Kael's POV.
I groaned in pain as I sat in my car, my hand pressed tight against my side, blood warm and sticky under my fingers, seeping through my torn shirt.
The pain was sharp, stabbing deep, my ribs aching with every breath. My wolf, Zeus, growled in my head, his voice angry, scolding.
"I warned you, Kael. Slow down." His words stung, but the pain was worse, a burning knife in my side.
I'd swerved to avoid the truck, the crash narrowly missed, but the gash wouldn't heal, my wolf's strength gone, leaving me as a weak human.
I tried to mind-link Brian, my Beta, to call for help, my thoughts reaching out, desperate. But I got nothing, just silence. My chest tightened, panic creeping in.
Zeus was quiet now, his presence faint, like I'd blocked him somehow, cut him off without knowing. I was alone, the road dark, the dawn gray, the forest silent around me.