VANESSA
Pain exploded behind my eyes like a lightning strike. One moment, I was reviewing paperwork for the Rogue Foundation in my office, and the next, my vision blurred as white-hot agony sliced through my skull. I gasped, clutching the edge of my desk as the room spun violently around me.
"Something's wrong," I whispered to the empty room. My own voice sounded distant, muffled, as if I were underwater.
I tried to stand, to call for help, but my legs gave way beneath me. The last thing I remembered was the cold floor rushing up to meet me, and then... nothing.
Beeping. Antiseptic smell. Scratchy sheets.
My eyes fluttered open to harsh fluorescent light. A hospital room. My head throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, like something vital had been torn from me.
"She's awake!" A familiar voice—Isaac Bennett, the Silverclaw pack doctor—leaned over me, checking my pupils with a penlight. "Vanessa, can you hear me?"
I nodded slowly, wincing at the movement. "What happened?"
