LOGINAlaric's POV I had not slept properly since the night they walked me to the border and I was not going to pretend otherwise. Every time I closed my eyes, I thought about Raven in that hospital and my son in a room full of people who had no real reason to care about either of them, and that thought would not let me rest for longer than an hour at a time. My father had been working through his contacts since that first night. I had been building my own list alongside his, going through every warrior I had a real relationship with. It wasn't professional courtesy, but actual loyalty. The kind that held up when things got complicated. Men who understood what it meant to choose a side and stay on it. By the third day, I had a group of eleven men who had quietly confirmed they would follow my lead when the time came. I was on the phone with my father that morning when his contact inside the hospital passed word through that Raven was being discharged. She had arranged her own exit th
Raven's POV The doctor cleared me for discharge on the fourth day. I was ready before he finished telling me because I had been mentally packing since the morning Lord Thorne's message came through the nurse. Dante found out about the discharge before I could do anything with the information. He showed up that morning with a bag for me and one for the baby. He set them on the bed and started folding the newborn clothes he had brought over the past few days like it was already decided where I was going when I walked out of here. "I had your room prepared," he said. "My mother aired it out yesterday and we got a crib set up so you don't have to worry about any of that." "I didn't ask you to do that," I said. "I know, but I wanted to make sure everything was ready," he said. "The pack doctor can do your follow up appointments at the house so you don't have to travel far while you're still healing." I watched him fold a small white sleep suit and put it in the bag, then I said, "I
Raven's POV I spent most of the next morning watching the door and trying not to make it obvious, but every time footsteps came down the corridor, I looked up. Every time it wasn't the young nurse, I looked back down at my son and told myself to be patient. Dante came at ten, like he had the two mornings before. He brought coffee for himself, sat down, and talked to me for a while about the baby's feeding schedule and what the nurse had told him about my recovery progress. I let him talk because engaging with him took energy I didn't have to spare right now. He left before noon and about twenty minutes after that, the young nurse came in, but she didn't say anything straight away. She just checked my monitor and adjusted the IV. Then she leaned closer and said quietly, "He got the message." I felt something in my chest shift. "When." "This morning," she said. "My contact passed it through last night and Lord Thorne responded within the hour." "What did he say?" I said. She s
Raven's POV He came back the next morning before I had finished the small breakfast the nurse had brought me. He walked in like he belonged there which was something Dante had always been good at, walking into spaces like they were already his. He had a bag with him. He put it on the chair and started taking things out. A soft blanket for the baby, a small stuffed animal, and a set of newborn clothes, still in the packaging. He lined them up on the side table without asking me if I wanted any of it. "You didn't have to do that," I said. "I wanted to," he said. Then he went straight to the bassinet and looked at the baby for a moment before pulling up the chair and sitting beside it like that was a completely normal thing for him to do. I watched him and said nothing. The doctor came in about thirty minutes later to check my incision and update me on recovery. Dante stood up, introduced himself, and started asking questions before I had a chance to open my mouth. The doctor an
Raven's POV The first thing I noticed was the ceiling. Then the smell and the dull heavy pull low on my stomach told me something had happened to my body while I was out. Whatever it was, it was not small. I turned my head slowly and the room came into focus. White walls, a window with pale light coming through it, a monitor beside the bed making a soft, steady sound. Right next to the bed was a bassinet, and inside was a baby wrapped in a white blanket. He was breathing and he was real. I stared at him for a moment because my brain needed a second to catch up with what my eyes saw. My son. He was here and he was okay. I felt something in my chest loosen slightly because of that. Then I looked around the rest of the room and that was when I saw Dante. He was sitting in the chair across the room with his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap. He was watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read. Not warm exactly, but not cold either. Somewhere in the middle like h
Alaric's POV I was at my desk going through documents when it started. I can't explain it better than that because it wasn't a thought, a sound, or anything specific. It was just a feeling that sat on my chest somewhere around mid afternoon and refused to move no matter what I did. I tried to ignore it and kept working, but it got worse, not better. After about twenty minutes of trying to push through it, I pushed my chair back, went downstairs, and looked around the house. It was too quiet. Raven should have been back from school by now. I checked my phone and there were no messages from her. I had told her to text me before she left school and she always did. I called her. It rang out and went to voicemail. I stood in the kitchen and called again and got the same thing. I grabbed my keys. I drove to the school first because that was the logical place to start. The building was mostly empty by that point, but I found one of her classmates leaving through the side gate and ask
Raven's POV I was eating lunch when Dante walked into my hospital room. He was alone this time without his parents or Luella. He had flowers in his hand like he was visiting someone he actually cared about. "Hey," he said closing the door behind him. "How are you feeling?" "Fine," I said not loo
Raven's POV I was walking home from the library on Thursday afternoon when it happened. Alaric had offered to pick me up, but I told him I needed the fresh air. The walk was only ten minutes, so I didn't think it would be a big deal. "This feels wrong," Breeze said when I turned onto the side str
Raven's POV The drive home from the doctor's office was quiet. Alaric kept glancing at me like he was waiting for me to fall apart or something but I just stared out the window, trying not to think about how scared I was. "We need to talk," he said when we pulled into his driveway. "About what?"
Raven's POV The doctor discharged me the next afternoon with strict instructions to rest. No school for at least two weeks, no physical activity. Just bed rest until my concussion heals. Alaric drove me back to the Valkhor house to get my things. The whole drive, I felt anxious about seeing Dante







