The medical room smelled like copper and antiseptic.
Evie had been sitting beside Nate for three hours. Maybe four. Time had lost meaning somewhere between watching his throat knit itself back together and feeling the mate bond settle into her chest like a second heartbeat.
Her hand was still wrapped around his. She hadn't let go since the moment his eyes closed. Couldn't let go. Every time she tried, panic clawed up her throat and the bond pulsed with alarm.
"He's alive. He's healing. He's yours."
The mantra played on repeat in her head.
Sophie moved around the room with quiet efficiency, checking on the other wounded. There were seven of them laid out on cots. Michael with his leg torn open. A young wolf named Sarah with claw marks across her face. Thomas with cr
