Page 31 of Rejected Sold Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #4)

“You’ve got to pull it back, Rhie. Pull it back. I know you can do it.”

I couldn’t even see the rogues or the destruction I was causing once Jayce had me pressed against him, but I could still feel the magic pouring out of me. I only had enough control to stop it from consuming me, but nothing more.

I’d saved Jayce, but I could still be the death of us.

“Focus in on my voice,” he commanded, layering his Alpha power into it. His scent filled my nose, his power fighting to rein mine in. “We’ll pull it back together.”

Closing my eyes, I listened to him and nothing more. Not the screaming of the rogues, or the howling wind, or the snapping of wood. I clung to his voice, a tether in the dark, and slowly, carefully, I began to pull.

“Good girl,” Jayce breathed against my hair. “Keep going.”

My body felt too small to hold all of the power, but Jayce kept talking, and I kept pulling. It filled me to the brim, and I was so sure it was going to burn me alive, but somehow…it didn’t. The more I reeled in, the easier it became, until finally the forest was silent.

“Don’t open your eyes—” Jayce tried to warn me, but it was too late. I looked around at the destruction I’d caused, the bodies still on the ravaged ground…

“Oh, God…”

“There’s no time,” Jayce grabbed my face and forced me to look at him. I was swaying on my feet, but his power compelled me to keep my eyes on his. “We have to run. Now, Rhie!”

I don’t know how I made it back to the house. I remembered Jayce carrying me part of the way, and me desperately trying to call my shift so the running would be easier, but I was too weak even for that.

Finally, we stumbled in through the front door, and I all but fell into his arms, feeling like a ghost of myself. Darkness was crawling into the edges of my vision.

“I’m going to faint,” I whispered, “Jayce—”

He yelled my name, over and over, but there was nothing left to do. My body had gotten me to safety, but I had nothing left. Not even enough to make it to a chair. With Jayce trying to hold me up, I lost consciousness, and the last thing I remembered was him gently lowering me to the floor.

***

Everything hurt. It wasn’t the sharp familiar pain of a physical injury, or the ache of my heat, but something deep, coiled, and messy that had spread into every part of my being.

My body throbbed in places I couldn’t name, and my head hurt so badly I was sure my eyes were melting behind my eyelids.

But just in the forest, in the maelstrom of my magic, Jayce was with me. The only thing I was sure of was that he never left my side.

The first time I woke, I was still swimming in pain, but at least I’d been tucked into a bed instead of still lying on the tile entryway floor. Jayce had my hand in his, and I could hear three feminine voices murmuring in the background.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispered, stroking his fingers over my burning forehead. “It’s not time yet. Sleep, mate.”

So, I did.

***

When I woke for the second time, it was dark and cool, and there was someone in the bed beside me.

I winced as I turned over, but the pain wasn’t nearly as severe as it had been. I was sore, like I’d pushed myself too hard exercising, but I was alive and whole. It seemed impossible.

Jayce, of course, wasn’t sleeping. He was watching me, and his eyes were suspiciously bright when he realized I was truly awake.

“Welcome back, mate.” His voice was thick with emotion. “God, you scared the hell out of me, you know that?”

“I’m sorry,” I wheezed, my mouth and throat impossibly dry. Jayce jumped out of the bed, returning with a bottle of water that I drank from readily.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he said, sitting back down next to me.

My eyes burned, but I just felt too tired to cry. “I went too far. I didn’t mean to. I just saw you, and they were about to kill you, and it just burst out of me! Oh, Jayce, I tried to control it, but I panicked, and—”

He silenced my babbling with a kiss, short and chaste, but enough to break me out of my spiral. When he pulled away, he said, “Stop.”

I stopped. But when the silence stretched, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. There was one more thing I had to get out. “I heard you. Way before the fight. What you said about me being a lowly Omega…”

He winced, pain crossing his face.

“I ran. I thought what you were saying was real, and I was going to leave, but I turned around because I couldn’t disappear without talking to you.

If I’d just been brave enough to stay, maybe I would have seen what was happening and had enough time to get help…

” I trailed off, looking down at the water bottle in my hands, before I felt Jayce gently cup my face.

“Look at me.” I obeyed, gazing into his storm cloud eyes. “I said those things to protect you. I didn’t want the rogues to know you mattered to me, so you’d be safe. It was a moot point in the end, but God, Rhie…I love you.”

I blinked at him, not sure if I’d heard him correctly, but the look on his face, the anguish and affection and yes… love…. warring there confirmed it. He’d said he loved me.

“I love how strong you are, how stubborn, how smart. I love your art, your laugh, and the way you fight until there’s nothing left inside of you. You made a place in a world that tried to shut you out, and you beat impossible odds. I love you.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks as I folded myself into his arms, still too sore to launch myself at him like I wanted to. His arms came around me so slowly that it was like he couldn’t quite believe the moment was real, and I knew exactly how he felt.

“I love you too,” I managed through my tears, and when I finally pulled back from the embrace, he kissed every inch of my face before finally claiming my mouth, like he wanted to taste the precious words on my tongue.

We were both exhausted, but somehow, we found enough energy to carefully show each other how we felt.

***

Afterwards, my sleep was restless, and when I rolled over at 4 am to find Jayce gone, I gave up. If he wasn’t going to sleep in, neither was I.

I pulled on my robe over my bandaged body and padded through the house, finally spotting him on the patio. It was still dark, the eastern horizon just beginning to turn gray with the dawn, as I sat on the loveseat next to him, the wind stirring our hair.

Jayce looped his arm around me, but we didn’t speak for a long time. Finally, he said, “My wolves found no trace of them besides the ruined patch of forest. They took their dead away, but at least six of them survived.”

Nausea climbed up my throat when I thought about how I’d taken the lives of multiple wolves, but I’d have done it again if it meant saving the man next to me. “What does that mean?”

“It means they aren’t done with us.” Jayce lapsed into silence again before saying. “I have to tell the other Alphas. The idea of them attacking one of our packs, or some other innocent pack in another area, makes me ill.”

I sighed in relief. “Yes. You do.”

“They already know, more than likely. I had to call the Lunas in to heal you. Even Nayeli showed up, but they didn’t want to let her do too much. I’m positive they were able to put the pieces together after that.”

“You’ve helped them multiple times, Jayce. They’ll help you, too.”

He exhaled slowly, pressing his lips to the crown of my head.

Thoughts were swirling in my mind, and while I knew he wasn’t like where they were headed, we had to strike while the iron was hot.

If the rogues escaped and regrouped, we’d have a much tougher fight than if we confronted them while they were still weak from my attack.

“I have a plan,” I said slowly, “But before you tell me no, I want you to hear me out, okay?”

Jayce looked suspiciously down at me, “...okay.”

“Alright. So…”