per

, that was all I knew. A cold, creeping fog of sil

n't felt in a year. My inner wolf, long silent and shivering i

st thing I saw was my mother, her face stained with tears,

cent that cut through the stale air of my sickroom, a scent my

, asleep. She was the source. My mind, now blessedly clear, started putting the pieces

ceremony with a chicken, I'd heard Gareth crowing about it through the mind-link before I sh

. My muscles were weak, screaming in protes

to my side. "Jasp

" I asked, my v

ed, gesturing to the sleeping woma

of her jaw. This was no meek, sacrificial Omega. My gaze fell to her hands, and I

leaped to the darkest conclusion. Was this

were a startling, vivid green. Our eyes locked. A jolt, powerful

. I would n

led, the words to

ror. But Carina... she didn't flinch. She just looked at me, a

ack from the dead, Alpha?" she asked, her v

elp," I retorted, pushin

for anything," she shot back, st

my voice low. "You and my family, forci

said with a small, infuriating smi

the words a desperate

id, her smile vanishing. "We

that belied her exhaustion. Something cold and