~Kaida Orion POV~
I didn't know how long I had been sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the drawer Lupus used to keep locked. The silence of the house pressed on me, wrapping around my shoulders like a cloak of ice. Every sound outside... the wind brushing against the window, the creaking of old wood.... felt louder than it should. It had been weeks since I'd last seen Lupus's face, touched his hand, or heard his voice. Ever since the arrow, he had vanished from my world like smoke in the wind.
The pack elders told me to let go, that an Alpha must have died with honor on the battlefield, but my heart refused to believe it. Something deep inside told me he was still out there, breathing, fighting, maybe even calling my name in the dead of night.
I reached for the key hanging around my neck... his key. The one he gave me the night before our wedding. The one he said could open all of him, whenever I was ready.
