Asher’s POV
The wind carried the sharp scent of pine, and strangely, damp earth. It brushed against my skin. Cool and steady. I leaned against the wooden railing outside the packhouse. Above, the sky stretched in endless layers of grey, the sun a faint ghost behind thick clouds. Everything was still. Quiet. Almost peaceful.
Three days. That’s how long it had been since everything shifted. Since Fiona arrived. Since that ridiculous fight over a cup. Since I caught her eyes in the crowd and, for a reason I couldn’t explain, forgot how to look away.
I rolled my shoulders, exhaling through my nose. Life used to be simple—predictable, even. Duty ruled me. Responsibility shaped me. But now? Now, there was a crack in the foundation of everything I thought I knew. And she was at the centre of i
