~ Avelyn ~I woke up alone.That was the first thing my body registered before my mind even caught up — the absence. The other side of the bed was cold, untouched, like no one had ever been there at all. For a brief, disorienting second, I wondered if I had imagined everything. If the night had been some elaborate fever dream stitched together by exhaustion and fear.Then I tried to move.Pain answered immediately.Not sharp, not sudden, it was the dull, widespread kind that settled deep into muscle and bone, like my body had been worked over and then abandoned. My shoulders protested when I shifted. My thighs burned faintly. Even the simple act of sitting up felt like dragging myself through resistance.I hissed quietly and leaned back against the headboard, letting my head fall against the cool wood. The room was silent. Too silent. No movement, no presence, no sign of him anywhere.Of course he was gone.Xander never stayed for aftermaths. He never hovered. He never explained. What
Last Updated : 2025-12-21 Read more