Darian's POV
I wake to pain.
Not the sharp kind that demands attention, but the deep, dragging ache that seeps into bone and settles there, heavy and accusing. My ribs protest when I breathe. My shoulder burns when I shift. Dried blood crusts along my side where her claws tore through flesh I didn’t protect fast enough.
I lost.
The word tastes bitter even in my own head.
The forest is quiet now, dawn light bleeding through the canopy in thin, pale strands. I must have crawled this far on instinct alone, far enough that the city sounds no longer reach me, far enough that my wolf finally collapsed once the threat—she—was gone.
Serenity.
No—Serenya wrapped in Serenity, or Serenity devouring Serenya. I don’t know which truth hurts more.
I push myself upright with a low hiss, leaning ag
