Chapter 20 · Broken Spine, Golden Dawn

I smelled the cold iron a split second before the strike.

"Down—"

Julian didn't shove me. He tackled me like a freight train, slamming me flat against the linoleum, shielding my skull with both arms.

Then came the wet, sickening crack.

Wood splintered. Ribs caved. A guttural roar tore out of Julian's throat—a sound no Alpha should ever make.

The harpoon punched straight through his left shoulder blade, ripped clean through his chest, and slammed three inches deep into the concrete subfloor.

Ten feet of silver-plated steel. Pinning him to my clinic floor like a mounted kill.

His blood hit my collarbone, scalding hot before the silver turned it ice-cold.

"Julian," I choked out.

He didn't let go of me. Even with a spear through his spine, his bulk stayed locked over my body.

"Get..." His breath hissed between clenched teeth, spit and blood foaming at his lips. His claws dug into the tile beside my ears, gouging deep trenches. "Get the kids out, Nora. Run."

"Shut up." My hands scrambled under his chest, slick with dark red warmth. "Shut up and don't move.