LOGINDamion’s Point of View***********Night has always been my domain.Long before I learned the weight of leadership, before the title of Alpha settled into my bones, darkness was where my instincts sharpened and my thoughts grew honest. Night stripped things down. No posturing. No performance. Just truth, laid bare beneath stars that had watched generations rise and fall.Tonight, though, the dark felt different.Jane slept beside me, curled on his side, one hand resting protectively over his stomach. Our child. The word still echoed in my head like something sacred, something dangerous in its power to unmake me if I wasn’t careful.I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, listening.Not for threats.For life.The quiet breathing of the house. The distant call of an owl. The slow, steady rhythm of Jane’s heart, something I could sense as surely as I felt my own pulse. Valir lay calm beneath my skin, alert but untroubled, his presence no longer a constant pressure but a shared awareness.Th
Jane’s Point of View**********The dream lingered after I woke.Not the hazy kind that slipped through your fingers the moment consciousness returned, but the sort that stayed tucked behind my ribs, warm and persistent. It was filled with forest light and steady hands, with the deep sound of Damion’s voice calling my name like a promise instead of a warning.I lay still, listening.The house breathed around us. Timber settling. Distant footsteps from an early patrol. Somewhere outside, a bird tested the morning with a tentative call. Life moving forward without urgency, without fear.Damion was already awake.I could tell by the subtle shift of his breathing, by the way his arm tightened fractionally around me when I stirred, like his body had memorized mine even before his mind fully engaged. He didn’t open his eyes right away. He just held me, present and grounding, as if the simple act of existing together mattered more than anything waiting beyond the door.“Good morning,” I murm
Damion’s Point of View**********I woke before the sun crested the trees, not because my instincts jolted me awake, but because something inside me had finally learned the shape of rest.Jane was warm against me, his breathing slow and even, his body curved into mine like it had always belonged there. For once, Valir wasn’t pacing beneath my skin, wasn’t snarling warnings or cataloging threats. He was quiet. Alert, yes, but content in a way that felt almost foreign.I stayed still, afraid movement might fracture the moment.For years, waking had been an exercise in readiness. I’d open my eyes, already reaching for control, already counting exits, already bracing myself for whatever the day would demand of an Alpha who could never afford to be careless. Even sleep had been shallow, a series of half-dreams where my senses stayed coiled tight.But this morning......This morning felt like standing in the eye of a storm that had finally passed.Jane shifted slightly, his hand brushing my
Jane’s Point of View*************I woke slowly, not because something pulled me from sleep, but because nothing pushed me out of it.There was no jolt of memory, no sharp reminder of loss, no instinctive brace against pain. Just warmth. Steady, surrounding warmth, like being held inside a living heartbeat.Damion.I lay still for a long time, eyes closed, letting myself register him piece by piece. The solid line of his chest beneath my cheek. The arm draped over my back, heavy and certain, his hand resting at my side as if it had been placed there by fate itself. His breathing was deep, even, the kind that only came when his mind was finally allowed to rest.It struck me then how rare this was for him.How many nights had he spent half-awake, listening for danger, carrying the weight of an entire pack he was building even in his dreams? How many mornings had he woken already tired, already braced to lead, to fight, to protect?And here he was.Sleeping.With me.The thought made so
Damion’s Point of View**********I woke to warmth.Not the kind that came from fire or sunlight, but the living warmth of another body pressed against mine familiar, grounding, unmistakably Jane. He was curled into me, one leg draped over my thigh, his head tucked beneath my chin like it had always belonged there. His breathing was slow and deep, the kind that only came when his mind was finally at rest.For a long moment, I didn’t move.Alphas were trained to wake alert, to assess threats before they even open their eyes. I’d done that my whole life. But this morning, my instincts didn’t scream or scan or sharpen. They simply settled, purring low and pleased.Valir stretched lazily inside me, tail flicking in contentment.Safe.That was the word that echoed through my bones.Jane shifted slightly, his brow creasing as if he were drifting between dreams. His fingers tightened in the fabric of my shirt, instinctively seeking me even in sleep. The bond between us hummed softly, a low,
Jane's Point Of View*************That night, sleep came in fragments.Not because of fear surprisingly, not that, but because my mind refused to stay still. Every time I drifted, I felt it again. That quiet, steady presence inside me. Like a promise being whispered directly into my bones.Damion lay beside me, one arm draped protectively over my middle, his other hand tangled in my hair. Even asleep, he was alert. I could feel it in the way his body remained subtly tense, like a blade sheathed but ready.I shifted, trying to get comfortable.Immediately, his eyes opened.“Jane?” he murmured.“I’m okay,” I whispered quickly. “Just… thinking.”He hummed softly and pulled me closer, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Try to rest. I’m here.”I believed him. Completely.Still, my thoughts slipped sideways, drifting back through everything that had brought me here. The fire. The loss. The pain I’d once thought would hollow me out forever. There had been so many moments where surviving felt li







