Rowan’s hand was ice cold as I brought it to my lips. I wished there was sunlight. But we’d arrived back under a starless, moonless night.

Suzanne’s hands were still trembling as she held a syringe up to the light and tapped it. She slowly pushed the plunger, stopping just short of letting the blood bead at the tip. We couldn’t afford to waste one precious drop.

“Jagger,” she said. “Are you sure about this?”

I looked at Rowan. In the weeks since the battle, she’d become almost skeletal. Blue veins stuck out in stark contrast to her pale white skin.

“Of course I’m sure. Get on with it.”

Molly stood at my side. She had a hand on my back, rubbing in small, slow circles. She’d been like this since we got back. Liam and his pack stood guard outside. I knew the rest of the Mammoth Forest men were close by. Many more had come down from neighboring towns and all across the state. Rumors spread like wildfire that she may be about to die.

If I was the Alpha-Slayer, Rowan was their true champion. She mattered.

We told no one about the dragon blood. She hadn’t asked me point-blank to keep her existence a secret. But, the knowledge burned in my heart. It was sacred. As she said, I was in the debt of a dragon. If she’d asked, I would have laid down my life for the chance to save the woman I loved.

And I did love her. It burned brightly within me, tethering me to the ground. The thought of losing her opened up a black hole beneath me. I needed only to jump through it.

“Molly,” I said, locking eyes with her. “Promise me something.”

“Anything,” she said, but she drew a quick breath right after, instantly regretting it. She knew what I was about to say.

“If this doesn’t work...if I lose her...don’t come after me.”

“It’ll work.” She refused to say anything more.

“It will make her whole,” Suzanne said. “At least, I think. You know the legends. Dragon’s blood has healing powers. It’s just...I don’t know what whole is for someone like Rowan. She might not wake up like she was. She could be just human. She could be fully shifter. She could also…”

Suzanne’s voice trailed off, but I knew what she meant. We had no idea exactly what Able’s experiments had been. She was talking in clinical terms. It was possible Rowan would wake up in wolf form and not be able to shift back.

I felt the faint fluttering in Rowan’s pulse. It happened from time to time. But this was weaker. My own pulse quickened then stilled.

“Do it,” I said more forcefully. The monitors beeped above Rowan’s head. Molly frowned. I didn’t need to read them. Rowan. My Rowan. She was dying.

“I think it’s now or never, Suzanne,” Molly said. She squeezed my hand.

Suzanne gave her a grim nod and stepped up to the bed.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” I asked. “I mean...is she supposed to swallow it? Does it go in a vein?”

Suzanne gave me that look that doctors have. Calm assurance. Shoulders back. Then, something passed over her face. She dropped her jaw. “You know, I have never done this before. I do not know a soul alive who has.”

“Great.” I kissed Rowan’s hand. “So you’re winging it. Hold on, baby. Just hold on.”

Suzanne lifted Rowan’s arm. She tied a rubber band around Rowan’s arm and rolled the skin. Satisfied she’d found what she needed, Suzanne took a breath and injected the blood straight into Rowan’s vein.

Rowan seized instantly. Her back arched and she came close to a foot off the bed.

“Hold her!” Suzanne shouted. The needle was still sticking in Rowan’s arm.

I pressed her shoulders down. Suzanne leaned around me and held her head back. Molly grabbed Rowan’s feet.

Rowan’s muscles contorted. Veins bulged near her temples. Her eyes snapped open. The whites had gone blood red, the irises a fiery silver. But, there was life in them. Her bones sharpened, her cheeks jutted out so far I thought they’d break the skin.

“Baby!” I shouted. “Fight it. Come back to me. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

Rowan sucked in a great breath of air, then another. Her fists clenched and unclenched as if she had an electrical current running through her. It seemed that’s exactly what it was. I felt her heart hammering in her chest. Strong, but erratic. Oh, God. It felt like it might explode.

“Give her something!” Molly shouted. “Push valium!” She leaned back and hit the nurse’s call button with her elbow. “Get a crash cart in here! Shit, why didn’t we think of that before?”

“No!” The word roared out of me. I leaped on the bed, pushing Suzanne and Molly out of the way. I gathered Rowan’s thrashing body in my arms and held her close.

“Get out!” I yelled. “Everybody get out!”

Molly and Suzanne backed away, their faces registering pure terror. Liam was there. He pushed Molly behind him.

“Baby,” I whispered, smoothing the hair from her face. Rowan had stopped seizing but her body went rigid as stone.

Slowly, she sank into me. Little tremors ran through her as I whispered her name over and over. Hot tears ran from my cheeks to hers.

“Baby. Come back. I’m here. Listen to the sound of my voice. You’re safe. I’ve got you. I’m never going to let you go.”

I felt the raging tide recede within her. Rowan’s heartbeat fluttered, slowed, then started up again. It beat strong and clear, matching perfectly with my own.

She opened her eyes and looked at me. Sobbing, I kissed her everywhere. Her lips. Her cheeks. Her neck. Her hands.

“I love you,” I whispered. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Molly cried out. Standing in the hall, she saw enough to understand. Liam joined her, letting out a joyful howl.

“Thank God,” Suzanne yelled. There were other cheers moving in a ripple down the hall.

Covered in sweat, Rowan sat up. I supported her back with my arm. She lifted one hand and touched my cheek. Her voice groggy from lack of use, her words were clear and strong.

“Hi, baby. What did I miss?”