Chapter 70

Stella opened her eyes, blinking twice before closing them again quickly against the light flooding in through the window. Her entire body ached. She reached out with her mind, seeking the comfort of her wolf, but found only silence, an empty hole in her psyche where her wolf's presence usually filled the void. A wave of nausea rolled through her body, forcing her to push herself up onto her elbows, her eyes opening again, one hand shielding them from the light of the window.

Someone had placed a wastebasket with a plastic bag in it right next to her bed and she slid down on her knees, emptying the contents of her stomach, which by now wasn't much more than stomach acid, into the bottom of the thin bag.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Stella West." Stella froze, her fingers digging into the edge of the thin metal bucket as she realized that she wasn't alone. She wanted to stand and wield the small trash can as some sort of weapon, proving to herself and her weapon master th