Instead of Ma plaguing my mind, I was bombarded with thoughts of Theo. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get him off my mind. He was a Werewolf, which was synonymous with a beast (to me), but was that true, or had I just been taught to feel that way? Grappling with this idea, I tried my best to ignore Theo for the past two days while I digested how I felt.

I would have gone on subtly ignoring him if the picture I drew of Ma did not come floating down to my feet when I was putting on my clothes for the day. I realized I needed to deal with my emotions second and prioritize finding Ma first. Max updated me on Theo. For the past couple of days, Theo had been continuously occupied with his pack business. As someone who still knew very little about packs, I could not fathom why he would need to go through so much paperwork. He had a Beta, a Gamma, and several other higher-ups all working alongside him.

Luckily for me, prioritizing Ma would prove to not be so difficult. After getting a late start to the day, Theo requested my presence in his office. My heart rate sped at the thought of him finally helping me. But, my heart pounded even harder at the thought of seeing him again.

And, so, trying my best to not let my growing nerves get the best of me, I was off to see Theo.

With the drawing clutched in my casted hand, I made sure not to smudge my pencil work. Ever since I drew the sketch of Ma, my fingers itched to draw once again. I used to revel in drawing and creating art. Pa always tried his best to keep me supplied with anything and everything related to art supplied, but money was tight. As I got older, I started working in the market alongside Memphis' cousin, Sandy, helping to sell her artwork. One day, I dreamed I would be lucky enough to have my very own art stand in the market's center.

As I neared Theo's office, my stomach bunched up in knots. I had not seen Theo since that night. Trying to convince myself it was just an ordinary night, I swallowed my nerves. He was calling me into his office, so he must want to — at the very least — speak some sort of business.

Entering Theo's office, I noted all the paper that once filled the vicinity was no longer in the room; the air smelt of fresh lilac mixed in with a tinge of chemicals. Theo was standing by one of the windows, moving the curtain just slightly so he could peak out. I took a seat at the velvet chair I had sat in just days prior when Theo told me he was too busy to help me; hopefully, this summons would not be a repeat of that day.

"I drew a picture of her," I started, placing the hand-drawn sketch on Theo's desk. Even though the desk was clean, part of me feared he might lose it if his office ever returned to the state it was earlier. "You said the other day we didn't have much to go on, so I drew a picture of her."

"Very well," he opened the curtain wide and proceeded to walk over to his desk, only a few feet away from me. I bit my lip, waiting for Theo to look at the picture."That is not why I called you here."

All excitement and anticipation left my body as I slumped into the plush chair. The smile had made its way onto my face and fell flat while I looked up at Theo with a hurt expression.

"You draw very well," he mused, examining the paper I placed on his desk. I didn't even attempt to respond to him. What was I to say?

I knew I should have inquired why I was brought here if it was not to discuss finding Ma, but I couldn't bring myself to care enough to ask. I allowed myself to get my hopes up, and now I was left with an empty pit of disappointment.

"I want you to meet someone," he finally got to the point. I let out a sigh, crossing my legs.

Before moving towards the office door, Theo placed the sketch in one of his desk's drawers. Shortly after the drawer closed with a huff, he walked in the direction of the door.

Someone — I could not yet tell who — began walking in while Theo said, "I will leave you two alone."

As the person stepped further into the room, I instantly recognized her. She was Eva Longshire. We both grew up in the Borderlands. She was a couple of years older, so, while we didn't exactly run in the same circle, they did overlap quite a lot in our younger years. She even used to babysit me back when Gran and Pop lived further away from us in the Borderlands.

Eva had long brown hair and even darker brown eyes to match. She was quite a bit taller than me by at least several inches. She was wearing a free-flowing dress, but the dress could not hide the fact she was heavily pregnant. Pregnant with a beast. Pregnant with an Alpha's child. Extending my neck, I could see a bite mark inked into the side of her neck.

"Sage, I am so glad to see you," she smiled, running her hands over her stomach. Quickly, she made her way over to the velvet chair beside my own.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, knowing full well I should have greeted her more kindly, but I was bursting with a hesitant curiosity. Why had Theo brought Eva here?

I mean, of course, there was the obvious fact she was from my homeland, but I still could not figure out why he would want her here. I tried my best to rack my brain. I knew Eva spoke badly about the Borderlands; she said it was a cult. I just couldn't see why that would entail her coming here to see me.

Eva placed a hand on my knee. I was too stunned by the sudden gesture to pull away. "I remember the first couple months after I left the Borderlands. I just want to be here for you."

"I'm fine," I expressed, trying to flash her a quick smile with a half attempted hand wave.

While I remembered Eva Longshire vividly, she felt like a stranger. She carried herself with an air of confidence, her back stood up a little straighter; her eyes were full of determination. She looked like she had a mission to tackle, and I was just an obstacle in her way, a far cry from the carefree girl of my past.

