45: Echoes Of Desire
The storm broke before dawn. Thunder rolled like an ancient drum across the mountains, and rain lashed against the fortress walls. It was the kind of storm that felt alive — the kind that listened. Inside the Alpha’s wing, candlelight flickered weakly against the wind, casting restless shadows over Darius’s room. He stood near the window, watching the lightning fork across the sky, one hand pressed to the glass as though he could feel the pulse of the storm. His reflection stared back — pale, hollow-eyed, and marked. Even healed, the faint silver veins beneath his skin gleamed when the lightning struck. He was still changing. ⸻ Behind him, the door creaked open. “Can’t sleep either?” Aria’s voice was soft, uncertain. She wore a thin robe, her hair still damp from the rain. Darius
- Writer
