Page 54 of His Rejected Mate

Without another word, she burst into a cloud of bats and fluttered out through the top of the volcano.

J.D. was slumped on the ground, clutching his wound. His healing was slow-going, and the sheen of sweat on his face told me he was still in immense pain. All around, I noticed more and more people who’d been hurt in the fight. Several weren’t shifters, so they would take longer to heal. These people wouldn’t be ready to venture out into the jungle again anytime soon.

Crying and sad moans told me several of our people had died. We’d known not everyone would make it, but now that the battle was over, reality was setting in.

“How long do you think this place will hold up?” I whispered to Wyatt.

He glanced around at the destruction, the flames from the lab. “I wouldn’t want to be in there right now,” he said, gesturing to the inner compound. “I think we’ll be fine as long as we stay in the interior until we regroup and heal.”

Crew limped over to us, but he seemed otherwise unhurt. “We need to work fast,” he said. “The Shadowkeeper was right about this place not being safe. The noise will have attracted a lot of creatures. The fires in the corridors and at the entrance will keep them at bay, but we all know they won’t burn forever. Those things will make their way in eventually.” He looked around at the devastation of his people. Zoe and several other magic users were doing their best to heal injuries. “We’re safe here. For now. We’re away from the fires, and the smoke is going out the mouth of the volcano, but we can’t fight. Not again. Not after all that.”

“How many can fit on this thing?” Wyatt asked, pointing to the helicopter.

“Eli says maybe fifteen people.Maybe. It’s the smallest of the three that were here.”

Wyatt and I sighed and looked around. Even after the casualties, the chopper would only fit just over half of our people. How would we decide who stayed and who went?

“Okay, let’s take stock,” Wyatt said. “Do our best to heal and rest. Once the sun comes up, we’ll make the tough calls. Sound good?”

Crew nodded, though I could see he was already doing the math in his head. No matter how you fudged the numbers, there was no good outcome. He hobbled off to sit with Chelsey, and a healer started working on his leg.

Over the next hour, Wyatt and I moved among the survivors, doing our best to keep their spirits up as the healers worked. Abel’s was face drained of all color, and he had a harrowed look about him. That spell Simon cast on him must have done a number. A smear of dried blood painted the side of his face. When Crew had knocked him away from Chelsey, he’d damn near split his skull open.

He grabbed my hand. “Kira, can you tell them I’m sorry,” he said, nodding toward Crew and Chelsey. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I promise you—”

“Abel, stop,” I said, putting my other hand over his. “We know. We all saw it. Simon fucked with your head. No one blames you.”

He nodded and gave a pained smile that told me he didn’t entirely believe me.

J.D. and Leif were huddled together. Leif looked as bad, if not worse, than Abel. He kept touching the spot on J.D.’s chest where he’d bitten him, but at least he seemed to be mostly in control of himself. I had to believe that with Simon off the island,some of that magical influence might have dissipated. That, or hurting the person he cared most about had dampened Leif’s feral side.

I returned to Wyatt’s side, looking at the survivors sprawled on the ground, too exhausted to do anything other than sleep. “I need fresh air,” I said.

“I wouldn’t go that way,” Wyatt said, gesturing to the doors that led into the lab. Flames still flickered inside it, smoke pouring out and rising up the walls of the volcano.

“I was thinking about that,” I said. I pointed to a scaffold staircase that zigzagged up the wall of the volcano. Some hundred and fifty feet above, a steel catwalk ringed the lip of the mouth. “The sunrise might look nice.”

“Why not?” Wyatt said, twining his fingers through mine.

The walk up wasn’t as bad as I’d thought, and it only took about three minutes to reach the top. The view was as wonderful as I’d pictured. The jungle spread out below us in a vast green blanket. Far in the distance, I could just barely make out the slate shingles of Reject Mansion. Rather than look at that, I turned to gaze at the ocean, where the rising sun was barely coloring the horizon a pale yellow. Soon, the sky would be ablaze with orange streaks. Then we’d have to figure out who we’d leave behind. Who we’d leave to die.

“What do you think the plan will be?” I asked.

Wyatt continued to stare out at the ocean. “The whole reason I came here was to make sure you got home safe. No matter what, I’m going to make sure you end up on that helicopter and head home. I’ll stay behind and help defend this place. Maybe you all can get help back in time to save us.”

“Wyatt, now is not the time to play the tragic hero. Maybe we…Wyatt? Are you okay?”

His brow had furrowed, jaw clenched, and he leaned out over the railing, squinting at the ocean. I focused on the horizon and spotted a small, black speck.

“What is that?” I asked.

Wyatt squinted some more. After a moment, his face went slack. “Son of a bitch. It’s another helicopter. A fucking big one.” Horror and defeat marred his handsome face as he looked at me. “Simon. He must have sent another one when he got to wherever he teleported to.”

“Oh my gods,” I whispered. “We can’t fight off more of them. Not unless Lucina comes back.”

We took the stairs two and three at a time, rushing to get back down. By the time we reached the floor, the faint sound of rotors were audible.

“What’s wrong?” Eli asked when she saw our worried faces.

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