The absence felt wrong. Mira woke before sunrise with a sharp inhale, her body reacting before her mind understood why. For weeks, the bond between her and Ryker had remained a steady, restrained presence beneath her ribs; even when he distanced himself, she had felt him like a guarded heartbeat behind stone walls.
That morning, there was nothing: no tension, no exhaustion, no restraint, only silence. She sat upright in bed and pressed her palm against her chest as if she could physically search for the connection. Panic rose quickly, but she forced herself to breathe evenly, because panic clouded her thoughts, and she needed clarity. She reminded herself first that he was alive. If he had died, she would have felt it, and she believed that instinctively. The bond might be young and uncla
