"Alpha!"
Kaden's voice called out the moment Lucian's eyelids opened. He had stood watch beside the bed for hours, refusing to depart even when the healers had assured him that there was nothing more to be done.
Relief filled Kaden's face, easing the harsh lines of his normally unyielding expression.
Lucian blinked at the lightfalling on him through the windows. His eyes were blurry, his body weighted, as if he'd been pulled back from some far-off, choking ground.
"Lucian!" Rosaline's high-pitched shriek pierced the silence like a bell. She ran toward him, skirts flying across the floor, and instantly stationed herself by his side.
Her fingers danced over his coverlet in agitation before resting upon his arm, clutching it fiercely as if to demonstrate to all within hearing range how much she cared for him.
