Maelis

I stirred awake in an unfamiliar environment,

My eyelids felt like they were weighed down by something, but I forced them open just a crack. The world was blurry, but the warmth surrounding me was distinct.

I looked up, and my breath hitched.

It was him.

Lucian.

He was holding my head on his lap, his large hand resting gently on my hair, stroking it in a slow, rhythmic motion. His face was turned away, looking out a small window, his jaw set in that hard, brooding line I knew so well.

“Was I dreaming?”

I had to be. There was no way Lucian would leave his pack, leave...