Elena
I am floating. The world is soft and dark. Pain pulses through my back in waves — deep, rhythmic, like the tide pulling in and out. But somewhere beneath the pain, there is warmth. There is a heartbeat beneath my ear. Steady. Slow.
My long, white hair trails behind him like a rope as he holds me naked within his robust arms, carrying me from the stage. I am still in my human form. The shift happened sometime during the whipping. I do not remember when. I only remember the crack of the whip, the fire on my back, and then nothing.
My head rests against his thick, muscular chest. His heart beats beneath my cheek. The smell of him — woodsmoke, pine, leather, something clean and male — somehow makes me feel safe with him.
No, I ignore the terrible thought. He is an alpha. I do not tru
