Thor

nn

ttural snarl, the heavy tread of paws that were too big, too fast. A crack of bone. Not mine. Something else's. The sound was wet. I pushed harder, my

snappe

bs, a frantic drumbeat against the sudden, shocking silence. I was lying on something impossibly soft. Silk she

ed gasp escaped my lips. My arm was in a sling, bound tightly to my che

e wa

lished wood and velvet chairs. A window showed a sky turning a bruised purple with dusk. Nothing was familiar.

mber. My name.

th

black hole where a life should have been. The panic inten

d a faint, clinical scent of rubbing alcohol. He smiled gently. "Ah, you'

his touch until my back hit the solid wood of the headboard. A corn

holding his hands up. "I ju

" I rasped, my voic

d the space with an aura of absolute command. His scent hit me first. Pine. Rain. Something darker underneath, like smoke fr

e gave a slight nod to

itate, just murmured, "Alpha," and backed out

ph

ory. He didn't sit in one of the chairs. He sat on the edge of the mattress, the movement dipping i

was low, a deep current that I felt in my bones. "I found you

The black hole in my mind was still t

e ones at the bottom of a current too fast to escape. I ha

my eyes. "I don't know." The admiss

on unreadable. His gaze dropped to the faint, heal

ng," I whispered. "F

were severe. The doctor believes the trauma may have caused your memory l

nt nothing. A label

gh to travel, I will arrange for you to be taken to a neutral shelter. Th

me

... away from *him*. Away from the only thing in this terrifying, blank world that felt solid. The thought of b

ty of it, my hand shot out and grabbed his. His skin was warm, his hand large and

a that came from the deepest part of my soul. From the weak, terrif

ion I couldn't name. I felt a flicker of something in his gaze-surprise, maybe anno

trayed me with a lo

to our hands, and back again. He let out a long, slow breath, a sigh that sounded

pull his

ord clipped. "First, we g

us. A promise of safety, but only for n