The Alpha’s body was devastatingly still. Her eyes traveled to his face. His lashes rested against his cheeks, perfectly still. His lips were slightly parted. And his skin—when she touched his face, it was cold.

Too cold.

Fear clawed up her throat.

She had to do something. Nina quickly pressed down on his chest, intending to start compressions, but her shoulder immediately screamed in protest. The pain was so sharp she nearly blacked out. Her arm gave way and she fell on top of him with a choked gasp.

No. She couldn’t do this. Not with her shoulder like this.

But he was the Alpha. Wolves healed fast. A fall shouldn’t kill him. So why wasn’t he moving? Was he truly dead?

Desperate, Nina leaned closer, pressing her ear to his chest. A heartbeat echoed in her ears. Faint, but there.

He was alive.

She just had to get him breathing again.

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. She swallowed. She needed to get air into his lungs. This was the only way.

Taking a shaky breath, Nina tilted his head back. Her fingers trembled as she pinched his nose closed. She leaned down and pressed her lips to his, breathing air into his lungs. His chest rose and fell, and she pulled back, watching his face desperately.

"Alpha..." She called out, her voice barely a whisper.

But there was no reaction. His face was unmovingly still.

Panicked, Nina tried again, breathing air into him. Again and again, over and over, until she felt sweat bead down her temples, and her hands grow shaky from exertion.

He still wasn’t waking up.

By now, the darkness had settled completely around them like a heavy blanket. The heavy tree branches obscured the pale, weak light from the moon, and Nina couldn’t see where they were. She couldn’t tell where they had fallen from, and she had no idea where they had ended up.

Nina’s throat tightened. She needed to get help, but she couldn’t leave him here. What if he died while she was gone? What if she got lost and never found her way back?

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Please wake up," she whispered, her hand pressed against his cold chest. "Please, Alpha, please..."

She hit his chest weakly with her fist, desperate."Please don’t die."

She leaned down one more time. Her lips met his—

And just as she was about to push air into his mouth, his eyes slowly opened.

Nina jumped back immediately, her heart slamming against her ribs. He just caught her kissing him? How the hell was she going to explain?

"I was... you weren’t breathing. I was trying to save you. I didn’t mean to—"

Rodrigo sat up slowly, his hand going to his head. He looked around, taking in the dark forest, then the sound of the river behind them, and then he looked at her.

Her words immediately died in her throat. She gulped.

"Where are we?"

Nina shook her head. "I don’t know. We fell from the cliff and the river brought us here."

Rodrigo stood up, his movements careful. His eyes searched the darkness. There was nothing, no lights, no paths, just endless trees and shadows swaying under the moonlight.

Seven and the others would be searching for them. But in this darkness, they’d never find them.

He turned back to Nina. She was still on the ground, trembling from the cold. Her lips had gone pale, almost blue. Her wet dress clung to her body and blood continued to seep from her shoulder, turning her white dress crimson.

"What happened?" he asked.

Nina swallowed. "One of the wolves caught my shoulder. Dragged me to the others. I barely got free before you—" Her teeth chattered so hard she could barely get the words out.

Rodrigo was quiet for a moment. Then he crouched down in front of her.

Nina instinctively shrank back.

"Don’t move." He commanded.

She froze. Her heart pounded so loud she was sure he could hear it, but she obeyed. Her fingers curled as he reached for her dress, pulling the torn fabric aside to expose the wound.

Nina grimaced as the cold air hit her skin. She bit her lower lip tightly. The pain was unbearable.

His expression darkened when he saw it—deep puncture marks lined her shoulder. It was still bleeding.

Rodrigo frowned. Something was wrong. She should have healed by now. Wolves healed fast, they’d been out of the water for a while, but her wounds still looked fresh, as though she’d just been bitten.

Rodrigo’s eyes raised to her, and he asked, "Why aren’t you healing?"

Nina’s world came to a stop instantly.

She was damned. How did she forget?

She was half wolf. Half wolves couldn’t heal fast. They couldn’t shift. They were practically human, and now Alpha Rodrigo knew the truth. Nina yanked her dress back up immediately with trembling fingers, turning away from him as though that could protect her from his wrath.

Rodrigo caught her chin, forcing her to face him.

"Answer me." He commanded, his eyes staring deathly at her.

Nina trembled as she held his gaze. A weak breath escaped her shivering lips. She wanted to answer him, but the Rodrigo in front of her was blurring right in front of her eyes, his features swimming in and out of focus.

She’d lost too much blood. She was cold, weak, and apparently dying.

″How dare you deceive me?″ Rodrigo continued to interrogate her. His fingers tightened around her chin and she grimaced in pain.

The world tilted, and she fell forward, collapsing against his chest.

"Why did—"

Rodrigo’s words stopped on his tongue as she fell on him. He blinked, staring at her stiff body.

Raising her head, he pulled her upright. Her head lolled back, limp. Her face was deathly pale, lips almost white.

He stared at her.

A human. Or a half-wolf. That was the only explanation.

His jaw clenched, his chest burning with rage. He had been hoodwinked. This woman wasn’t the bride he was promised. By right, he should punish her.

But this infernal woman was dying from blood loss. At this rate, she wouldn’t last the night.

Rodrigo looked at her face. His jaw clenched hard. Something inconvenient unfurled in his chest as he stared at her fragile body. For a strange, maddening reason, the sight of her lying there stirred a protectiveness he had no right to feel. He crushed the feeling immediately, but it refused to disappear.

Raising his hand to his mouth, he bit down hard into his wrist. Blood welled up instantly, dark against his skin.

Angling her head close to him, he pressed his bleeding hand to her lips.