"I'm not saying you're not fine, Sage, but it is quite a culture shock to go from living in the Borderlands to living on the Outside, especially after what your family has been through." I turned my head away from her when she mentioned my family. She had seen firsthand the devastation Ma's death had on Pa. "I also know what it's like to be taught supernatural beings are abominations only to find out one is your mate."

"But you chose to leave. You chose to be with your mate. I didn't," I tilted my head, taken off guard by the way she so casually mentioned me being mates with Theo.

Theo must have told her. Had he trusted Eva that much? The Eva I knew had loose lips, and I was not filled with confidence she would not shout to the world Theo and I were mates.

"And why do you think that is, Sage?" She asked almost like I was a child, trying to guide me to the conclusion she wanted.

"I don't follow," I grumbled out, feeling fatigued with always being out of the loop.

"You've been brainwashed your entire life. You believe these things because you were taught the alternative would mean death. It's not a curse to have a Werewolf as a mate," she served her words with a big smile, removing her hand from my knee. I raised my eyebrows up, almost ready to laugh.

While the other night I might have been more privy to listen to her words, my blood started to boil. Theo — at least, in my mind, right now — was not outwardly a beast, but we had been taught they were good at masking their true intentions. I would be a fool to blindly believe Eva so easily.

"Oh," I dragged out the word before continuing. "Okay, I see why you're here now. Theo put you up to this, didn't he? This must have been the pack business he's been attending to for the past couple of days."

"He called me here because he's worried about you." Eva expressed with feigned concern, almost as if she was looking down at me.

"Worried about me? I just agreed to be open to the bond! What more can he want?" I was about to lose my mind from all the puppeteering going on behind my back. Another part of me was disappointed he would go to such great lengths to mastermind my feelings when we had a decent conversation only a few nights ago.

On top of that, instead of trying to find my Ma, Theo put his resources into finding and bringing Eva here — from my understanding. I could presume he did that so our connection would strengthen, but I couldn't drop everything I learned just because I was being told so.

Plus, if Eva and Theo really had my best intentions at heart, they would have wanted me to come to my own conclusion. I mean, in their eyes, I had been force-fed what to believe my entire life, but wasn't that what they were trying to do to me now?

"Just give him a chance — give them all a chance, Sage. This is bigger than just Theo. This is bigger than just you, even. There's an entire pack relying on you. You must think of them, now." I couldn't help but subtly roll my eyes at Eva, growing increasingly uncomfortable by her mere presence. "Think of everyone back behind the Border, all stuck inside. You could help me bring down the Borderlands."

"You have known me my whole life up until you left. You babysat me when both Ma and Pa were busy working, yet you're more concerned with me accepting a mate bond and bringing down our homeland than seeing how I'm actually doing," I ranted, my body heating up, ready to pounce verbally.

Pa used to remark I was slow to rile up. It was like you could throw sticks and stones at me, but I would usually find a way to calmly approach the situation. When I did start to rev up, though, it was hard to bring me back down. However, since it happened so rarely, I was not well versed in calming myself down in these situations.

"You said you were fine," she said flatly, rubbing her hands over her perturbing stomach with a yawn.

"Of course, I'm not fine," I scoffed, taken aback. "When someone says they're fine, there's a ninety-nine percent chance they aren't actually fine. Anyway, you came in here trying to push your experience onto me. How else was I supposed to act? Look, I am happy for you if this is the life you want to live but don't expect me to follow suit just because you made it out of the other side okay. The Outside has changed you, Eva, and I don't think it was for the better."

I knew the last sentence I said to Eva was quite harsh, but I couldn't prevent the words from bubbling out. Sighing harshly, I got up — without another word — and made my way to the door of the office. My eyes narrowed, determined to find Theo.

Turns out, he was only one door away, lurking around. He looked a little nervous, his body not as firm and sturdy as it usually was. He had been listening in, and it didn't look like he was happy with what he heard.

"You!" I pointed towards Theo. "What the hell was that?"

He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He closed his mouth and tried to recompose himself. I didn't give him time before I spoke again.

"Speechless? Good. I am not just some chess piece you can just move around as you please. I can't just erase everything I believe in, because you want me to."

"Sage," his tone was light, and he still looked like he wanted to say more, but I would not let him.

"No, let me finish. Am I not good enough for you as I am now?" I asked, honestly. Was he just trying to expedite the mating process so he could get what he wanted? Was the other night all just a ploy to make me sympathize with him? It was appearing so, and that was exactly what we were taught in the Borderlands.

"Sage, that's not it," he tried to explain, but his words were falling short.

"I am aware that having me as a mate is not ideal for you — you've made that perfectly clear many times now — but I don't know how I can begin to accept you when you want me to be someone I'm not." With that, I left the room, leaving Theo standing stuck in his spot. He called after me, but I kept moving forward, not looking back.