Page 45 of Rejected Sold Mate
When I began to flag, they circled me, striking out before pulling back and laughing, over and over again. They were playing with me, trying to wear me down to nothing before one of them struck the final blow.
Then the leader was in front of me, and something was shining in his hand—a blade. I was already on the ground, my ribs on fire, when he put his booted foot in the middle of my chest and spun the knife in his hand.
“Let’s hope your Beta is a better fighter than you. Otherwise, by sunrise tomorrow, this pack will be mine.”
He lifted the blade, and time slowed as I watched it descend towards my heart. It was over.
Until it wasn’t.
The air vibrated with power for a millisecond before the magic crashed down around us like thunder. Energy snapped outward, splintering the nearby trees and making the ground shake. I staggered to my feet in the ensuing chaos, whippingaround to look for her, because I recognized that power. I’d have known the feel of it anywhere.
Rhie.
I spotted her on the edge of the treeline, her eyes wide, hands outstretched, while magic poured out of her in uncontrolled waves. Her expression was full of fear and fury. I knew then that she was barely holding on to her power, and in seconds, she’d lose control, and it would be over for all of us.
She saw me finally, and our eyes met across the clearing as the ground beneath the rogues started to buckle. Tree roots shot from the ground, and it felt like the entire world was about to shake itself apart.
Nothing else mattered. I was injured, the ground was rolling under my feet, but I ran as hard as I could until I had her in my arms while the storm of her power raged.
“I’ve got you,” I told her, “I’m here.”
Chapter 23 - Rhie
“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 topull.
“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 powercompelled 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.
