Dark Moon

09

Sage's POV:

I have never felt so rejected and embarrassed in my entire life. My insides already hurt and my damn Omega brain is wailing and telling me that I did something wrong for my mate to reject me. I know that Ashton is scared, but I wasn't planning on sex!

I just need him to be with me in our room so that I can feel safe and like I'm not letting down my mate. It hurts even worse now that he's here and he won't stay with me during my most vulnerable moment.

Hell, it's only preheat and I already want to cry and curl into a ball. That usually only happens at my peak, so I already know this is going to be an unbearable heat.

"Honey, it's okay," dad whispers as I bury my face into my pillow and try to breathe in the scent of Ashton's that I can pick up even though I'm pissed off at him. "Pauline, can you please go get him some tea and a snack?"

"I don't want a snack!" I growl. "I want my mate to be with me and not reject me!"

Dad rubs my back. "He's scared he'll hurt you, Sage," he coos.

Yeah, I know that and I understand why he's so anxious, but goddess! I just feel so hurt and achy right now and I want Ashton to just lay on top of me to cover and protect me. My inner Omega is sad and hurt, so rationality is pretty much irrelevant and I just feel hurt. Physically and emotionally.

Pauline comes back with a cup of tea and a plate of crackers and apples, but I don't turn when my dad tries to get me to eat.

"No," I growl. "Let me suffer in peace."

"Eat," my dad orders, a low growl bubbling in his throat.

He's sweet and gentle most of the time, but when he gives a direct order, he gets scary and it makes me really nervous.

So, I sit up and reluctantly and shove a couple of crackers in my mouth and drink some of the tea. It burns my tongue and makes me wince, but I continue to drink it. The tea is the kind that has a mixture of herbs and soothes some of the pain of Omegas in heat.

"My preheat feels like actual heat, dad," I whine once I finish the drink and have eaten half of the crackers and some of the apple slices. "It hurts so bad."

My dad lays his hand on my forehead. "Your head is really warm, honey. I'm going to run you a bath to help you relax," he says, but I grab his arm.

"Have Pauline do it," I beg him. "Please don't leave me."

All of my heats in the past I've been able to handle alone and have only interacted with someone else to bring me food or water. This one is already brutal though, and I felt the first symptoms about an hour ago.

I guess this is a downside to having a mate who doesn't want to cuddle and comfort you while you're in heat, but it's something I'll have to deal with. Right now, I just need comfort and my dad isn't even close to being the comfort I need, but it's better than being alone.

Pauline goes to the bathroom and starts to run the tub while I get up and start to go through the drawers to get out the clothes that smell like Ashton. There's not a lot of clothes that he has here but there's a few articles that I can throw into my bed.

I make sure to put the pillow he's been using at the head of my bed so I can take in his scent while I lay down. I reorganize my blankets around my bed so they're comfortable, but I feel anxious because a new instinct is creeping up to have my Alpha praise my best.

I know that Ashton will not want to enter this room while I'm in heat, but Omega-brain-Sage thinks that I did something wrong to make Ashton want to stay away and not praise my nest.