KASSIAN

She was dying in my arms.

I could feel it in the way her heartbeat kept stuttering, growing weaker with each step I took. Her breathing had gone shallow and irregular, and her blood soaked through my hands.

Mine, my wolf howled inside my head, frantic and desperate. I still didn’t understand how I’d finally found my mate, after all these years.

Mate! Dying! Save her! SAVE HER!

"I'm trying," I growled out loud, racing through the forest as fast as I could.

Five hundred years. I'd lived for five hundred gods-damned years, and in all that time, I'd never felt this kind of fear. This bone-deep terror that I was about to lose the one thing that mattered.

The mate bond thrummed between us, new and raw and already impossibly strong. I could feel her pain, fear, and exhaustion through it. Underneath it, I felt something faint. It was growing.

She was pregnant.

The realization hit me like a physical blow, and I almost stumbled. My mate was carrying a child. Someone else's child. But I couldn’t care about anything else but keeping her alive.

The mansion came into view.

"Open the gates!" I roared, not slowing down. "Get Iris. Now!"

The guards scrambled to obey, the massive iron gates swinging open just in time for me to barrel through. Wolves scattered out of my path, surprised to see me in such a state.

Good, some dark part of me thought. Let them see. Let them know what happens to anyone who tries to take her from me.

"Kassian!" Ronan, my Beta and closest friend ,appeared from the training grounds, his face going pale when he saw the woman in my arms. "What—"

"Get Iris," I snapped. "Get every healer in the pack. Get them to my chambers now."

I didn't wait for a response. Just kept moving, taking the stairs three at a time, my wolf driving me forward with one focus. To keep my mate alive.

My chambers were at the top of the west tower—the most secure location in the palace, with reinforced doors and spelled windows that made it nearly impossible to breach. I kicked the door open, not caring when it slammed against the wall.

I'd never brought anyone here before. These chambers were mine alone, my sanctuary after centuries of war and loneliness.

But they were hers now, too.

I laid her down as gently as I could, and my hands came away red. She had lost too much blood.

"Don't you dare die," I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. "Do you hear me? Don't you fucking dare."

She didn't respond as expected. Her face was pale like death. The only sign she was still alive was the faint rise and fall of her chest.

I pressed my hands against the worst wound—the one on her leg where chunks of muscle had been torn away. Blood welled up between my fingers. Anger and impatience burned through me

"Where is Iris?" I roared toward the door.

On cue, my best healer burst into the room, with other healers trailing behind her. Iris was old—past her prime years—but her hands were steady and her eyes sharp as she took in the scene before her.

"Oh, blessed Moon," she breathed, rushing to the bed. "What happened?"

"Rogues," I bit out, stepping back to give her room to work even though every instinct screamed at me to stay close. "I slaughtered them. She was already injured when I found her."

Iris's hands moved over my mate's body with efficiency, marking her injuries. "Severe blood loss. Deep lacerations on the leg and arm. Possible internal bleeding. And she's..." Iris's eyes widened. "She's pregnant."

"I know." My hands clenched into fists. "Can you save her? Both of them?"

Iris caught my worried expression and let out a sigh. "I'll do everything I can, my King. But I need you to leave. You're in the way."

Every fiber of my being repelled at the idea of leaving. How could I leave my dying mate?

"My King." Iris's voice softened. "Kassian. I know this is hard. But if you want her to survive, you need to let me work. Please."

The use of my name—something Iris rarely did—cut through the panic. She was right. I was in the way. The best thing I could do for my mate right now was let the healers do their job.

But gods, it felt wrong, like I was abandoning her.

"I'll be right outside," I said, already backing toward the door. "If anything goes wrong, you call for me immediately. Understood?"

"Understood."

I forced myself to leave, closing the door behind me. The moment the door shut, I slammed my fist into the stone wall hard enough that I felt it in my bones.

Pain flared up my arm. Good. I needed something to focus on besides the image of my mate's pale face and the coppery smell of her blood.

"Kassian." Ronan's voice came from down the hall. He approached cautiously, knowing better than to approach me casaully when I got worked up like this. "Who’s she? How did you find her?"

I took a breath and forced my wolf back down. I needed to think like an Alpha instead of a panicking mate.

"That’s what I want to find out. Send scouts to Silverpine Pack." I ordered, my voice coming out flat and cold. "I want to know everything about the woman in that room. Her name, her history, and why she was in the forest bleeding out."

"Silverpine?" Ronan frowned. "That’s Marcus’s territory. How are you sure?"

"She had a ring with its crest." My voice dropped to a growl. "Do it. Now."

"I will," Ronan’s face instantly softened. "She’s your mate, isn’t she?"

Was it that obvious? Probably. I'd never lost control like this before over a woman.

"Yes," I confirmed. “And if she dies..." I didn't finish the sentence. He already knew.

Ronan's expression turned grim. "She won't die. Iris is the best healer in the kingdom. If anyone can save her, it's—"

An agonizing scream tore through the door. Her scream.

I didn't think as I slammed the door open hard enough that it flew off its hinges. My wolf surged forward, ready to kill whoever hurt our mate.

Iris stood by the bed, her hands glowing with healing magic. The other healers held my mate down as she thrashed, her back arching off the bed, another scream ripping from her throat.

"What are you doing to her?" I snarled, moving toward the bed.

"Healing her!" Iris snapped back, her gaze never leaving my mate. "The wounds were too deep. I have to use magic to close them, and magic hurts. Now get out before you make this worse!"

My mate's eyes flew open. I realized there were a forest-green. There was nothing but pain in them.

"Please," she gasped out between screams. "Please, it hurts—"

I was at her side before I realized I'd moved, taking her hand in mine. Her fingers gripped tight enough to hurt, her nails digging into my skin.

"I'm here," I said, and I didn't recognize my own voice. "I've got you. You're safe."

"Burns," she sobbed. "It burns—"

"I know." I wanted to kill Iris for causing her pain, wanted to kill the rogues all over again, wanted to kill whoever had hurt her before I'd found her. But I forced myself to stay calm. "It's almost over. Just hold on."

Her terrified eyes locked onto mine. But she managed a nod.

The healing took another ten, long, excruciating minutes. But finally, Iris stepped back, the glow fading from her hands.

"It's done," she said, wiping sweat from her forehead. "The wounds are closed. She'll need time to recover, but she'll live."

The relief was so intense I nearly collapsed. "And the child?"

Iris's expression turned troubled. "The child survived. For now. But..." She hesitated. "She's been severely malnourished. Tortured, by the look of her scars. And the stress from the attack..." She shook her head. "The pregnancy is high-risk. Very high-risk. She needs rest, food, safety. Anything could trigger a miscarriage."

I looked down at my mate. Her eyes had closed again, her grip on my hand loosening as exhaustion pulled her under. But she was breathing. She was alive.

"Everyone out," I said quietly.

The healers fled. Even Iris, after giving me one long, measuring look.

When the door closed behind them, I carefully sat on the edge of the bed, still holding my mate's hand. She looked so small against the massive mattress, like she could break at any moment.

"What's your name?" I asked, even though I knew she couldn't hear me. "Who are you? And who the hell hurt you?"

I'd find out. Ronan's scouts would bring me information soon enough. Then I'd make sure whoever had done this paid for it in blood.

But for now, I just sat there, holding her hand, and waited for her to wake up.