Page 65 of The Alpha's Forced Bullied Mate

She gasped as she clawed at my shoulders. “Please, don't let me go. You’re helping. It’s helping me fight—Don’t let me go, Hector!”

“If that's what it takes, I'll be your boa constrictor.”

She laughed and then cried out and then chuckled nervously. “I'm so sorry. I need to tell you if I don't make it—Ireallyneed to tell you—”

I shushed her as I bowed over her. “Just keep fighting. I'll keep an eye on everything here. You can tell me when you win.”

After the vampire-wolf wars ended, I'd seen many men suffer from the invisible sickness inside their brains. I'd watched men go from their usual sunny selves to some kind of depleted mechanical form that couldn't even shift into a wolf. I'd watched women turn in on themselves. I’d watched spouses lose each other to the silent war that raged inside their minds and bodies. Sometimes, their kids or their pets would get abandoned.

I felt helpless to help. And I felt that feeling again right now as I pressed my mate flush to my chest, hoping that holding her would be enough. I closed my eyes and focused on her peaches and cream scent, on the patchouli oil in her hair, on everything that made her so distinctlyher.

I felt her shiver. I felt her shake. I felt the way her body tensed and relaxed, and tensed and relaxed again. I kept her tight in my arms until her head fell back and she went limp. The hurricane intensified. It smacked the back of my neck, burned my shoulders, and tried to rip through my skull. I cried out as I clutched my mate to my chest, solidified by my dedication.

“You’ll never have her,” I grumbled, “on my life, you’ll never have her!”

Electricity coursed through me, a sudden bolt of energy flashing through my center and bulging my muscles. I threw my head back and howled viciously at the midnight gray sky. Around us, the demons shrieked, their ghastly faces stretching toward the sphere above and then poofing out of existence. My battle cry echoed through the universe, sending a sonic flash of light to the edge of existence and back again.

Then, the sky emptied. The night was quiet. The wind died down.

Everything was silent.

I gently lowered Faye to the ground and pushed her hair from her face. I grabbed the extra cloak that I had brought with us and wrapped it around her body, noticing how the tips of my fingers were scorched. I brushed my fingers through her hair, feeling little zaps here and there when my flesh contacted her scalp.

Her eyes opened. “That was…”

I cried out with triumph, cupping her face, mumbling incoherently as I looked into her eyes. “Fuck, I thought I lost you. I thought I—”

She sat up with a gasp and pointed at the cauldron. “There should be two petals on the surface.”

“I don’t care about that. I only care about—”

She pointed harder. “Look, Hector. Just look!”

I did as she instructed. The water was clear, with only two petals floating on the surface. I hesitantly reached for them.

“Yes, take them out. The water should not be hot.”

I frowned with doubt. Though the fire was licking the bottom of the cauldron, the water was still. No boiling bubbles. No heat. I reached for the petals and took them out, noticing that the water felt spongy and dry while somehow being wet.

I sat next to her on the ground and then helped her sit up. The petals were free of script, resting neatly in my palm. She reached for one and said, “On three, we'll turn them over.”

I sucked air into my lungs. “Three.”

“Hector!”

I flipped my petal, staring headlong at it like it was a poisonous animal ready to bite me. It took a moment for me to focus on the letters, for them to come through the blurry tears that were in my eyes.

Faye. Hector.

I wheezed, “We've done it.” I yanked Faye into my arms. “We’ve done it!”

Hot tears streaked my face. I cried into her neck, nuzzling the mark on her throat, loving the texture of it against my mouth.

“I'm so sorry,” I blubbered. “I'm so sorry about everything. That prank proposal was so stupid. So sorry, I rejected you. I will always protect you,always. I'll never doubt you again.”

Faye sobbed with relief. Her arms circled my neck as she planted kisses on my cheek. “I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I’m sorry I wanted to leave. I’m sorry that I never told you that I love you…”

Several minutes went by with us clinging to each other, kissing, crying, laughing. Eventually, the fire under the cauldron started to die out. The cold October breeze lunged for us, makingme shiver. I held Faye like I never wanted to let her—because Ineverwanted to let her go.

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