Page 76 of His Rejected Fated Mate

I looked at my mother, stunned. “I… I don’t even know what to say.”

“Well, it’s what I can offer. A few of these were your aunt’s books, too. We found them in storage. She wrote things down. Nothing I understood, but you might.”

I felt tears form in a new way now. She walked over and wiped at my eyes. “No tears today. Today is day one of you pulling your life back together, sweetie.” She gave me a soft smile. “Troy needs you. This pack needs you. You wallowed yesterday. Today you will be strong.”

I nodded, knowing what she meant. Since Troy was unable to do anything, I needed to step up. And if I wanted to save him, I needed to pull myself together and start looking. I couldn’t wallow. We didn’t have the time.

“Thanks, Mom. This means a lot.”

She smiled. “Good. Now, how about some breakfast?”

I ate breakfast with my mother and headed back home. I went straight to the infirmary where Troy was being kept. They thought distance from the cauldron would help him come back to normal, but it hadn’t. So, he was placed in a room with a little window. I felt a shiver roll down my spine.

I paused as I got to the door and stood frozen for a moment. I kept picturing how he looked before. I bite on my cheek, reminding myself that I would be able to figure something out.

I squared my shoulders, grabbed the door, and turned the knob. I stepped inside, spotting Troy.

He was lying on the ground. Both of his ankles were chained to the ground. There was a small window that gave the room a little light. But it was a cell, no matter how you looked at it.

I felt my heart clench as I stared at him. He had his back toward me, and I took a step into the room. “Troy?”

A part of me was waiting for him to turn around and look like himself. I just wanted him to snap out of it, but I knew it wasn’t that easy.

I slowly shut the door behind me and sat down on the ground. I pressed my back against the door as I stared at him, unmoved.

“I miss you. If you can hear me, come back.”

He didn’t move. The only way I knew he was still alive was that his chest rose and fell.

I wet my lips. “My mother has a ton of books that she got. They have information about witches and spells. The answer to everything has to be in one of them. I’m going to read them all. I’ll flip through every page.”

The wind blew outside, but I remained still. I chewed on my cheek. “I need you, Troy. I’ve spent too long already without you. I don’t want to continue to do that.”

I felt tears burning in my eyes. I knew I wouldn’t be able to just talk him back to normal, but I was hoping. I could feel my heart breaking all over again.

“Troy, I lov…”

There was sudden screaming, and my eyes snapped toward the window. I watched as someone ran past and my stomach bottomed.

I pulled myself up just as Troy moved. I pulled the door open, and Troy stood up. He looked at me, and I could see the darkness of his eyes. I wasn’t even sure he was looking at me, but rather through me.

I paused for a split second. Troy didn’t even look like himself. He’d fallen pale, and his jaw was clenched together. I ached to hold him, though. I missed his touch.

But I turned and hurried down the hallway. I ran up the stairs until I got outside. There was a fight going on, and Ivan was already trying to break it up. I could see blood dripping from one guy, and the other was staring at him with dark eyes.

I hurried over just as Riley and the others managed to pin the man down. He growled out, and I tried to soothe him. But it wasn’t working.

My hands were shaking now as I pleaded with my body to do what it had been doing. We needed this. The pack needed my ability to work. They had already lost their leader. They couldn’t lose this, either.

I glanced at Riley, who seemed to understand. “Bring him to Janella.”

I pulled my hand back, feeling more tears form. Riley moved, and before I could blink, pulled me into his arms.

A sob broke free as he placed his hand on my head. His hold was firm, but not the arms I truly wanted.

“They don’t need to see you fall apart,” Riley whispered.

I felt like I was failing everyone. I couldn’t do anything for them. If I couldn’t heal, why was I even here?