Page 52 of Rejected Mate Bride
It was hours later when Camden was finally able to return to the infirmary. Every last person who needed medical attention had been brought in long ago, and the warriors who were uninjured had been running patrols all over the territory ever since, with Camden leading the charge. He hadn’t expected that anyone from Ironbrand would restart the fight after Demetrius’ death, but he wasn’t about to leave that up to chance.
“How are the borders?” Jasper asked as soon as he saw Camden. “Did you secure the west pathway by the—”
“—Yes, Jasper,” Camden said, placing a calming hand on his friend’s foot, which was sticking off the end of the cot he was laying on. “We’ve handled everything. Just rest, okay? You did great out there today.”
“Not my best work,” Jasper said with a grimace. “I forgot how much it hurts to have a broken bone. It’s been years since that happened. How long do these usually take to heal?”
“I’m sure you’ll be back to normal in the morning,” Camden said reassuringly. “Have you seen Flora?”
Jasper nodded toward the back of the room, and Camden saw Flora pushing a cart full of bandages, hot water, medicine, and other instruments along the row of cots. She stopped in front of one of the warriors, and Camden saw it was his old school friend, Scott.
Flora leaned down to speak with him and held a glass of water with a straw up to his lips, holding it for him while he drank. Camden could see that both of his arms were in slings.
“As soon as Sofia was cleared by the healers, she tucked her into one of the cots at the back and jumped in to help,” Jasper said. “She hasn’t taken a break once since this all started.”
“She’s supposed to be taking it easy,” Camden said.
“You and I both know that isn’t the kind of person she is,” Jasper pointed out. “She’s like you. If she sees that someone needs help, she’s going to help them. Besides, I think it’s great. She had already gotten almost everyone on her side after what happened with Alpha Hughes, but after the way she shielded Sofia today, even though she was a human far out of her depth, and then this,” Jasper nodded toward her work at the infirmary, “I think she’s earned everyone’s respect now.”
Indeed, as she moved from person to person, helping wherever she could, Camden could see that even the most bitter, old-fashioned men in the pack had changed their opinion of her. Camden had come to recognize the hard, suspicious look they usually gave her. That expression had been replaced by admiration.
Camden walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist before she could move on to another patient.
“Flora, come here,” he said gently, leading her to an empty office at the back of the infirmary.
He pulled her into the room and closed the door. Inside was a single, cushioned chair and a desk. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, cradling her gently as she put her head on his shoulder.
For a long while, they sat there, not moving or speaking a word. Camden closed his eyes and listened to the sound of her breathing, comforted by the gentle rise and fall of her body with each breath.
“Today was the scariest day of my life,” he admitted quietly. “I really thought I was going to lose you both. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to keep you safe.”
“But you were,” Flora said, lifting her head up. Her face was a mask of confusion.
“I should have been here the whole time so that you were never in danger,” he said.
Flora smiled at him. “You were protecting us even when you weren’t here. You made Silverrose into a pack that protects each other—exactly like you were trying to do. And it worked. They came, Camden. They protected Sofia and me.”
Camden swallowed hard as his emotions overcame him. He hadn’t considered it from that perspective, but it was true. The pack had come through for all of them today.
“And you did exactly what you said you would,” Flora continued. “You promised you would come back to me safe and sound.”
“I always will, Flora. I know things haven’t been easy between us, but that’s all about to change,” he promised. “There is no one left to harm you.”
“No one would dare,” she teased. “Not with you around.”
He sighed and rubbed his hand along her arm, comforting himself that she was truly safe. “I love you, Flora. I always have, even when I was too stupid to admit it to myself.”
“I know, Camden,” Flora said. “I love you, too.”
She leaned down to kiss his lips, tenderly, as if it were the first time. Camden felt like he had the entire world in his arms.
“Now that Sier is gone and the Ironbrand pack has left, what happens next?” Flora asked.
“Peace, Flora,” Camden said with a smile. “Now we get to live and love each other in peace.”
Epilogue - Flora
Flora knew that, if given the chance, Alpha Harold would have been able to make the changes that had brought peace to the people of Silverrose after the battle with the Ironbrand pack. She grieved that he would never see how well his people had overcome their circumstances, but hoped that he had been able to find his own peace in whatever fate awaited him after death.
