ALEXIS
My fingers traced patterns on Kai's too-cold skin, desperately pushing strength through our mate bond. The connection between us flickered like a candle in a storm, still there but weaker than it should be. The poison might be gone, but it had left its mark - shadows that moved wrong beneath his skin, darkness pooling in places where his wolf's fire should burn brightest.
Sasha whimpered in my mind, our shared anguish tasting like copper pennies and burnt sugar. He'll be okay, I told her, but the words felt hollow, ephemeral things that dissipated in the antiseptic air of the health center. My wolf just pressed closer to our mate bond, wrapping herself around that golden thread like she could hold it together through sheer force of will.
I hadn't left this room in days, couldn't
