ELIAS POV
I was used to the smell of blood and mud.
Used to our dungeon too, with its silver bars and walls permanently soaked with the stench of fear.
But this time, beneath all of it—
Lena.
Sharp.
Furious.
Alive.
My wolf lifted inside me so fast it almost hurt.
I followed Alaric down the stairs in silence, every step heavier than the last while Dominic walked ahead of us like this was some mildly inconvenient family breakfast instead of whatever the f**k waited downstairs.
I didn’t trust my voice right now.
Not after realizing I’d run in the wrong direction while the actual monster walked straight toward my mate.
My mate.
The woman I’d wanted to protect so badly I almost became another cage around her.
That thought kept clawing through my skull.
Over and over again.
I’d l
