Nolan:
The hall still smelled of blood. Wolves limped in and out, healers moving quickly between the wounded. My arm stayed firmly around Natalia’s shoulder as if she’d disappear if I let go. I had almost lost her once. I did not want to do that again. I did not even want to think of the possibility of what would have happened if something happened to her.
She didn’t protest.
Not once.
And deep down, I was thankful for that. Though now is not the time for me to say it.
Her hair clung damp to her forehead, her clothes torn at the hem, blood smeared on her cheek that wasn’t hers. And some of it, unfortunately, was hers. But her spine was straight, her chin lifted, even as her breathing came too fast.
The elders arrived in a flurry of robes and sharp eyes. Elder Mathew led them, his lin
