Alexander:
The rest of the day felt… unreal.
Not in the dramatic, dangerous way my life usually tilted.
In the peaceful way that said no trouble and no drama. It went through in a way that said true.
After breakfast, we stayed in. No guards hovering close, no pack politics knocking on the door, no council reports demanding signatures. Just us. And the maids were not around us.
Alessia curled beside me on the couch with her legs draped over mine, her head resting against my shoulder while some pointless daytime show played in the background. I wasn’t watching it.
I was watching her.
She laughed at something small, something insignificant, and the sound of it hit me harder than any battle ever had.
“You’re staring again,” she murmured without looking at me. “And you have been for the
