syncing Pages without iCloud

Without a cloud provider like iCloud, you can't truly synchronize your Pages documents.

You could AirDrop them from the Mac to the iPad but that would create an independent copy on the iPad. If you modify the document on the iPad, you'd have to AirDrop it to the Mac which again would be an independent copy. This may not be a very practical way, I admit.

This is Apple's guidance on the subject: Sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod using your computer - Apple Support

This may or may not leave the same file version on each device. Any changes made on either device may not be truly synchronized to the other.

With iCloud, a single file is kept in the cloud and either device can make changes to that one (master) file.

you cannot, why would you not want to use iCloud???

It kind of sounds like you want to go back to the year 2000.

If you don’t have Internet service I understand but if you do have Internet access your idea does not make much sense.