Sera screamed. "God, please!" she gasped.
"Stay with me," he murmured fiercely.
"I don't want to die like this," she whispered.
"You are not dying," he said. Charles understood that the shadow wolf had not truly let her go.
Tears slid down Charles' face. They fell freely.
He felt small.
Helpless.
Unworthy to call himself her father.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'm sorry."
Sera clung to him. Her nails dug deep into his forearms, slicing through fabric and skin alike. She did not seem aware of the damage. She rode the pain, her body arching and twisting, her heels kicking against the floor in blind torment.
Charles glanced down at his arms and froze.
Thin, bright lines of blood trailed down his skin where her nails had pierced him. Deep.
No human strength could do that.
His heart lurched.
No way.
He caught her face in his hands, forcing her upward despite her resistance. Her head lolled for a moment before he steadied it, his palms framing her jaw.
