Crystal had only stepped outside for air.
The summer dusk was warm and quiet, the kind of evening that promised a storm in a few days but gave peace for now. Her hands rested over the swell of her belly, rounded, high, heavy with the weight of a child who kicked with the strength of a future Alpha. Two months left. Two long, nerve-racking months.
A faint breeze shifted the leaves.
Then… another sound.
Not wind.
A footstep.
Crystal froze.
She reached through the mindlink, searching for Dustin, only to discover he was deep in a strategy meeting with her father and several patrol captains. He felt her brush against the link, but she pushed reassurance his way. "Just grabbing air", she told him lightly.
She didn’t want him panicking every time she stepped outside.
Another sound. Close
