The search party returned just before dawn, their footsteps hurried but heavy. They carried Ava’s limp body between them, her pale skin smeared with dried blood and dirt. The sight sent a collective gasp through the pack members who had gathered, but none were as affected as Lesley.
He had been standing near the edge of the forest, waiting in tense silence. The moment he saw her, his heart clenched painfully, memories of his mother’s lifeless body flashing before his eyes. His chest tightened, and for a moment, he felt paralyzed.
Jonas stepped forward, urgency in his tone. “Alpha, she’s alive, but just barely. We need to move fast.”
Those words snapped Lesley out of his frozen state. Without thinking, he moved toward them, his legs carrying him to Ava as though on instinct. “Take her to
