Page 85 of Awakening His Mate

I don’t want to die.

I love you.

“Halle’s coming, Jacks. Can you shift back?”

I try, but nothing happens.

“I love you,” she whispers, tears in her eyes. “Don’t you fucking leave me.”

More figures melt out of the trees behind our attackers.

Game over.

There is no way we can fight all of these. Cold spreads through me as I try to get up to keep protecting my girl. My wolf lets out a ragged breath as I twitch on the ground.

“It’s Callum and the others.” Tessa’s voice reaches me, sounding fuzzy and wrong, but I realize she’s right.

The men coming out of the trees aren’t Order soldiers. They’re Callum’s coven.

Ayden gives Dove a wave before he uses his power to disembowel a wolf snapping toward the girls.

I close my eyes, safe in the knowledge that Dove will survive, and let my body float. My wolf loses control, and I shift back into my human form without meaning to. I grunt at the snapping of my bones, the pain lost in the swell of numbness spreading through me.

Cold.

I’m so cold. I shiver and close my eyes again.

My face is tapped harshly, hard enough to sting, and it forces my eyes open. Halle is kneeling over me, her shoulders slumped, her eyes heavy.

“Hey, Jackson, don’t go to sleep on me yet.”

She spreads her hands over my body, and I feel the warmth of her power filling me. There is a tingling sensation as all my wounds are repaired one by one.

My vision starts to clear, my heart beats stronger, and my limbs feel lighter. Everything comes back in a slow wave, though not fast enough. I’m still weak and fading, even as her healing power moves through my body.

The fighting around us is coming to an end, and, certain we’re safe, I give my attention to Dove. There’s a red mark spreading over her cheek, and I taste ash in my mouth at seeing her hurt.

I reach for her, needing to know who did that to her, and although I feel stronger with every passing second, my body is still weak. My hand drops to the ground.

“Is he going to make it?” Callum’s face wavers in front of me before finally becoming steady.

“Of course,” Halle snaps. “I know what I’m doing. Help the others. We got this.”

Dove leans down, a sight for sore eyes. “I love you. You don’t get to leave me, you understand?”

I smile, or at least I think I do. My face doesn’t feel right.

“I love you.”

I’m not sure if the words manage to push through my lips as darkness slips in.

Lights out.

Chapter 22

Dove

Iknow he’s going to be okay. Halle is healing him, and she is one of the best healers I have ever come across, but she is also spent from fixing Wyatt, so when Jackson slips into unconsciousness for a few moments, it’s hard not to panic.

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