Urdon Pov
I listened from inside the den as the confrontation happened outside. Every word cut through me like a knife. Freda was out there alone, defending me while I lay helpless and broken. Unable to stand. Unable to fight. Unable to protect my mate or my pack.
"This is not how it should be," I whispered to the darkness around me. "The Alpha should protect the Luna. Not the other way around."
I tried again to sit up. I tried to force my wasted body to move, to respond, to do anything at all. But my muscles would not obey. The famine had taken too much. The injuries had never healed properly. I was as weak as a newborn pup, and the shame of it sat heavy in my chest.
"Please," I begged my own body. "Please just let me move. Just let me stand. Just let me do something."
But nothing happened. I remained lying there, useless, while my mate faced danger alone just steps away from me.
