Chapter 78

Emily’s POV

One second, I was in Nathan’s arms, the cold spray hitting my skin and his blood warm on my lips. The next—nothing. No bathroom. No Nathan.

A blinding light took over, bringing a pain that wasn't a wound. It was deeper. I tried to scream, but the sound died in the glow.

Then, the whiteness cracked like glass.

I was standing in a strange room. The air tasted of woodsmoke, bitter herbs, and copper. Outside, thunder shook the stone walls, vibrating in my teeth.

A man was dying on the floor.

He was massive. Even pale and covered in blood, power radiated off him in waves. He was an Alpha—I felt the weight of it in my gut.

A woman knelt over him, her long, silver-white hair tangled and damp with sweat. Her hands were pressed firmly against a jagged wound in his stomach, and a faint, flickering light pulsed between her fingers.

She was beautiful, but she was coming apart at the seams.

“No,” she rasped, her v