LOGINSavannah Whitlock.The medical wing made my eyes squint as it was too bright. A vast difference compared to the gray violence outside.Light spilled across white linens and pale stone, turning every smear of mud protruding out from the tops of the slippers into something shameful and obvious. The ai
Asher DravenHartSnow, dirt, and mud sucked at every step. The wind cut through the trees, carrying the faint metallic scent of my blood mixed with the putrid rot I couldn't stop tasting. Behind us, the clearing looked torn up. Ugly. Branches snapped in two, snow churned black with earth, a smear of
Asher DravenHartSavannah's cheek went read with effort to red with embarrassment so fast it was impressive."Oh my..." she sputtered, still straining a bit under my weight, "Are you serious right now?""You ran into winter mud barefoot," I said, breathless with pain and disbelieving amusement, "I'm
Asher DravenHartSavannah didn't run. That was the first thing my mind was able to register through the fog of pain. Through the burning of my muscles and the raw scrape of air passing through my lungs. Through the mud cooling against my palms and the thin steam lifting from my skin.She stayed.A
"That’s not courage," he snapped. "That’s stupidity." He loosened his grip for a fraction, an adjustment. I used it. I slipped under his arm and bolted. Cold air hit me like a punch as I burst outside. Snow and mud sucked at my bare feet as I ran along the path Asher had taken. My lungs burned. Fear and that pull tangled together until I couldn’t tell which one was driving me. I followed the sound, roars, cracking wood, a hiss like something wrong. Then I saw them. Asher, towering, furred, monstrous. The vampire, pale and fast, circling him like a snake. I gasped, stopping too hard at the edge of the clearing. The vampire’s head snapped toward me. Its eyes locked onto mine. A slow smile spread across its face, delighted. Asher saw it a heartbeat later. His roar split the air, pure rage, pure protection. The vampire lunged at me anyway. Too fast. As it passed Asher, its claws flashed and struck him, deep across the side, enough that blood sprayed the snow. Asher stagge
My claws flashed and tore into its arm before it could glide away. Thick black-red blood spattered the snow. It didn’t scream. It smiled wider. "Well," it said, delighted, "they didn’t tell me you’d come out yourself." Nero surged, furious at the implication. The vampire’s eyes raked over me like it was appraising a weapon. "I thought I’d have to carve through your lackeys," it went on, voice slick. "Make a mess. Make noise. Force you to send someone brave and disposable." It chuckled. "Yet here you are. The wolf king himself." It lunged in a blur. Claws raked across my ribs. Pain flashed hot and sharp. I barely staggered. Battle form doesn’t stop for pain—but the cut mattered because it proved something I hated. It was strong. And it was here on purpose. "You bleed," it murmured, amused. "So noble." I didn’t chase its feints. I didn’t swing wildly. I moved like a wall, pivoting, advancing, herding. Keeping my body between it and the estate. The vampire noticed. Its eye







