Cassian’s POV
The clock on the wall of the medical wing didn’t just tick; it mocked me. Twenty-four hours.
For twenty-four hours, Aria had been a ghost, her skin radiating a heat that defied every law of medicine I knew.
I sat in the corner, the shadows of the room clinging to me like a second skin. My knuckles were bruised, my throat was raw from a night spent pacing and snarling at anyone who dared to look at me with pity. Across from the bed, Noah looked even worse. He was a man held together by sheer, stubborn willpower and the terrifying aura of an Alpha who was losing his anchor.
"Her heart rate is steady, but the fever isn't breaking," Noah muttered, his voice a dry rasp. He hadn't left her side since he carried her in. He looked at her neck, where the violet glow had settl
