Cold and bitter, something dripped into my mouth. I would have spit it out but it was too much effort. Gentle fingers, chill as ice, touched my cheek and someone whispered words of love against my ears.

A snarl wove its way into my world as the freezing liquid turned to fire and slipped down my throat into my stomach, forcing me back into awareness. The wild anger in that wolf ’s tone called an adrenaline rush of fear that brought me fully awake.

I lay curled around Stefan’s cage. The stake had rolled under me and lodged uncomfortably between my ribs and the floor. The light was off again...