Nash’s pov
Night had settled over the granite valley, the freezing wind sweeping through the black pine canopy like a dying howl.
My body was completely broken.
Every muscle in my legs throbbed with a sickening, liquid ache. My left shoulder was a mass of swollen purple bruises from my sixty-foot plunge into the rock ravine, and my chest burned with every ragged breath I pulled through my teeth. The physical aftermath of the manic blood curse was tearing me apart, leaving my skin ash-pale, cold, and coated in sweat.
"Alpha, you can't go down there alone!" Wylie pleaded in a harsh whisper, her fingers digging into my arm as we crouched in the thick brush overlooking the camp. "You can barely stand! Wait two hours for Bram to bring the heavy vanguard from the river!"
I yanked my arm fro
