ARDEN
I blinked my eyes open. Pain immediately flared across my shoulder blades and thighs. My arms felt as though I had used them to wrestle the ground itself. I tasted dirt. My head throbbed, and my lips were dry. It was so, so dark.
I groaned, pushing myself up from the forest floor, my body screaming in protest. I’d definitely rolled down the cliff—probably hitting every root, rock, and regret along the way. But I was alive.
Thank the Goddess for my wolf genes—because without them, I probably would’ve cracked my skull open and been left for dead.
I blinked again, slowly adjusting to the lack of light. Another benefit of being a shifter was my night vision. Well, sort of.It wasn’t perfect, but it still allowed me to make out faint shapes and silhouettes around me.
What the hell w
