Sera's POV
I stood up slowly, turning around to face the dark treeline. Blood rushed in my ears like a roaring river, cold horror flooding my veins as my eyes landed on the tall, heavily scarred wolf stepping out from the shadows of the birches.
Garrett.
I had prayed to every deity that he had perished in the raid on Lucian’s fortress, but there he stood, alive and breathing. He was Lucian’s chief enforcer—the monster who had taken delight in my misery for months. My mind flashed back in a terrifying surge: Garrett’s cruel smirk as he threw moldy bread onto the stone floor of my cell, his booming laugh echoing off the walls while Lucian whipped me until my back bled, the way he watched me like a piece of meat waiting to be carved.
Through the thread of our mate-bond, I slammed my mind
