Aurora's POV
I woke to the sound of breathing that wasn't my own.
It was steady and warm, rising and falling beneath my cheek. For a moment, I didn't move. I didn't open my eyes. I just listened, relishing in the simple fact that I was alive. That the darkness of the cave, the screams, the crushing weight of magic were no longer closing in on me.
My body ached everywhere. A deep, full body exhaustion overwhelmed me, making even the thought of moving feel like too much. But there was warmth beneath me, and fur. Wolf fur.
Stefano.
I opened my eyes slowly.
I was lying on a wide bed draped in thick furs, the familiar scent of pine and smoke filling the room. Sunlight shines through tall windows carved into stone walls, dust particles dancing lazily in the air. The room was unmistakably ours - the Alpha chamber at Deephowl.
Stefano lay beside me, propped on one elbow, his eyes fixed on my face like he was afraid I might disappear if he looked away.
