I lay there, paralyzed, my body a useless lump, but my mind painfully alert. Every sound around me was agonizingly clear, yet I couldn’t move a muscle. The first thing that pierced through the fog of my consciousness was a voice, loud and furious.

"Why the hell isn’t she awake yet?" the voice growled. I recognized it instantly. Alpha Orion, always the thundercloud.

"Calm down, Orion," a female voice responded, softer but firm. "She is fine. Her wounds have ...