eb

lid wood railing

d under my raw strength. Sharp, jagged shards

her pack resources. The memory flashed in my mind, a physical weight pressing dow

ipped down, hitting the expensive marble fl

d to the hollow, terrifying emptiness spreading in my chest. The mate bond was fading. It w

gly sweet voice calle

tea. She had intentionally softened her voice, mimicking the exact

irritation explo

ificial, cloying scent of her perfume. It smelled like a

round ab

ake concern, trying to wipe the blood f

stiff and rejecting. Every cell in my body refu

tly. Tears welled up in her eyes, perfectly timed. She bit her lower lip, looking small and deeply

I said. My voice was col

your

to her, staring out into the dark, stormy night. I was finding excuses to

*

na

ged in the B

, drowning out the sound of my ragged breathing. This was the border o

n a thick, protr

g mud. The impact knocked the wind out of my lungs. My body, once fast and agile, w

ony ripped through my chest. It felt like someone had shoved a lit torch down my

coughed violently, m

ing onto the wet earth. It smelled foul, a metallic stench of rot and

blur at the edges. The cold raindrops felt exactly like the rain from

isted my lips. I

in my fading mind. I remembered the wa

ed to die thi

g of pain and the taste of fresh copper forced my eyes

rotting trunk of a dead tree. My chest barely rose and fell.

htning split t

es a few yards away. A pair of glowing, blood-red eyes sta

paws gliding over the mud. Lucius always patrolled the borders during thunderstorm

lur of dark energy, he shifted into a towering, imposing

ark brows pulled together in a tight frown. He hated we

the black blood. His shadow senses immediately identified

he burden of a dying stranger. The survival rule of

from my bleeding throat. It was a cold sound, completely

ped dead in

yes re-evaluated me. He had seen countless people die, but he ha

e crouched down, reaching a large hand

last ounce of strength in my trembling

cept the pity of

across the back of his hand,

rise. A normal, dying wolf could neve

aming a silent warning for him to back off. I was a

napped. My head rolled to the side,

. His nostrils flared. A wolf's sense of smel

he trees. It picked up a scent hidden deep

jasmine. The exclusive, legendary

ly what he had just found. The secret his shadow clan h

d scooped my limp

here you are,