Evelynn POV
The house was quiet except for the steady rhythm of their breathing. My mates.
The map, the plans, the endless talk of strategy - all of it had bled into silence. Only the night remained, pressing close around us.
I should’ve slept. Instead, I stood by the window, watching the first pale bruise of dawn behind the trees. Every heartbeat felt heavier, louder. I knew what was coming.
Rafe’s voice was a low murmur behind me. “You’re not sleeping.”
“Neither are you,” I said, not turning.
He came to stand beside me, his heat brushing my arm. Calder followed a moment later, silent, steady. The three of us watched the horizon together - the line we’d cross in less than an hour.
“Once we ride, there’s no going back,” Calder said.
“I know.”
Rafe’s hand found mine, rough and warm
