24. Zander
I woke before the sun but that wasn't unusual. Years in the organization had trained my body to wake at the slightest change in my surroundings. I had learned long ago that sleeping too deeply was a luxury men like me couldn't afford.
This morning, however, I didn't wake because of danger. I woke because she was lying beside me. For several moments, I simply stared at the ceiling.
The events of last night replayed themselves in my mind with unsettling clarity: her laughter, her stubbornness and the way she refused to back down. The way she had looked at me as though she had already decided I belonged to her.
Now, I was lying beside her and I slowly turned my head.
Mara slept peacefully beside me, completely unaware that my world had shifted on its axis while hers remained
