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“Jacks?” I slap his face, and he groans.
I let out the breath that is lodged in my chest as relief works through me.
“He’s got a lot of injuries,” Halle murmurs, her eyes squeezing shut as she draws on more of her power. I grab her hand, sending my own magic to mix with hers. She’s weakening; I feel her struggle as I let her draw on my strength.
Callum’s hybrids have seen off the last of the hunters. He’s gathered together a group of five females who are being guarded by three of his men. They have that same catatonic look that has become synonymous with the tau taken by the Order. I wonder if we will be able to undo the damage those bastards did to them. Will they remember who they are? Will they be able to have normal lives again?
Jackson gasps, his back arching up off the ground, bringing my attention back to him. I grasp his hand, clinging to him. He's my anchor. I can’t imagine a single moment without him. My world makes no sense unless he’s in it.
The only thing that keeps me calm is knowing he’s being healed. His color is already returning, and the pinched look on his face has smoothed out into something more relaxed. There is blood smeared on his skin, covering far too much of his side and legs, but his wounds are no longer open and bleeding.
It is enough for now.
After a moment, his eyes flutter and open. There is a hazy look behind them before he focuses on me, and everything softens. I can’t express how much I like it when he looks at me that way. It makes me feel warm, protected, in a way I never have.
“Were my instructions unclear?” he rasps, trying to sit up.
Stubborn asshole.
I hold him in place, and it is a testament to how much he suffered that I am able to. His kind are stronger than any human and most other wolves. I shouldn’t be able to push him down so easily.
“Did you really think I was going to just save myself and leave you to die?” I snort at the stupidity of his words. “You’re out of your mind.”
“I needed you safe,” he counters. Groaning, he drapes a hand over his eyes, as if the sun is too bright despite being shielded behind a thick layer of dark gray clouds.
“That works both ways, Jackson. Do you really think I want to live without you?”
Halle lets out a grunt. “Cade told me to leave as well. Sometimes I think they forget that we can kick ass too and that we’re not helpless damsels in distress for them to protect.”
Jackson looks at Halle. “Thank you for healing me, but you should have listened to your mate.”
She gives him a tired smile, and I reach for her as she sways on her knees. “But then we would all be dead. And you’re welcome, by the way.”
“How is Wyatt?” he asks, ignoring her pissy mood. Cade is going to have to deal with that.
Halle glances over her shoulder at Wyatt. He hasn’t moved, and his eyes are still closed. “I’ve healed as much as I can. The rest is on him.”
An exhausted Cade wanders over, Callum behind him. He grabs his mate, pulling her to her feet and wrapping his arms around her so tightly that I don’t know how he isn’t breaking her ribs. When he pulls back from her, his eyes are fierce. “When I tell you to run, you run.”
Halle rolls her eyes at him. “Would you run if I were the one in danger?”
“You know the answer to that.”
She gives him a sweet smile. “So why do you think I would leave you behind?” She cups his face, pressing a kiss to his mouth that makes the alpha soften. “If we go down, baby, we go down together.”
Abel stumbles over as well, checking over every inch of his mate before pulling Tessa into his arms as if he’s never going to let her go.
I lift my eyes to Callum, who is watching everything without a word. Cade surprises me by offering Callum a hand, which the tau male takes, shaking it. “Thank you.”
Jackson sits up, clearly no longer content to stay lying down. “I guess this proves just how useless the wards are.”
“It was never going to be a long-term solution,” Dove says.
I notice Hester is standing off to the side, her mouth pulled into a line as she takes in all the carnage. There is blood coating the side of her face and neck, long scratches on her arms as well.
I understand her reluctance to trust Callum and the others, but this isn’t a fight we can win alone.
I wish she would see this.
