Chapter 138
Annalise
Darkness pressed in around me, thick and suffocating. My chest heaved as I crouched lower into the shadows, gripping the rough bark of a tree to ground myself against the unbearable heat. Every inch of my body was burning, my skin sensitive, aching, needing.
I clenched my jaw, shaking my head violently. No. No. I couldn’t give in.
But the pain was unbearable.
Lucien’s ragged breathing echoed through the night. I could hear the strain in his voice, the desperation laced within his every movement. He was struggling just as much as I was. But he was not my mate.
My mates. Where were they?
"Where are they?" I yelled, my voice raw with pain. I moved swiftly, shifting my position so he couldn’t pinpoint my exact location.
Lucien’s body tensed where he was bound, his
