KIERAN’S POV
I woke up gasping.
The dream chased me awake, clinging like a fever—Sera by a bonfire, wearing a crown of pale blue flowers glowing under the moonlight, Lucian leaning in to kiss her.
The fire had roared like it was blessing them, and her smile…gods, her smile. It lashed through me, raw and searing like acid on exposed flesh.
A heavy, hollow ache radiated through my chest. For a moment, I thought it was just the dream’s echo, but then the familiar sting from my ribs made me wince.
I pushed the blanket aside and sat up, rubbing at my chest where the bandages hid the fading mark of Ashar’s fury.
Not fading fast enough.
He was punishing me. I knew it.
The injuries from that night in the forest should’ve healed a long time ago. Every other wound had—or at least the visible ones.
But the ones hidden under my clothes, the worst ones—my wolf had slowed their healing. He made sure I felt them every time I moved or fucking breathed.
