Cold. That was the first thing.
Not snow cold. Grave cold. The kind that sits in your lungs and tells you it owns them now.
I tried to breathe. Air wouldn’t come. My chest was stone. My ribs were bars. Somewhere far away, Damien was shouting my name. Not Alpha. Not Luna. Just Selena. Like he could pull me back with sound alone.
“Stay with me. Command.” His voice broke. The Beast doesn’t break. Damien did.
I opened my eyes. Or tried. Everything was blue. Poison blue. Same color as the bowl. Same color as Kyle’s laugh on the wind.
He was holding me. Arms like iron. Like if he squeezed hard enough, the poison would listen. Like if he said my name enough times, death would get bored and leave.
“Wolfless mate dies easy,” Marta had said. Kyle’s man said it. Kyle planned it. And I drank i
