Brooks:
The sun had barely begun to rise, streaks of pale orange breaking gently through the heavy curtains of my bedroom, but I'd been awake for hours. My body felt heavy, muscles aching from exhaustion, yet sleep eluded me. It had been this way since Hattie left— a week that stretched endlessly, each day blurring into the next.
With a heavy sigh, I swung my legs over the side of the bed, scrubbing a weary hand down my face. My reflection in the mirror across the room startled me for a moment. Dark circles shadowed my eyes, my face gaunt and lined with stress, a stark reflection of the inner turmoil I'd been carrying silently.
I'd filled every waking hour with Alpha duties—patrols, training, meetings—anything to distract myself from the hollow ache of Hattie's absence. Each day passed
