Alvar had barely taken ten steps before his knees gave out beneath him. One moment he was moving through the forest beside Grant, trying to put distance between themselves and the men hunting them, and the next a crushing pain slammed into his chest so violently that the ground rushed toward him. He hit his knees hard, the impact barely registering as his hand shot to his chest while he fought for breath.Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.The thudding inside his ribs was unbearable, as if his heart was trying to tear itself apart. "Alvar!" Grant was beside him immediately, but Alvar barely heard him. His entire world had narrowed to the agony spreading through his body. His breathing became ragged, every inhale too small and every exhale too slow, while the forest around him blurred and a strange pressure built behind his eyes.Rage came first. The emotion appeared out of nowhere, pure and violent, so intense it twisted his stomach. Then came hunger, not ordinary hunger but some
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