Neve woke up to a sound that nearly stopped his heart.
A growl. Loud and angry and full of pain. It was so powerful that it shook through the entire cave and rattled the walls around him. He swore that he could have died just from hearing that noise. His body jolted awake so fast that he almost fell off the bed.
But it was not just the sound that woke him.
It was the bond mark on his wrist. The one that Cael had given him. It was pulsing. Actively pulsing like a heartbeat that was not his own.
'Was that from Cael? Is he in trouble?'
Neve's mind was still foggy from the sleeping powder that Popi had blown into his face. The drowsiness was still there, weighing on his eyelids, making his movements slow and sluggish. He wanted to go back to sleep. His body was screaming for more rest.
But he could not ignore the pulsing bond mark. He could not ignore the growls and sounds coming from the main cave. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
