Chapter 56

Cole rested his back against a tree after he stopped running, the bark rough against his back, and Aria was cradled tightly in his arms. Too tightly; he knew that. But every time he loosened his grip, he feared she might slip from his hands as drowsy as she was, and pulled her closer again.

She was breathing, he checked. His breath was barely steady and soft so for a moment, he thought she wasn’t. That was the only thing keeping him from unravelling completely.

His jaw tightened as he lowered his forehead to her hair. The scent of fear was still there; faint now, but unmistakable. He wondered what else they gave to her. He had seen her drunk, but it didn’t hit her like this. The last time she was drunk, she was almost loud and destructive not weak and unconscious. It made his wolf pace restlessly inside him, snarling at shadows that were already dead and gone.

He exhaled through his nose. Rubbing her hair, he thought of it; he thought of how she would wake up, and