KAZIEL
[HOURS AGO]
"Alpha, are you—" Aaron's voice trails off when he finds me in the dark, sitting on the floor at the edge of my bed, my knees pulled up. My chest rises and falls too quickly, and the air feels like smoke in my lungs.
My hands won't stop shaking, and I can't for the life of me snap out of the haze. My vision is blurry, and I'm in pain. An agony that's not real. Phantom pain, that's what my therapist called it.
And I'm so f*****g cold.
I'm back there in that basement. But I also know I'm not there.
For a second, I smell it. Damp concrete. Rust. The tang of blood that's not mine. The sound of chains dragging.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but it doesn't stop. It never stops.
Something warm rests over my shoulders. A blanket. Aaron is crouched in front of me, adjusting the
