ALARIC POV
I felt it before I saw it.
She was exhausted. There was barely anything left in her, no energy, no reserves—she had burned through all of it, given everything she had to Pablo and to anyone else who needed her tonight, and I could feel the aftermath of it through the bond like a flame that had been pushed too far, flickering instead of burning steady.
Every instinct in me snapped to attention before my mind even caught up.
I reached for her through the bond, grounding, steadying, trying to hold her there, to keep her anchored—
But it was already slipping.
I didn’t waste time. I shifted back into human form while she was still trying to answer me, while her voice barely made it past her lips, just a whisper before her head tipped forward and I saw everything hit her at once
