Ryan's POV
The flashes cut into my eyes like blades.
I came awake all at once, ripped out of that filthy haze so hard my skull felt like it was splitting. My temples throbbed as if someone had hammered nails into them, every pulse sharp enough to make my vision shake. Beside me, I heard fast breathing.
I froze.
Then I turned my head.
Seraphina was wrapped in the blanket, one bare shoulder exposed, her blonde hair scattered across the pillow.
Fragments of last night slammed into my head like broken glass. Blurred. Harsh. Shattered. Skin against skin. Heat. Confusion. And through all of it, the name I had called had been Elara.
I had thought the person beside me was Elara.
Rage exploded through me. I sat up so abruptly my vision blackened for a second.
"Alpha Ryan! Can you respond?"
