Ayla's POV
I didn't remember when he picked me up.
One moment I was against the wall, and then I was here and held against his chest, the world moving past at the edges of my vision while his heartbeat filled my ear. Loud. Real. Steadier than anything else.
I didn't move. Too sore for that. I just listened to it—to the life in it—and tried to stay inside that sound instead of anywhere else.
"I've got you," Ryker said.
The words reached me late, like sound traveling through water. My mind caught them and held them tight.
"About time someone carried you for a change," Tala said softly. No sharpness in it. Just quiet.
Then the memory hit.
My body tensed before my mind caught up with why.
A hand around my arm from behind, hard, no warning, yanking me sideways into the locker room. The
