Alpha Pressure
Katelyn didn’t stop running until the cold night air burned her lungs.
The blur of packhouse lights faded behind her as she darted across the training grounds, her boots sinking into damp earth beneath the silver glow of the moon.
The wind clawed at her flushed skin, but she barely noticed.
Humiliation gripped her like a shackle—laughter ringing in her ears, unseen eyes staring, the deafening silence after the tray shattered—and worst of all, Daniel witnessing it all, again, always seeing her at her most vulnerable.
Her breathing grew ragged as she finally slowed near the edge of the eastern forest.
Tall, shadowy trees loomed above, their darkness stretching like reaching hands.
Quiet—finally quiet. Katelyn wrapped her arms around herself, her chest aching—no
