can't just laugh on command. It doesn't work like that." He lifts his hand up and tickles my side, making me laugh until I can barely breathe.

"OK! OK stop!" I yell and he pulls his hand away quickly. I look at him and he has a wide, beautiful smile on his face.

"I could listen to that forever." He murmurs, reaching up to run his thumb down my cheek.

'Hannah? Where are you?' My mom links me, pulling me from my daze. I stand suddenly, making Micah fall over.

"Sorry. That was my mom. I have to go." I say heading for the door. Before I reach it a pair of large, muscular arms wraps around my torso pulling me into a strong chest.

"No! Tell her you're staying with me." Micah growls and he sounds more wolf than man. I turn around and see his eyes dark, telling me his wolf is in charge. I take a deep breath and hold his face with my hands.

"I'll come back tomorrow, ok? I need to talk to them. To explain things." I try to reason with him. He holds my hands with his, kissing each palm like he did earlier.

"You promise? You'll come back tomorrow?" I nod, my stomach sinking at the thought of what I'm getting myself into.

"Yes. Tomorrow." His eyes clear to Micah's and he lets go of my hands.

"See you tomorrow, little mate." He says leaning in to smell me and placing a gentle kiss to my neck. I smile at him before slipping out of his room, taking a deep breath of fresh air before practically running out of there.