Derek’s POV
For the past two nights, pain has been a cruel companion to me, digging its grip into my bones and refusing to let go.
My leg—suspended in a thick cast and bound with leather straps to keep it elevated at an angle above the bed—throbbed mercilessly. The wooden frame that held it in place creaked softly whenever I shifted, as if to remind me of the price I had to pay to maintain this forced reality of mine.
The pack doctor had already confirmed my situation about how it was a clean break. One that would take weeks to heal, even with my enhanced werewolf abilities. So my only worries were how to navigate the slow healing days that awaited me without losing my mind to the confinement of it all.
Zeal stood beside the bed, the faint scent of antiseptic and wolfsbane clinging t
