At first, it blended into my dreams, distant and irritating, but then Alexander stirred beside me, and the movement pulled me halfway awake. I kept my eyes closed, my body heavy beneath the covers, listening as he reached for his phone on the bedside table.
His voice was low when he answered, rough with sleep. “Kyle?”
It was Kyle calling.
There was a pause. Then his tone changed—not louder, just sharper, more alert.
“I’ll be right there.”
That alone was enough to wake me fully.
I cracked my eyes open just enough to see the faint blue glow of his phone screen as he checked the time. 3:00 a.m. The room was still dark, the kind of quiet that only existed in the deepest part of the night, when even the pack seemed to be holding its breath.
Alexander swung his legs off the bed and stood.
