Page 78 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate

“We were supposed to use magic to defeatUrkod,” Jillian explained, “but we can’t do magic. I don’t know how we won.”

Faye beamed. “All bonds are powerful. Even friendships.”

Robyn collapsed next to her best friend and plopped her head on Jillian’s shoulder. “I think the mate bond helped make me stronger.”

“That’s definitely its own kind of magic. Mate bonds aren’t a new thing, but they’re still not fully understood by our species,” Faye explained.

I lingered in the doorway of the cage with my hands in my pockets. “It was weird because it felt like Robyn was biting me. I thought I was about to faint.”

“She was pulling energy from you,” Faye observed, “and that enhanced her ability to strengthen her friendship with Jillian. That must have been how the demon was destroyed.”

“It’s gone for good, right?” Jillian asked weakly. “I can’t handle another fight like that.”

Faye held Jillian by the chin. “Yes, she’s gone. You don’t have to worry aboutUrkodreturning. We named her. You fought her. I will perform a cleansing to protect you from new invaders.”

“Invaders,” Jillian repeated with disdain. “Yeah, that describes them.”

She slumped against Robyn, who held her, cherished her, and embraced her like she would a sibling. I witnessed in her then the beauty of her love and care. I saw her as a truly compassionate woman who wanted to save her best friend without letting anyone get in the way.

I fell to my knees next to her. “I see your heart.”

She caressed my cheek. “Babe, what are you talking about?”

I want you to marry me. “I just…”

But I couldn’t get the words out.

Instead, I exhaled slowly, took her hand in mine, and kissed it. “You’re everything to me.”

Words failed me after I finished speaking. Faye took charge from there, collecting the group of us and ushering us into the living room upstairs, where it wasn’t stuffy. Once Jillian reclined on the couch, the air around us eased. I kept looking at Robyn and inspecting her left hand, eyeballing her ring finger.

She must be a size four or five. She has slim fingers.I smiled when she touched my cheek. “Hey.”

“Hey, I’ve got more good news.”

“Yeah?”

She grinned. “We came back with a list of names—a few other people in the pack are possessed, andUrkodgave Jillian the names of those demons.”

“How?”

Robyn shrugged. “She says it must have happened when the demon exploded.”

“That’s useful information.”

“I was thinking we could head out and exorcise those demons before dinner.”

I pulled her into a hug. “It’s a date.”

“We might need back-up.”

Faye jumped from the couch and held out her phone. “I got Angora’s number. Call her.”

No arguments there. We needed all the help we could get.

***

Angora was a tall, thick, and thunderous woman with ashen brown hair and copper skin. She had double nose rings, black jeans with gigantic blue boots, and a gray college sweater that was a size too big on her. She popped a stick of gum into her mouth. “Y’all got a demon problem of epic proportions.”

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