Emberflame Ridge I thought this love would always burn like a wildfire

She ran pretty well throughout the night, following the mountains around the ravine and into the shadows of the cliffs and crags. Her breath was ragged and her heart felt like it was going to burst when she finally slowed and collapsed on a broad ridge, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her rib cage. It had ached with every step before, but now the pain was stabbing and sharp. It rippled from her ribs to her spine and all the way down, dulling the sting of the scrape Sebastian's teeth had left on her backside as she fled. That would heal without incident, but the ribs were another matter altogether.

She lay her head on the cold stone with teeth grit and hissed a long note of pain in the chill mountain air. She snarled at no one in particular, but her rage was directed at her attacker. The next time they met, one of them would die. She would make sure of it.

But now, her thoughts were focused only on the pain in her ribs every time she breathed. The rib cage, broken evenly before, felt somehow tight and hot. It was still only one broken rib, but the injury was aggravated from her running and inflammation was mounting. It would take much, much longer to heal. Had she been a healer, Saena would've known that it never truly would. She dared to be optimistic, though; she wouldn't make much of an alpha if she had a fucked up rib cage for the rest of her life.

She tried to stand, but the pain rippling through her was too great and she dropped back to the ground. She cried out, feeling somehow even more vulnerable than she had when her speed had proven ineffective, and curled in on herself in a wasted effort to quell her trembling from exhaustion and agony.