ena

ing hands, my vision blurring as I saw my fingers coated in dark crimson. Jaxo

r," she whispered, her voice dripping with fake pity. "It'

guished, replaced by a flat, dismissive cold. "Let her sit there an

cooped Elara into his arms a

entirely clogged with despair. The edges of my vision rapidly tu

e sterile reek of bleach burning my sinuses. An elderly Pack Healer stood

said quietly. "It was

ed sheets beneath me. My womb felt entirely hollow, a

is last piece of roasted meat in the dead of winter. The boy who had sworn to the M

and blacken at the edges, like an old photograph consumed by a flame, unt

ide of my bed. "You spread rumors about Elara to the Pack! S

nd floor swapped places. The cold of the tiles pressed against my cheek, the sharp smell of disinfectant stinging

I'm transferring you to the border estate.

old. The asset transfer clause was a hollow shell-the estate was listed but the trust fund was missing entirely, replaced by a forfeiture rider

ower crushing my vocal cords before I

There was no love left in his pitch-black eyes-only a des

inst my own volition. The pen scratched across the parchment. My s

ling knees. Looking him dead in

accept you

ght through my ribcage and crushed my lungs with their bare hands. My lungs felt as if they had been wrung out lik

able. "Once Elara's mental state is stable, I'll visit

d his back an

ck members crowded the doorway. They pointed fing

pat. "Trying to trap the A

me echoed in my head-a private mind-link messa

ndaging the incredibly shallow,

into my mind, and a co

e IV bag beside the bed

Intensive Care Unit. Her hand was resting dangerously close to the med

ady clawing at the sheets before my min