I fell asleep with Tyler’s words tangled in my head—I’ll fight for you, even when you can’t.
They followed me into my dreams, soft and steady like a heartbeat. For once, sleep didn’t feel like an escape; it felt like comfort. When I woke, my chest felt lighter, like maybe I could face whatever waited for me today.
The house was quiet when I padded into the kitchen. Alaric had left for his place last night, but Tyler… he’d stayed. His jacket still hung over the back of the couch.
I was halfway through making toast when I heard shuffling behind me.
Tyler appeared in the doorway, hair sticking out in every possible direction, shirt wrinkled from sleeping on the couch. He blinked at me, still half-asleep. Somehow, that made my stomach flutter worse than when he was being the confident prot
