My Dream Mate Hates Me

Sage’s Pov

“Starlight, you are mine and I am yours, till the last moon rises over this world.”

The words drifted through the dreamscape like warm sunlight, sinking into my chest and making my heart flutter in that embarrassingly dramatic way only he could trigger.

We were lying on the silver-grass meadow again, the stars glimmering above like they lived just for us. This place had always felt like home — soft, safe, and impossibly beautiful. The place where I’d met him since I was sixteen. My mate. My other half. The man whose smile had been stitched into every year of my life.

I turned toward him, ready to say something equally heartfelt and cheesy — maybe even give my own oath back. But the moment my eyes found his face…

My breath stalled.

He wasn’t smiling.

He wasn’t glowing with affection like usual.

Instead, he looked worried.

He shifted like he didn’t want me to see it, eyes darting away.

“Ronan?” My voice was quiet, careful. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he said, too quickly.

I raised a brow. “That’s definitely not nothing.”

He exhaled through his nose, frustrated with himself more than with me. “Sage… just leave it.”

“I can’t leave it. You look like someone told you the world’s ending.”

He didn’t answer, jaw clenching.

“Ronan,” I said softly, “talk to me. You always do.”

He shut his eyes for a moment, like he wished he could. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” he murmured. “I just… can’t.”

There was no heat in his voice — only strain. And that made goosebumps rise on my arms.

“Can’t because…?” I pressed.

He hesitated. Pain flickered over his expression — sharp but unmistakable.

“It’s better if you don’t know yet.”

That stung, but I swallowed it down. “If you’re in trouble, I should know.”

“Don't worry about it,” he said too quickly. “It’s nothing.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Sage—”

“No, don’t Sage me. You just swore eternal devotion like some fairytale prince but you look like someone threatened to set you on fire. What’s going on?”

He dragged a hand through his hair and let out a low, frustrated groan. “I can’t tell you.”

“You can’t or you won’t?”

His jaw locked. “I can’t. Please… don’t push this.”

“Don’t push—?” My voice cracked. “I’ve trusted you with everything. Everything. And now you’re acting like you don’t trust me at all.”

His head snapped toward me. “I do trust you.”

“Really? Because you’re hiding something that's obviously bothering you but you expect me to smile and pretend everything’s fine!”

“It’s not about trust,” he said sharply. “It’s about—”

He cut himself off, swallowing hard.

“About what?” I demanded. “When have I ever made you think I can’t handle the truth?”

He didn’t answer. His eyes just softened in a way that made the panic crawl slowly up my spine.

“Starlight…” he breathed, like he was trying to memorize me. “If I could tell you, I would. I swear it.”

“Then tell me!” My voice cracked. “Please, Ronan… tell me what’s wrong.”

His lips parted. For a moment, a single, precious moment, it looked like he might actually do it. He leaned closer, reaching for my hand, expression torn between fear and resolve—

A deafening BANG shattered the sky.

The stars flickered.

The dream began to fade.

“No—” I reached for Ronan, but my fingers grasped at empty air. His form blurred, his golden eyes the last thing I saw before—

I woke up.

What in the moons was that? Ronan didn’t hide things from me — ever. What could be so bad , he refused to tell me?

A loud banging rattled my door.

“Sage! Get up!”

I shot upright in bed, my heart slamming against my ribs. My mind still trying to figure out what Ronan could be hiding.

Another bang.

“Sage, now!”

I scrambled out of bed, my feet hitting the cold floor. My father’s voice was sharp, edged with something I didn’t recognize—not anger or irritation, urgency.

I barely had time to throw on a robe before yanking the door open.

Alpha Edmund Nightbane stood on the other side, his expression grim. My father never looked worried. He was the strongest wolf I knew after Ronan, a man who commanded respect the moment he walked into a room.

But right now?

There was tension in the hard lines of his face, his usual sharp gaze filled with something that made my stomach twist.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice still rough from sleep.

“Get dressed,” he said without preamble. “We’re leaving.”

I blinked. “Leaving? Where?”

“To the Alpha King’s mansion.”

My breath caught. The Alpha King?

“Why?”

He hesitated.

And it hit me like a punch — that same evasive, fearful look I’d just seen on Ronan’s face.

“Not you too,” I snapped before catching myself. He blinked at me, startled, and I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to soften. “Please. I’m not a child. Tell me what’s going on.”

He let out a long, exhausted breath.

“A world meeting has been called,” he said, his tone clipped. “An emergency one.”

I frowned. “But world meetings are planned months in advance. Why would—”

“Because something is happening, Sag.” He exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand down his face. It was the first sign of frustration I’d seen from him in years.

My pulse quickened. “What kind of something?”

“The kind that threatens every pack,” he said. “And the kind that means your presence is mandated.”

I stiffened. “What? Why would I be needed—”

“This isn’t up for debate.” His gaze darkened. “Pack your things. We leave within the hour.”