Diana's POV
Even though grief weighed me down like stones in my chest, making every breath feel like a struggle, I forced myself to work tirelessly studying the plague's new form. My son was out there somewhere, probably scared and calling for me, but these wolves needed me too. I couldn't abandon them.
"Diana, you're pushing yourself too hard," Lucian said as he found me still hunched over my research at dawn. His voice carried that note of gentle concern that always made something warm unfurl in my chest.
I looked up at him through bleary eyes, noting the way the early morning light caught the angles of his face. When had I started noticing how handsome he was? When had his presence started making my pulse quicken?
"I can't stop," I said, gesturing to the samples spread across my mak
