Nicholas’s POV
The smell of twisted metal and gasoline burned my nostrils as I tore at the car door, muscles straining until my fingers ached and my knuckles cracked. Rain plastered my hair to my forehead, poured down my face, mingling with the sweat and blood that already coated my skin. The wreck was a crumpled cage, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except her.
“Esther!”
Her head lolled against the seat, slick with blood, her dark hair stuck to her face and neck in matted strands. Her body felt frighteningly limp in the seatbelt, and for a heartbeat, the world stopped. My wolf howled inside me, a raw, primal sound that vibrated through bone and muscle alike.
No. She couldn’t be—
I grabbed her shoulders, shaking her lightly, desperation clawing through every nerve. “Esther! Ope
