The door cracked open twenty minutes later.

Ariana stood in the doorway.

Whole. Healthy. Not a scratch on her.

She was wearing clean training gear, her dark hair pulled back in a tight braid, she looked...

She looked terrified.

Not of me. For me.

The moment she saw I was awake, her composure shattered.

She crossed the room in three strides, dropped to her knees beside the bed, pressed her forehead to the mattress.

"Alpha."

Her voice was thick.

"You saved my life. I felt myself dying, I was gone, you brought me back."

"Ariana."

"I owe you everything."

She looked up. Tears streaming.

This was Ariana, fierce, snarling, fights-Deltas-for-fun...