EMBER.
Hours later, the grand garden had quieted from roaring celebration to soft laughter and low music drifting from somewhere inside the castle.
Most of the pack had gone to bed or staggered off in various states of happiness and exhaustion.
What remained… was chaos in its purest form.
I sat sideways across Alec’s lap on one of the cushioned outdoor sofas, my heels abandoned somewhere in the grass hours ago. His arm rested lazily around my waist, thumb absentmindedly tracing slow circles against my hip as we watched the last survivors of the night.
Harper lay sprawled across two chairs like a fallen soldier.
Tommy sat on the ground beside him with a half-empty glass, staring at the sky like he was discovering the concept of stars for the first time.
“Do you think,” Tommy said sl
