AIDAN.
The heavy oak door clicked shut as Daniel left the room, but the silence he left behind felt even thicker than before.
I stayed by the window, my forehead pressed against the cold glass, staring out at the foggy courtyard. My chest felt tight, like someone had wrapped a chain around my ribs and was slowly pulling it tight. Inside the room, the heavy, ragged breathing of my brothers echoed against the stone walls, mixed with the faint, terrifyingly weak gasps coming from Maria's bed.
I turned around slowly.
Davian was still standing in the center of the room, staring at his hands as if he didn't recognize them anymore. Damien was slumped by the mattress, holding Maria's hand like a lifeline, his eyes red and swollen. And in the dark corner, Adrein sat against the wall, clutching his chest where his bond thread was frayed and bleeding from his failed attempt to let her go.
We looked pitiful. Four Alphas, the leaders of this pack, completely broken in our own home.
