“Alpha.” One of my soldiers drops beside me in human form, his voice very careful. “Alpha, is she—”
“Alive.” The word scrapes out of me. “She’s alive. Get me a blanket. Get me a healer.”
As the soldier gets to his feet and runs to the estate, I press my palm against her bloodied muzzle.
“Sienna.” I say it low. “Shift for me. Come back. Please.”
Her wolf trembles. I feel her try. It takes her three attempts. Each one breaks my chest apart, but at last the shift comes, slowly, and it is her underneath me. Naked. Broken. Blood in her hair. Her lips blue at the edges.
I drop my forehead against hers for one second. One.
Then, I lift her.
“Estate.” I turn toward home. “Now.”
I run. Five of the warriors peel off to clear the path in front of me. I carry her against my chest through the forest, across the grounds, through the garden door, and into the kitchen. Blood soaks my shirt, my arms, my skin. I don’t know what I am saying to her under my breath until I hear the words come back to me.
“You’ll be fine. I promise. You’ll be fine. I promise.”
I take her straight to my suite. Lowering her to the bed, I snarl, “Where’s the goddamn healer?!”
“Here, Alpha!” A brown-haired man rushes in, looking like he was dragged out of a deep sleep. “Healer Charles.”
“Fix her!” I grab him by his shirt and throw him toward the bed. The man stumbles before steadying himself. He pulls his sleeves back and begins running his healing magic over Sienna’s body. I stand there frozen, unable to tear my eyes away from my mate’s limp, broken body.
How did this happen? Why was she even there?
How did it all come to this?
The door opens. “Lucas, I heard—”
Lydia’s voice cuts off in a horrified gasp. I turn my head to look at her, and her eyes are fixed on Sienna’s body, pale against the dark bedspread. Then she focuses on me, naked and soaked red. Her hands fly up to cover her mouth.
She takes one step forward, choking, “What happened to her?”
“She was in the forest.” My voice is rough. “She was attacked.”
“The forest?” Lydia’s voice goes up as she lowers her hands. “Why was she in the forest again? I’ve told her. I’ve told her it isn’t safe, and at night of all times.”
The look on her face starts to change. I watch it happen, the realization dawning across her features in stages. Her eyes fill, and when she speaks, her voice comes out quivering.
“It’s my fault.” She shakes her head back and forth. “Oh, Lucas. It’s all my fault.”
“What do you mean?” I snap.
“I–I told her about the cove. The glowing water. I said I would take her on a clear night. I never—I never thought she would go by herself. I thought she understood it wasn’t safe. I—”
Fury begins to build low inside me. “Where were the patrols, Lydia?”
She swallows. “There was a mix-up with the schedule. The new roster. Monroe can check, but I believe—I believe the north stretch was not covered tonight.”
“So, there was no patrol on that side?”
Her face is white. “I don’t think so, Lucas. I’m so sorry, I—”
“How could you be so careless?!” I growl.
She flinches. “Lucas, it was an oversight. We’ve been changing the rosters. I didn’t think she would go. She knew how unsafe it is. I would have brought guards with us when I took her. Oh Goddess, if anything happens to her—”
