ting fur hit her before

ettes stalked down the slope. Their ribs showed like warped iron cages through matted pelts, yellowed teeth dripping st

ark of her wolf spirit. Rise, she begged silently, her lungs burning as the w

ng an

irit inside her, leaving it limping and half-dead. She couldn't even summon enough aura to warm her freezing skin

sive black form leaping across

h left in her breaking arms. The wood slammed into the beast's lower jaw with a wet crack. The rogue let out a furious, choked yelp, falling s

circled left, its low growl vibrating

pouch that had survived the guards' rough handling. Silver-leaf powder. Dried ignis-root.

black dust into her palm. She struck a small piece of flint from her belt against

o

ed in the darkness, bursting right i

as it came, swallowed almost instantly by the roaring blizzard. The smoke cleared to reveal all three beasts locking eyes

a slow, ragged pulse that sounded faint even in her own ears. The frost wa

t as the bitter cold began to feel almost mercifully warm. Let th

vy hind legs, preparing to sp

stling sound cut throug

linding wall of intense green fire roared up into the air, releasing a pungent, thick cloud of sulfurous smoke. The feral wolf scream

around with frantic whines as a shadowed fig

pletely hidden beneath a dark leather mask. In his left hand, he held

voice rasped out from beneath the mask, co

es shot skyward, sending up a wall of choking heat. Terrified by the unnatural fire, the surviving

cating, broken only by the crackl

turned toward her. He moved with a subtle, pronounced limp in his left

hed out with a gloved hand, pulling back her frozen hair to check her pupils.

o sound actually left her lips. Her vision wa

eight, freezing body over his broad shoulder with practiced, surprisingly gentle ease. "You'r

lt as he began to trek through the storm. Each step he took rattled her bruised ribs, but the she

d woke her, echoing through a

resin, and old parchment. Evelyn lay on a flat, hard surface, a heavy wool blanket pulled up to her chin. T

nting against the soft yellow

ll of dried plant bundles, jarred specimens, and yellowed medical books. A small stone hearth

a harsh voice snap

s sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing arms crisscrossed with thick, silvery scars from old claws. His leather mask sat on the table

a heavy granite mortar, his m

asped, her throat feeling l

ring to look up from his work. "I'm Silas. Used to be a chief physician before your former Alp

her legs, but her lower body felt str

aming clay mug. "The mate bond didn't just break; it was ripped out like a fresh

ed her eyes, turning her face toward the cold stone wall as

they can't master, then throw it into the snow so they don't have to look at the mess." He set the mug down on

r arms buckled instantly. Silas let out an annoyed huff, gr

against the lower curve of her abdom

s fr

rip on her shoulder tightening until it was almost painful. The cynical, annoyed ex

wning slightly at his sudden s

the right side of her lower stomach, sliding them inward with dark, intense focus. He closed his eyes, his brea

the cave was dead quiet save fo

at her not with pity, nor with annoyance,

into a low, trembling whisper that chilled the warm air in the room. "He thr

ng a sudden, panicked thud against h

abdomen, his hand tremb

locking onto hers with a desperate, heavy intensity. "You are carrying tr