Demyan’s POV
Darkness pressed heavily against my eyelids, a weight that felt impossible to push away. My body ached as though a hundred claws had torn through me, fire still licking beneath my skin. The taste of blood was bitter at the back of my throat, and every breath I drew rattled inside my chest. Slowly, with effort that felt almost unbearable, I opened my eyes.
The world was blurry at first, shadows shifting, the faint smell of smoke and herbs clinging to the air. Then the shape of a man leaned closer, his scent familiar.
“Alpha…” a voice whispered hoarsely, choked with both relief and worry.
I blinked until his features sharpened, Karl. My gamma, my brother in all but blood, his eyes shadowed with exhaustion, his jaw tense as if he had been holding the world on his shoulders.
