Page 70 of Rejected Mate

"It's okay," I whispered, brushing my fingers down Husk's cheek. "I love you." I swallowed the sob trying to claw out of my throat.

My mother cupped my cheek, her eyes ringed with red. "I'm so sorry, Fagua. So sorry."

I didn't have the ability to tell her that I believed she was. I just nodded and buried my face against his chest, the sobs racking my body.

I'd lost Husk.

I still had Winter, Sky, and the rest of my pack, but I couldn't let Husk go. Not without trying.

Wiping away my tears, I focused on pulling magic from them. I could feel their auras flickering as they got weaker and weaker.

I closed my eyes and reached for my magic, calling on theirs to aid me.

I pressed my hands to Husk's head and focused. I could feel him on the other side. He was warm and very much alive. I'd never felt so much love for Husk. So much pride in him.

"Come back to me, Husk," I said, my voice breaking.

Sparks of magic popped along my skin. I pushed everything I had into Husk.

"Husk, please," I begged, my magic flowing like never before. My whole body shook. The magic inside of me went through him, searching for the tiniest scrap of magic left inside of him. But there was nothing.

The magic slipped away and I gasped, sinking into Sky's side. I'd failed. My chest felt as if it were being crushed. Tears choked me.

Husk's eyes popped open and he looked around in confusion. I cried out and flung myself onto him.

"Hey, baby," he rasped.

I couldn't stop crying. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, not letting him go.

"Hey." He cupped my cheeks and brushed his thumbs along my wet cheeks. "How are you doing?"

"I thought you were dead."

He chuckled, but it was cut off with a cough. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

I nodded, my head spinning.

"I've been so stupid, Fagua," he said. "When I thought I was going to lose you, I broke. I couldn't lose you. I don't care about you being mated with my brothers. You're mine too."

And then Husk was kissing me. I held him tight, not wanting to ever let go.

He pulled back, kissing down my jaw to my neck. "I love you, Fagua."

"Oh, Husk," I said, my voice coming out breathy from crying so hard. The words shook out of me in a sob; they weren't even words anymore. They were groans of relief and need and want. "I love you too."

Epilogue

Fagua

Ayear had passed, and there was nothing but peace since SmallHeath fell. Rebecca moved on, but where to, I didn't know. She never shared those details with me, especially when the fall resulted in her losing her husband.

She didn't know how to handle it, and there was a part of her that was happy that all had resulted in peace. But she’d lost her mate, the one she loved, and she blamed me for it. She never voiced it out loud, but she didn't have to. When she kissed me on the cheek and then with her eyes filled with tears, whispered, "Goodbye," I knew.

I knew it wasn't goodbye for the day but forever. My heart ached for her pain, but then everything came at a price, and hers had resulted in losing her one true love.

I couldn't imagine losing my wolves; all three of them were special to me.

"Fagua, you're falling asleep again with Fire," Husk whispered, not trying to startle me, as I tried to feed our cub, the one that ate a lot more than his brothers.

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