Chapter 71. The Course We Chose

Jade drew a wooden chair closer to the edge of the narrow cot and sat down again, her voice barely above a whisper. “He’s an Alpha,” she began, her eyes locked on the bandaged sheet draped over his lower leg. “By nature, his regenerative abilities are phenomenal. But he’s lost an extraordinary amount of blood—mostly from that deep slice across his calf. His other wounds have stabilized for now, but this one is critical.” She lifted the corner of the sheet and peered at the thick, blood-soaked dressing. “Alpha’s jaws came down with enough force to almost sever his tendons. And that gash in his flank—someone literally carved a chunk of flesh from him. It’s brutal.”

I swallowed hard and let my gaze drift back to Daniel, lying pale and still on the mattress. The long, angry claw marks on his right shoulder were unmistakable—Alpha’s signature slash. Less serious cuts and darkening bruises mottled his chest, souvenirs from the figh