Elias's POV
It felt like I was drowning in a dream.
Not the peaceful kind the kind where darkness moved like smoke, curling around me, dragging me deeper into something I didn't understand.
In that black void, a pair of golden eyes glowed, sharp and piercing.
A Lycan. Massive. Bigger than me, bigger than anything I'd ever seen.
Its fur was as black as midnight, yet shadow seemed to coil and dance around it like a living thing.
Mate.
The voice wasn't a voice. It was a purr, low and like silk, vibrating through the air and sinking into my bones.
Mate.
The word made my skin crawl. I tried to move, to step back, but my legs wouldn't respond. The shadows coiled closer, brushing against my skin, and the Lycan's muzzle tilted up as though scenting me.
Then, there was a flash of fangs. White and blinding.
My eyes jolted open.
I sucked in a sharp breath, my heart hammering so violently it felt like my ribs might crack.
