SLOANE
Riding through Lapland in a sleigh at midnight, seated right beside an Alpha, felt unreal.
Not unreal in a dreamlike way. Unreal in the kind of way that makes you wonder how your life took such a sharp turn without asking your permission first.
Snow crunched softly beneath the runners as the sleigh moved forward. The sound was steady. Calming. The bells on the reindeer harness rang low and slow, like the night itself was breathing.
I sat stiffly at first, my hands folded in my lap. Adrian sat beside me, broad shoulders relaxed, posture calm, like he belonged to this moment. Like the cold didn’t bother him. Like nothing ever really did.
Behind us, two black SUVs followed at a careful distance. Quiet. Alert. Pack security. Even in a sleigh, even in a fantasy, reality followed us.
