DARIAN
I sit in my office until the candle sinks to a crater and the wax dries white around the wick like bone. I could go to my quarters. I could lie in the bed Evelara chose linens for, smell the flowers she insisted on, feel the weight of a room curated for a life I do not know how to step into.
I could do all that. After all, I have a duty to my pack and my mate. At some point, it'll be expected to breed with her and create more pups that'll continue my legacy. Yes, it might be best for me to do that.
However, I do not move.
Instead, I stand and open the window. Cold air pours in, carrying pine and iron and the faintest thread of something I should not be able to name, a pace in the far corridor, a held breath, a heartbeat stepping lightly where it doesn't belong. I pick up all th
