LOGINJoanne’s POVThe travel down the mountain and towards the barracks was long. By the time we returned, the sun had set, and exhaustion hit me all at once. Not the kind that makes your body heavy—the kind that settles into your bones and sits there.The moment we entered the barracks, I slid off the h
I knew that meant it was long overdue for us to return to our lives as well. I knew we couldn’t stay at this village forever; we needed to return to the barracks and continue with our jobs.Alexander understood that, too, because he turned to James.“Let’s do another sweep of the perimeter and gathe
Joanne’s POVMinutes felt like hours, but Anna found that through every conversation, she was holding on to me like I was the only thing anchoring her. When it came time to push, she squeezed my hand so tightly my fingers went numb.“You’re almost there,” I whispered, guiding her. “Just one more.”A
Behind him, Dianna stood, her eyes shifted to the ground, and her hands fiddling with her fingers. She looked a lot better than she did when I saw her last night, and I was relieved to see that. Rupert sucked in a sharp breath as he slowly stood from the bed; Alexander gave James a nod, and he backe
Joanne’s POVI woke up to the sounds of screaming.I was still completely naked with a towel wrapped around my body, lying in Alexander’s arms, when it happened. I lifted my head and peeked up at him; he, too, stirred from the sounds of the screaming.It took me a moment to register what was happeni
She wrapped her arms around me, pulling her even closer against my body, molding herself to me like perfection… like she was always meant to be there… like she was created just to fit my body.I wrapped my arms around her waist, never wanting her to pull apart. Her lips parted, allowing me even more







