Chapter 14: Fear
**Lily's POV**
I jerked awake with a gasp, my heart racing, pain that wasn't mine radiating through my chest.
Something was wrong. Something was terribly, horribly wrong.
The mate bond—that golden thread connecting me to Marcus—was pulsing with agony. Sharp, burning pain in my shoulder. Crushing pressure in my ribs. The metallic taste of blood in my mouth even though I hadn't bitten my tongue.
*Marcus.*
"No, no, no," I whispered, throwing off the covers. My own ribs protested the sudden movement, but I barely felt it. All I could feel was Marcus's pain echoing through the bond, and it was so much worse than anything my body was dealing with.
He was hurt. My mate was hurt.
I stumbled out of bed, my legs shaky, and grabbed the first clothes I could find—a pair of swe
