XENA:
The morning light spilled across the clinic floor, painting everything in shades of gold and white. It should have felt peaceful, but instead, there was a strange emptiness in the air, the kind that gnaws quietly at your chest until you can’t ignore it anymore.
Zara didn’t come in today.
At first, I thought maybe she overslept, or went to collect more herbs like she usually did before dawn. She always had this habit of staying longer than she should, lost in her work or her thoughts. But by noon, when her station still sat untouched and her apron hung neatly on its hook, I began to worry.
“Where’s Zara?” I asked one of the junior healers.
“She… went home,” they said carefully, like they were afraid I might break. “Last night. The Alpha gave permission.”
I froze.
The Alpha.
D
