Jack woke with a violent inhale.
The kind that sounds like a drowning man breaking through ice. His entire body jerked upward, eyes blown wide, searching for something that was not here. Not anymore. The medic bay lights were dim and soft, but he flinched as if he were still staring into the breach’s harsh glow. His pulse thrashed through the room. I felt it before I heard the monitors. A frantic, uneven rhythm that scraped against my own heartbeat and pulled a shiver up my spine.
“Jack. You are safe,” I said quietly.
He did not hear me. His gaze slid over the walls like he expected them to close in. His fingers dug into the sheets. His wolf howled through our bond, raw and terrified, begging for reassurance he could not reach on his own.
Beau moved from the corner in a single step, th
