Kram

oman, about my age, with a spray of freckles acro

whispered. "I'm... I was sent w

e only person fr

om, and her eyes filled with tears. "M

estate, her genuine distress was a small, flickering

I was surprised to find I meant

s I was allowed, Phoebe leaned in, her vo

-ranking guards who just arrived from the main territory were whispering about C

rash that ruined Charly's face, Alpha Darren's public disgust, and

nty-two hours. The incubation period of the Ghost Flower extract was mathematically perfect. Without

The final exam w

ng through her gossip. "

want to see him? They say... they say he's terrifyin

one leaving no room for argume

y mouth. His mate. A political

halls of the manor. We walked toward the deepest, most forbidden wing

the invisible markers of a d

in Astraea had trained my senses to be

, distinct sweetness of failing organs and the unm

running through my mind

ood watch. The air here was thick with the smell of useless medicin

embling. "I can't,

y nostrils, and pushed the heavy door open my

blood. It was a smell I knew well from my past

ins. My eyes adjusted to the gloom, and my gaze fell on the large

und of my own footsteps unnatu

rippled Alpha." He was a corpse in

grayish color. His lips were cracked and dr

corner of the blanket. A sharp,

er blades, littered his torso and limbs. The edges of the wounds were black and

was neglect. This was a sl

ld, sharp anger a surgeon feels when seei

peeking around the doorframe

pped of all emotion. "Go boil water. As much as you can. And fin

, and my patient was half in th