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CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN.

JACQUELINE'S POV.

That was what I was expecting in the first place, not his obedience.

"Scott!" The phoenix king called warningly.

Scott huffed and stomped off, almost hitting my dear out of the way, but before he could, I took my mate in my arms and moved out of his way. Leaving him to go off, looking stupid and defeated.

"Scott. Damn!" The phoenix king muttered, and I could tell of his anger.

I turned to him, "What were you thinking? That he will be obedient to you forever? Hmm... You've got to be kidding me."

He glared at me, while I made my face void of any emotion. "You will see he will, and you're no different."

He took to his heels too and began to walk away, but he stopped when he got beside me, "You are lucky to be alive by now but trust me, you won't survive another of it." Then his eyes went to Rosalie and his smirk widened before walking fully away.

As they disappeared into the shadows, I allowed myself to let out a small, satisfied smile.

I knew for a fact that the fight between the leaders and me was far from over, but I was ready for whatever came next. All I had to do was to always keep Rosalie closer to me. She was the only weakness I had. Just her.

I faced her, "Hey, are you okay?"

She nodded her head, "Yes, I am, but I don't think Carl is."

"Carl?" I called unbelievably, and she nodded, nudging towards him.

I turned to see him there on the floor. I ran to him and held his head, seeing he was breathing, "Hey, are you okay?"

He opened his eyes and smiled at me, "You came."

I nodded and helped him up, "What did they do to you?" I questioned him.

It was very astonishing to see him that way. I was almost thinking of him as an iron which feels no pain, neither could it be defeated. I had stopped seeing him as a person who could be hurt.

"I'm fine." He lied to me.

I said nothing about his lies.

I got hold of his hand and wrapped it around my shoulder to help him to walk.

I faced Rosalie, "Come on, let's leave. The guards must be waiting outside with the cars."

She led the way and I followed.

Just like I predicted, the cars were waiting outside for us, and the guards carried Carl from me, they helped him into a car before that car drove off.

I entered another car with Rosalie and it followed the one which carried Carl.

I got a shirt in the car and put it on then pulled Rosalie into my arms, worrying about Carl.

"He will be fine, trust me. He was just exposed to the cold and got weakened with silver. I'm sorry he got hurt because of me."

I stared at her and saw her pouting cutely. 'Why didn't I notice her cuteness when we were young and friends? I must have been so blind then.'

I leaned over to her and pecked her pouted lips, "Don't beat yourself up. He was acting on instinct. He would have done that for someone else, so don't blame yourself."

She nodded, smiling and relaxed her head on my chest.

I sighed in relief and left my heart to keep on banging nonstop in my ribcage. Not like I could stop the banging anyway.

My love was this close to me, so who am I to stop the effect?

The drive back to the castle was long and quiet, save for the soft zoom of the engine and Rosalie's little cheerful chatter now and then.

"I missed you so much," Rosalie said to me for what felt like the tenth time since that journey. Her soft voice was filled with emotion and each time she said the words, I would peck her hair.

"You don't know how scared I was. I thought… I thought I'd lost you forever." Her voice broke.

She refused to let go of me from the moment we stepped into the car, she had been curling into my arms like a child seeking solace. Her tiny hands clung to my torso.

I tightened my hold on her, and I loved as her lips curled into a faint smile.

I pecked them.

"I'm here now, Rosalie. You don't have to worry anymore," I said in a gentle whisper, then placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

I didn't want her to think of those painful moments again, but my mate wasn't done talking. She wanted to know everything before we got to the pack.

"How did you wake up?" She asked, her head tilting slightly to stare at me as her curious eyes searched my face. "When? Was it something magical? Did someone help you? I almost lose hope."

I chuckled softly. I raised my hand and used my finger to brush away a stray curl of her hair behind her ear. "You always have so many questions, Rosalie, but no, nothing like that. I woke up because of you."

She blinked, confused. "Me? I wasn't even there with you, and thinking about it now, I hate that I was not there. I wanted to see you opening your eyes and I wanted to be the first person you will see."

"None of those matters. What matters is that you're here. With me." She blushed and kept her eyes away. She buried them in my chest.

I chuckled and continued, "Also, I said I woke up because of you since it was all the power of your magical herbs, Rosalie. They did the trick. They gave me the strength to pull through.

''I'll admit, therefore, there was a moment when I wasn't sure I'd make it. But I kept thinking about you, about how much you mean to me. And that… well, that gave me the will to fight."

Her cheeks flushed with a shade of red and I chuckled. "I… I'm so glad the herbs worked. I didn't know if they would. I just… I had to try." She stammered.

"You did more than just try, sweetheart," I assured her, seriously. "You succeeded. And I'm here because of you. That's what matters now. Not how or when. Just that I'm here, and I'm fine."

She nodded, then she buried her face more in my chest and she let out a contented sigh. "I'm just so happy you're back," She murmured.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence until she suddenly muttered into my chest, "I love you, Jacqueline."

The wide smile which appeared on my lips almost tore it widely, and I replied to her, "I love you, Rosalie." And pecked her hair.

What I heard next was her gentle snore.