Henrietta woke to silence. Not the peaceful kind, such as birdsong and distant footsteps in the corridor, like she used to hear back in the fortress. It was just the heavy quiet that settled after something broke and hadn't been put back together yet.
Her ceiling came into focus slowly. Pale stone. Faint hairline cracks she didn't remember noticing before. She lay still for a moment, testing herself.
She was greeted by pain as her wrists throbbed dully, as if invisible restraints still circled them. When she shifted, her chest tightened, breath catching halfway in before she forced it deeper. Heat lingered beneath her skin, not burning anymore, but coiled in restless and watchful.
She swallowed and pushed herself upright. She looked around, looking at the empty room.
No Alpha at the fo
